“So that many more may come to know You and love You…” These words from the prayer card of the recently beatified Blessed Guadalupe Ortiz de Landazuri capture perfectly the essence of Bible Camp 2019 held in PAREF Woodrose School, Muntinlupa Philippines on May 18, the same day as her Beatification Ceremony in Madrid, Spain.
BIBLE CONTEST WITH A TWIST
Bible Camp 2019, which was open to girls ages 9 to 13 years old from government and private schools, is a Bible quiz bee with a twist! With the challenges done entirely outdoors using creative set ups, the activity was designed to promote knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and to develop in the young girls a deeper love for God, while instilling in them the virtues of friendship, unity, and fairness as they competed in team games patterned after the popular TV program, The Amazing Race.
This year’s theme revolved around the Pentateuch, highlighted by the stories in Exodus particularly of the journey of the Israelites out of Egypt. According to Project Director Grace Bayani, “The participants are introduced to man’s salvation history in a captivating and exciting approach through games and challenges that are familiar to them.” A total of 115 participants representing 28 girls’ clubs from Cebu, Metro Manila, and other parts of Luzon, worked in teams as they raced to finish eight adventure-packed game stations.
MEMORY AND SPEED COMBINED
An important component of the Bible quiz is the element of fun in learning. Thus, the game stations were deliberately planned to be age-appropriate and yet go beyond requiring rote memory of Bible verses. With the variety of challenges presented per game station, the teams had to come up with their own strategy in order to answer correctly and finish fast. It is a race, after all.
Tools and props were thoughtfully planned in order to make the race truly enjoyable for the participants. For instance, an inflatable pool served as the Red Sea which the girls had to cross using their balancing skills by answering simple questions from the Book of Exodus. Ancient signs and symbols reminiscent of hieroglyphics were used to decode a verse found in the Song of Miriam. A well-loved station was the one on the 10 Plagues. In order to get to the other side and arrange pictures of the plagues in correct order, the girls had to crawl through a short maze made out of fishing nets adorned with plastic toys like frogs and insects. In another station, the girls had to plot a map following the journey of the Israelites to the Promised Land. Full of wonder, the enthusiastic girls played like archeologists as they dug in sand to find puzzle pieces that they had to put together to build an artwork, The Adoration of the Mystic Lambby Hubert and Jan Van Eyck. And who would have thought that a simple electrical circuit board could make learning the Ten Commandments fun and easy? If the given practical situation matched the Commandment, a light bulb would turn on.
WINNERS ALL
For several weeks, the teams were trained and supervised by their coaches, most of whom are volunteer catechists and ladies from the different centers of study. Aside from learning about Moses and the Israelites, each of the 115 girls also memorized the Greatest Commandment found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which states: “… and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and will all your soul and with all your might.” It is the hope of Bible Camp that this passage stays in their heart and will be remembered by them.
On the day of the camp, the teams were guided by 33 counselors who also served as time-keepers. After an exhilarating race day, the team with the fastest time was the Narra Nueva Girls Club from Muntinlupa City with a time of 25 minutes! And this team was made up of Woodrose students! The Daffodils Girls Club from Pasig City came in 2ndplace and the Habihan-Paltoque Girls Club from Quezon City came in 3rd place.
Notwithstanding the heat of summer, many of the girls wanted another round because as they said, the games were “fun, easy, and amazing!” According to one of them, learning about the Old Testament brought her to more knowledge of God and to love Jesus more. Asked what else they gained from attending Bible Camp, many of the participants agreed that they learned how to be more attentive and cooperative team members, to work well under time pressure, and to listen carefully to game rules. “Not only did the girls learn about God’s attributes, about the Commandments, or about the story of Moses, but they were also presented with opportunities to practice the virtues of sportsmanship, teamwork, patience, and tolerance,” another organizer said.
“Being a counselor for Bible Camp was stressful yet fun,” said Sofia Ferreros, an incoming Grade 10 Woodrose student. “It was nice looking after a group since I was able to interact with the participants and get to know them more. This made my experience as a Bible Camp counselor for two consecutive years really worthwhile.”
WOMEN BEHIND BIBLE CAMP
The concept and design of the event was the product of the collaborative work of a group of mothers from the Crestfield Center of Las Pinas. With the help of their consultants, the ladies composed of fulltime housewives, professionals, and teachers planned the entire activity. They also had a team of researchers who carefully selected the materials and sources which they agreed to be most accurate, appropriate, and interesting for the young learners. Each station was unique and all the props used were creatively and lovingly produced by hand, thanks to an architect and a crafts enthusiast, who both played a big part in putting together the physical assets of Bible Camp.
This year, the organizers went beyond the scope and target audience of the event. They invited Lara Camacho who gave a talk for mothers on the importance of reading the Bible. She presented a practical approach by stressing on the examples of ordinary life found in the Scriptures. Lara specifically talked about the Beatitudes as a summary of how we Christians should live our lives as taught by Christ Himself. She also said that we need to find from Scripture some text or passages that will act as support, inspiration, or driving force for our life of prayer. “Those words which express the Word of God himself are transformed by the Holy Spirit into our nourishment.”