United We Stand!
Here I am on a train again heading home after visiting a joint BB Camp just outside Aviemore. I can hardly believe that it's almost a week since my last adventure on the train brought me into direct fellowship with the hen party.You'll be glad to know I've not encountered any on this trip. What I have encountered today is a great deal of ingenuity and fantastic team work. Four BB Companies have got together and pulled their resources to create a camping experience for 23 boys that has turned out to be highly successful.This in itself is an example that should challenge more and more of us to see the benefits of pulling resources and working together. Interdependence needs to be a theme that we think a lot more about over the coming years. Going it alone, my be good for the ego but is it good for the Kingdom? I digress, back to the camp. This was no ordinary camp. It was a well oiled machine staffed by highly experienced personnel. The heart of the camp revolved around the kitchen. This had been the 18th camp with which the cook had been involved. Then there was Marshall from Grangemouth, this was his 50th camp. Another veteran was David Wilson and of course Walter Williamson known to many a 2nd Bo'ness BB boy as the silver fox.
What I have learned today is that some of the best youth workers are among the older generation. I know we need young people doing youth work. I've promoted this for years, but sometimes we can neglect to see the contribution that older people can make to many aspects of youth work. When we pull resources and mix the age groups quite wonderful things can happen. It's exactly the same in the church and indeed in the w irk place.
One of the officers Alex Liddle took time to speak with me extolling the virtues of the boys at the camp. " These are by far the best mannered boys I've come across in all my years of BB camping
and they didn't know each other until a week ago." Its of course experiences like this that we know help young people develop and make lasting relationships with new friends.
The campsite was well laid out indeed Eddie Roberts from Bo'ness had been part of the advanced party that had spent a week erecting the site. There was a home made tennis court, bowling green and football pitch. The amenities were very impressive including a hot water shower system that worked from an electric coil.
The boys were having a great time? Home grown talent was all around. Within a few minutes they were launching home made water rockets made out of plastic bottles. A few minutes later there was the camp card trick expert baffling me with his wizardry. Then it was lunch being served followed by a photo opportunity from the local press. This camp was definitely worth reporting upon, after all even the Moderator couldn't resist the invitation. A few minutes later my car arrived it was time to catch the train and prepare for my next appointment - three days in Wales at the Welsh Presbyterian Assembly, where not a word is spoken in English. However I'm told there is an instant translation given through headsets. As I look up, the train has just past Kirkcaldy and the sun is shining. It might just be a good day tomorrow!
Posted By: italker On: 14 Jul 2012 At: 7:45pm
Thanks John looking forward to a break in the next few weeks.