The Words of the Thompson Family
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The Words of the Thompson Family |
"Then what is true love? Its essence is to give, to live for the sake of others and for the sake of the whole…True love gives joyfully. You are literally handpicked by God. You are a product of everything that's beautiful." -- Sun Myung Moon
The theme of One Heart Camp 2010 was "Inheriting the Love of God." The core staff took the above words to heart and prepared an amazing camp experience for each participant. It all began with leadership preparation for 80 high school and college/young adults at Pasadena House. Through talks, group meetings and activities-a vision quest, team challenges and a break-through challenge, the leadership prepared to make the best camp ever. For two weeks in early July, camp was held at Camp Seely in the San Bernardino mountains in southern California. Participants heard great presentations on "Three Life Goals" (The Three Great Blessings), "Become a Joy-Maker" and "Choices" from Rev. Kevin Thompson. Through other talks/testimonies on life of faith, preserving innocence, learning to know True Father, prayer, matching and blessing testimonies, everyone had the opportunity to hear and connect with their rich heritage.
Of course, camp isn't only about talks and presentations. For many, the highlights of camp include all of the amazing games and activities. This year was no exception-from quidditch, ninja, push-up competitions, hikes to the heart-shaped rock, capture the flag, and team challenges such as spiderweb, and toxic kimchi to swimming, sports, arts and crafts, sewing and entertainment-there was something for everyone. Other highlights included the great food, meeting old friends and making new ones, a 21 minute prayer in God's creation and a final group meeting under-the-stairs connecting to each other through answering such discussion questions as: If you could have dinner with any living person, who would it be and why? What is your biggest fear? What do you love most about yourself? What is something that you want to change about yourself.
Throughout camp, participants heard and experienced that God's love is real and it is what ties us together, makes us brothers and sisters-One Family Under God. As one group leader put it, "God gives us opportunities for us to grow. One Heart Camp is such an opportunity." One participant wrapped up the experience well, "At One Heart Camp, you learn about your faith, become closer to God, meet great new people and create friendships that last a lifetime."