Association Information

       About five years ago I had the privilege to attend a children’s camp at Jenness Park where I was invited as a missionary to share with children what God is doing among the South Asian community. One of the greatest memories that I still have from that camp was to witness the ringing of the bell by the children who had accepted Christ during their camp experience. After this amazing experience I always wanted to bring the South Asian children to experience camp at Jenness Park.  

       The first ever South Asian Children’s camp was held at Jenness Park in July 2010.  Initially about 20 children had registered, but only 10 came. There were also 5 adults present to help supervise the children. Out of these 10 children, eight had never experienced camp in their life. They had been to day camp, but this was their first overnight camp. They were all excited. After arriving at the camp the adults as well the kids were overwhelmed to see the beautiful Jenness Park campus, the Cedar Lodge accommodation, as well as the beautiful stars visible in the night sky. The group decided to cook at the Lodge to save money, and to make sure that they do not miss the Indian food they are accustomed to.

       The day after arriving in the evening, we had worship for everyone. There was music, singing and prayer. The next day the children spend half a day studying the scriptures. Jayashree Nathaniel led the kid’s sessions and I invited the adults to join me for Bible study. The East Bay Baptist Association gave us their material to use for the camp. We spoke about understanding God, God and Jesus, Jesus as friend and Savior. The materials were very good and it seemed that in two days the children became so expert with all the Bible verses and the summary of the lessons taught that they knew everything that was taught. We had games, quizzes, and singing action songs. Children enjoyed worshiping, singing, memorizing scriptures, playing with each other and of course the Indian meals.

       During this short time, the children also had physical fun when they spent time on the zip line. Almost all of the kids and the adults had never experienced being on the zip line. Although many of them were scared in the beginning, everyone, including my wife Jayashree, who had never been on any such activity, decided to have at least one ride on the zip line. It was a memorable experience for everyone. We discussed with the children about the zip line experience and how it is the same experience when we are not sure and scared in life, but when we give our life to Jesus and take that initial step, then it is great joy and fun, and Jesus has control of our life.

       During the concluding service we had an open session asking the children and adults to share their experiences about this camp. One child said that he was not expecting it would be so beautiful and so much fun. Others said that they learned so much about Jesus through fun ways, and that was great.

       At the end of the worship on the last day, I decided to give an open invitation and challenge everyone to use this experience as a memory of experiencing God in Camp. As a response, three children and two adults made their commitment and accepted Jesus as their personal Savior, with tears in their eyes. The Lord had used this first South Asian Children’s camp in an amazing way! Praise the Lord!

       We need your prayers for the kids who made a commitment at this camp and are now going to share their experiences with other South Asian children, so we may have many more children participating in such camps in the future. We need your prayers that through experiences like this camp they will be able to find an opportunity to know Christ and be able to experience Him personally in their lives. Children’s ministry is continuing to be an important part of our ministry focus; we pray that the Lord would continue to bring forth laborers so that we can continue to build God’s Kingdom in the days to come.