Features |
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Bible campers go unplugged
Brodie Thomas Northern News Services Published Monday, September 8, 2008
Members of the Glad Tidings Mission in Tuktoyaktuk partnered with the Lighthouse Community Church in Inuvik to send a group of youth to Camp Yukon, near Whitehorse. Pastor Emmanuel Adam travelled to Camp Yukon with 19 youth from Tuk in July. He said the camp co-ordinators decided to ban personal electronics so the youth wouldn't be distracted. "The generation that we're living in has Ipods, MP3 players, little computer games that they sit around and play with. Everything was left behind," said Adam. He said that the youth were at first skeptical of the idea but by the end most had forgotten about their missing electronics. The youth flew to Inuvik from Tuktoyaktuk and then made the rest of the journey in a chartered bus. They spent a night in Dawson City, and made an afternoon stopover in Whitehorse for a quick shopping trip. Sacha Nogasak, 12, said he picked up a new suit while in Whitehorse. But the shopping trip couldn't compare with the activities at Camp Yukon. Nogasak said he played a lot of sports and made a lot of new friends, but the best event was rock climbing. "It's really high almost 100 feet," he said. "I made it up once and I just about fainted the other time." Nogasak also said he went swimming a lot. Adam said every day had a similar schedule, with breakfast, rest time, chapel, and then afternoon activities. He said the food at camp was excellent. Although no electronics were allowed, the ban did not extend to a bit of junk food in moderation. "We had a canteen so the kids could get some sugar in them," said Adam. Plans are already underway to begin fundraising for next year's trip. |