‘Crossings’ a Great Experience for Nada and Owsley Co. Youth
July 23, 2007
By Emilee Causey
Kentucky Baptist Fellowship Intern
Nada, KY
On Sunday, July 8, ten kids from Nada, ten kids from Owsley County and four chaperones boarded a bus and a van to attend Crossings Christian Youth Camp at Jonathon Creek in western Kentucky. It was a quiet ride to the camp, as the two groups did not know each other; a fact which changed quickly after the first night, but living with people for a week helps with that.
The four full days of camp were filled with activities from 8:30am until it was time to be in our rooms at 11:00pm. Breakfast, Time Alone With God, morning celebration, Points of Interest (areas of interest that the campers chose, such as water sports, climbing and sign language), lunch, Bible study groups, team building groups, free time, dinner, evening worship and fellowship/free time. All of which encouraged the kids to get to know other church groups in a Christian atmosphere. Day one proved a little difficult in keeping up with everyone’s itinerary but by day four the kids impressed me by telling me where they went next.
Like most kids at the camp, being away from the everyday environment allowed our group to really look at who they are and what kind of person God wants them to be. Many had never considered God’s will before and were affected by the statement that “a Christian life looks like something.” Two of our group made professions of faith in Jesus that week because they recognized a different way to live.
I cannot express enough thanks for those who work at the camp. Their patience and extra time spent with the campers, even if they were just eating lunch, helped make the experience meaningful for all of us. The kids made friends with the staff, campers from other churches and with each other. The theme of Crossings this year was “One: One Truth, One Lord, One Hope, One Call.” The theme also applied to us on the way home, as one group.
I definitely want to thank those churches who contributed to our trip:
Hardin Baptist Church and First Missionary Baptist in Benton, KY for the camper fees; Zion’s Cause (bus) and First Baptist Church Frankfort (van) for getting us there; Central Baptist Church Bearden, Knoxville, TN for toiletries, towels, lunches to and from camp and some clothing; Providence Baptist Church, Charlotte, NC for luggage; thank you to Jerry and Rita Newsome for providing a chaperone, being a chaperone and for the little extras that helped make the camp special; and a special thank you to Paula Settle for organizing the entire trip. Thank you all for this opportunity to build relationships with God.
To see more pictures of Crossings go to www.flickr.com/photos/emileeinnada/