wfn.org | Church camp helps teens delve deeper through helping disabled peers

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3047 Edition

>July 19~July 25, 2010

Church camp helps teens delve deeper through helping disabled  peers

>Reported by Chen Wei-chien

>Written by Lydia Ma

How are church summer camps for teens different from other summer  camps? The 
answer is

that teens will often gain a deeper understanding of God’s  love and what it 
means to love

>others through church camps.

Tainan Presbytery’s Fu-Chiang Church and Happy Christian  Homes co-sponsored 
“Life

Encounter Camp for Teens” from July 13~15. High school youths  got to help 
disabled children

and learn about the joy of serving others. Children from Happy  Christian Homes 
also benefited

from this camp as they mingled with regular youths.

Fu-Chiang Church’s pastor, Rev. Tsai Cheng-tao, brought 36  youths to Happy 
Christian

Homes to be trained by social workers and other instructors before  each teen 
was assigned

to help one child living in the home. For three days, they pushed  wheelchairs, 
spoon-fed

children, assisted during physical therapy sessions, helped during  arts and 
crafts lessons, etc.

According to Happy Christian Homes’ Public Relations  Director, Chen Jin-shiou, 
the camp

enabled these teens to step out of their comfort zones because  they had to 
overcome initial

nervousness and fears and learn to accept one another.  Participants also 
learned to

understand the needs and feelings of disabled children through  serving them 
for a few days

and the experience turned out to be very fulfilling.

One youth at this camp came away thanking God for his health and  said he was 
grateful he

could use his healthy body to serve God. Another youth learned to  appreciate 
being able to do

with ease some of the most basic skills humans possess, such as  reading, 
writing, and

>speaking.

“I feel God is really awesome. But sometimes it seems God is  unfair to these 
children,” said

Su Wen-hsin, another youth at this camp. “Some of these  children were born 
with brain

damage and others have speech or physical impairments. They still  have their 
whole lives

ahead of them, but they are disadvantaged from the outset. Despite  this, I 
also know that God

is very real to these kids and God will help them persevere to the  very end 
and not give up.”

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