We as Masiha Church went on a family camp with the objective of encountering God in a special way. On a bright and sunny Sunday morning, two busses left for St Xavier’s Villa, Khandala, though a few opted to drive to the camp site. We had a young couple from Chhattisgarh join in with their son. Everyone seemed super excited about the next 72 hours.

1^st Day: We arrived around 11 am and quickly settled in. A brief round of praise and some instructions later, we were introduced to our team leaders. Teams (titled heroes of faith) were formed and everyone welcomed the other as preparations began to put up an exciting show for the entertainment evening. Each team was responsible to put up a skit, song or a dance, the objective being a time of family fun.

Another exciting feature was ‘Angelizing’. Each person was to be an invisible angel to another during the duration of the camp. The angel whose identity needed to be a top secret was to serve and care for the person. It was a mixed lot and many put their best foot forward in making others happy and comfortable. While some received their plates with the best chicken leg pieces others got soft drinks and chocolates, while for some it was an Elijah like experience being blessed with a glass of cold water.

Hitesh led the 1^st evening worship and though it was brief, a sense of God’s presence was evident. Rahul preached the first message from Esther 1 – 2:18, as he connected the introduction to the parable of the wedding feast in the Gospel of Luke, and conclusively challenged the church to live righteously for Christ. A brilliant analogy of pig vs sheep brought a deep sense of conviction to many present as we all were motivated to ‘be holy as our God is holy’ A brief break was all we could afford as we wanted to make best of the short time we had together.

Virendra Patil preached from Revelation driving into the Church a heaven centered teaching. The camp was a similar place like the mountain where Moses went up to meet with God. He prophetically spoke of this time being a time out at a garage for many cars that would be repaired and fixed for the next journey. He encouraged the church to respond to that which God was doing in their respective lives. We ended the day with a sumptuous meal and fellowship continued till late midnight.

2^nd Day: Pastor Sydney Nevis was often being mentioned about in our prayers before the camp but all got to see him and his beautiful wife Cheryl. After Virendra had led us into a quality time of praise and worship, Sydney preached from the life of Saul of Tarsus and how Saul went from being a persecutor of the church to being an apostle of Christ Jesus. We need to be Christ centered and not get carried away by mere signs was an eye opener to many. He emphatically mentioned of signs leading us to Jesus and we ought to press on. A brief chai break concluded the morning.

This was followed by a separate men & women’s session. Women’s session: Cheryl shared on what is the purpose of life and what are we living for as she spoke from 1 Cor 3:12-15 challenging the ladies to produce work that would stand the test of fire. She also stated that the Word of God is like a manual and we ought to read our Bibles and spend time with God. Quite a few ladies found the Q & A session significant and practically helpful.

Men’s Session: Sydney grouped the men and asked them to come up with issues that hinder their growth in God. These stumbling blocks in our Christian walk are real and need to be dealt with appropriately. Topics like sex, spiritual discipline, challenges at work and family lives were discussed in all seriousness. Sydney also stimulated the men to think and act in a manner worthy of the Lord. Many later testified to the session being of tremendous help and promised to live in the good of it.

Afternoons were siesta time for the elderly while the rest continued to bond together through games, chats and walks. New friends were made while strengthening old friendships too. Some grabbed the opportunity to sit with leaders and wives and get counseling and help on various fronts. An organized round of games was played by Hitesh who did a splendid job making sure the competitive edge did not over shadow the fun element. It was heartening to see people of all shapes and sizes participate with equal enthusiasm and give their best for their respective teams.

The evening started with a powerful time of praise where everyone moved chairs and danced in frenzy for God. Jacqueline and the musicians were brilliant and the joy of the Lord filled every heart present in the room. We had to halt praise after an hour as it refused to die down. Sydney continued to preach from the life of Paul of Antioch highlighting the credentials of a labourer. He spoke candidly on suffering being a part of Christian life and the attitude towards it. He also spoke on being filled with the Holy Spirit, the secret for spiritual success. The Word was well embraced by the church.

A quick dinner and we assembled for a fun evening. Each team was uniquely creative. While some came up with a heartening message through their skits the others just made us roll in laughter with their witty humour. Some sang folk songs while others showed choreography skills. A novel idea by Hitesh was the highlight of the evening. He asked every husband present to dedicate a song to their respective wives. It was both, hilarious and romantic. The church loved the concept and the wives blushed through the night. The entire Church was in good cheer and reflected true gladness.

3^rd Day: Final day of the camp and some young folks wanted to make the most of it. Some boys were up as early as 5am and went for a trek on the beautiful terrains of Khandala. Some were up to their usual mischief pulling some out of beds and dousing many with buckets of water. It was all in good spirit and honestly, camp without mischief is seriously boring.

Vivek led us into a powerful time of worship, a total contrast to the boisterous evening of praise last night. The Power of the Holy Spirit was evident in might as many wept, some on their knees while others had hands stretched being filled with the Holy Ghost. Many were prayed for and ministered to, as the prophetic dimension was flowing effortlessly. Some were slain in the Spirit while others trembled. It was a precious moment for the entire church as God began to deliver, cleanse and heal many souls.

Rahul brought the final Word, continuing from the book of Esther. The message titled biggest loser wins, underlined the message of Jesus challenging us to lose our lives for His sake and gain eternal blessings. Just like Esther was willing to risk her life while Haman lost his trying to gain it, he persuaded the church to live their lives worthy of the calling.

We then had a time of testimonies where many testified, some of them are mentioned below. In the afternoon Lata led us into another time of jubilant praise. We had a time of breaking bread together as Viren led us into praying for things the Lord had spoken to us at the camp. Post tea, we left for aamchi Mumbai with a grateful heart towards all that God accomplished.

Acknowledgements - Special thanks to Sydney and Cheryl Nevis for ministering through the Word and wisdom. We were blessed to have you with us. GBU

Dipesh Shah - Thank you for all the administration and organization of the camp. You are a star!

Fergus Davar - Thank you for helping in compiling this report. God bless you.