Summer Highlights
Summer came and went, but left us with some fond memories, some of which I would like to share with you!.
I was blessed to be able to connect at a few camps this year including Dallas Valley and Tapakamitowin. It was nice to connect with other ministries and take a break from the regular.
In august we once again hosted YFC Camp, this year at Arlington Beach Camp. We had 23 youth from Regina and Moose Jaw, and only 8 of those youth had previously attended our camp. We had an amazing time connecting with these new youth filling our days with fun activities and deep talks around the camp fire. Here are a few highlights:
- Colour Wars – We split our crew into 4 teams and they spend the week facing off in small competitions ending with Team Potato as the victors!
- Camp Fires – Who doesn’t love sitting around a camp fire singing songs? Answer: the youth who came to our camp. Too hot, too many bugs, you name it! But we stuck with it, and by the end of the week the youth enjoyed camp fire and even started singing the songs thanks to “Pharaoh, Pharaoh”.
- Beach Time – Our leisurely afternoons were agent at the beach where youth had so much fun, highlights being the water, trampoline and tubing.
- Rap Concert – rapper (and youth pastor) Philly 5 was our speaker for part of the camp and not only challenged our youth to consider spiritual things, but blessed us with a few songs.
In June, I attended the National Ministry Conference, a gather of YFC staff from across Canada. Before I went I had already been considering our plan for the Fall, but I received confirmation during the conference which has changed our direction a bit for the coming year. YFC Canada’s mission is to see every youth living fully in Christ, and in Regina we have fulfilled this missions through programming and mentoring, with a focus on programming. This year, we will continue to do programming but focus on mentoring. This means that we will gather less as a group, but every youth in our programs will have the opportunity to connect with a YFC staff of volunteer 1:1 at least once a month. We are still unsure how this will go, but are trusting that as God led us here, He has a good plan for it.
I am anticipating taking a 3 month Sabbatical starting in January. This will allow me to have a time for much needed rest. Part of my focus over the next few months will be ensuring our team of staff and volunteers feel prepared to care for the youth in my absence.