At 3.00pm on Saturday, 31 January the 2009 Youth Camp officially commenced at The Baptist Centre, Vallee Azul, Ite. This being Peru, however, many of the campers arrived
late - not just later on Saturday evening but well into Monday! Having attended summer camps in Peru as a child and teenager, when my parents were missionaries with Baptist Missions, it was a pleasure to be going to camp once again.
The Camp theme ‘Are you listening? - focused on the issue of listening to God when he speaks and, then, how we communicate with others. The week started on Saturday night with Trevor Morrow sharing from the story of God calling Samuel. On Sunday morning Andrew Roycroft shared from Psalm 19, emphasising how God speaks through creation and also, more specifically and directly, through
his Word. These two messages kicked the week off on a excellent tone but little did the campers, or leaders, know what was yet to come.
The guest speaker for the week was Santiago Quispe Lizana - a former maths and physics teacher from Lima turned professional actor. He visits schools, universities and secular theatres using drama as a means of sharing the gospel with both young and old. Throughout the week he
addressed the theme of how God communicates to us and the
importance of listening to what he is saying. He showed genuine interest in the young people, taking time to speak
individually with them about personal difficulties. His humble, down-to-earth manner, endeared him to all. The input of the 'Mision Rescate' Team was invaluable during the week. They put a lot of effort into the many preparations needed for camp, including the construction of a very challenging obstacle course. The Team also acted
as camp counsellors. Their enthusiasm and energy spread across the Camp.
A full schedule of activities kept the campers busy, and exhausted, until bedtime and in this regard, the excellent facilities at the Camp centre in Ite proved invaluable. The itinerary included physical sports like football, volleyball and basketball, as well as the 'twelve station' assault course. Provision was also made for less strenuous activities like darts, table tennis and even 'Uno' which proved to be very popular. Following each evening meeting there were special activities planned, including a bonfire night and even an 'Ecological Night' where the teams competed to make us
more environmentally aware in the most original way possible. We also visited the beach, only a short bus trip
away, three times. The hill behind the centre was used for a hike, which then took us to the village of Ite to take part in a treasure hunt. This was a good opportunity to share with onlookers in the village what the purpose of the Baptist Centre was and help form links with the local community.
One real encouragement this year was the range of young people - from some actively serving in their churches to some who have never attended an evangelical church. It was
great to see Team members teaching teenagers, who had never attended a Sunday School, how to find Bible verses and memorise scripture.
Although separated by thousands of miles, I could still see the similarity between the young people here and those back in Ireland. They are immensely preoccupied by fashion, mobile phones, I-pods and hair
straighteners (only the girls!). Conversations at mealtimes revolve around the same issues as in Ireland - shopping, football, computer games, etc. Whilst there are some obvious differences, I became acutely aware that the campers here are affected by many of the same influences and also struggle with many of the same issues.
At the beginning of the week campers were reminded that there are many voices crying out for their attention.
Our prayer is that these young people
Report by Alistair Creelman