Adventures in Bible Lands Park!
Adventures in Bible Lands Park!
Campers, staff, and visitors were introduced to CedarS new Bible Lands Park (BLP) for the first time during pre-camp and first session, 2010. Through interactive exploration and Bible story-based scavenger hunts, campers saw their favorite Bible characters come to life! This walk-through, scale model of the Bible Lands encourages campers, staff and visitors to really dive into the Bible stories and characters they read about in the lesson.
These characters included Joshua, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus as they guided, healed and taught people. Not only did the campers get to delve deeper into getting to know and love these spiritual figures and stories, they acted these stories out in the Bible Lands Park to show campers where and how it would have looked back then! Campers from each program were introduced to the Bible Lands Park through interactive stories and parables.
Adventure Bible Drama Camp (ABDC) acted out parables such as ‘the Good Samaritan’ and the ‘Prodigal Son’. Junior Leadership, along with one of the CedarS donkeys, helped bring the ‘Good Samaritan’ to life. Campers dove into the story and discovered the true meaning behind Jesus’ famous parable. Some of the stories the ABDC campers explored and shared with the rest of camp included Moses seeing the Promise Land from the top of Mount Nebo, and Elijah being cared for and watched over by an angel after he conquered the prophets of Baal. Using a replica of the Ark of the Covenant that was built by 1st session OCB campers, ABDC campers led the whole camp in acting out the story of Joshua and parting the Jordan River so that the children of Israel could cross safely into the Promise Land (and onto the buses headed to Big Surf Water Park).
Our current third session CedarS campers are exploring even more Bible stories, characters, and parables found in each week’s Bible Lesson. Stories like Jesus teaching his disciples to be ‘fishers of men’ (Matt 4:19), as well as the prophet Elijah and all his amazing healings and adventurous feats. With these stories campers will explore the ideas of supply and faith and find new ways to trust and interact with God.
This week’s Bible lesson on Life has many stories of the prophet Elijah and how he relied totally on God. Elijah was led to wake up and to heal many people and taught them and us how to put faith in the one true God. He was persecuted for his beliefs and the works that he did against the prophets of Baal, but each time things seemed bleak for Elijah, God came through and cared for him. Our metaphysical theme for CedarS this summer is ‘sustainability’, which ties in perfectly with the stories of Elijah found in this week’s lesson. God sustained, watched over, and cared for Elijah every moment of his life. Campers will go down to the Bible Lands Park and learn about him and all the amazing things he did in the name of God. By learning and seeing where events like Elijah being sustained in the wilderness and listening in the cave for the still, small voice after the earthquake, wind, and fire came, campers will learn to put total trust in God. CedarS own caves that overlook BLP provide an excellent place for campers to see where Elijah went to Mt. Horeb and found God’s presence in the calm after the storm. Campers can witness these Biblical events and really start to listen for God’s voice, free from distraction!
