Zoom In, Bloom Out

This was my first camp experience ever. There were a lot of activities that helped me grow in my spiritual life through prayer and reflection. We had a number of talks and all of them helped me discover more about myself. Aside from sharing with each other about our prayer, we also had fun games requiring teamwork and creative thinking. We also had enjoyable workshops which included cooking, sewing, and origami.

I am most thankful that I finally got to encounter plenty of people after a long time in lockdown. I realized I missed spending time and interacting with others. The camp gave me an opportunity to make new friends from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
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As I mentioned earlier, there were a number of talks that helped me learn more about myself. These talks addressed the different parts of my life and led me to have a better mindset during this quarantine. The activities were also very informative - I learned about time management and effective communication among others. I was able to practice patience, problem solving and logical thinking.  We also got to hear about what was happening outside the Philippines with the Global Teens Meet-up, sharing our experiences with teens like us from Mexico and the USA.
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When I entered the camp, I was confused about this pandemic. I felt insecure, sad, and distracted. But through all the talks and lessons, I feel more in control and at peace. I pray I continue to bloom by using what I learned through my camp experience to help share the word of God.  

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​“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)

My name is Glydel Mae Amoroto and I am from Olango Island, Cebu. Prayer Camp 2020, was one of the best. At first, I didn't expect it would be that nice because it's an online camp and I expected that there will be more hindrances but because of the most creative and passionate hosts with the help of Jesus, it was very successful. Though it's not the ideal camp we want where we can see each other personally, but, at least we did try our very best to communicate and interact with each and every one. I've experienced a lot of things in the five days of camp like, I was excited to wake up every morning because I am going to see everyone through video chat, and I also learned from fascinating talks and experiences from different people, sharing of other teens, and most especially the friendship that we created even though some of us haven't met before, but because of the camp we become friends/FB friends.
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One of my most memorable moments was the part where we tried our best to cook churros and that time was also my father's birthday. A lot of people were watching and waiting for the churros because they also want to taste it and it's really quite amazing because as we shared it to them fortunately, they also liked it. After all, I've realized that no matter what happens to the world, we must continue watering our faith with buckets of God’s words. I am hoping that it was not the end but rather the beginning of more camping, whether online or actual, but I guess everybody wants the latter one. I'm thankful to be with the people who helped me grow spiritually. See you soon guys. Stay safe. I love you all.

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Here are some photos of the online event:

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With thanks to Santino Bautista, Glydel Mae Amoroto and the WordNews team