Campus Ministries will be hosting Backyard Bible Club’s annual Camp Wamp on Friday, April 22 through Sunday, April 24. The event will be held at Camp Yorktown Bay in Mountain Pine, Ark. this year.
At Camp Wamp, more than 35 children from the Arkadelphia community will have the chance to experience camp. College students from Ouachita will accompany them as volunteer counselors.
Madison Foster is a senior Christian studies and missions double major from Sherwood, Ark. She has been involved with Backyard Bible Club for about two and a half years during her time at Ouachita.
“What we do [at camp] is we have activities scheduled almost constantly, just to keep the kids busy,” Foster said. “We bring in a speaker who will just share the Gospel with them a couple times over the weekend. We have small group time and we have organized recreation times. The camp that we go to actually has a ropes course. On Saturday, we usually take our kids through that. We have a really big paint war with the kids—which is always a blast. . . . It’s just a lot of fun. We try to give them the most authentic camp/DNow experience that they can get, because we know that they probably won’t [be able] to get that anywhere else.”
Foster has really enjoyed her experience at Backyard Bible Club, but she has learned a lot through it, also.
“I think the biggest benefit that I can think of (like locally, here at Ouachita) is just the fact that Ouachita is a bubble,” Foster said. “Getting out into the Arkadelphia community and seeing how different we live here on campus and how different kids live in this society, just a mile away from where we live, and [seeing] the difficulties and hardships that they grow up with—[stuff] that students here never really think we would ever have to experience. It’s been extremely eye-opening. You’re reminded constantly of how much God loves us because of how much we love those kids. And if we love our kids that much, then just think of how much more God loves them and how much God loves us. It’s been really great.”
Katie Stanage, a sophomore studio art major from Hot Springs Village, Ark. has also had a great experience with Backyard Bible Club during her time here at Ouachita.
“It’s always been really good,” Stanage said. “It’s challenging to try to make a relationship with the kids when there are so many of them and so few of us, but if you really stay committed to it, you will eventually see the fruit of what you’re doing; even though sometimes it kind of feels like you’re getting nowhere. I think that God will use our obedience and eventually make the kid’s hearts more willing to listen . . . I think it’s a cool opportunity just to reach out to the people that Christ has called us to love and just to see how he works in their lives.”
Both Foster and Stanage encourage others to join in and volunteer with Backyard Bible Club and Camp Wamp.
“Come to Camp Wamp. That’s the best way to get plugged in right now is to come to Camp Wamp,” Foster said. “We need all the help we can get because we have 41 kids coming. Also, because you get to see the kids outside of their element—you get to see them being kids. You’re going to fall in love with them and then you’re going to want to keep coming back to Backyard Bible Club again and again.”
“Come and visit, see what it’s like,” Stanage said. “Once you do, decide if you want to be committed or not. Decide if it’s something you want to dedicate your time to. Because I think it’s one of those things that if you choose to be really dedicated to for a long time, then it will be more rewarding.”
If you would like to volunteer with Backyard Bible Club or Camp Wamp, please contact Backyard Bible Club ministry leaders Stephanie Westberg (wes56258@obu.edu) or Madison Foster (fos55876@obu.edu).
Learn more about other Campus Ministries programs at http://www.obu.edu/campusministries/.
By Sarah G. Hays
