Students, teachers, alumni, and mentors were homeward bound with the return of Lifecamp Student Edition last February 23 to 25 at the Lima Park Hotel, Batangas with the theme “All the Way Home.”
Last held in April 2019, Lifecamp Student Edition temporarily took a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Coming back with a vengeance this year, this year's Student Camp welcomed 264 delegates.
The first day’s activities began with an opening ceremony, followed by plenary sessions “Mirror, Mirror” about mental health and self-worth by Dr. Joyce Piap Go and “Closing the Door” about addiction by MGCNLCA alumnus Anthony Trinidad occurring later in the day.
On the second day, campers listened to Mr. Cris Gamboa during the session “Backyard Stories,” and then displayed their team spirit in the Sportsfest later that afternoon.
That evening, Reverend Harg Ang spoke about guarding our hearts during Dedication Night with the theme “The Key to My Heart,” and campers dedicated themselves to the Lord in different ways. Following this was Testimony Night, where students and mentors shared how God spoke to them in the camp. The night then closed with Campfire Night, where campers burned pieces of paper with the struggles they wanted to surrender to the Lord and sang praises together.
“After we got to worship God and be thankful [in Testimony Night], we went to Campfire Night, and we got to worship God a little more but a little more loudly; we got to sing, and we got to eat hotdogs and marshmallows, and it was just really great,” shared Johann Bocobo from Patmos.
Finally, the camp came to a bittersweet close with the closing ceremony on February 25. School principal, Mrs. Helen K. Villanueva, gave the closing remarks.
Téa Lim from Grade 11 commented, “This year’s Life Camp has definitely exceeded all of my expectations. Since this is my first time attending Student’s Life Camp [sic], I had no idea what to expect, but from the first song sung during the Praise and Worship, I already knew that I would have a lot of fun and make many memories in this camp.” Vanna Ho of Berea also remarked that the messages given by the speakers were very interesting to listen to.
“It’s a really amazing experience to see the kids that I teach give their lives to Jesus. I’ve been to so many camps before, but it’s still a renewing and wonderful experience whenever I see the youth coming to Christ,” added Mr. Aaron Gopez, one of the camp mentors.
Students who weren’t able to join the camp in Batangas attended the in-campus Student Camp at the school auditorium on February 23 and 27.
The 159 students in school had almost the same topics as the Batangas attendees. On the first day, Pastor Jeanette Chua talked about self-worth in “Mirror, Mirror,” afterwhich Mrs. Jacques Tanyao-Dy shared about her “Heavenly Story.”
The second day had Pastor Jay Banzuelo speak about guarding your heart in “Key to Your Heart,” followed by a personal testimony by Mr. Trinidad in “Closing the Door.” In the afternoon, the attendees gave their testimonies and then went to the gym for a sportsfest.
Patmos student Sean Ang perfectly summarized it all when he acknowledged that “our journey with God won't be easy, and we all know that. We find ourselves questioning our choices, existence, and even morals that constantly hammer our minds until we're fried. We keep doing this because we think we're not good enough, but we miss the point where we're supposed to improve on where we are, not on how others are doing…Yet we must continue to follow God hand-in-hand and trust His plans."
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