Thirty-two campers and 34 staff (including three United Youth Corps volunteers) gathered May 4-11 at Eden Nature Park in Davao City for the 10th United Youth Camp in the Philippines. For the fifth consecutive year now, the four “dorms” or groups of eight campers and two counselors slept in tents and cooked their own food. It was a rainy week, but with God’s protection and help, the camp proved to be an exciting and a challenging adventure. Here are three of the highlights:

#1—Christian Living Class

The carefully chosen theme for this year’s camp was “Laying a Sure Foundation.” We decided to dedicate the whole morning after breakfast exclusively for the Christian Living class. After briefly introducing the topic for the day, camp director Ed Macaraeg would get all the campers and staff involved in discussing the prepared questions on the selected topic. The topics covered the very basics such as the existence of God, the authority of the Bible, and finding the true Church. In addition, common issues like digital addiction, sexual immorality, Sabbath compromise, dating outside the Church, and fashion and lifestyle were discussed as well. After the discussion, each dorm would present their findings and conclusions before the entire group, backed up by Scriptures. Not to be outdone, the staff came up with a series of comical skits on-the-fly to illustrate the specific points of the Christian Living topics. It was educational and highly entertaining as well.

#2—Confidence Course and Wilderness Skills

There are three reasons why the Confidence Course and Wilderness Skills activities this year were more challenging than in any previous camp. The first is because of the heavy rains. The second is because of the cover of darkness. The third is because of the raw egg that each was supposed to carry un-cracked and unbroken until they have crossed all four “obstacles” eight hours later.

The first obstacle is the Wall Climb. Each camper has to climb a 40-foot high vertical wall by grabbing on to holds fastened to the wall. These holds become slippery due to the rain and mud. Each climber, of course, has a helmet and a safety harness. After that, they have to descend 40-feet down by rappelling. As they hike to the next obstacle, they are overtaken by darkness. It’s pitch black (except for the flashlights), it’s raining hard, and it’s getting cold—since practically everyone is soaking wet.

The second obstacle is the 50-meter Pulley Slide across a deep ravine. They have to cross this chasm carrying their food, water, firewood, and other supplies. Don’t forget the raw egg—be careful you don’t smash it against the firewood!

When they reach the other side, they would assign one person or two to start the fire. There are no forks or spoons; they would need to prepare their food without regular conveniences and utensils; they would cook their rice using bamboo tubes and bake their bread without ovens. But since it’s raining hard, the food doesn’t cook that fast.

It’s cold. It’s dark. You’re wet. You’re hungry. But there are still two more obstacles.

The third obstacle is to cross a 30-meter Monkey Bridge across another deep ravine. When you think you’re about to surrender, the food is ready. It’s time to eat, finally.

The fourth and last obstacle is arguably the toughest one—the Mud Tunnel. Due to the heavy downpour, the tunnel is as slippery as oil. The tunnel gradually slopes upward, and it gets narrower and steeper as you go. Finally, you enter a small horizontal concrete tube about 18 inches or so in diameter and you have to squeeze your tired body through the length of it, perhaps about 20-30 feet. And again, this is in total darkness, with only the light of flashlights guiding the way. When you’re in there, it seems like it seems like an eternity; the tunnel seems like a mile long, and it’s hard to advance due to the slippery mud coating the inside of the tunnel.

The wonderful thing is, nobody was complaining. Everyone was excited, upbeat and enthusiastic. We were cheering each other on. Nobody wanted to quit. And every single camper passed through that Confidence Course. It was an accomplishment when we finally arrived at the campsite at around 10 or 11 in the evening. Very muddy... all you wanted to do was take a (cold!—there’s no other choice) shower and crash in your tent. By the way, all the girls arrived with their eggs all intact. I mean 100 percent all accounted for, un-cracked. As for the guys, about 50 percent of their eggs were either cracked, broken—or eaten!

#3—United Youth Corps Volunteers

This year, we were privileged to have three United Youth Corps volunteers: Luke and Kristina Crane from Spokane, Washington and Bobby Ouellette, from Dallas, Texas. Luke and Kristina helped in the Wall Climb and also introduced a new sport that was really exciting for everyone—Ultimate Frisbee. We also played that under the pouring rain—it was a lot of fun. Kristina and Luke also taught volleyball, while Bobby helped out in soccer and basketball. The camp really appreciates their taking the time to travel to the Philippines to volunteer and help us. They made a lot of friends and left with a lot of positive memories I’m sure.

Other Activities

Many more things can be said about the other activities but this will get really long. The other activities were Dance, First Aid, Inline Skating, Riflery, and Swimming. We also had workshops to pass on a marketable or useful skill. Each camper could choose to attend up to two workshops: Art Illustration, Baking, Basic Electronics, Beading Accessories, Calligraphy, Conversational English, Envelope Production, Journalism, LPG/Home Fire Safety, Organic Fertilizer Production, PA System, and Rubber Slipper Making. For the other evenings we had Orientation Night, Novelty Games, Fellowship Time, a Bible Study-Open Forum, and a Talent Show and Dance Night. For the Sabbath, we had Bible Bowl and Sabbath Services. We thank God for a very successful camp, with many valuable lessons learned.

—Reported by Daniel Roy Macaraeg

© 2008 United Church of God, AIA - Pilipinas