YWAM CAMP RECAP

PART 2

Hello friend!

Welcome to part 2 of the YWAM Camp Recap! If you haven’t read part 1 yet, please do so!

On the morning of the first full day, I overslept. Well, I slept until about 6:00, and almost everyone was awake! I had gotten 6 hours of super-sound sleep. Surprisingly, my bed was extremely comfy, and I slept as hard as a rock! After my morning routine, (for some reason I forgot to change out of my pajamas) I went to the back patio area and read my Bible. I was finishing up the book of Acts, and it was such a beautiful view. Palm trees were all around me, the sun was rising and the birds were chirping. As I was reading, I felt the Lord’s presence so strongly; it was an incredible start to the morning!

After reading my Bible, Bea and Jael asked if I wanted to join them on a morning walk! As we left our cabin, I then realized I was still in my pajamas. Even though I felt unprepared, it was still an amazing walk! We went down to the place they called “The Flags.” It’s a big circle with a fountain in the middle and flags of different countries around it. If you didn’t feel inspired just by standing there, you were probably still asleep. As we walked around and read about the different countries, we all felt inspired by the missionaries who went, and shared the Gospel in these places! After our amazing walk, I finally got out of my pajamas, and headed to the cafeteria for some breakfast! French toast, bacon, hashbrowns, and honeydew melon were on the menu! It was a great first meal at camp! After eating, I played pickleball with Jael, her brother Jehu, and another friend! I stink at pickleball, and even though I lost both games, it was still a lot of fun! (I only play for fun anyway!)

It was now time for our first session, which was orientation. We went through the house rules together, and they even did a welcoming haka for us! It was so much fun, and after a little snack lunch, we played the opening games. At this time, we split up into our teams. They assigned different rooms to different teams; I was on team Kyrgistan! All of the teams were named after the countries in the world with the least amount of Christians in them. They did this to inspire us about sharing the Gospel in these places; with people who don’t have access to the Bible or know the truth about Jesus. Jadon and Kaden were also on my team, which made it even more fun! The teams made their chant, and performed it to see who was better! (I still don’t know who won that.) The beginning games were so much fun, and the camp was already off to a great start! Afterward, my cabin met up at the BTC (Banyan Tree Coffee) for small group time. That is the coffee shop on the YWAM Kona campus. We shared our testimonies, and it was amazing to hear everybody’s stories!

Since Sunday was after arrival day, we had more free time to get situated and explore. Because of that, we went off campus to the pier after small group! It was my first time in the ocean, and let me say it was AMAZING! I absolutely love the ocean! It was an incredible first experience! The town was so cute, and the people were so kind!

When we arrived at campus, we could all tell something suspicious was happening. All the staff were acting weird, and Destiny kept asking when I was going to change out of my swimsuit. I thought I had enough time, so I ate dinner before changing. Bea and I went to get some water and suddenly saw a herd of staff banging on people’s doors, telling them to get to the Ohana Court right this second! We booked it in our flip-flops and realized we were having a surprise game! The goal was to find the hidden staff members: first, you had to find a wanted poster with someone’s face on it, take a tab off, and try to find that staff member. Once you found them, they would give you a balloon, and you had to try and get it to the Ohana Court before someone stole it. Either that or one of the “bad guys” popped it! We had an hour and thirty minutes to try and get as many balloons as we could because they counted as points for your team! Bea and I found a wanted poster quickly, but couldn’t find the staff member anywhere! We sprinted around the entire campus in flip-flops for about an hour until we finally found her. But just as we approached, she told us that she was out of balloons, and had to re-hide. Bea and I followed her for 10 minutes and claimed her last two balloons. Mine was snatched out of my hands before I could even grab it, and the staff didn’t even tie Bea’s balloon. For about 20 minutes, I was trying to protect Bea while she got closer and closer to the Ohana Court. Even though our balloon deflated when we arrived, (since the staff didn’t tie it) the games crew still gave us the point! After the game, we had a dance party! It was so much fun; we had a conga line, the “dance circle” and just went crazy to the songs! After running for almost 2 hours and then having an epic dance party, I was pooped. I slept crazy hard that night!

Monday was when we really started to dive in! After breakfast, Ania and I went to the prayer room together for quiet time! They were having their weekly Monday morning worship set, and it was one of the best mornings ever! Before the first session, I met two of Ania’s cabin mates; Sophia and Emma! We immediately connected, and sat next to each other during the morning session! Felippe from Waves of Revival Church in Boston MA, spoke about hearing the voice of the Lord. The session was incredible, and we even had time at the end to practice hearing God’s voice! Then, Bennet spoke about Spiritual Disciplines. She spoke a FIRE word, and it was not only impactful but inspiring! She showed us girls that we can use our voices for the Kingdom of God!

After some lunch and free time, it was time for the games. This time, they were more intense! First, some of the teams stayed in the Ohana Court for a dodgeball tournament, while the rest went to the field to play this “trash can” game. My team did AMAZING in dodgeball- it was the best I’ve ever done (I usually get out within the first 10 seconds but I stayed in towards the end!) Jadon and Kaden were absolute beasts; they got people out left and right! Our team only lost one time! Afterward, the groups switched; we played this “trash can” game in the field (I don’t know what the actual name is). There is a trash can in the middle, and a group of people circle up around it. Then, the group gets ropes, so that everyone is holding on to each end, making a circle. The point of the game is to try and either make your opponents touch the trash can or let go of the rope! It was extremely fun, and I cheered so hard that I almost lost my voice! I played a round and got third place, but Jael played and got first! She is an absolute queen at the game, and did an amazing job!

That night, Frenchie, one of the founders of Commission Youth Camp, spoke. It was salvation night, and first Frenchie shared his testimony. It was crazy, and then he went into serious detail about Jesus dying on the cross. He said that “every time Jesus got struck, he thought of you and said, ‘WORTH IT,’ and again ‘WORTH IT.’” It made the story of Jesus even more real and important; it gave me a whole new appreciation for His love! Frenchie then asked everyone who wanted to either dedicate or rededicate their lives to Jesus to run up to the front. He asked for the people who wanted to give up and let go of anything standing in the way of their relationship with God. Also, during this time, Frenchie and Jeff (another founder of Commission Youth Camp) gave out words of knowledge for people who needed healing. So not only was it a salvation night, but it was also a healing night! One of the words was even for Deven! Jeff said that he kept hearing that someone needed to be healed from shortness of breath connected to anxiety. Deven had been struggling with that every time he led worship at our church! After being prayed over, he didn’t feel a zap or anything. But on the first Sunday, he was back home, leading a song, and he had no shortness of breath or anxiety! Frenchie and Jeff also asked anyone who needed healing in their heart to start praying. One of those people was Ania! She had been struggling with a loss of joy. She told me later that for the whole year, she had no joy. No matter where she had to pretend she was happy. Ania was also insecure about her smile since she had braces and gotten a tooth removed. Once Ania started to pray for her joy, she heard the Lord clearly say

“You don’t even need to pray about it because your joy has been restored!”

After this time of prayer, Frenchie asked anyone who was 100% healed to come up front and share! 17 people came up! Someone had gotten healed from a leg injury, another from water in their lungs, and one girl even had scars from cutting herself completely go away! What’s more, Kaden and Ania went up! Kaden shared that he had struggled with a porn addiction since 2nd grade. He said he had tried to quit, but he was a slave to it and couldn’t seem to stop. While Frenchie was sharing about Jesus dying on the cross, the Lord’s presence hit him so hard (in a good way), and he rededicated his life to the Lord! He was spiritually healed, and gave up porn for good! That was one of my highlights, seeing my friends be healed and bold in sharing that breakthrough!

The next morning, I could see the transformation in my friends. Kaden was more joyful, light, and free! Ania had her joy back, was no longer pretending, and smiling with no feelings of insecurity! I had also lost my voice because I was screaming and singing so much- even just 2 days into the camp! In the morning session, we learned about why we can trust the Bible, and it was AMAZING! Then after games and lunch, Jael and I went into town to do a little shopping, and we met up with Ania, Sophia, Emma, and their counselor Haven at the pier. It was so much fun getting to swim with my friends!

The night session was Freedom Night. Jeff spoke and shared his journey to freedom. It was incredible, and he asked people struggling with specific things to come up front. Felippe then asked that if anyone brought vapes, drugs, cigarettes, or anything else that did not belong, to go and get them from their cabins and leave them on the altar. Some people did! It was incredible, and I was beginning to let go of self-hate, comparison, fear of man, and feelings of inadequacy! We ended the night with some fire worship, and sang the song “Where are the Chains” by Circut Riders Music!

The Lord already exceeded my expectations: I had made incredible, life-giving friendships, the worship was so powerful, the sessions were freeing, and I couldn’t wait to see what else The Lord had in store for us!

Thank you for reading friend! Be sure to stay tuned for Part 3- posting next saturday! I love ya’ll!