The 9th annual Wings for Wheels summer camp Challenge took place in Spāre boarding school from June 27th to July 4th. With the 20 participants, W4W team, assistants and other helpers, there were nearly 70 people from seven different countries and four different continents! The week spent together offered challenges as well as joy and bright memories.
Every day started with worship, devotion and morning exercises. They were followed by lectures on relevant, thought-provoking topics: finding the courage to be yourself; being a man after God’s own heart; being a real Christian and probably the most intriguing title in the schedule – “Can a Christian watch soap operas?” New skills could be learned both in art and video workshops and during fun sports games. Professional physiotherapists as well as a hairdresser offered their services to the participants. A great blessing was the opportunity to get a custom-made orthosis or prosthesis for free, with no more paperwork than signing up at the timetable.
Evenings were a time to relax while travelling to Hong Kong through photos and stories or listening to a concert given by a visiting soft-rock band. At the talent show, we got to know each other better by listening to the participants’ presentations about what brings them joy. The Extreme Day on Friday surprised us with a laser gun war fought on the bumpy terrain around the schoolhouse. However, the tension didn’t end with the game, as in the evening we were struck by a thunderstorm merely an hour before we had planned to start a bonfire. Just at the right time, though, the sky started to clear and soon we could enjoy barbeque and testimonies about God’s faithfulness in the warm evening sun.
The camp lived up to its name and gave plenty of chances to surprise oneself to everyone involved. Orienteering and sports games on sandy, grassy or rocky ground showed the participants that their physical abilities might be beyond what they’ve thought them to be. But even more challenges were posed to the soul and the spirit than to the body. For the assistants, the trial was being someone else’s hands and feet, while for the participants it was (in many cases) entrusting themselves to a stranger’s care. The team task of putting together a video journal of the camp also demanded good communication and creativity. For some, the most testing part was speaking in front of the whole camp at the talent night – or even acknowledging that they have a talent to speak about… Those who have taken part in earlier camps took on new challenges by leading morning devotions and helping the team with sports games. At the closing love feast, Kaspars presented the greatest challenge of all history, given to all mankind: to believe that Jesus Christ is the truth, the life and the way to God. On that night, two people accepted the invitation.
The camp lived up to its name and gave plenty of chances to surprise oneself to everyone involved. Orienteering and sports games on sandy, grassy or rocky ground showed the participants that their physical abilities might be beyond what they’ve thought them to be. But even more challenges were posed to the soul and the spirit than to the body. For the assistants, the trial was being someone else’s hands and feet, while for the participants it was (in many cases) entrusting themselves to a stranger’s care. The team task of putting together a video journal of the camp also demanded good communication and creativity. For some, the most testing part was speaking in front of the whole camp at the talent night – or even acknowledging that they have a talent to speak about… Those who have taken part in earlier camps took on new challenges by leading morning devotions and helping the team with sports games. At the closing love feast, Kaspars presented the greatest challenge of all history, given to all mankind: to believe that Jesus Christ is the truth, the life and the way to God. On that night, two people accepted the invitation.
Challenge 9 was a wonderful illustration of the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12:27: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.“ With our different languages, ages, physical and mental abilities, skills and characters, we made up a tiny model of Christ’s body in its amazing diversity, each one of us reflecting a glimpse of God Himself. There were no separation lines between “typical” and “disabled” people, Christians or non-Christians, Latvians and foreigners in terms of being involved and respected. Participants, assistants and organisers all had different roles, but in order for the camp to succeed, we needed each other like the parts of a body. And by God’s grace the week became a time to remember with gratitude and joy.
Blessings,
Wings for Wheels
YWAM Riga
Participants video journals are here.
More photos can be found from here