In many of our lives while growing up, camp has a special place in our hearts–oftentimes it is a place where we can come away from the hustle and bustle of life and allow God to work in an unforgettable manner. On Thursday morning after a quick morning outing to the Melbourne Central Business District (specifically the Queen Vic Market to buy some brekkie and souvenirs), our team joined forces with the Calvary Baptist Church young adults and headed up to Yackandandah to a three-day Young Adults Camp.
Pastor Frank from Faith Baptist and Dr. Cirone were the special speakers during our “Answering the Call” theme which centered around the life of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Moses, and Paul and how each one answered the call to serve God and the challenges they overcame in answering that call. Many conversations were centered around knowing God’s will and how best to serve Him. Although the team were part of the 90 people present from several different churches, they did a great job fellowshipping with their fellow believers, provided special music, and also assisted Mrs. Guglielmo and the rest of the kitchen crew. It was a great encouragement to hear several testimonies from a few of the pastors as well as missionary Josh Zacharias. On Friday evening, several campers gave praise to God as they sang hymns around the fire place. Overall, there was a spirit of service and love among the campers.
The special blessings of our Young Adults camp is that the team made new life-long friends, Dr. Cirone counseled a fellow for about 90 minutes on his assurance of salvation, and that Chris found out the ultimate reason why he brought his drone to Australia. The camp director had been praying and wanting drone footage of his camp but was unable to secure the necessary resources or personnel to accomplish this desire. Using Chris’ drone, within about 10 minutes he was able to provide the camp director with some wonderful footage that he could now use to promote the camp.
Although it was somewhat rainy and cold during the entire time and a few of the team began to get weary and needed additional rest, the friendships made overcame any difficulty experienced and provided memories that would last for a lifetime. Upon leaving camp, a few individuals were able to drive in the Australian countryside as well as visit a few sites along the way to our Saturday evening accommodations in Wangaratta (or Wang as the Australians call it). Because our team has been so faithful in giving of themselves to others, it was wonderful to just take a brief breath of the fresh country air and experience, “Be still, and know that I am God…” Ps. 46:10
Thank you for your continued prayers for our health, well-being, and safety during our travels!
Team Australia