25-30 September 2020
Another year had passed, and here we were again at the Barbers’ farm, for our yearly field camp meeting. What a year it had been for all of us, especially for those in other parts of the world and for our brethren in the eastern states. We have been very blessed here in WA throughout 2020 and feel especially blessed that our camp meeting could continue as planned.
Friday September 25th and Sabbath is approaching. The marquee is up, tents and caravans are in their spot around the campfire circle, parents are gathering their children for the opening meeting and excitement reigns in the camp once again. Our camp theme, “Crucified with Christ,” comes as a timely reminder for each of us, who desire to have this be so in our daily lives. Our opening topic, taken by Luke Kneebone, is “Christ and Him Crucified.” This set the hopeful mood for our remaining camp topics, even though pending rain loomed above, as a casting shadow. But prayers have been said to keep the rain away, and so far, so good.
Some of our topics included “From Heaven to Calvary,” “Why the Cross?,” “The World Crucified to Me,” “The Old Man Crucified with Christ,” “Crucified with Christ,” “The Power of the Cross,” “The Cost of Calvary,” “To Crucify the Flesh and Lusts,” and a few more. The most touching to my heart, for me personally, was the topic “The Road to Calvary through the Eyes of Christ.” Sabbath afternoon, a fun and engaging Young People’s meeting was taken by Inneka, of which we all participated. Our brains were well stretched.
Sunday, Day Three. A craft activity for the younger children, decorating little trinket boxes around the craft table. For the older children and youth, the challenging activity was to build two billy carts, mentored by Luke, Chris, and George, which was a huge success and one of the highlights of the camp. The billy carts finally built; it was time to put them to the test. What fun they had, including myself! This ended up being the main entertainment for the rest of the camp, with children of all ages vying for a ride.
The rain tried its hardest to hold off but eventually down it came. Thankfully, it wasn’t for long, but nonetheless we had good-sized mud puddles in the dirt driveway and Monday, Day Four, saw a few with wet bedding and leaky tents. And what else do children like to do? Yes! Play in the mud. Some of the children were covered from top to bottom, clothes, and all, in very muddy clay. But what is a camp without making childhood memories!
Our official camp had closed Sunday night, but some families were staying on through Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, as it had been decided that a longer more relaxed camp was desired. Worships and meetings continued over these days keeping the same theme going. It was really nice to have a more relaxed and longer camp, and we were incredibly grateful that the rain had not dampened the spirits of the campers. When asked what the children enjoyed most about the camp, the unanimous answer was, playing in the mud and the billy cart rides.
As the last campers trailed out the gate, Wednesday 30th, it was sad to see them go. Field camp meeting 2020 had once again been an uplifting and enjoyable experience, in spite of the rain.
~ Robyn Barber