United Young Adults Holds Camp in Ghana

The camp took place at Winneba—a coastal town in Ghana, which is about 39 miles from the capital city, Accra. This first-ever UYA camp provided spiritual enrichment and community-building experiences for the young adults of UCG Ghana’s congregations.

We had a total number of 29 campers (16 male and 13 female) and two staff members. In addition, there were four volunteer kitchen staff from the Winneba congregation who stayed with the campers and provided our daily meal.

The theme for the camp was “Being Clearheaded and Watchful Against Satan’s Devices,” which was taken from 1 Peter 5:8. The camp lessons were aligned with the theme to aid the young adults in understanding the importance of staying vigilant against the wiles of the devil so that they can guide themselves against it, and also, how to rely on the Word of God to navigate through this evil world.

Each day, activity begins with low-intensity calisthenics before breakfast, followed by interactive Bible studies, a study of the UCG Fundamental Beliefs, and a Q&A session until lunch. After lunch, three other lessons were held before dinner. After dinner, we gathered again and practiced some “unfamiliar” UCG hymnal songs until 9:30 p.m., retiring to bed 15 minutes later.

Other topics discussed were the history of UCG, the organizational structure of UCG, health and relationships. On Friday, after the Q&A session, we organized an outdoor game for two hours to test our physical endurance.

On Saturday morning, we held a church service in our meeting hall. The sermonette was given by a UYA member from the Winneba congregation, followed by a special song by two UYA siblings from the Takoradi congregation. I delivered the main sermon. Since we didn’t have a lectern and a sound system in our meeting hall, we used a short table as our lectern, and a portable Bluetooth speaker for the hymns, which functioned satisfactorily. Despite these challenges, the Sabbath service was exhilarating and inspiring.

After the Sabbath service and lunch, we returned to the meeting hall and held three more lessons, including a Q&A session and hymn practice. At the end of the camp lessons, we organized a brief socializing session before all campers retired to bed.

On Sunday morning, we tidied up the camp facility, ate breakfast, and departed to our various destinations.

Enthusiasm and camaraderie were evident throughout this young adult activity. We are deeply thankful to God for this opportunity. We are also very grateful for the financial support offered to us by the coordinator and the UYA members in the United States for making this year’s fellowship camp in Ghana an unforgettable experience. The campers went home inspired and are already looking forward to the next year’s UYA camp when God permits.