I can still remember as if it were yesterday the day I arrived for the Worldwide Church of God’s Summer Educational Program (S.E.P.). It was the summer of 1990, and I had been accepted for the third session of camp in Orr, Minnesota. Hundreds of other teens were arriving as I did, but I felt alone and unsure of the next three weeks. I knew I would enjoy the sports, swimming, canoe trips and all of the other wonderful activities, but “what would everyone think of me?” loomed in my mind.

Though I had grown up in the Church of God, I never had the opportunity to be around so many other teens who believed the same things I did. To them, my beliefs would not seem different or strange. At camp, I would not need to explain why I could not eat ham or the reason I had to “relax” after sundown on Friday. (I would not have to pretend to be someone I wasn’t, as was often the case when around my acquaintances in the world. I could simply be myself.) Nonetheless, it was still difficult to believe I could build any lasting friendships in this short period of time.

I could not have been more wrong!

Three weeks later, my life had been changed forever! Though I had friends in my local Church congregation, this was different. At home, I saw my friends only on the Sabbath, whereas I interacted with teens in the world on a daily basis. Never before had I been completely immersed in an environment where I could truly be myself—a place where I could open up with large groups of my peers without fear of being ridiculed or questioned for my beliefs.

The results of living God’s way of life and building friendships based on the right foundation for three weeks changed my life! In addition, seeing this in action, without the distractions of the outside world, was a turning point for me.

I left camp a changed person and no longer felt alone as I prepared to enter school that fall. The Church had become real to me. Even though I was born into the Church, after S.E.P., it became something that I was a part of—not just my parents!

You have the same opportunity at Ambassador Youth Camp this summer.

Friendships Built on the Right Foundation

You have heard that God’s way of life is based on the principle of outgoing concern and selfless behavior. Summed up—this is the way of give! Practicing kindness and generosity toward others is the backbone of living according to God’s Law.

However, today’s world is based on a different foundation, one of self-centeredness—the way of get! Sadly, most teenagers’ friendships are built on this foundation. Most people, teenagers included, choose their associates based on what they can get from them, instead of on common goals, beliefs or supporting each other. Ask yourself, how many of your acquaintances in the world practice genuine outgoing concern toward you? It is safe to presume very few—if any.

There is a fundamental reason for this. In this world, kindness and generosity are rarely reciprocated. Rather, these are something to be taken advantage of—and are even viewed as signs of weakness!

How sad. Such attitudes are absolutely devastating and result in relationships that are guarded, never developing beyond a skin-deep level. “Friends” such as these will almost certainly be completely forgotten after graduation from high school, even though approval and acceptance by them may seem important now.

However, it need not be this way. You can build friendships that will last a lifetime. You can avoid constantly bouncing from one group of “friends” and acquaintances to another, never truly building meaningful relationships.

In the Church of God, kindness is responded to with more kindness; generosity is responded to with more generosity. And this does not apply only to adults with God’s Holy Spirit; it applies to others your age. These are the individuals you will be interacting with at camp.

Surrounded by Those of Like Mind

Have you ever been surrounded by dozens of teens your age who were not looking to get anything from you?—who were not looking to take advantage of you?—who understood your beliefs?—who were genuinely eager to get to know you? As hard as it may be to believe, AYC is such a place. Of course, you probably know a few other teens in the Church, but have you ever had the chance to spend extended amounts of time with them?

AYC is a chance to be around those your own age who share your beliefs, and it’s also an opportunity to learn from experienced support staff, counselors and ministers—many of whom spent their youth in God’s Church. Oftentimes, they understand exactly what it means to be alone at school, and can relate to the difficulties you are experiencing. They have a real interest in you and genuinely want to get to know you. They are there to help you.

The school year is more than half finished (at least for teens in the U.S.), and in a few short months it will be summer. During these months, you have a chance to escape from the daily struggles of feeling different from other teens at school. This is a wonderful opportunity to escape the empty relationships among those who do not understand God’s truth.

However, this is not enough.

When adults first learn God’s truth, they are forced to leave behind practically all of their old friendships in the world. But they soon replace them with new friendships and build bonds with those of like mind in the Church. Doing this cements them into God’s way of life. This is no different for you. You cannot just eliminate wrong relationships—you must replace them with the right ones.

“Test Drive” God’s Way of Life

The Feast of Tabernacles is the highlight of the year for most of God’s brethren. The Feast is extremely important for a number of reasons, one of which is to see the results of God’s brethren dwelling together in unity. It provides God’s scattered brethren an opportunity to come together and socialize with no distractions from the outside world. It allows them to build true, lasting friendships with those of like mind. This is also true for teens in the Church, but in some cases not to the same degree socially. At some sites—especially international—there are only a few others your age.

From a physical standpoint, AYC provides the best opportunity for God’s youth to come together with others their own age. Like the abundant buffet of spiritual food received at the Feast, AYC is a chance to receive a spiritual boost with lectures tailored for youth. AYC also allows you to be yourself and build lasting friendships based on the right foundation—again, similar to the Feast. This will be two weeks like no other for teens in The Restored Church of God.

At some point, you will be faced with the clear choice of which path to choose in life. This crossroads will be a very real decision. Will you obey God and follow His Way? Or will you follow the pulls of the world and leave the Church?

You owe it to yourself to apply for AYC 2008 and “test drive” God’s way of life for two weeks. Use this as a chance to take God at His word and practice the way of give—the only way to reap happiness and true friendships. Outside of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Sabbath, you will have no better opportunity to do this. Afterward, examine the results of living God’s Way at camp and compare the results to being immersed in Satan’s world.

You owe it to yourself to make this comparison, as I did in the summer of 1990. Camp changed my life forever!—and can do the same for you!