HOPE PHILIPPINES ANNUAL CHURCH CAMP 2016
It was before sunrise on March 24, a cool Thursday morning, when more than 300 members of Hope Philippines Church left Manila for the Annual Church Camp in Tagaytay City, one of the summer capitals of the country.
Talk Faith, Walk Faith – this was the theme of this year’s camp. It was a first for many of the campers, and for many of the “old-timers” as well. It was the first time the camp was held for four days, with everyone set to celebrate Resurrection Sunday at the campsite.
A total of 300 adults and 50 kids joined this year’s Camp, which aimed to provide campers a better understanding of what true Biblical faith looks like, and how to practically live and walk by faith. Guest speakers Dr. Chaiyun and Sis. Margaret Ukosakul of Thailand, gave fresh insights into the subject of faith, and allowed the campers a glimpse into their own personal and family lives as they all walked in faith in Christ.
The delegation was much larger this year, with campers coming in from the main church in San Juan and the various daughter churches and centers from San Pedro, Cabuyao, Cebu, Davao, Cavite, Quezon City, and Pasig.
Within an hour upon arrival from Manila, the Camp opened with a high-spirited Praise and Worship session and an opening dance number. The rest of the day was spent listening to the very lively and inspirational teachings from the guest speakers, interrupted only by short coffee breaks and lunch. The first day ended with a Spirit-filled Praise and Worship Night, right after dinner. Needless to say, the campers went to bed physically and spiritually full.
The next day found the campers starting early, as each Life Group gathered together early in the morning for their group devotion, before heading out to breakfast. Spiritual feeding came next as the campers listened to more Teachings from the speakers. After lunch, everybody prepared themselves for Hope Games, starting with the Cheering Competition among the 5 teams (Blue Daniel, Orange Joshua, Yellow Noah, Green Abraham, and Red Moses). The Obstacle Course followed next where 36 members of each team had to complete 5 stations of mental and physical competitive exercises. Then, the sports events came next where the teams competed in volleyball, basketball and table tennis. With only a short time left to rest and refresh themselves, all the campers trekked to the dining hall for dinner, then to the Evening Service which immediately followed, where Pastor Soradej Meesaengtham gave a message on “The Foundation of Talk Faith, Walk Faith.”
The third day was even more competitive than the day before, as the various daughter churches and centers competed against each other in the Interchurch Bible Quiz. Hope Pasig came out the winner in this event. In the afternoon, there was an interesting interview with the guest speakers, where the hosts asked them certain “personal” questions on how they “talked faith and walked faith.” The interview was followed by the photo session and the championship rounds of the Hope Games, the winners of which were announced the next day during the “Best of the Best.”
There was an Evening Encounter after dinner, where Sis. Eunice Meesaengtham shared a message on “Breakthrough to Talk Faith, Walk Faith.” That same evening, the 50 campers in the Kids Camp, had a powerful visitation from the Holy Spirit, when the children were baptized in the Holy Spirit and several of them even saw visions. Surely, the Lord was present in this Camp!
Resurrection Sunday was a glorious day for all the campers, as they celebrated the victory of our Lord with awesome Praise and Worship and a message from Dr. Chaiyun Ukosakul on “My Faith in Freedom.” The campers prepared for their travel back to Manila with spirits soaring and hearts on fire for the Lord, all looking forward to their journeys of faith as they begin anew to talk faith and walk faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Glory to God!
By Jeanne Marie Obligacion-Bernardo, Hope Manila
Talk Faith, Walk Faith – this was the theme of this year’s camp. It was a first for many of the campers, and for many of the “old-timers” as well. It was the first time the camp was held for four days, with everyone set to celebrate Resurrection Sunday at the campsite.
A total of 300 adults and 50 kids joined this year’s Camp, which aimed to provide campers a better understanding of what true Biblical faith looks like, and how to practically live and walk by faith. Guest speakers Dr. Chaiyun and Sis. Margaret Ukosakul of Thailand, gave fresh insights into the subject of faith, and allowed the campers a glimpse into their own personal and family lives as they all walked in faith in Christ.
The delegation was much larger this year, with campers coming in from the main church in San Juan and the various daughter churches and centers from San Pedro, Cabuyao, Cebu, Davao, Cavite, Quezon City, and Pasig.
Within an hour upon arrival from Manila, the Camp opened with a high-spirited Praise and Worship session and an opening dance number. The rest of the day was spent listening to the very lively and inspirational teachings from the guest speakers, interrupted only by short coffee breaks and lunch. The first day ended with a Spirit-filled Praise and Worship Night, right after dinner. Needless to say, the campers went to bed physically and spiritually full.
The next day found the campers starting early, as each Life Group gathered together early in the morning for their group devotion, before heading out to breakfast. Spiritual feeding came next as the campers listened to more Teachings from the speakers. After lunch, everybody prepared themselves for Hope Games, starting with the Cheering Competition among the 5 teams (Blue Daniel, Orange Joshua, Yellow Noah, Green Abraham, and Red Moses). The Obstacle Course followed next where 36 members of each team had to complete 5 stations of mental and physical competitive exercises. Then, the sports events came next where the teams competed in volleyball, basketball and table tennis. With only a short time left to rest and refresh themselves, all the campers trekked to the dining hall for dinner, then to the Evening Service which immediately followed, where Pastor Soradej Meesaengtham gave a message on “The Foundation of Talk Faith, Walk Faith.”
The third day was even more competitive than the day before, as the various daughter churches and centers competed against each other in the Interchurch Bible Quiz. Hope Pasig came out the winner in this event. In the afternoon, there was an interesting interview with the guest speakers, where the hosts asked them certain “personal” questions on how they “talked faith and walked faith.” The interview was followed by the photo session and the championship rounds of the Hope Games, the winners of which were announced the next day during the “Best of the Best.”
There was an Evening Encounter after dinner, where Sis. Eunice Meesaengtham shared a message on “Breakthrough to Talk Faith, Walk Faith.” That same evening, the 50 campers in the Kids Camp, had a powerful visitation from the Holy Spirit, when the children were baptized in the Holy Spirit and several of them even saw visions. Surely, the Lord was present in this Camp!
Resurrection Sunday was a glorious day for all the campers, as they celebrated the victory of our Lord with awesome Praise and Worship and a message from Dr. Chaiyun Ukosakul on “My Faith in Freedom.” The campers prepared for their travel back to Manila with spirits soaring and hearts on fire for the Lord, all looking forward to their journeys of faith as they begin anew to talk faith and walk faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Glory to God!
By Jeanne Marie Obligacion-Bernardo, Hope Manila
