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Holly N's picture

Youth Worker Conference and Dads and Lads Camp

Holly N (1 week 19 hours ago)

This week the team went away to London for a youth workers conference. We were all really looking forward to going and it didn't disappoint us. We heard a lot of great teaching in the meetings and the seminars and got to understand more about God and his character and what he has done for us. It was also really cool to meet loads of other youth workers from around the country that are all doing the same thing as us - telling young people the good news of Jesus Christ. On top of all that we had delicious food for every meal from the conference centre with a full English breakfast every morning. Overall we all had a great time and were fully encouraged and refreshed for the camp that came in at the weekend. The camp was a Dads and Lads camp which is something the Oakes has never done before. We had about 10 dads and their sons come to spend some quality time with each other on activities and in wide games and also reading the bible together. Both the dads and the boys thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, they had a lot of fun and were really encouraged to spend more time getting to know God together. The camp was a huge success and we are hoping to do another Dads and Lads camp next year.

staciemrz's picture

Open Day

staciemrz (2 weeks 4 days ago)

We have been busy at the Oakes getting back into the swing of things with the Open Day last Saturday and our first camp of the New Year coming up this weekend! A lot of work went into preparing for the Open Day, but it was well worth it. There were delicious cakes made by our amazing kitchen and tea and coffee served alongside. It was great to see how many people (around 120) attended the three sessions that were held throughout the day. Definitely some new faces which is encouraging because more and more people will know about the Oakes and can hear the gospel!

This weekend we are doing Music and Dance camp. The team is getting pretty excited about taking part in the musical about Simeon that will be performed on Sunday afternoon. Throughout the weekend we will all be practicing either orchestra, choir, or drama and we will put a performance together for the parents who come on Sunday. Sounds like a pretty fun time to me. Come watch our performance or sign up last minute for the camp and take part yourself!

jmmerz's picture

New Year at the Oakes

jmmerz (1 month 3 days ago)

We have been back in action at the Oakes for a few days now, reviewing and planning the upcoming year (specifically focusing on brainstorming ideas for the Olympic summer theme). If you have any ideas on transforming the house or on some crazy new game, post it below! The team has been doing a great job at putting together some ideas. We are ready to make this the best year the Oakes has ever had!

We all feel refreshed by the Christmas break and are heading into the new year with different personal and team-wide goals. I’m not sure what it is about the new year, but for me, I seem to be most ambitious and inspired to set goals around this time. I have a newfound confidence that if I’m more intentional about managing my time well, I can get more accomplished. Even as I write this, I’m saying to myself, “Ya, that makes total sense. I’m gonna write some solid goals and get them done.” On the surface, this seems like a valid claim. However, if one were to go back and look at past resolutions of mine, it would be lucky if even half were achieved.

Really though, the whole point of me writing this is to say that I think the Bible calls us to set optimistic goals and that those goals can be achieved by self-discipline and faith in a mighty God. Here are a few of my favorite supporting verses:

  • Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity — Ephesians 5:15-16.
  • All athletes are disciplined in their training. But they do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should — 1 Corinthians 9:25-27

So, just like past years, I’m setting goals, and they are still going to be wildly ambitious. I’ll be praying that my goals honor God and that with his help I will “train [myself] to be godly” (1 Tim 4:7) more intensely this year than ever before.

For all of us at the Oakes, this new year is a rather arbitrary yet somehow significant fresh start. Please pray that we will set God-honouring goals and make the most of every opportunity!

- Jeff

Andy's picture

Remember, Remember... poetry

Andy (3 months 3 days ago)

4-6 November was a great camp. Our biggest yet with 68 campers and with it happening over bonfire weekend, a firey theme seemed appropriate.

Together we looked at three great fires in the Bible. One when God spoke to Moses from a burning bush, another when God sent fire to burn up the sacrifice Elijah had made on Mount Carmel. These were both fires provided by God. The third fire was made by King Nebuchadnezzar and was to be the 'punishment' for three friends who refused to bow down to his statue. Where was God in this incident? As we read the story in Daniel 3, we see that God wasn't distant and the three friends didn't go through the trial alone.

The campers also looked at Ecclesiastes 12 which has a challenge to "Remember your creator in the days of your youth..." 

Brilliantly, several campers wrote poems about the weekend. Each one beginning with the familiar "Remember, remember the camp in November..."

Here they are for your enjoyment:

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Remember, remember the camp in November,
When the Oakes rocked on forever,
No one knows what could be better,
If you can I'll give you a tenner.
Oakes, Oakes, Oakes.

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Remember, remember the camp in November,
The ropes in November
And firework display.
The craft and the raft
And the fire display.
The smoke rises up,
From the fire up,
Up, up and away.

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Remember, remember the camp in November,
When some folks went to the Oakes.
We had lots of fun,
Though our bags weighed a ton,
The food was yummy,
But we missed our mummy,
And that's the story of the camp.

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Remember, remember the camp in November,
We learnt about God, how he chose to speak to us
Through the forever burning bush.
When God's voice came through, Moses stood in awe,
Staring at the bush, he couldn't believe what he saw.
Our faces were glowing while we heard the teachings of Jehovah,
And sang lots of songs that belonged to November.

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Remember, remember that camp in November,
Where Andy told us that the Bible was like fire,
And God should be our number one desire.

The ropes course was great,
Each day passed without a hate,
Even when it was really late.

Boom, boom, fireworks went up into the fierce air,
Like a bitten hare!

We shared all these memories with our amazing friends,
All these enjoyments were made by the one and only God.

-----------------------------

Thank you to all of the campers who took time to write their poems up and for making this weekend a very special camp.

Andy :)

luke's picture

Meet the New Team!

luke (4 months 2 weeks ago)

The new team are here and are being trained right now! As part of their training I'm gonna get them to say hello to you in a reply to this blog post!

Hi team...