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Western Archdiocese Sunday School and Jr Youth Camp

Under the auspices of His Eminence Mor Clemis Eugene Kaplan, the Sunday School committee led by Rev. Fr. Saliba Kassis and Mrs. Patricia Allaf held a 3-day camp for Jr Youth and Sunday School students. "Camp L.I.F.E" – Living In Faith Every Day with the scripture verse "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life" (John 8:21) was the theme for which was held at Camp Pine Summit on June 17 – 19th in the city of Big Bear.

The summer camp is an opportunity for students in the Archdiocese to unite in our Lord's name through prayers, Bible study and crafts, and several fun recreational sports. There were 350 Sunday School & Jr. Youth children from ages 8 to 17, teachers, and adult chaperones from 9 of our Archdiocese churches who enjoyed a 3-day weekend full of activities and fellowship. Our spiritual father, Rev. Fr. Saliba Kassis, led the morning, afternoon and evening meal prayers and was with us the entire weekend.

Friday Activities:
- After everyone checked in, the kids settled into their cabins, had some free time to explore the campground, then gathered in the Chapel for introductions and an overview of the weekend schedule by Patricia. Rev. Fr. Saliba then led evening prayers before all enjoyed an Italian theme dinner. Next was the first session of the Bible Studies. We then had our traditional Friday night campfire with smores, "How loud can you scream" game, and had fun learning the Suryoyo song 'Dawri Deelan.'

Saturday Activities:
- We started off the day with prayers, breakfast, and then our 2nd Bible Study Sessions for each group. We were blessed with the visit of His Eminence Mor Clemis Eugene Kaplan and His Eminence Mor Anthimos Jack Yakoub. The older campers (ages 13 to 17) had a wonderful opportunity to listen to a sermon by Seyidna Jack, where he spoke about the power of charging yourself with Christ when we use faith and trust in God. Our Lord's charge is greater than anything else we use and trust in our everyday lives. He used an analogy when we are born again in our baptism, and we become a butterfly. It's our personal journey with Christ. Faith is not an easy thing. Its trusting what we cannot see, cannot touch with our hands, but understanding there is a greater purpose beyond this life. Faith is closing your eyes and having confidence, and no matter what happens in our life, we are protected and cared for by our Loving Father. The Holy Bible calls us a Living Letter of Jesus Christ! We have to do His work, being an Ambassador and delivering the message.

After the Bible Study, everyone then enjoyed a deli-style lunch followed by an afternoon full of recreational activities, including indoor & outdoor basketball, soccer, ping-pong, ziplining, bb guns, volleyball, football, and human foosball.

One of the weekend highlights was a Saturday night GLOW party where DJ Ryan and Cameron Mubarkeh put on an awesome mix of music. Everyone dressed up in white tops and danced to English, Arabic and Suryoyo music the night away.

Sunday Activities:
Everyone woke up, packed up their belonging, and went to Holy Liturgy in the Chapel at 7:30 am. Fr Saliba led the Mass in Syriac and English with participation from all. It was a beautiful service with everyone receiving Holy Communion. Afterward, everyone enjoyed breakfast, said their goodbyes, and headed onto their buses.

Bible Study Sessions:
The students were divided into two groups
(Ages 8 to 12 and Ages 13 – 17)

Ages 8 – 12
- For ages 8-12, these sessions were led by Irin Simon. Children learned about Building a relationship with God and How to Behave in our everyday life as Christian through group discussion, hands-on activities, and crafts. It started with a Toss the Foam Dice game where students were in pairs and tossing a foam cube back and forth to the person across from them. This game taught them that our relationship with God is similar. The further away from each other, the harder it was to catch the foam cube. Likewise, the further we are from God, the harder it is to have a relationship with God.

On the other hand, the closer we are to God, the easier it will be to have a strong relationship with Him. Children built a wooden cross writing keywords such as Church, Having Faith, Fasting, Believing, Obeying, Hope, Trusting, etc.. They then read about The Parable of the Good Samaritan, followed by the question: Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? Students painted their wooden crosses, shared reflections, and took the crosses home to share their learning experiences with their families and church friends.

Ages 13 – 17
- For ages 13- 16, these sessions were led by Patricia Allaf. The focus revolved around the theme 'Live in Faith every day' related to the board game The Game of Life – where topics on bullying, social media, clothing/appearance in church, and culture were discussed. There were Bible Verse handouts on each topic so groups could reflect and relate how the Holy Bible addresses many current topics our Youth are experiencing. In conclusion, they learned that these things in life really matter: 1. Your personal relationship with God 2. Your relationship with family and good friends 3. Determining to honor God in every area of your life, We said the following together as a group - Each day, I pray, "Lord, help me to honor you in everything I say, do, and think." At the final Bible Study session, the groups had to work together and create a game board just like, The Game of Life – except this revolved around their spiritual and personal experiences –baptism, graduation, ceremonial communion, posting a negative comment on social media, gossiping, lying, taking Holy Communion, etc. Each church was able to take a Game Board and share their Bible Study experiences with those who did not attend the camp.

We are grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ for blessing us with the opportunity to gather the children and continue to build our community through Love, Unity, and Faith. Gathering children from 9 churches, spending an entire weekend together, creating new friendships, and most importantly, building their faith was an unforgettable experience. Thank You Lord!

Patricia Allaf, Malfonitho
Western Archdiocese Sunday School Director

May God bless all those who put effort, sacrificed their time, and assisted in making this event successful under the guidance and supervision of Mrs. Patricia Allaf.

We are proud of you all