Mberengwa Youth Camp August 2011

The Mberengwa Insiza Baptist Association was formed Easter Sunday of this year in the Mberengwa area of Zimbabwe, with eight churches making up the association. In June, another church was planted in the area. August 12-14, 2011 marked the first ever youth camp for the Mberengwa Insiza Baptist Association. There were 54 youth who attended the camp, held at Sharuo Primary School. The youth arrived all during the afternoon on Friday, some walking from as far away as 10-12 kilometers to attend the camp.



After an evening meal, and an initial welcome session and praise service, the youth found places to sleep in the classrooms at the school, girls in one classroom, boys in another. Early the next morning, some of the local ladies provided breakfast for the youth.



A goat had been slaughtered the day before as the youth were arriving, so for breakfast there was an ample supply of sadza, as well as a relish made from cooked cabbage, tomatoes, and onions, and, of course, the goat. Sadza is a staple in the Zimbabwean diet, consisting of mealie meal (similar to corn meal) cooked into a thick paste about the consistency of mashed potatoes. The camp sessions began after breakfast with Bible study times during the morning.



I(Ramona Beam)was privileged to be one of the speakers, and had the opportunity to share the True Love Waits abstinence program for youth with this group. Of those hearing TLW for the first time, 25 youth signed commitment cards to remain sexually pure until marriage. It was so heartening to watch as they came to me all during the afternoon, saying they wanted to sign the cards. Fifty youth had previously signed commitment cards, when TLW was presented during the Easter Conference earlier this year. Some of those youth were also in attendance at the youth camp. Please pray that all of these young people will be strong in the face of the many pressures that life brings here. There is so much temptation for youth to become sexually active, both from peer pressure, and sometimes even from older family members. Pray for protection from these things for these youth.



After lunch, also provided by the local ladies, the afternoon was a time for fun and games during the recreation time. The youth enjoyed games of soccer, netball, and others. For youth in the rural areas of Zimbabwe, times of carefree recreation such as this are rare, so they were enjoyed by all. Supper was served after a time of relaxation and personal time, then everyone gathered together for the evening service, which began around 7:00pm.



The service included an extended time of worship and praise, and oh, how these kids love to sing. And dance! To hear them singing praises to God at the top of their voices, and to see their energetic dancing as part of that praise, was just awesome. I must admit, I even gave it a try myself. They just kept singing; it just went on and on, and it seemed they never got tired. A message was brought by Pastor Willie Green, who is the youth coordinator for the association, and afterwards we went into an extended time of prayer, followed by more worship. Before we knew it, it was almost 11:00pm, and they were still singing!