Amplify Camp Testimonies

Vika Toumohuni

Vava’u Cops Plant, Tonga

Highlight: Meeting new people at camp helped me build confidence to be around people and do something from the front.

Challenge: Learning how to dance and do new moves and performing on stage for the first time.

God moment: In praise and worship times, I just felt the Holy Spirit dwelling in me, so there were God moments for me in singing to God.

Mounu Tomu

Nuku’alofa Corps, Tonga

Highlight: First-time experience doing a cultural dance together with a group of girls.

Challenge: Trying to adapt to socialising with others.

God moment: Through fellowship in camp, with others in activities that we did together.

Ruth Faimanu

Apia Corps, Samoa

Highlight: The youth camp enabled me to learn lots of Scripture, and how it can help us with our everyday living.

Challenge: We shared our thoughts about the challenges we face in life and encouraged each other spiritually.

God moment: This camp has been a great help to my young life by motivating me, and brought a desire to participate in more gatherings that reflect the ways of Jesus that I should follow.

Sammy Ah Sue

Apia Corps, Samoa

Highlight: It’s nice to be away from home and to be with other young brothers.

Challenge: Learning and teaching others things they never knew before, for example, the ukulele.

God moment: I learned to share and express ideas about the Bible, and to be self-reliant and not dependent on others.

The programme’s focus areas included timbrels and ukulele, performing as a worship team, choir, flower arranging, and testimony writing and sharing. Because it was a small group, instead of breaking into majors and minors they did all the activities together.

Samoan Regional Leader Captain Eric Turner said, ‘There was something really nice in actually doing all the workshops together. We had that right through, and people were developing relationships, getting to know each other … and just enjoying being together. There’s fun and value in being together.’

Samoa first held an Amplify two years ago. Last year’s event was cancelled due to Covid-19 lockdown, so they were excited to run it again this year. It was the first time it was held on their new premises, and Eric said it was great to have it on their own Salvation Army land. He said that camps like this are not commonplace in Samoa so they wanted to make it a special, enjoyable time for all.

Eric felt there was ‘beauty and peace’ throughout the weekend, and lots of fun and laughter. There was also significant growth in the young people as they shared their testimonies with boldness, and showcased the many skills they had learned.

They all played a timbrel item at the Sunday Amplify celebration service, a musical instrument which was very common in the Army’s history, but was given a touch of Samoan style at the camp. The leaders also taught the young people a song on the ukulele, and they played as a ukulele band at the celebration service as well.

Teaching sessions were based on the territory-wide theme of ‘Movers and Makers’, encouraging the young people despite their age to not be afraid to use their talents and gifts.

Eric said, ‘there was freedom to worship and there was freedom to share their thoughts and their discoveries about Scripture and their relationship with God … it’s great to see the young people just being free’.