Sailing and salvation

The first time Fiona Copeman came to Lake Mac, she was just six weeks old. Her parents, Arthur and Annabel, were directing the Senior Sailing CRU Camp, and brought their newborn along with them.

It definitely wasn’t her last time. As she grew up, encouraged by her parents, she attended various CRU Camps at the site, especially the popular sailing camp, Sail Mania.

Fiona has many fond memories of her time on Sail Mania – particularly on the boats.

“Each year we would have a race on the last full day of camp. It was so exciting trying to get on the right boat, with the right people and set the right course to win. I was never ever in the winning boat, but it was always a great day!”

Camp is often a place where strong friendships are formed, and that was definitely the case for Fiona, who remembers, “I made some really good friends on camp that I came back again and saw year after year, and then we started to be friends outside of camp which was lovely.”

For Christian kids, CRU Camps can play a vital role in helping them to grow in their faith and understand what it means to follow Jesus, outside of the context of their local church. Fiona shares:

“I grew up in Kincumber on the Central Coast, going to a small Anglican church with my family. There were no other Christians my age at my church and I didn't know many young Christians. I looked forward to camp each year when I would get to hang around with some other kids who were my age and also loved Jesus – so it was a place where I felt that I could relax and be myself. I am also so thankful to the many leaders who patiently and lovingly answered all my questions and were such important role models to me. I also thought all the leaders were so cool, so you didn’t have to be a complete dork to follow Jesus!”

Having enjoyed and been impacted by the Sail Mania camp so much as a young person, Fiona was thrilled to get the opportunity to become a leader and later camp director.

“I wanted to make sure that there were people to continue running camp and that kids would be loved for who they were, and given the opportunity to meet Jesus. I also had so much fun on camp as a camper, and it also looked fun to be a leader! I kept returning as a leader because I formed relationships with campers and other leaders that I really wanted to continue each year - it was remarkable to see what God was doing in people’s lives (campers and leaders) from year to year.”

Reflecting on why she believes so much in camping ministry, Fiona says, “I think camps are a unique opportunity for kids to get away from the distractions of life. They have so many pressures and so much going on in their lives, so many things they have to do. But camp offers an escape from this pressure and gives them the space to think about God, to be presented with the gospel. They really have the headspace and the resources to experience Jesus."

Fiona has a particularly special story of a former camper, for whom her time at Lake Mac was significant: “Recently at church, I met a girl who had been in my cabin on Sail Mania about six years ago. She walked into church and she showed me the Bible that I gave to her on camp when she prayed to become a Christian. She said to me, ‘Fiona, I am still going to church!’ Even if that was the only kid who kept following Jesus after camp, it was totally worth it, but year after year I hear stories of kids coming to know Jesus and having this beautiful relationship with Him.”

When Fiona recently visited Lake Mac, she said joyfully, “I just felt at home.” It’s a sentiment shared by so many former campers and leaders, and Fiona’s hope and prayer is that the next generation will also feel at home at CRU Camps as they hear about Jesus – including her own kids:

“God willing, when they are old enough we will send. them on Wind and Waves and Sail Mania, and then see xthem as leaders! How wonderful would that be!”