Scottish Baptist Lay Preachers Association

Windmill Centre, Arbroath

Steve Marr (Newton Mearns) reports on the Bible Centred Ministries International children’s camp for which took place in Arbroath from the 17th to the 23rd July.

The 2010 BCM camp in Arbroath got off to an “interesting” start. The leaders arrived on the Saturday morning to get set up for the children arriving at 3pm. There was a wee problem though – the previous group didn’t intend leaving until 4pm! Frenzied praying and negotiating ensued and they moved out after lunch and we prepared everything for the arrival of the children. What else was in store for us?

First evening found the entire camp at the Arbroath Swimming Pool – we had hired it for an hour, complete with what can only be described as a floating assault course! The children seemed to have little problem scrambling over it, but few leaders made it to the other end without frequent slides into the pool along the way!

Every day the children went to sessions of Craft, Games and Bible teaching. The plan was to do this in the mornings and have our outings in the afternoon. Things didn’t always work out that way! The weather was changeable and low tide didn’t always happen in the afternoon, so on a couple of occassions we switched everything around (Sunday was bright early on, so we headed for a stroll along the coastline north of Arbroath to see God’s fantastic creation and Tuesday saw us on the beach before lunch for a sandcastle building competition). Other afternoons found us berry-picking near Montrose (was more eaten than left in the containers to pay for?!), wet-and-wild sport competition (why is it that the leaders always end up soaked more than the children?!) and shopping in the town (how much chocolate can a nameless leader buy for the “midnight feast”?!). The Bible lessons theme was “Zero to Hero” and were taken from the life of Joseph. The Craft times made Egyptian masks and multi-coloured hats and bags (amongst other things), while the games had “colourful” experiences using items such as a parachute and a bouncy castle made of many colours!

So what did we accomplish in our week of camp? It’s not always possible to quantify the results, but allow me to tell you about a few that touched our hearts. One boy had never eaten a vegetable before – he has now and even said they weren’t that bad! Another child, who was worried what others might say about his glasses, was thrilled when another camper said that they looked “cool”. Not spiritual enough? A child spoke to a leader and said that they had expected sitting for 45 minutes learning things from the Bible to be boring, but by the end of the week they were wanting it to continue (we gave them suitable Bible notes and contacted a Church near to where the child lives to follow this up). A girl decided to give her heart to Jesus, but wanted to tell her dad first so that he was given his place as head of the family – she saw that as something she could apply from one the Bible lessons. The leaders, though tired out by the battle they had been engaged in, were all enthused to continue serving their Lord. In short, there was a lot to praise and thank our God for.

Of course, nothing lasts forever. Camp is over for another year. It’s easy to be sad, but there are always the Bible clubs that run each week in schools and Churches. Some of the children attend them along with many others – but that is another story entirely. Maybe it can be told another time!