Those lazy, crazy days of summer have once again almost faded away, but did you know that while you were sitting on a deck chair, soaking in the heat and easing into the possibly one week off you have each year between Christmas and New Year’s with an ice-cold beer and the smell of sizzling beef bangers on the barbie, a whole swag of people from our little church in Engadine set foot on the golden beaches of our sunny coast between Boxing Day and mid-January to…well…look after other people’s kids? Well, that and, have an awesome time!
That’s right, about 25 of our members from Heathcote Engadine Baptist Church head out every year at the same time to what we call Summer Missions, run by an organisation called Scripture Union Family Mission. This summer we had people join the teams at Huskisson, Currarong, Sussex Inlet, Kioloa, Yamba-Maclean, Forster and Camp Jonathan, along with people from churches all over the state and Australia.
‘What on earth do you do there?’ you might ask. Well, we work tirelessly all year round to put together an exciting 10-day program for kids of all ages and adults too! It involves dust, sweat, sunburn, callouses, blisters, dirt, grim, grit and, oh yeah, camping! But it also involves much much more fun! Like: movie nights, trivia, talent shows, concerts, bush dances, carnivals, beach cricket, soccer competitions, sandcastle building, dog and pet shows, face painting, real-life angry birds, church on the beach and tonnes more!
And, why do we do this? To tell the world about Jesus, God’s precious and awesome gift to us, just when they might be wondering what exactly Christmas is all about. Because, to us, it is such exciting news to have and know that we just can’t keep it in!
How about you? Do you know who Jesus is? Why not send us an email, give us a call or come along to one of our services on a Sunday. We’d love to have a chat to you!
And: If you attend HEBC and want to get involved in the awesomeness that is this year’s Summer Missions, please see Ian Wooley or Manfred Yew and get the ball rolling! You’ll love it!