Week 24 (16 - 22 June): Church Camp Reflections 1

Dear Talent Beacon Family,

Camp Homecoming 2025 far exceeded my expectations. Truly, words fall short in capturing all that unfolded over those four days in Bintan. Even the word “church” seems too small to describe the love and kinship that characterises Talent Beacon. There is no doubt in my mind that we have grown to love one another more deeply—not just as fellow believers, but as family.

Playing icebreakers!

Jason opened camp with the session, “The Heart of the Father for Me and My Family.” He reminded us that God’s heart is for families—that everyone, regardless of age or background, has a place at the table: seniors, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters. For those who may not have experienced that kind of connection in their earthly families, the church becomes that family.

Being family means choosing to know one another and allowing ourselves to be known. It means loving when it’s inconvenient and letting ourselves be loved. That kind of love was woven into every moment of camp—through laughter, prayers, shared tears, hugs, and countless small acts of quiet sacrifice. I’m so grateful to be surrounded by people who show, in tangible ways, what it means to be loved by the Father. In loving one another, we also come to understand more fully how the Father has loved us.

Ephesians 3:19 tells us that God’s love surpasses knowledge. However deeply we love one another, our human love can only touch the surface of His love—it is love unimaginable. As Jason shared on Saturday morning, ‘We cannot give what we have not received.’ But the opposite is also true: once we’ve truly received His love, we cannot not give. The only appropriate response is to pour this love back out—to extend it to the world, to bring more lost sheep home.

One word kept surfacing in my heart during camp: ‘marked.’ We sang ‘Goodness of God’ at one of the sessions, and the line ‘your goodness is running after / it’s running after me’ struck me, though we have sung this song many times before. I saw an image of God’s goodness like a dart, locked onto the X on our backs. He is absolutely relentless in His pursuit of us—He is bent on blessing us with a future and a hope. All His plans for us are good. For as long as we live, we can live secure in the knowledge of His goodness and love for us. 

To be marked by Him is also to be set apart, destined for more. What is the “more” God is calling us into? I don’t know. Like the disciples who followed Jesus without knowing the destination, may we also trust the One who leads. As Talent Beacon continues to walk in the destiny He has prepared for us, may His joy and love always be our strength. May we walk humbly with our God, and love as freely as we have been loved. May we always draw on the love we have received from Him, for His love is the only well that never runs dry.

Love,

Lycia

Family.