Title: “I Love Taiwan” Summer Camp Combines Local & Ecumenical Experiences
Taiwan Church News 2838, 17-24 July 2006
Reported by Li Hsin Ren. Written by David Alexander
60 young people, 34 of them from Korea, Canada, India, New Zealand, and the USA, joined in an “I Love Taiwan” summer camp and service project run by the youth committee of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) from June 29 through July 15. After four days of orientation they were divided into teams and dispersed to 6 “Plains” and 7 Aboriginal churches nationwide for two weeks of community mission service and work. They ran vacation Bible schools, taught English, and led in recreational activities. .
The PCT’s youth committee hopes that this kind of activity will generate a spirit of mission service among younger Christians while giving local congregations in Taiwan the opportunity to participate in international and ecumenical action.
The programme brought a shot of activity into village churches, especially to those in Aboriginal areas which rarely have contact with people from outside of Taiwan. Chang Kuang Presbyterian Church in Taitung, on Taiwan’s East Coast, used the resources presented by the visiting group to organize a church-sponsored basketball tournament. Teams associated with congregations of the Eastern Amis Presbytery competed with each other and with a team organized from among the visitors between July 10th and 12th. The visitors did not win any prizes, but left a deep impression on the local churches and communities.
Following their two-weeks of service “in the field” the entire group of 60 was gathered for evaluation. PCT Youth Ministries Secretary Etan Pavavalong said that youth formation was very much the point of the entire exercise, and hopes that all participants, foreign and local, return to their home churches with hearts full of zeal for proclamation of the good news of Christ.
For More Information: Etan Pavavalong itan@mail.pct.org.tw
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