From all over the Philippines, 72 campers and staff members gathered for the annual summer United Youth Camp held at Eden Nature Park, Mt. Talomo, Davao City.

The camp officially started on Sunday, May 22 and lasted until May 29 for the first part. The second part was an ascent to the highest peak in the Philippines, Mount Apo, which transpired May 30 to June 3.

The theme for this year’s camp was adopted from last year’s­— “Character Counts”—with the added challenge of climbing Mt. Apo, which rises 10,311 feet above sea level.

The campers were divided into four dorms, two dorms each for both boys and girls. The four dorms in camp were 1B, 2B, 1G, and 2G, consisting of 10 campers with two counselors each. Each dorm was assigned two tents with six persons in each tent.

Activities at camp included Volleyball, Table Tennis, Soccer, Softball, Swimming with Water Polo, Riflery, Wilderness Skills, and the Confidence Course, highlighted by the wall-climbing and rappelling activity. The workshops consisted of Flower and Paper Card Making, Cooking and Baking, Electronics, Carpentry, Journalism, and Public Speaking.

Responsibility… Teamwork… Camaraderie... Hardwork… These were just some of the few traits that were developed when campers were asked what they learned when cooking their own meals. They were given food supplies, kitchen utensils, a gas tank with stove burner, and they were on their own to cook their share of food in camp.

From ‘Day One’ up to the last day of camp at Eden, both campers and staff members experienced new highlights every day starting with the Christian Living Classes every morning. Each day, one dorm was to present a role play that would depict the pressures youths in the Church experience day by day in their contact with the outside world. The Camp Director, Mr. Edmond Macaraeg, would then facilitate the interactive discussion and then point out valuable insights and lessons from the Bible.

Reports from the staff of Eden Nature Park were that there had been a continuous downpour of rain days before camp started. All who were at camp and those who witnessed from outside the UYC campsite were amazed at how good the weather turned out to be, even with the ongoing typhoon happening in certain areas of the country which also affected the Davao lowlands with heavy rain.

The first part of camp ended May 29, which was capped with a hearty buffet lunch—a treat for all the sacrifice and the job well done by both campers and staff. After that were the pictorials and the awarding ceremonies while the jeepneys were waiting to take everyone back to Davao City.
Those who were committed to climb Mount Apo assembled early the next morning at the Macaraeg’s residence for orientation and final instructions, distribution of food supplies and equipment, and finally, boarding a Weena commercial bus waiting that afternoon.

Five days were spent at Mount Apo, the first night being an eventful one at Agco. The bulk of the food that was for the trek and for that very night (good for around 57 people) was left at the bus because it was hidden way at the back. Mr. Macaraeg, who was not with the bus, was miraculously informed through a text message that went through from the campsite (being a remote area with no cellphone signal), by one of his daughters who was with the group and reported that the food was missing and most likely left at the bus.

It was already late at night when he contacted the Kidapawan police to know where the Weena buses parked for the night. At around 11 o’clock, the bus was finally located at a town ten kilometers away with the food supply still intact.

That incident, recalled by most of the climbers, proved to be a blessing in disguise. Since the food for the first night was not eaten (but substituted by food bought from a small nearby store), there was still enough food to last for another unexpected day in the mountain.

The 57 climbers (including guides and porters) went through some delays due to varied strength of each, with some matters that needed attention, thus delaying them another day.

But as most of the campers and climbers recounted, without the experience and the effort that was exerted in helping and encouraging each other to reach the top and back, from the first day of camp to the last, they would never have truly felt the bond that they felt with each other. Everyone recognized the intervention God has done for them.

As one UYC staffer commented, “Sufferings and trials bring blessings—blessings which cannot be quantified, because it is part in the molding of the invisible character which is not quantified. And though how invisible it is, it crystallizes God in action in our lives. Trials? Suffering? Pain? You may count it all as loss, but upon further analysis, it is all gain indeed. That is what UYC 2005 is all about.”

—Reported by Cheryl Lynn Macaraeg

[Editor’s Note: More articles about the recently concluded United Youth Camp would be available in the upcoming United Teens Philippines 2005 publication.]