Between camp weeks, the Thompson’s took a little break “up the hill across the lake.” The view that afternoon was beautiful. The Lican Ray Camp is down below where the taller trees are located. They write:
After returning from Uruguay in January we had just one day to get everything ready for kid’s camp. In our absence, the camp had been used for a church rental so there was much cleanup to get ready for. Our theme this year for camp was a medieval one and so the salon was transformed into a castle (made out of Styrofoam). We had a very low attendance for kids camp this year but Pastor Marcelo Henriquez from Achao did an excellent job teaching with the aid of flannel graph. Our staff also did a great job caring for all the areas of camp (kitchen, service, maintenance and counseling).
Family camp followed. This camp was packed to the gills. All the cabins were in use as well as the new cabin. We were around 120 people total with families from as far north as Coquimbo to as far south as Puerto Montt. We enjoyed seeing some families return from previous years but many were new also. There were also 5 families that tented in the woods back by the soccer field. The cities represented were: Santiago, Coquimbo, Concepcion, Temuco, Puerto Montt, Miraflores, and Villa Regina (Argentina). Our speaker was Pastor Jacob Gonzales. We had the privilege of hosting him and his wife in our house. It was his first time speaking at camp and he left burdened for this ministry. We hope he can be an encouragement to Ivan and Nikol when they arrive at Pirque.
Teen camp was next. This year we hosted 53 teens. It was neat to see during registration those who had participated in previous years asking to be together in the same cabin because this is the only time they see each other. There was a very good atmosphere during that camp. Our speaker was Joel Solomon and his wife Wendy helped with some workshops for the girls. Counselors had their work cut out for them but did a great job. There were quite a few un-churched kids and they heard the gospel preached clearly. The spiritual theme for all the camps was overcoming trials and temptations.
Between teen camp and the college and career camp we took our staff up the hill for a special get together. From the hill across the lake from the camp you can see the whole lake, camp property and volcanoes (Lanin and Villarrica). It was a much needed time of rest and relaxation before our final week of camp. Many had been working already for a month straight and were tired. The last week we had around 50 also. Pastor Manuel Rivas came to speak. It was his first time to speak at camp and we would have him back in a heartbeat. He brought with him a young man from his church. Most of the young people do not have a pastor who takes interest in them and trains them for ministry. Many left challenged from the Word and also from the example given by these men.
That was camp in a nutshell. Of course there were many problems and our job was to be the peacemakers in many sticky situations. But we believe the Lord was glorified through conflict resolution and the love shown one to another during the camps. We had a few surprises also. One of those happened the first night of of teen camp when we heard sirens and saw police cars and lights on the beach. It was during a meeting, so later Danny went out to see what was going on. As many of you know at the back of camp (on the point) there are huge parties going on all summer. We have had problems with these young people coming onto camp to get firewood or to trespass for some other reason. The new fence took care of much of that. Anyway, we learned later that as a boat was going by the point they found a dead body in the lake. It had been in the water a few days. That’s why the police cars and boats were there that night. The firemen with their trucks came through camp to set up lighting for those doing the investigation. We found out later that he was a 25 year old who died of drowning. They think he was too drunk to swim. We have a message of hope and life for young people and that is what our campers received this summer but many more need to hear this message. What a sobering thing to happen right during camp! Thank you for your continued prayers for the ministry.
Stay in touch with Dan and Liz Thompson through their GMSA homepage.
