Canadian Mennonite
Volume 10, No. 07
April 3, 2006
Snow camps cause youths to enthuse
Water Valley, Alta.
 |
Annual junior and senior high snow camps are a much anticipated part of Alberta’s Mennonite youth scene. These winter weekends at Camp Valaqua provide opportunities for young people to make and renew connections with the larger church, hone leadership skills, grow in faith, and have a lot of fun. The following reports were written by youths who attended this year’s retreats.
Junior high camp
From January 20 to 22, a large group of youths congregated at Camp Valaqua for a weekend of fellowship; worship led by Craig Wiens from First Mennonite Church in Calgary; singing led by Kim Thiessen, the singer on the Hope Is CD; and fun.
The youths attending mixed well, meeting new friends as well as old while they hung around the lodge or played games around the camp area. During the several worship sessions, Craig delivered a series of talks on how God is in all, linking stories all the way from creation to Revelation, and providing a big picture view of how God affects and acts in everything and everyone.
Youths arrived Friday evening in time for mixer games and snacks, then spent a whole day Saturday worshipping and enjoying the beautiful snow-covered forests of the camp. Late Saturday night, everyone walked up to the field where a rousing game of Mission Impossible took place. For those who don’t know, Mission Impossible in its simplest form involves running from a safe area to a parked truck and back without a person in the back of the truck shining a flashlight on you. For many, this was one of the biggest highlights of the weekend, although most of those present were very tired the next morning.
Despite the obvious fatigue, singing during the final worship session was as enthusiastic as was the norm, and there was a general reluctance to leave. As people left, there was a single phrase that, spoken or merely implied, seemed to sum up the general mood: “See you next year.”
Senior high camp
On February 24, I left Edmonton in a van full of youths, all eager to arrive at Camp Valaqua. As we made the three-hour trip, we reminisced about past snow camps, getting more and more excited as we talked. After checking in, mixer games provided a super opportunity to get to know youths from other Mennonite churches and catch up with old friends.
Following a delicious snack of brownies and ice cream, we sat down to the first of four worship sessions led by Don Stoesz. Don, who works as chaplain at Bowden Correctional Institution, used Dr. Seuss stories to present a series of talks around the theme, “Becoming grounded in a sea of liquid.” The sessions really gave insight into the transition between youth and adulthood, and how it affects our relationships with those around us. The sessions also included many a camp song, which were led by the new camp director, Jon Olfert.
There were tons of other activities during snow camp, such as classic camp games like Sticks at the top of the hill, and even a special nighttime scavenger hunt. There was a coffee house on Saturday evening featuring skits, songs, many talented youths and even a few talented sponsors. The extra free time was filled with cross-country skiing, ping-pong, foosball, plenty of card games, and just relaxing on the camp couches.
Overall, I would consider the weekend a success, as everyone had a great time getting to know each other better, reflecting on Don’s themes and, of course, enjoying delicious food.
Speaking up for peace
Cambridge, Ont.
 |
Last month 350 youths, their sponsors and pastors from across Ontario and Quebec gathered at Camp Shalom for the annual Mennonite Church Eastern Canada winter youth retreat. The theme was “Peace: Within ourselves, with others, the world and with God.”
At the retreat, the youths got to engage with dynamic speakers and organizations around the political and biblical issues of peace in various areas of the world. Representatives from Project Ploughshares, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and Christian Peacemaker Teams engaged the youths in conversation and motivated them to get involved with peacemaking.
On Friday evening, the youths were given the opportunity to join the Million Faces petition run by Project Ploughshares. The petition recognizes that the “lack of controls on the arms trade is fuelling conflict, poverty and human rights abuses worldwide,” and is asking governments to toughen up controls on the arms trade. The petition is collecting photos and self-portraits from around the world, with the goal of reaching a million faces by this June, to send a powerful global message of support to the world’s governments for an International Arms Trade Treaty. Those over the age of 16 had their pictures taken with signs reading “No more arms for atrocities.”
Saturday was a day for the youths to think more about how they can serve their neighbours and enemies, with a particular focus on love for their enemies as well as personal involvement in the work of fair trade agreements.
In the closing worship service on Sunday, the youths were given an opportunity to respond by contributing monetary gifts to a special offering project of their choice. They chose an MCC project in Nigeria entitled “Pigs for peace and prosperity.” During the offering, the youths came dancing to the front with their gifts, bringing all they had to give in support of the offering project. Their collection totalled $448, nearly enough to provide a dozen women with a pig each, plus medication and feed for the animals.
What a positive response from the MC Eastern Canada youths!