Summer Camp 2007

On July 1st till 8th 29 young people from the Moravian Church gathered at Gosling Lake Christian Youth Camp, Labrador. Some 10 months previous the late Bernie Broomfield had the vision to reinstate the youth camp for Moravian young people from all across Labrador, and this camp was the fulfilment of that vision.

The camp was attended by 6 young people from Hopedale, 6 from Makkovik, 6 from Nain, 9 from Happy Valley Goose Bay, and 2 from North Carolina, USA. The leadership team was made up of one person from Hopedale (Sarah Jensen), one from Makkovik (Rebecca Pretty), one from HVGB (Sabina Hunter), one from Nain (Russell Winfield) and 3 from North Carolina, USA (Revd Tim Byerly, George & Glenna Tasedan). We were also fortunate to have Emily Osmond and Joshua Wahl who are working full time for the Labrador Christian Youth Camp this summer.

On Sunday the young people from the coast arrived (on 3 separate planes), the US contingent was already in town, and the Happy Valley participants travelled out to the camp. After sharing in some food and playing some games (Volleyball and Touch Football) we settled into our groups for the week and took the time to get to know each other.

Each day followed a fairly simple pattern for the morning. Firstly we would serve breakfast at around 8.30am for an hour (expertly prepared by George everyday). The young people would filter in throughout this hour, and immediately following breakfast we would move to a time called “Daybreak” – a 20 minute session basically opening the day up to God, singing a couple of songs and giving the chance for the leadership to share a few thoughts. After this we would have some free time for the young people to relax whilst the leaders spent time in prayer for 15 minutes or so.

The rest of the morning would be split between “Explore” and “Create”. Within “Explore” the young people would be split into groups of 4 or 5 with a leader(s), and would look at the day’s theme, discuss different subjects, have role playing games and just be able to share things within that group of friends. “Create” was a time for creative work – and the youngsters would rotate between: photography, creative writing, photo framing, food, drama and music. This would take us up to lunch – which the young people prepared.

The afternoons were slightly more varied depending on whether we were on site or off site. On site activities included canoeing, archery, hiking, t-shirt painting, and volleyball. Off site activities saw us visit the 5 Wings Swimming pool twice (Tuesday and Friday) and the Soccer pitches to play the Goose Bay All Star team (we beat them 13 – 2!). After these acitivites when we were off site we visited Pizza Delight, A&W and Subway for food. When we were on site we had the privilege of two ladies from Happy Valley (Ann Marie and Wilma) visiting the camp site to cook the meal for us all. On Wednesday evening we stayed in Goose Bay a little longer to go ten pin bowling.

On the Friday of camp we visited Happy Valley congregation to serve a buffet of food and present an informal service, inviting the local congregation and friends, as well as Hopedale music band, who were in town for the 550th Celebrations. Despite being a very warm evening this was a lovely time for us all to share in worship together. On the way home we treated the young people to a visit to Tim Hortons for a drink and a donut!

The evenings on camp site were mixed between celebrations – in which we sung songs, performed drama skits, interviewed staff, and looked at photo’s of the day, along with more informal activities such as a quiz, and on the last night, a dance. Each evening ended with “Simmer Down” – an end of day review as we gave thanks to God for the day just enjoyed.

During the week the camp was also featured on CBC Radio, CBC Television, and The Labradorian Newspaper.

Despite some problems with flights up the coast, all the young people made it home safely by Monday afternoon, and back to their respective communities. The details given here are brief, so please do talk with the young people from your community to find out more about our week together.

We thank God for a wonderful week, for 29 wonderful young people, for the wonderful weather, and the chance to serve Him in this way.

Yours in Christ,
Br Russell Winfield