Easter Camp

Easter weekend in Namibia is a long holiday weekend, with both Good Friday and Easter Monday as public holidays. That means it's a prime opportunity for family vacations or church conferences! Every year the Dutch Reformed Church invites members from their churches all across the Kunene region to come camp on a farm outside Opuwo for their Easter conference.

This is our most north western region, one of the most rural areas in the country, with many places only accessible with a 4x4. This is where the Himba and Zemba tribes call home. They still live in very traditional ways, including their religion of ancestor veneration. God is using local believers and mission workers to draw individuals to Himself, but this area still needs many more inroads for the gospel.

Camp kitchen

I drove with a car-full from Windhoek to Opuwo, and we arrived on Friday evening with just enough time before before the sun went down to set up our tents. It was very rustic camping, with no showers or toilets. You bathe with a bucket and a wash cloth, and do your business out in the bush wherever you can find some privacy. Fortunately, they had a kitchen team who made meals in big pots over the open fire for the whole camp.

Sessions started after dinner on Friday evening. The theme of the conference was "Jesus Prays For Us" with messages from John 17. Saturday and Sunday each included two morning sessions and one in the evening. The afternoons provided time for rest, fellowship, and some games. My favorite opportunities were connecting with pastors and ministry leaders to hear about how God is working in their communities, and also getting to know some of the youth and different issues they deal with.

Three recent graduates from our NETS
Distance course were celebrated at the camp.

The girls played this sort of dodgeball type game
while trying to fill a bottle with sand.

Meanwhile the guys played soccer.

The young adults hanging out under the shade of a tree.

Overall it was a nice weekend to escape the city life and fellowship together with believers in a different part of the country, celebrating the finished work of Christ.