Mennonite Weekly Review

WENTWORTH, Quebec — The relaxing sounds of a small river cascading over rocks at Camp Peniel in the Laurentians north of Montreal create a perfect setting for Nathan Giroux to feel inner peace.

Camp speaker Patrick Rochon, left, and Nathan Giroux share a laugh at Amicamp, a summer camp that takes place at Camp Peniel, a retreat center supported by Mennonite churches in Quebec. — Photo provided by MCC

“I can sit on the rocks for hours and listen to the river. Time passes really fast here,” said Giroux, 14.

The scenic surroundings of this year-round retreat center supported by Mennonite churches in Quebec help him understand the meaning of the word Peniel — Hebrew for “face” or “presence” of God.

“In our world you can rarely see God face to face, but in nature you can do that,” he said. “I forget my troubles when I’m here. I can simply see God.”

Every summer Mennonite Central Committee Quebec partners with Camp Peniel and the Association of Mennonite Brethren Churches in Quebec to organize weeklong camps for children ages 7 to 11 and youth ages 11 to 15.

The camp, now called Amicamp, brings together children and youth from Mennonite congregations in Quebec to develop friendships, grow spiritually and learn more about the Anabaptist faith and what it means to work for peace.

“Our churches are very small, and there aren’t too many programs for kids,” said camp director Carla Martens. “This is an easy way for kids to get together. It’s organized, and it’s fun.”

Campers develop a sense of belonging at camp, and when they are too old to be campers they come back as counselors and camp staff.

“They want to be around this atmosphere of friendship and acceptance,” she said.

The theme of Amicamp for youth ages 11 to 15 in July was about friendships and relationships.

Through examining the Bible story of four friends who dug a hole through a roof so that their paralyzed friend could experience the healing touch of Jesus, camp speaker Patrick Rochon helped campers understand the influence of friends.

Martens, a high school teacher in Saint Colomban, said she returns to the camp every summer as a director because she knows lives are being changed.