Most of the young people living in Qwa Qwa and Intabazwe have never been outside their village. They live their entire lives in the bubble of a rural township. Once a year, we bus hundreds of these underprivileged young people to our mission base for youth camps.

Pictures from this year’s camp

During the September school holidays (Africa’s “Spring Break”), we host three camps, back-to-back. The students spend three days and two nights on our base, surrounded by animals (they get so excited to see zebras and springbok!) and getting to know others their age.

They play games, shoot paintball guns, go down a giant zip line, and play PlayStation on a giant screen. For young people who have never left their village, it is an overwhelmingly exciting experience. But they do more than just play games. Teaching sessions challenge the students to make a commitment to follow Christ and live for Him. Every year, hundreds of young people become Christ-followers at our youth camps! The exciting thing is that these students then start attending our LaunchPad discipleship classes where they can continue to grow in their faith.

During camp, the students are divided into teams; our coaches serve as team captains. The teams compete against each other in games and activities (including a singing competition — Africans love to sing!). For many of the young people, the sense of community and camaraderie they have with their team is one of the highlights of the whole camp.

Our camps have a different theme each year. The last one was “Cross Roads: Choosing the Right Road Every Time”. The students learned how to make wise decisions based on God’s Word. We spoke candidly about the need for abstinence and pursuing God’s plan for your life. The young people went home changed forever.