English Camp came off amazing last week, July 6-8. I am getting to the blog a little late in telling of how things went. We had nearly 80 people from the Study Center, University outreach and other friends along with 40 staff members come to the camp themed ‘Time for Friends’ to practice English.

Our group by you.  Our group at camp

In the course of learning English, the church shared the gospel message of Jesus to them by first living the gospel and representing Jesus to the campers. Don’t worry, this was not a bait and switch…the campers knew up front that a church was sponsoring the camp and Christians were coming from America to spend time with them speaking English. Practicing English with a native speaker works like a magnet for a Thai person.

Worshipping  Worship Time

We had a team from Hawaii to assist in making the camp as great as possible. They helped in our English stations, workshops and just one-on-one conversations during meals and free-time. The two big draws for the three-day camp were the English Town and the Prom night.

English Town started as a good idea and turned out to be a smashing success. We set up a bunch of stations to create a feel of entering a foreign English speaking town, including a hospital, immigration, money exchange, flea market, your friend’s house, and much more. We even threw in a few thieves to pick your pocket and a taxi to drive you around. The campers had to use their English only for 90-minutes.

English Town taxi by you.

The Prom Night was a way to teach western culture along with language. We showed how young people like to get dressed fancy and go to a big dance. The word prom is used very loosely. We taught etiquette for guys asking girls, polite ways to deny a guy you don’t want to go with (not slapping him or laughing in his face). We showed how you should treat each other in such settings. The Thai people love this event as they have seen things like this in the movies, but never experienced anything like it. Only one camper had ever been to a prom before as she spent a year in Kansas as a foreign exchange student. Thai students don’t have dances like this.

Some of the girls by you.  Some of the girls ready for Prom

As the theme dealt with friends, I was given opportunity to share why Jesus is the true friend and my best friend. I will share in an upcoming post about that story. At the present, 14 people have decided to give their life to Jesus. Salvation from an event like this happens more spontaneous and through relationship. I am praying that more of the campers will want to know Jesus as well in the coming weeks.

Andy sharing why Jesus is his best friend by you.  Andy sharing with the campers