Camp Conqueror Newsletter 63

Well this year that was certainly true for Summer Conqueror. For a start, the camp was in Autumn. The bush fires of the previous year made us seriously rethink how and when camp ran, and it was decided that for at least this year, we would try the camp over the Easter holidays. This would hopefully have the advantages of more water and less bushfires, which definitely turned out to be the case.

After having no Summer Camp in 2002 and moving this year's camp to Easter, numbers were down a bit and some leaders also had trouble getting the needed holidays at the different time of the year. We didn't let it dampen our spirits though. We headed down to Milton ready for the same 10 days of Conqueror fun!

With the cooler temperatures, we didn't spend quite as much time at the beach as normal, but still enjoyed day trips canoeing and abseiling, which were great. The temperatures made for a very pleasant hike - almost perfect hiking weather with cool slightly overcast days. Three contingents explored the Budawangs, entering, exiting and camping at different spots. We all came across each other towards the end of the hike while climbing Mount Tarn however, which was a good chance to catch up and realize that we all smelled as bad as each other!

The ironperson / beach day headed to Milton Rotary Park this year, which made for some different (and hilarious) challenges that definitely raised everyone's appetites for the "Free Willy" fish burgers afterwards.

Throughout the camp we had been looking at Paul's letter to the Romans in the Bible. After looking at what is wrong with the world, we looked at Conquering - first conquering sin, then Gods anger, then death, and then conquering living. All the conquering that is made possible through Jesus' death on the cross in our place and resurrection to his rightful place, so that we can be back in a relationship with God.

This year also marked the final of many final years of service by John and Steve Benson. They have selflessly slaved away in the cookhouse at camp for many, many years. Their work is GREATLY appreciated and their presence on camp will be missed. We pray that God will bless them greatly as they finally get some rest over summer!

The big news is that camp will be back in January next year. You'll find some information in this newsletter and stay tuned to your letterbox over the next month or so!!

Excellent as usual - we moved to a new, larger campsite this year, which had some challenges but also many benefits. This was the first time in five years that we didn't have a bonfire and also didn't ski all five days (due to some rain). However we had blizzard conditions on the Monday, which meant new snow and a beautiful sunny day on the Tuesday to compensate!

Some of the boys making it to the top of Mt. Paralyser. Regan's relay through the accommodation complex (including a pillow-induced persecuted Christians leg!)

Long service award to John and Trudy Vine - Must have been some dust in the air, as rumour has it John was a little watery-eyed ;-)

As some of you know, I wasn't on Conqueror this year because I was studying in Spain and Germany for a year. The title of this section says, first in Spanish, then in German, something that has become true for me - "The world is actually quite small". Especially when your God is the God of the whole universe!

In the plane on the way over to Spain I was really nervous. I felt like an explorer (or perhaps a Conqueror) who was about to journey into a new land, but without a map or compass. I didn't know anyone in Spain, I'd never been there before and my Spanish wasn't that great. The only thing I could be sure of was that God was the God of Spain too and would provide everything that I needed: a place to live, friends, Christian fellowship, money, safety and enough Spanish to be able to do my university studies.

The Bible verses I really held onto while I was away were from the end of Psalm 73:

²³ Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.

No matter where you go, and whatever you might forget when you're packing your bags, you can't leave God behind!

God was faithful to me, and gave me everything that I needed, and even more! I had a wonderful time meeting people from all over the world and speaking with them in Spanish and German. I also had a great church who supported me and encouraged me to live for God. And I even had some opportunities to "tell of all God's deeds", like it says at the end of the Psalm. That is, I got to talk to my friends about how Jesus has rescued me out of the depths of my sin and helplessness, and has bought with his own blood my ticket to an eternity with him. I got the chance to read the Bible with people who had never read God's Word for themselves before, even though they are from countries that are traditionally Christian.

So, thank you very much for your prayers for me while I was away. I thank God for my year overseas, and for the friends that I made. But yes, I did miss you guys, and I'm very glad to be coming on Conqueror again this year. Why don't you come along? It will be a great chance to see each other again and to deepen our understanding and love of God. And we'll be going on a journey of our own through a very beautiful part of God's world - the Budawangs

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 note?" hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but, first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple the $20 dollar note up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well", he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless.

But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value because God loves you. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to Him. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know but from the love of God. Never forget - God ALWAYS loves you no matter what you have done. Just ask for forgiveness..."

Did you move around NSW or Australia a lot as a kid? Do you ever dream of living in another country? Have you got friends who have done anything like that?

What on earth is TCK? Three Cute Kittens? A Totally Carnivorous Kenyan? No, guess again. According to Dave Pollock, author and international speaker on cross-cultural issues, a TCK is a Third Culture Kid. Still in the dark? Read on. Some you are TCKs. Probably lots of your friends are too. Maybe even your parents!

At a public lecture I went to on Thursday and Friday nights last week, Dave explained a "first culture" is what someone's passport is, or where their parents' passport is. Then the "second culture" is the host culture that they have gone to live in. For example, a family of 4 move from Australia, where they were all born (first culture) to live for 3 years in Ethiopia (second culture). These are easy to explain because they are to do with a place. But a "third culture" is a community or group of people who have left

Australia, come to Ethiopia and don't fully belong to one or the other. You can be a "Third Culture Kid" or "Third Culture Adult", but the effect of living overseas on someone growing up (0 - 18 years) is much more significant than it is on an adult. That's because so much our identity and values are developed before we are 18. So, a Third Culture Kid is " a person whose developmental years were spent a culture other than their parents one, who don't have full ownership of either culture, and whose sense of belonging is in relation to others of similar experience". Got it?

So, what if you are a TCK? Well, Dave Pollock has spent many years of his life helping people, and young people in particular, discover both the benefits and the challenges of being a TCK. Out of his own experience in Kenya and from talking to lots of people, he is now very understanding of the struggles TCKs face, their strengths and their potential to make a difference in society. Here are three areas that he talked about.

Whoa! That was heavy! But can you see there are so many good things about having lived overseas and the things it can teach people?

Its interesting that many children of missionaries are TCKs, but so are the children of immigrants and refugees in Australia, or the people whose parents move around because of their job. Even if your family moved a lot around Australia you would understand some of the stuff I've tried to say above. This is relevant to so many people, and if not you, then surely half of the people in your class at school.

I'm a TCK, and so is my husband Richard. I was born in England, moved to Malawi in Africa when I was 5, lived there for 3 years, then went back to England for 2 years, then moved to Australia when I was 10. I remember being SO embarrassed in front of the whole of 4th class at Erskineville Public School because I didn't know that those long green vegetables are called zucchinis. In England we called them courgettes. And if you ask me where I'm from, or where I feel at home, the answer is complicated and involves all those 3 countries in one way or another. Perhaps your story is even more complicated.

Well, fellow Conquerors, I hope that this has given you some extra understanding into your own lives and that of your friends. Please be encouraged that being a TCK has brought you many benefits and given you a broader and sharper understanding of the world around you. Talk to your friends and see if they've had similar experiences and maybe you can help and learn from each other. And for those who are Christians, when you're feeling lost or uncertain where you fit, lets remember that our identity is

not linked to a country anyway, but is found in being children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus (Romans 8:17-17, 29). We are strangers or aliens in this world (1 Peter 1:1 and 1:17) and we belong to God (1 Peter 2:9). And somewhere else it says our citizenship is in heaven, that's where we belong, not here.

Hopefully in the next newsletter I'll summarise what Dave said about how to prepare yourself for making a big move. How to leave family and friends without them thinking you hate them and never want to see them again, and how to get started well living in another culture. Stay tuned!

But for now, if you want to hear more, there's a magazine Dave puts out 4 times a year called "Among Worlds" which includes articles written by TCKs, questions and answers, book review and articles on relevant topics such as identity and coping with parents while being overseas. There are also stories of people who've been there. If you would like to know more or just comment on some of this stuff, you can email me at rich_caroline@yahoo.com.au .

ACROSS
2		A vegetable by another name, that tastes just the same.
4		It's a bit more than wrinkled
5		Spanish word for this sphere we were born onto
8		Big place with many lights
10		Err... skin a village?
12		German word for this blue/green ball we live on
14		According to things that have gone before
15		The official language of Argentina

DOWN
1		Note of some value, regardless of state
2		What kittens are
3		Related to a group of things that have come before.
4		A TCK, no, the other TCK, no, she's not a Kenyan
6		Dark green vegetable that caused embarrassment
7		"Of superlative strength or efficacy"
9		"Powerlessness revealed by an inability to act"
11		Very long time
13		Where you learn from a speaker

First of all a huge

to this edition's contributors. It's all helped to make this newsletter one of the biggest I've seen.

If anyone hasn't heard already, Matthew Wade is engaged! Though he's in Hong Kong at the moment(!) away from his lovely fiancée, working for Crossroads International. Just like Phil White was. Phil, incidentally, is still in Hong Kong, working at a drug rehab centre. Harriet Lorrimer recently got back from her time overseas, you should read about it in her article if you haven't already. Boy Conquerors sure are a well travelled bunch aren't they. : )

Check out the montages in the middle. They're all genuine pictures from Winter and Summer Conqueror this year. More at http://www.campconqueror.org

As you read this there's a new Winter Camp 2003 gallery of pictures up on the Conqueror website. Looks to me like they had buckets of fun, not to mention I hear that their new accommodation is absolutely fantastic.

Summer Camp was in April this year, more on that in the report. I can personally vouch for how good that was. And again there should be a new gallery of pictures on the website from Summer Camp as well. If there isn't, well you know who to bug, me : ).

Also a small reminder about the "50 Years of Conqueror" book that Chris Wootton and Jon Bracht are putting together. They still need material, stories, pictures, anything, and everything Conqueror! Contact details are below:

And last but most definitely not least, a enormous

to our huge God for getting us through another year!