Youth Recommit Their Lives To Christ At Samoa NYI Year-end Camp

Talofa lava everyone!  With the goal for Samoa youth to grow spiritually and physically in the Lord, the Samoa NYI held their annual youth camp & concert last December 13-17, 2007.  It was an awesome and successful event.  About 300 youth from 10 different groups gathered from Upolu Island and other the neighboring islands. 

On December 13, the camp kicked off with a concert, designed to enhance the talent of the youth and raise the level of their public performance.  There were four categories that night - solo, duet, acapella, and action songs. 

Aside from the concert, the camp scheduled several activities, including fasting and praying, Bible studies, planting, fishing, making handicrafts, sports, and evangelism training.

The evangelism workshop, attended by 70 young people was conducted by two local pastors, giving practical tips to the youth on how to express the Gospel to their friends.

The much anticipated Sports Day featured obstacle races, tug of war and lots of fun games.  When evening came, the campers enjoyed a Christmas service with carols, action songs, and skits to celebrate the season.

The next day, when the morning service was held, 80 young people went up during the altar call.  After lunch 26 of those new believers was baptized, solidifying their commitment to follow Christ. Many of them were formerly in the Mormon church.   The Holy Spirit wasn't finished yet.   During an evening service, 65 more young people responded to the altar call conducted by South Pacific Missionary Peni Fakaua.  Later on that night the youth huddled in small groups and started sharing about how the camp had impacted their lives.

After the event, the Samoa NYI scheduled a follow-up workshop on witnessing to be held regularly once a month.

South Pacific NYI Coordinator, Ulisese Toafa rejoices: "Praise God for this marvelous event that helped the youth fellowship with one another, and ushered new members to the Nazarene youth groups. We heard many wonderful testimonies of those who have been blessed during this year’s camp.  When the attendees were asked what they enjoyed most, many replied, “I have met a lot of people and had many new friends”.  Some said that their churches don’t have events like these and are really happy they were invited by their neighboring churches to participate in this year’s camp.  All glory to God!!!"

By: NYI South Pacific Coordinator

Ulisese Toafa

this post was filed under Inspirations on Feb 8, 2008