Passing on Our Faith to Our Children

Jesus said in Luke 18, verse 8, When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? Rather than look at your faith and my faith, let's just consider this question as He made it. Will He find faith on the earth? Now, if we look around the earth today in society, do we see the faith, that living faith that was once delivered, on the earth? No, we don't, really. In fact, we see the faith in God and His Word being eroded and trashed almost on every level.

So He asked this question knowing in advance not only the state of humanity and the human nature and the God of this world, but also knowing in the end times things are going to be dangerous. Spiritually. If you'll turn with me to Jude. Jude has one chapter. But I'd like to read verses 2 and 3 in Jude. Well, 3 and 4, actually.

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, in other words, here is a minister who was writing to a group of called out people concerning our common salvation. He said, I found it necessary to write to you, exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. There was a faith that was once delivered for all. It was delivered for everybody. Will this faith exist when Jesus Christ returns? Or will it have died out? Will those of us who have the faith today, will we have grown old or grown weary? Will it die out and will generations to come not have that faith?

This is a good question. Verse 4, for certain men have crept in unnoticed. Certain people have crept into your government, to your schools, to your science and your education. They've crept in as your friends. They've crept in as the people that we look up to that are seemingly important, wealthy and successful. And these who were long ago marked out for this condemnation are ungodly men who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

The whole direction is to deny God, to deny Jesus Christ, to put these down as imaginary or some sort of internal needs that all humans must have and kind of get rid of God. This is what's happening on television, radio, it's happening in schools, it's happening in our friends. If we're not careful, it's happening to us. So will Jesus Christ find faith on earth when He returns? That faith which was once delivered by many faithful individuals is under attack from all sources. Our godless society around us makes it a challenge for us to contend for the faith, to keep that faith alive through effort and desire.

And if we don't have that, it will die out. The mission of the United Church of God is to teach the truth of God's plan to all and then to work with those whom God has called in developing faith. Develop faith in the people whom the Father has called out of those who have heard. Jesus said, many are called, many are hearing, many are invited, but few are chosen, few are responding.

This requires constant effort by the church. And what is the church? Is the church an office in Cincinnati? Is the church a bunch of booklets? Is the church your pastor? The church is the ecclesia, the Greek word is, the called-out ones. The church is the body of Christ.

And as we've seen in the first passage, there is a responsibility that parents have to teach future generations, but this also becomes the responsibility of the church at large, because it's within this church that each person grows and is edified by the part that every part in the body provides. I have a question. How can a young person today learn about God, about the truth, about the plan of God, the purpose of life?

How can a person internalize those things once they learn about them? It becomes a way to them, their way of life. How does that happen? Well, the answer is, in this world devoid of faith, it can only happen within the confines of the church. There first has to be a hearing by a teaching, and a young person must be taught. And it's a combination of parents, of church teaching, church programs, and church members.

It all comes together, and we shouldn't separate it out. You say, well, those are the people, the kids, and these are the programs over here, and that's the home office over there, and I'm over here with the seniors group, or whatever group you find yourself in. No, we are the church. And this requires a combination in order to accomplish some of the goals of training up a child in the way he'll go, and seeing that that child ultimately internalizes it, catches the vision, it becomes their vision, and they live it, and they also are part of the group that passes it along. The United Church of God partners with parents and church members with many of the programs that we have.

We have five programs that target youth in assisting parents and assisting church members, in transmitting the faith that was delivered to us all, transmitting this to the children, and then encouraging the children to internalize and live it, if they so choose. And that is a choice that only they can make. But we have the responsibility together to teach, live, walk, hold the hand of, be the example of, the encourager of, the mentor of the children, all the children.

Now, you're probably thinking, I don't have any children, or my children are growing up. I can sleep through this sermon. Let me tell you a story. There was once a little teen group in Arkansas, and this teen group, oh, I like the kids and I like the teens, and we took them here and we took them there, and we did this and that with the teens.

It's a funny thing when you camp with teens, and you take a two-week trip and you're pulling out the tents every night and setting them up, and you're living together and you're camping together in rain or shine, all the things you go with, you develop a relationship with the kids of whatever age they are, 12, 13, 14, and on up. Well, I'm the pastor, you know, you go through life, and years later, years later, I got a letter from a married woman. Dear Mr. Elliott, I just thought I would tell you how much your example changed my life.

I was breathless. I wanted to close the letter. I wanted to get in a time machine and go back and do a better job. I wasn't paying attention to this little girl. Had I known that she was going to be watching, I would have done things differently or something I would have paid attention. And she went in to say how she had watched and she had imitated and how certain principles in her life had been copied and how thankful she was.

I'm glad I got that part. How thankful she was. And now that she was married and a graduate of ambassador and some other things, she wanted to tell me these things. So don't think that you don't have, certainly, the opportunity, if not the reality of being an example, good or bad, to other people. It just happens, at times, often, when we know it the least. The five programs that United Youth, or the United Church provides for it Youth, are the Sabbath School Program, the Local Teen Bible Study and Activities, United Youth Camps, United Youth Corps, and Challenger 2.

The desired outcome of these things is simply to help children build a better relationship with God, the Church, their family, and each other. Relationships is what it's all about. Godly relationships. Now, when you think about the youth programs that the Church has, these are not independent things that you send your child to and they got all fixed. And they're good to go. These are things that complement and supplement what Mr. Carlisle was talking about, the responsibilities that parents have. They're the things that we as Church members and pastors jump into as volunteers, and we really work hard in order to show them living examples and be able to actually participate and sample some of these things, in some of the venues that we have.

When you think of the Sabbath School Program, the Local Teen Program, the United Youth Camps, the United Youth Corps, and Challenger 2, we're trying to build better relationships with God and with family. Now, you think, what is the outcome of all these things? Let's fast-forward out of childhood. Let's get out of adolescence and on into adulthood. Consider this experience submitted by a young lady who participated in many of these Church-sponsored activities.

In the midst of the Swiss Alps, I clung desperately to a cliff face that demanded both proper gear and experience, and I reflected that I neither had proper gear nor experience. Here she is clinging to the face of a mountain in the Swiss Alps about 10,000 feet up, realizing she's totally unprepared for what she's doing. My right hand clutched a tuft of grass, my left hand knocked away loose stones, my feet were splayed against the rock as I felt a sickeningly slow loss of traction.

There was no other human being in sight, and I knew I must either keep moving or fall. I had lost the path trying to get up over the ridge, and though I soon realized the error, the slope that I had found myself on was too steep to descend safely, and so I kept trying to go up, realizing too late that a disastrous mix of misguided optimism, perceived necessity and stubbornness had brought me to a very dangerous position with rapidly tiring muscles. Now, this is one of our kids in the church, one of your kids and my kids in the church, because we're all family.

And what's the next thing on her mind? This reminded me that Christ emphasizes that when He comes, He will reward the person who overcomes. I've got to win in this situation. We don't have a license to ignore our problem areas. We have the responsibility to face them. Far from being a destination, conversion is a process of continual growth, she says. The fact that it is difficult is part of the point. It's what makes our learning process so powerful.

We can confidently trust that God will see us through the trial and not necessarily lift it from us. How much would you pay to have your child come to this conclusion when they're hanging on the side of a mountain somewhere all by themselves? It's priceless, isn't it? It is a person who has centralized and internalized all that her parents have been teaching her and the camp experience and the youth core experience and the teen experience and the Sabbath school experience. All these things through her life brings her to here, and she's a solo act.

I had set off from the United States a month before, she said, to tour nine countries in Europe alone. Not completely sure how I would survive on my own, but now I clung to the side of the mountain 10,000 feet high in the Alps. Though very near the top, the way was impassable without gear. And with no other options, I half-slid and half-fell down the steep slope and eventually stumbled back to square one, where I'd lost the trail. I was oddly excited to recline through rough switchbacks back up again to the top of the ridge. I eventually reached the 10,000-foot summit after eight hours and then began the grueling descent.

That night back at the youth hostel, I crawled into bed covered in a layer of blood, sweat, and dirt, which I hardly even noticed. I learned that growth cannot occur in comfortable territory. Whether it's trying out for a new sport at school or meeting someone new or learning to get the most out of college, finding a new job, taking a once-in-a-lifetime trip, or overcoming a character flaw, we must in wisdom forge new and worthwhile paths without using the crutch of complacency. I returned home a relatively experienced traveler with priceless life lessons and a deeper knowledge of myself that could not have been learned except through facing the challenging situations I encountered.

Although the wisdom of my choices can be questioned, and I deeply appreciate God's mercy and protection, the lessons I learned are important ones. Here's Debbie Whitlark, freshman at Harvard Law School. She's a product of parents' teaching, of the Sabbath school program, the teen program, the youth camps, and whatever else she may have participated in. And we can see the final product as one who is now tracking along with God in a very positive and yet independent way.

Let's ask, why Sabbath school? We'll take this one first. Why do we have Sabbath school? What's the purpose of it? Deuteronomy 6, verses 5-7, lays out what I think all parents are familiar with, certainly should be familiar with. Deuteronomy 6, verse 5, says, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

Your heart, your mind, your body, your strength. We're to love God with that. Then he says in the next breath, And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children. And you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. That's a lot of talking about God's way. It's not just talking, though. It's example. It's sharing. It's every situation, the questions that come up. In other words, godliness and a godly outcome is sought by the parents. This is desired by the parents.

The Sabbath school program merely assists the parents and seeks to assist the parents with more material and some teaching for their children. Many congregations use materials that the United Church of God has developed over time. And this program assists parents with having materials, formalized materials, that they can go through with their children. In the next little while, we will be having upgraded materials that the church is producing through its education staff and volunteers.

Scott and Michelle Delimator serve on the task force committee for that program with the home office. Mr. and Mrs. Scriber are very involved in developing future curriculums for that program. We have a team of ten or nine, how many is it? Ten here in the local congregation that is currently going through the United's material and is deriving from it our next lessons that will take us up until the feast this fall.

And that will be not only presented to the teens or the children, but sent home. So the parents will have material that can be added to what they're teaching at home. We'll mention that in the local congregation, by the way. We'll be putting that in the announcement bulletin or someplace so that you'll know what the kids are being taught. So we as a family can know what these little kids are, important children, are learning in Sabbath school before church, and hopefully we can ask them questions or have centralized themes that we can talk about to reinforce that.

And that will be just part of, I'm sure, what they're learning at home. But we'll be starting that as a bi-monthly program, actually every other week kind of a program. I'm not sure if that's bi-weekly or bi-monthly, but whatever. About every other week we'll be having the Sabbath school program in the future. Sabbath school can be helpful, can be encouraging. Our goal is to try to find ways to present material in an interesting way to the children. Otherwise they can get bored by it.

But we really appreciate those who are involved in teaching Sabbath school program. How many of you here have been involved in the Sabbath school program in one way or another? Can I see your hands? See, it takes a combination of people, and we really appreciate that which you have contributed. The next program we have is our teen program. Once a person hits their teen years, you know which ones those are, because they have teen in the name, then we invite them to participate in a different form of Bible studies on a monthly basis, and also monthly activities.

That's our goal. It doesn't always happen as we try to, but we have a goal of a monthly Bible study and a monthly teen activity. And these teen programs address spiritual topics that intertwine with the adolescent years and hopefully give them a vision to grab onto the true values of God's way, that they work through teenage, irrespective of what their hearing, seeing, or desiring.

God's way works, and living it pays off. The teen program also has activities that promote friendships among peers that have a common faith. In Proverbs 13 and verse 20, there's a statement about the importance of proper peers and friends. Proverbs 13 and verse 20, He who walks with wise men shall be wise. This is who we want our teens walking with.

Those who have a wisdom that's from above. But it also says in the same verse, The companion of fools will be destroyed. Those who wander through life with a different mentality, a foolish, live for now, and titillate the senses kind of a thing, is going to ultimately fail. And so the teen program encourages right choices and right patterns, and also tries to encourage friendships among peers of the same faith.

United Youth Camps is an annual program that takes place in many countries, especially the United States. And here we seek to show young people God's plan and actually come and live it, much as the rest of us do at the Feast of Tabernacles, even more so at United Youth Camp. We have a millennial setting because we can isolate something away from the world out in the wilderness. There's a lot of God's creation.

There's a lot of time spent together. We try to get rid of all the mindsets that we hold in a so-called civilized society, things like competition and greed and putting one another down, any type of language or innuendo, anything that's not inclusive and godly. We leave that behind, and we try to create what's called the zone. And this is a zone of millennial type of thought. How it would be if Satan and human nature were not there.

And try to give the kids a week or so of that type of an environment that's very, very supportive. Camp provides teens plenty of opportunities to witness the values of Christianity and experience them if they want to. They spend time with ministers and members who come and volunteer their time.

And it's another great time to see everybody with your hair down, because, you know, you really slog it out at camp, and all the set up and the daily activities and then the night activities, and everybody tries to get some sleep and be back up for it again the next day. They also have fellow peers who hopefully try to catch the vision that week and also reinforce these values.

The motto of United Youth Camp is, helping our children grow in faith. That's the motto of the camp. Helping our children grow in faith. We try to exemplify and teach faith. One is to teach it, the other is to exemplify it. In everything that we do, there are formal classes that begin in the morning, then activities during the day where the message of the day, the faith-based... faith-based... ...myth... ...mythage... ...faith-based... ...myth... ...mythage. That's a good tongue twister. Good for me, anyway. Anyway, this message is reinforced and examined through the various activities that are done during the day, whether it's rock climbing or canoeing or archery, could be kayaking and trying to learn that elusive Eskimo roll in the kayak.

It can be in speed away in volleyball. It can be in learning to swim. Camping skills, wilderness survival skills. For those who are physically up to it, the challenge hike, which is often an overnight or a two-night hike up through the wilderness, camping in just a wilderness environment. There are many things that can reinforce and give kids the opportunity, not only to hear something, but then to see how it can work in life. It really is a beautiful thing. Many volunteers grab the privilege to help show that God's way works now and also forever.

How many of you have been involved in the United Youth Camp Program? Can I see your hands? There's a lot of veterans there that we really appreciate. I hope that many others of you will be able to do that as well. Camp targets two crucial needs of teens. One of them is a desire to be appreciated and included. How many times does that happen when you're a Sabbath keeper? When you live God's way in this world? How many times are you appreciated? How much support do you get from society around you? The second is how to succeed in a difficult world. These two challenges are addressed through the program as part of the curriculum, part of the outcomes that we want to see.

We support the parents and the church by teaching the kids to see their potential and go for their potential and realize that God's ways are practical. They work. God's way works is the strong message that we show our teens. The camp activities, the various activities, include tackling challenges. We love to challenge teens. Don't just put them on a lake and let them roll around. Don't just let them go hike through the woods. No, no, no, no, no. We want to challenge them because life has many unforeseen challenges, just like that lady who finds herself on the side of the mountain.

She didn't go back down to the village. She went back down to the trailhead and found another way up. Another one is to achieve success. How do you identify what success is? In this world of crazy people on television who do any and everything, and that's supposedly success, how would kids even know what success is? To identify it, to quantify it, to set goals, to achieve in life? These are aspects that we try to teach at camp. And also to have fun without regrets. What is fun, by the way? When you're a teenager today, what is fun? If you get on your little video game, what is fun?

Is it even godly what's on there? What do you do with other people that's so-called fun? Is it even legal? So defining fun without kickbacks, without any kind of regrets is also what camp does. And the kids learn that you don't need an iPod, you don't need a cell phone, you don't need a video game, you don't need headphones, you don't need a lot of things in order to have a blast all day long and all night and then cry your eyes out at the end of camp that you have to go home to your iPods and your TV and all those other things.

And then to learn the value of support, support from others. You know, in the context of support, if we read 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 1, 2 Timothy chapter 3 verses 1 through 3, but know this in the last time, dangerous or perilous times will come because people will be lovers of themselves. Verse 3, unloving. Verse 4, traitors. Where are you going to get support? There is very little support in today's society, and this was forecast as a danger of the end time. And so many of the teens who come to camp are picked on.

Many of them don't even want to come to camp. Why would I want to go surround myself closely with a hundred other teenagers who are going to pick on me? Why don't I just stay home and take a few weeks off, take the summer off from school and get away from people? Sometimes it's very hard to get people to come to camp. But when they do come to camp, then we teach them all and encourage them all to reach out to any and everybody.

And you should see the friendships that develop. You should see the relationships that develop. Kids who at home have little support sometimes from non-member mates, or little support even from peers and in churches where they don't have other teens. And here for a week they begin to put together relationships of support and learn the value of that support.

Where the person, no matter if they make a lot of mistakes, we encourage all the ones in the dorm to surround that person, encourage them all day long. Don't let them quit. Don't let them make them feel like they're making a bunch of mistakes. Even if they are breaking some of God's laws, let's encourage them to do right. Let's keep encouraging them. The value of inclusiveness. Nobody is left out. Everybody is included. The person with the handicap, the person with the odd personality. I say unique because that person has a personality, but others perhaps don't relate to that person's personality well.

But to include everybody versus the cliquiness that you get today. Just go to school and you'll find the cliques. You're stupid, you're dumb, you're not in my clique, you know, da-da-da. We've all been there. But not a camp. Everybody is included. The value of structure. Often times kids don't know structure. What to do when you wake up. There is a time to wake up and not keep sleeping. What you do when you wake up in a systematic order so that you can be out to appreciate the flag after you've had prayer and some study.

And you can then get to breakfast on time and can socialize with your friends in time to have the Christian Living Bible study for the day. What do they call that?

Short one? Forget it. It's not Christian. Compass check, yeah, the compass check. And then be at your activities in a timely fashion. One activity after the other. Throughout the day you get to eat, get to socialize, get to come back, have a big dinner, enjoy it. You have your Christian Living topic that night, you have your free time, you have campfire. In a campfire you get to put together various skits and other activities and songs.

Before you have to get back, brush your teeth, get ready for bed, and be in bed with lights out so that your dorm parent or parents can come by. One of the ministers and wives usually will come by. Tuck you in, talk to you, ask you what questions you've had, ask how your day went, begin a relationship with you on a personal basis. And then you've got to get some sleep because the alarm's going off the next morning.

That's structure. Along with a clean room that's being graded for who's got the best room and things like that. And it's good structure. Don't let your kids make you think they don't know how to make a bed and have a clean room and they get home from camp. And then build positive relationships. Obviously, the relationships with God and family and adults and ministry and all these things are important. Camp assists young people in building faith, but camp only lasts a few days out of a whole year.

And so when a person comes home, parents need to continue the encouragement. We all need to continue the encouragement. Church programs, peers, members, everybody needs to wrap our arms around them as a family. To know, to care, to participate. And once a child gets through the teen program and the camp program, we have Challenger 2. Challenger 2 is even a greater challenge program in some ways, but it's created to help older teens and young adults mature in their relationship with God. The venue is going to be a very challenging wilderness venue. It's going to isolate 12 to 15 people who are going to learn to work together as a team.

They're going to have some intensive training and some intensive opportunities. One of them is held traditionally in December in Tucson, up near the top of Mount Lemmon. And it's some advanced climbing opportunities for rock climbing. Another one that is being developed, it's not announced yet, is a rim-to-rim about a three-day backpack hike in the Grand Canyon, starting at one rim and going down and camping along the way a couple of times and up the other side.

So it's about a 10,000-foot overall climb. A 20,000 if you consider. Oh, no, it's 10,000. Sorry, it's only one way. But those things will be announced at some point in time. But one goal of the Challenger 2 program is to familiarize the people with the church doctrines to reinforce godly values, but also to help them commit to a life of service, service and leadership in helping do the work of God. And so the program not only helps godliness, but promotes individuals to get serious about their spiritual life and to grow and desire to grow in their ability to serve, serve others, serve the church, serve in family.

Baptism isn't required, but participants can expect a higher level of challenge to greater spiritual growth.

The United Youth Corps is the last one I'd like to talk about. The United Youth Corps also encourages service. Today is a very selfish world, and people often don't have examples of helping others in meaningful ways. It's especially striking to see young people with maturity and commitment who are wanting to live God's way of life go share that with others. The circle now is coming around to completeness. Those who have been served all their life are now taking the time to serve and share their faith with others, sharing their faith in many important ways. This give way of life rather than a get way of life is a powerful example to others who see it.

It's one thing for an old Stogie like me to get around teens and say God's way works. It's something else for a 22-year-old or a 25- or a 27-year-old to come among them and say, God's way is really working for me. It's not that one isn't good, it's that all together work so much better. The reinforcement from the United Youth Corps volunteers is very important. Young adults often have the energy and also sometimes the time and money, the flexibility there to go participate in a longer program.

Some of these things are often not possible later in life. And so participating in service projects is a good way to not only foster their own character development but also to share the joys that they have learned to live with others through service opportunities.

And so with this in mind, the United Church of God Institute, what we call Youth Corps opportunities that often take place in international areas. Youth Corps is a program where we solicit the involvement of interested young people to volunteer and serve the church, especially in developing third-world countries. That's especially where the impact is the greatest for both, both the participant and the one that he or she are serving. Sometimes it can be youth camps or other things, but the Youth Corps mission is this, and I'll read it to you. Our mission is to help our young adults envision and prepare for the coming Kingdom of God. This will be accomplished by helping them identify with the international nature of the body of Christ and with their role in the work of the church. It's just not just getting me to the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is all about serving and reigning with Christ and helping. So these service opportunities can help that mindset and help the participation, can help the desire grow. Some of the opportunities we've had have included Jordan, Israel, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Jamaica, and Chile. These are all international destinations and second-tier nations in the world. The desired outcome that we have are succinct and well-defined. There are six of them. Internalize the value of service and leadership. Number two is to commit to the values learned. Number three is to broaden one's worldview. Number four is to understand, respect the people and the brethren of other backgrounds and in other countries, other cultures. Number five is understanding the work of the church and become part of something bigger than yourself. Number six is to appreciate one's own blessings. So the Youth Corps provides leadership training and experience for young adults, and they are the next generation of leaders in the church.

There is going to be faith on earth when Jesus Christ returns, because this faith that was once delivered to us is being passed along by faithful teachers. And the children who are hearing of it, some of them are internalizing it and deciding that that is what they want. Not many, not many, but some. And so the precious body of believers continues to grow. One of the opportunities that has incorporated two of these, the United Youth Camps and the United Youth Corps, was United Camp Kenya this year. And I'd like to show you some video and slides of that.

The United Youth Camp in Kenya, which, give me just a minute, served 63 teens from East Africa and was held in December. It took place on the beautiful shores of Lake Naivasha, my wife, myself, and another pastor, Mr. Tim Waddle, participated in that. And while you see some visual images here, I'd like to read you what Jamie and Christina journaled as part of their experience in the Youth Corps program here to serve the teens in the Youth Camp. Jamie and Christina are two young ladies who decided to come and devote themselves to going to a unique place and serving the teens. They wrote, We, Jamie, Franks, and Christina Davis are writing to you after our amazing experience serving as United Youth Corps volunteers in Kenya, Africa. It was an amazing experience which broadened our understanding of life in some of the most primitive areas of the world, as well as our common bond of faith with church members abroad. We will treasure these experiences for the rest of our lives. If you could pause that just for a moment. Let me read here what Jamie says. Jamie Franks, I think before adventuring to Africa, we had all preconceived notions of what we were going to encounter. We had heard the stories, read the articles, seen the pictures of this place on the other side of the world. However, there are some things that books, pictures, and secondhand stories can never prepare you for. All of us brought very different travel experiences with us, and soon we would share many interesting experiences and challenges as a group. Upon arrival to Africa, one of the first things that struck me was the sheer beauty of the country. You can go ahead and let it run now. The wildlife, the trees, the mountains, all truly beautiful. But the truly amazing part is that all this beauty serves as a backdrop to such great poverty, corruption, and at times, great suffering. With all that said, though, once we arrived at the camp and had the opportunity to travel around to different churches and interact with people, it was obvious that the people were just as beautiful and just as strong as the land. I admired that despite their hardships and difficulties as a whole, they had such unwavering positive attitudes, and we're all striving forward to the same vision of the future that we all share. Christina on the left, Jamie on the right, Mr. Tim Waddle on the left, Christina Davis in the middle, and some old guy. Looking down off the rim of the Rift Valley, down below in the Rift Valley, there is a lake called Lake Naivasha, and there's where we held camp. Christina says, we served as counselors and activity staff at our camp, our Kenya United Youth Camp. The entire staff all really worked together as a team, setting up camp some 20 tents this time, preparing for it, and the teaching and other support roles through the challenges and eye-opening experiences we faced each day.

Apart from Mr. and Mrs. Elliott, none of us knew each other prior to the trip.

Jamie says, the summer camp from day one had many similarities, as well as many differences, to the camps that we had all been to in the United States.

One of the major obstacles for all of us as internationals was the language barrier.

We required a translator for almost every interaction.

We found the children to be very warm, friendly, attentive, willing to learn, always ready and waiting for our attention. And just like camps in the United States, there were many adults who took the time away from their jobs – jobs meaning their roles at home mostly, and other attempts at trying to find a way to get by – to serve and to give of their time to help out at camp.

But just like our camps in the States, at the end we were all exhausted and ready for a break.

Here you can see some of the work that goes on three times a day requires all the teens at camp to participate.

That's a big pot of ugali. Here's some lamb that we were privileged to have – or, sorry, goat – once during camp.

Everybody there always has big appetites, and we try to fill them.

I want you to watch these two Youth Corps volunteers. This is Christina Davis. Sorry we don't have audio, but she here explains to the teens the principles she's trying to teach through this program of Ultimate Frisbee.

It's forming teamwork, which is not common, and then a participation through a game that challenges everybody to know the rules and to react and respond as a team.

The kids just really, really appreciated the Youth Corps volunteers for coming and taking the time with them, for spending all day and the evenings with them.

You can see them in the background there. Monkey's got the – this is a Christian living taught during the daytime, but then taken out into other activities.

One of our deacons, Moses Naira, explaining certain of the principles. It's not just Mr. Tim Waddle doing the same thing. It's not just playing the game. It's learning the precision, learning the rules, learning how to do better, do well at things, learning why there are rules, and then developing certain challenges.

There in the background, you can see some basketball going on, and in the foreground, you can just see some hijinks going on. There's Miss Jamie Franks teaching some volleyball, and she's a Texan, and she found this kid that says, It's a Texas thing, y'all. You wouldn't understand. I had to get a picture with him.

It's one thing to see the daytime activities. You don't see the nighttime campfire, the various things that were discussed.

Here's a typical girl's dorm. You can see what the ladies wear to camp. Pretty much dresses, long skirts.

By the end of camp, you can see how we had encouraged them to have a dorm arranged.

Here's the boys in their dorm. They're welcoming everybody. Come to Kenya. Greetings to everybody in the United States and at the Youth Corps there.

There's a few hippopotamus in the lake.

Coming up the trail here, in one of the hikes in the hike program, you can see in the backdrop Lake Naivasha.

Down under those tall trees is where our tents are located, close to the lakeshore.

This hike takes us up to a Masai village, an actual functioning Masai village, where I introduced them to the chief of the Masai tribe there.

Not the whole tribe, but the local village elder.

Now we have a two-year history with, and he's always good natured and lets us come on his land, which is the mountains behind him, and lets us go and do some hiking there.

But it was good. You have teens walking here from many different tribes, and none of them are Masai, and yet he welcomes them onto the Masai land.

We have quite an opportunity through this.

This is the Kalabas monkey, more interesting type of monkey.

And then learning bicycle riding. Bicycles cost about $100, so as you can imagine, not many people have bicycles in Africa.

So consequently, few know how to ride a bicycle, and it's a very challenging program.

Once you think you know how to ride, doesn't mean you do. Here's Willis Opio.

He's one of our orphans who grew up from a small child in the church without parents and is now a song leading a church.

Here's a young individual about to set sail.

But you don't give up.

My wife Mary teaching sewing on a machine, of which we need a few more machines if anybody wants to donate anymore.

We need about three more.

But the kids picked up on this really fast.

In fact, some of the boys stayed around during some of their social time to finish up the project that my wife had set for them, which was to make a bag, a shoulder bag, where they could put things in.

They were so proud of these brown bags to have one.

And they just worked and worked and worked right to the last minute of camp.

Here's Christina teaching swimming.

Bodies of water are not common in Africa, and so few people know how to swim, and therefore everybody's scared to death of swimming.

Was she right in there with them? Look at her.

Hands-on experience.

Of course, they really loved her hands-on experience.

She just worked and worked and worked.

And the whole time, she was not well, but she never missed a thing.

Finally, this one boy, David, Newton's son David, could swim that far, and she just praised him, and he was so excited.

Afterwards, Christina says, it was amazing to be traveling with two ministers.

It proved to be a fantastic learning experience for both of us. While driving and during meal times, we had in-depth discussions about being a youth in God's church, what challenges members face living in Africa, and our daily adventures.

We'd like to thank everyone who assisted us at the summer camp.

Deacons and church members took time off from their lives to aid the children, and I found that the children were awed by attention that we showed them by just being there with them. It gave the basis of a strong, godly example for service.

And Jamie Frank says, after camp, we had the opportunity to take a small break and go on safari to Lake Nakuru.

After this church visit, we'll see some of that.

Here's the Nairobi congregation after seeing several of the other congregations.

It's a more urban one. There's my wife and my home, along with our leaders over there, and some wives.

And this is a Mgori congregation, a couple hundred yards from our house, and special music being put on by some of the young ladies in the church.

And during this special music, we see things like a lion and a tree here at the safari at Lake Nakuru.

Jamie Frank says, to have the opportunity to see these beautiful, strong animals in their natural habitat was truly an amazing experience that zoos just don't do any justice to.

The time seemed to rejuvenate us a bit.

And she says, when we visited the local churches, we were always welcomed and received with an extremely warm welcome.

It's amazing how you can be so far from home around people you've never met before who don't speak the same language, and then instantly you hear the familiar sound of hymns being played.

And suddenly you feel right at home in a mud hut in Africa.

Another good thing to know is that after every church service in Africa, there's always a potluck.

Overall, she says, the experiences I had in Africa will only continue to help me learn throughout the rest of my life.

The people have amazing hearts, and at their very core, they are all striving for the same goals and future that we all are.

I will never forget my time in Africa, and I can't wait to go back and visit all of my new friends.

So to conclude, I'd like you to turn with me to Proverbs 7.

In the first three verses of this chapter, we find instruction to youth.

Proverbs 7, verse 1, My son, keep my words, treasure my commands within you, keep my commands and live, and my law is the apple of your eye. This is what God wants from you and me. This is what parents want from their children.

Bind them on your fingers, write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, You are my sister, and call understanding your nearest kin.

This is what children need from their parents. This is what children need from the church and its various programs.

They need teachers and friends. They need examples of godly life. And God has called us as a family to be there for everyone, including our children. But again, this is the one-sided opportunity and responsibility that we have. Now turn with me to 2 Timothy 3, verse 14. Let's see one of these kids who grew up in the church, and see where the responsibility begins to transfer. In 2 Timothy 3, verse 14, Timothy, who was a church kid, who his mother taught, is told this by his father, his mentor, Paul, his father in the church, who called him his son and the Lord.

2 Timothy 3, verse 14, But you must continue, the youth have the responsibility to continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, from faithful parents, from a faithful church and its teachers, from faithful members. And verse 15, And that from childhood you have known, you have understood the Scriptures, because you have been taught them by all the above, the holy Scriptures, which are able, if you so choose, and there's the whole crux, if you so choose, the Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. Thank you all for your past service, your present service, and your future service to the children whom God is calling at this time.

Thank you.