It’s summertime in Chile, so staff and students from the Globalscope El Oasis campus ministry used a few weeks of their vacation recently to serve as camp counselors in northern Chile.

“Two missionaries from the NGO (non-government organization) Filadelfia spoke at an El Oasis retreat a couple years ago and invited us to serve in their summer camps for kids and teens,” said campus minister Brent Vokes.

Some students helped in an early January week for younger kids, and then Brent, former El Oasis staffer Rodrigo Marales, and seven students went a week later to work with high school students.

“Our primary focus was to build relationships with the people in our tents,” said Brent. “Rodrigo and I held a Bible study for the young guys on what it means to be a man, and focused on strength of character and serving rather than dominating others.

“Many of the teens have been through serious difficulties in their lives,” Brent added. “As they began to open up with us, they shared struggles with depression, suicidal thoughts and family problems.”

At the end of the week, one of the campers asked to be baptized.

“As the swimming pool filled up, the preacher of the church there invited others to make the same decision, and in the end there were 12 baptisms that day,” said Brent. “It was an exciting moment, and we pray that those 12 and others will be involved with the youth group that meets regularly on the campgrounds throughout the year.

“This was a great trip because we had the opportunity to impact the teens’ lives in a very personal way,” added Brent. “Now the campers have a desire to continue growing in Christ and building relationships with one another.”