Dear Brethren in Christ,
Greetings in the name of our Lord from Arequipa, Peru! For a while, we have been asking for prayer for our youth camp and now we would like to give a quick report on what happened. God worked in such amazing ways and we are so thankful for all that He has done and has allowed to happen!
The week before camp started, we were unsure of how everything was going to come together and we faced multiple setbacks, including my family and I coming down with an awful stomach bug. By God’s grace, we were able to get over that just in time for camp to start! On Friday, July 28, the first group of people arrived – Pastor Chris Jennette from Illinois, his wife Christa, and their 18-year-old son Caleb. All day Saturday was spent getting our camp site prepared: setting up provisional shower stalls, transporting all the mattresses and kitchen supplies, hooking up a large water tank, etc. Between Saturday and Sunday, several more preachers arrived, including missionary to Chile, Luis Reppert, and each of them preached to our church on Sunday.
Camp officially started up on Monday, July 31, and we started signing in the campers. Between 50 and 60 campers arrived from several different places – Yurimaguas, Tingo Maria, Huanuco, Tacna, Arequipa, and even from Canada and the USA! Some of the kids came from Baptist churches, but several of the kids had never been to a church or camp before. Each of the kids were placed into 4 different teams and competed against each other for points all week long. The evening services were open to the public and we were very happy that some of the kids’ parents came to listen to the messages!
In the mornings, the kids were sent to different classes. Miss Christa taught the older teen girls, Pastor Vlady taught the older teen boys, and Pastor Tony taught the adolescents. After that, everyone joined back together and Missionary Luis Reppert preached. The theme of our camp this year was “Decisions” and each of the messages and lessons revolved around that topic. Bro. Reppert taught on 7 questions to ask ourselves to ensure we are making wise decisions. Before our lunch break, the kids could ask
any questions they wanted by writing them on paper, and all the pastors would have a chance to answer those questions. Several hard questions came up regarding suicide, how to know who one should marry, etc.

The afternoons were filled with lots of games, organized sports, and fun activities. Each evening, Pastor Chris preached the main message. Each of his messages were spot on, using objects and vivid illustrations to bring the message to life. Many teens came forward during the invitations.
Approximately 10 either made professions of faith or were asking questions regarding salvation. Many wanted to dedicate their lives to the Lord and commit to making godly decisions. 2 young men said that they believed that God was calling them into the ministry. On the last night of camp, my two oldest daughters, Katie and Kristie, gave testimony that they had trusted in Christ as their Savior! We have been in awe at all that the Lord has done! Throughout the week, there was such a sweet spirit of fellowship and comradery and the young people were so invested in the lessons and messages, and there was such a tremendous response.
For the last night of camp, we had a special meal and each of the kids dressed up and had their pictures taken. The 4 best campers received Bibles and free entrance into camp next year. Each of the teammates from the winning team received a t-shirt with the camp logo and also had 30 seconds to pick up everything they could carry from the camp kiosk, which was also spread out over the soccer field. The kids were all very excited and are already talking about coming back next year!
Over the past couple of weeks, we have been hearing testimonies of what God is doing in the lives of these young people. The mother of a young girl who came to our camp came asking what had been done to her daughter during camp, because her daughter has never been so happy or at peace. For years, the mother had been taking her daughter to a psychologist because she was having several problems. Neither her nor her daughter had ever been to church, and one of our church members had invited her daughter to camp. Now, the girl has been coming to our Saturday morning teen meeting at church!

Another mother from Tacna contacted us, thanking us for camp. She told us that her 3 children who were at camp, returned home so excited about everything that happened, and that there has never been as much peace in her home as there is now. Many of the young people are on fire for the Lord, wanting to serve Him! Many others have talked to us and written us, telling us what an impact the week of camp has had on them. Some young people had grown cold in their walk with the Lord, but have now renewed their commitment to living for the Lord!
This is exactly why we have camp! We want to invest in our young people and help point them to Christ. We want to show them that they are not alone and that they can reach out for help or advice. The world, and many times their own families, bombard them with the message that the only thing that matters in life is to make a lot of money. We want to show them that true success is following Christ and living for Him. We also want them to understand that there are other young people who are striving to be lights in this world.
Thank you so much for helping us make this camp a reality! Thank you for sacrificially giving and for praying! We believe that we will continue to see the fruits of this labor in the future. Please help us pray for camp 2024! May our Lord be glorified! God bless you and once again, thank you!

If you would like to see more pictures and videos from camp, you can click on this link:

https://acortar.link/y1DuXr
Your Servant in Christ,
Daniel Matsuda