October 4, 2014
Good News India Youth Camp – 1350 kids crowding into overcrowded trains that stop for minutes at stations and the exit area of the trains are jammed… now that is interesting How do you fit 1350 people into a dream center built for 200? More interesting. How do you provide water and toilets for all these kids? Even more interesting. And how do you put together a tight schedule of events – powerful worship services, singing and preaching competitions, Bible Quiz competitions, vibrant dances of worship, Seminars on marriage and sexuality, followed by a full day of our first GNI Olympics? How do you manage logistics of cooking, serving, clean up, etc? And the logistics of transporting, via buses and trains, all these kids back home? Even more interesting. O yes, we did it. GNI staff are incredible, flexible, hardworking and totally dedicated to serving God through the lives of these acres of diamonds. Philip Newbigging brought us great preaching and altar times. God gave us favor with clear warm weather. (It is raining buckets in Baligeria now!). Not one complaint about anything. kids crammed around tubewells, deep wells and portable water sources. Pumps and pipes all over the place. 3 generators running almost around the clock. 300 kids doing kitchen and clean up duties each day. 6 wonderful memorable days. It was unbelievable. O yes… I baptized 23 kids – a huge step for many of them. Most of our kids will have to wait till 18 due to non-Christian backgrounds. 300 took Holy Communion – most of them for the first time in their lives. What a memorable Youth Camp.