Newbies Notes

Newbie’s Notes: OUR FIRST CAMP MEETING By Renee Sereno

(This article was featured in the August 2006 "Central Clarion", the monthly newsletter of the Modesto Central Seventh-Day Adventist Church.)

I’m back from my mountaintop experience.

Has it just been a week since the end of Camp Meeting? Was it just six days ago when my kids informed me they were anything but “Ready to Go Home”? They meant Modesto, of course, not our Heavenly Home, but I expected it. They were simply having too much fun.

I, on the other hand, looked forward to Camp Meeting with more trepidation than excitement. Oh, I had no problems seeing the Great Outdoors from the relative comfort of my air-conditioned minivan, but the idea of ten days in a tent with three squabbling kids, no electricity and no ensuite was a bit too In-Your-Face for me.

Nevertheless, I prayed about it. Being new members of the church, we weren’t even sure if we could get a tent assigned to us, knowing most people made reservations a year in advance. When we were informed that they had found a tent for us less than two weeks before Camp Meeting was to start, I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that God wanted us to be there.

God also surrounded us with people who were so supportive and helpful, like Teri Johnson and Donna Bearden, who helped to ease my family through our first Camp Meeting experience, and Pastor James Scarborough, whose efforts brought us there in the first place. I was also thankful for Debye Rusk’s company. She was a new Adventist, just like me, so it was nice to be sharing the excitement with another neophyte.

Together, Debye’s children and mine explored the wonders and delights the Children’s Divisions had to offer. Each tent had its own theme: from the jungles of Borneo to the African savanna, to the Ten Tribes of Israel and the farthest reaches of space. Lance and Troy learned to praise God in Swahili while Reanna was a missionary sailing the Cradle Rolling seas to teach children in far-away lands about Jesus.

And while our kids learned about Jesus, Debye and I took in some meetings of our own. My favorite part of the day was the evening program, where I was renewed by Henry Wright’s wit, Shelley Quinn’s warmth and Shawn Boonstra’s exuberance. I also sang my heart out, discovering new songs like “Lift Up the Trumpet” and “As the Deer Pants”, while listening and learning from other people’s stories of how God made an impact on their lives.

My husband, Lorenzo and I, also got to share our own story on stage during the “Miracle Roadways” portion of the program, where they featured people who recently joined the Seventh Day Adventist church through evangelistic seminars like the one we attended in January. It was wonderful to be able to share our testimony, and although we were a bit shy and nervous, we got to meet so many people who came up to us after the appearance that it was all worth it.

Troy also celebrated his fifth birthday at Camp Meeting, making the experience all the more special. All in all, we had sixteen children with their families come over, eating cake and yogurt and sipping pink lemonade and fruit punch in front of our cabin. We appreciated their presence, despite the short notice, and we would like to thank them again for making Troy’s birthday so memorable.

Indeed, this whole Camp Meeting experience is one that we will never forget. Oh, there will be more Camp Meetings to come, I know, but you only get to see it for the first time once.

Next year, I will be a veteran on the Cook House circuit, battling it out with the other mother hens for the last available working burner. Next year, I will show up bright and early for the ABC Patio Sale, before all the good stuff runs out. Next year, I will avoid Case Lots at lunch time, when the samples are snatched up even before they make it to the trays. Next year, Reanna’s feet will be big enough to fit into rubber flip-flops, so I don’t have to bring her stepstool every time we go to the Bath House. And next year, I will remind myself to bring a smaller, more discreet container for my flushable wipes, making that slow, purposeful trudge to the public toilets a lot less awkward.

Oh yes, I’ve been taking notes. Because my family and I will definitely be back.

Next year.