We returned from our fellowship's Winter youth retreat late Saturday evening. Our week of camp was extremely cold all but the last day. We had approximately 75 campers and probably 30 of them were unsaved.
It was a very different group. Most campers were in the 13 to 15 range and we only had 20 or so of the “regular” kids. Many of the older teens and young people have jobs or exams that they can’t opt out of.
A group of 8 teenagers were able to come from our city. Three of them are from contacts we've had through our weekly neighborhood Bible club.
Rafael Arroyo’s (a Chilean missionary) messages were well received and, though our original theme was focused on missions, he was able to present the gospel clearly each session. He related well to the kids and I think his ministry was a blessing. He was very excited to be at the camp and gain exposure to the needs in Uruguay.
About 10 young people made salvation decisions and there were many other decisions. Though more than a third of the young people were unsaved, the atmosphere was respectful and there were no serious disciplinary issues. It was my first camp to direct alone, but I had excellent help from all the men and the lady counselors. They made it look like I was running things well.
Tuesday, July 17th, was National Suicide Prevention Day in Uruguay. One of the troubling statistics that was highlighted in the press was that Argentina and Uruguay have the highest suicide rates per capita in Latin America. As a matter of fact, the national suicide rate in Uruguay is twice the national murder rate. If you read Spanish, you can reference the following article: http://es.noticias.yahoo.com
