andi oakes

I just got back off one of the most challenging, exhausting but most satisfying weeks of my life down at the West of Ireland Activity Centre in Sligo at Camp Ireland.

Camp Ireland is run by Crown Jesus Ministries, and a couple of monthsago the guys asked if I would be able to help them out for one of the weeks as a co-director and worship leader for the Camp. "Sure" I said with absolutely no idea of what was involved. So the week of camp rolled around and I found myself packing my case with one of those oh so annoying senses of impending doom hovering around me as I suddenly realised that I didn't even know how to pack for something like this!

It was only after the buses arrived and over 50 screaming kids disgorged themselves onto the grounds that I then broke out into a cold sweat, wishing that someone would transport me as far away from Sligo as I could possibly get.  I mean, all I could think of as they began swarming around us was that scene from Jurassic Park where the Velociraptors start hunting the humans - I suddenly felt like a very small rodent who had stumbled upon some sort of annual Cat conference.

The kids were all from different backgrounds. Some from inner city Dublin, some from Belfast, some from Coleraine, Ballymena and Ballymoney.  Some were from very underprilvileged backgrounds and somewere from very privileged backgrounds.  But all of them had one thing incommon - they were just kids.

A week at Camp Ireland comprises of wall to wall activities, both indoor and outdoor.  There's football, rounders, mountain biking, archery, basketball, canoeing, pedal boating, campfires, singing - on and on it goes.  There really is never a dull moment at Camp Ireland.  Each day culminates in what we call "Discovery time" where we all get together in the main hall from around 9pm and hear about how much Jesus loves us. It was awesome because it was totally focused on Jesus, which is why I love the guys at Crown Jesus Ministries.  By the end of the week, we had seen 12 of the kids commit themselves for the first time to Jesus, with most of the rest of them responding to the call to go deeper in their relationship with God.

On the last night, as I led these bundles of never ending energy in worship, we sang "King of kings, majesty" and I invited those who felt they wanted to, to kneel in worship before Jesus. To my utter joy, almost every child immediately fell on their knees, many with their hands raised in worship.  It was truly overwhelming to be there.

As a co-director, I also had the privilege of spending time with each of the teams that had been assigned for the week, and was able to get to know the kids individually during these team sessions, finding out about their hopes and dreams. These times proved to be some of the most moving for me.  We would play a game during these sessions where I would have a crown and each one of us would get to be "King or Queen of the world" and would then be allowed to make at least 2 declarations: One to help the world and another for oursleves.  Almost without exception the children would want to help the poor which touched me so much; and when it came to doing something for themselves, the most common feature seemed to be chocolate in some for or another - except for one little boy, who said that he would like a lot of money so that he could pay doctors to make his mummy better.  As you can imagine we all went silent and I had to fight back a whole torrent of tears.

It has been a long time since I have done something which has touched me so much and I can honestly say that the kids I spent the week with are totally awesome.  God blessed me by allowing me to share in their lives for a week.

I encourage you to find out more about Camp Ireland and the work of Crown Jesus Ministries. The guys need a lot of resources to keep this great project going during the summer and I know they would appreciate your prayers and encouragement as they seek to extend the Camp and be able to bus more children and young people into these literally life changing weeks. If you want to make a difference in Ireland, then I heartily recommend partnering in some way with Camp Ireland. Camp Ireland currently runs for 3 weeks during the summer, but the goal is 2 months. Imagine the children and young people who could be led to Jesus over that time!  Let's pray it happens.

You can find out more about Camp Ireland and Crown Jesus Ministries @ www.crownjesus.org