Summer Camp 2005 |
20 children and 9 adults from Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland attended summer camp from August 2 to 7 just east of Bielefeld, Germany at the hostel "Naturfreundehaus" in Oerlinghausen . The camp was hosted by UCOG and the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"]. Following a brief orientation meeting on the afternoon of the arrival day, campers participated in various team games and then enjoyed their first meal together. After dinner staff members Wim Dekker from the Netherlands and René Kasper from Belgium took the group into the nearby forest for an evening discovery hike. The campers had to look for clues hidden along their route and then answer Bible questions in order to proceed to the next hidden clue site. On Wednesday (August 3), the first full day of camp, the boys enjoyed a spirited football game (soccer) on the playing field near the hostel, while the girls learned how to fashion paper into various decorative shapes and designs. Unusually cool weather meant that the afternoon swimming activity was moved from a nearby outdoor swimming pool to the "Erlebnisbad" in Detmold, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Oerlinghausen. Campers enjoyed a large indoor pool with a 100 foot long water slide and a "current chute" where swimmers could test their strength by attempting to swim upstream against the current generated at regular intervals. On Thursday (August 4), the group visited the nearby "Hollywood" amusement park with its wild animal zoo. Traveling in six cars, the campers and staff drove through the zoo area only a few feet from lions, tigers, elephants and other exotic animals before arriving at the amusement park. Once inside the park, campers enjoyed a day of roller coaster rides and other attractions, including a "Wild West" show in the afternoon. Two brief rainshowers did not dampen the enthusiasm. Instead, the rain kept the crowd smaller and the lines short at the various park attractions. A special "fun olympics" was held at the camp on Friday (August 5). Campers were divided into four teams and had to practice teamwork and sportsmanship while participating in 8 "fun olympic games" like guessing the names of various objects and small tools in a display box, a long distance bean spitting contest, a balloon relay race where two campers had to carry a balloon between their noses and a race carrying a soccer ball on a tennis racket. For the daily interactive Bible study, campers were divided into two groups based on age. The theme for this year's camp was the kingdom of God. Using various puzzles and other craft materials, campers learned what the kingdom of God will be like and how it will be different from today's world. Hermann Göhring and UCOG president Paul Kieffer were the instructors for the two groups. On Sabbath visitors from the local Bielefeld congregation joined the group for Sabbath services. The campers performed special music and helped read all the scriptures that were used in the main sermon. After services each camper received a certificate of participation that emphasized his or her contribution to the camp, and special awards were presented to those campers who displayed an exemplary attitude of service. Katharina Vogel and Jasmina Wilsberg were honored for having led their group in opening prayer for the daily Bible study. In the evening campers, staff and visitors enjoyed a barbecue dinner. Last year's director of the "Naturfreundehaus Bielefeld", the venue for the camp, was so impressed by the group that he returned from retirement to spend the week during camp with the group. A reporter from the local newspaper stopped by to view the "fun olympics", giving Jesmina Allaoua from Germany, who organized the camp, a chance to talk about the goals for camp and the positive effect of being in a secluded natural environment. The reporter was impressed by the international composition of the group and the multilingual ability of staff members. |
