This weekend marked the first camp meeting weekend in Kamantian. Over the last 4 years outreach has expanded to surrounding villages and to the lowlands. About 150 people from these churches made their way to Kamantian, and worshiped God under the stars, and with the surroundings of palm tree's and mountains.
I was in charge of recording audio, and Danelle and I had special music one night. The meetings started early (5:30 a.m.) and ended late (10:00 p.m.) though they didn't go all day long. There was singing, testimonies, and mini sermons. The testimonies explained how they arrived at the decision for baptism, and sometimes these could be extremely long winded. This surprised me because many of the people speaking seemed really shy, but they warmed up, told some jokes, and then kept going and going. The batteries in my audio recorder couldn't keep up and I had to change them multiple times (they weren't energizers).
However the camp meeting was a huge success. Some people who don't normally attend church attended the camp meetings, and their was in general, a feeling of happiness because of the fellowship. The longevity was ok because I could space off and look at the stars. I saw multiple shooting stars and pointed out some of the more interesting ones to Danelle. We were amazed at the way they would shoot and even curve across the sky...but upon further observation Danelle informed me that these twirling “shooting stars” were actually fire flies*. In my defense I didn't have my glasses on.
The highlight of the weekend was Saturday night. We finished a day of sermons, baptisms, and singing with a communion service. Communion is the example that Jesus gave his disciples on how to be a servant and be in constant communion with God (Jn 13-1-17; Mt 26:26-30).
Jesus washed his disciples feet, exemplifying that He came to serve, not to be served onto (Mt 20:28). In like manner we washed one another's feet. Family's separated into groups, I washed Danelle's feet, she washed mine and then we prayed together. It really was a special night for everyone. There was torches set up in a semi octagon, looking at the scene from a distance gave a really awesome perspective. Perched on the narrow ridge of a mountain side was a circle of fire with about 150 people within it, all of them acknowledging their creator while they worshiped Him under the stars. It is one of the memories that will be etched into my mind from our time here in Kamantian.
The night was completed with the drinking of coconut juice which symbolized Christ dying for us. Jesus, the literal creator of the universe actually went through the birthing process and humbled himself even further to being crucified on a cross. This is hard for me to wrap my mind around, but sometimes, “Truth is stranger than fiction.” We have life because Christ gave His blood. This may be in part why Leviticus 17:11 says, “Life is in the blood.” Typically this is symbolized with grape juice, but in this Philippine jungle coconut juice was a fitting substitute.
Communion represents connection with God. We stay connected through prayer, through reflection, and by following His example of servant hood. Having communion was an excellent way to end the camp meeting weekend. The first of what I hope will become an annual event in Kamantian.
*An interesting side note is the spiritualistic superstition surrounding fire flies. Palawano's believe that firefly's mark the graves of the deceased. Maybe this is why they don't collect them, and put them in jars like kids in the states do.
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