Celebrating the 'God of Wonders' at women's camp
Celebrating the 'God of Wonders' at women's camp
4 September 2018
The Salvation Army Queensland Divisional Womens Team at the annual women's camp "God of Wonders" with guest speaker, Colonel Robyn Maxwell.
More than 110 women from 27 Salvation Army corps and services gathered in Brisbane from 27-30 August to discover and celebrate the “God of Wonders” at the annual Queensland Division Women’s Camp.
Participants enjoyed a range of electives including jewellery making, timbrels, creative prayer and singing. There was also a formal dress-up dinner themed on the Mad Hatter’s tea party and a talent quest.
The camp also featured an inspiring testimony from Moonyah (Brisbane Recovery Services) participant Karynne, plus daily worship times followed by teaching from Colonel Robyn Maxwell.
The Divisional worship team.
Colonel Maxwell is one of the Army’s Ambassador for Holiness and Prayer and holds the position of Executive Officer with her husband Colonel Wayne Maxwell at Territorial Headquarters in Sydney. She has served as a Salvation Army officer for almost than 35 years.
Colonel Maxwell shared on the “God of Wonders – resting in him; restoring the truth, and responding in faith”. She encouraged participants to live as “women of wonder”.
Her uplifting talks included highlighting some of the people in the Bible who saw the hand of the “God of Wonder”, such as King Jehoshaphat of Judah. She also shared from her life experiences.
Special time of year
Major Rowena Smith, Divisional Salvos Women’s Director, who organised the camp together with Divisional Salvos Women’s Coordinator Captain Leisa Humbley, said: “There are so many elements that make this annual camp so special.
Heartfelt worship during the camp.
“Many women were touched by the ‘tree mail’ – the opportunity to send others encouraging notes and letters; others by the efforts made by the team to bless and nurture all the women.
“We go all out to make the formal dinner a truly beautiful night with decorations and lighting and table settings and I had tears in my eyes when I heard one lady had said ‘I had never in my life been to something as beautiful as that before’. That really impacted her. To know that this lady felt valued by this experience is so significant.
“Another amazing element is the way the women from so many different experiences and walks of life from corps to SAILLS (disability support), to recovery participants and Streetlevel – all relating with each other so beautifully.
“One night I saw one of the young women from Moonyah engaging in conversation with Myrtle, who is a corps lady in her 90s who comes to camp every year. It was just beautiful to see how God knitted everyone together.”
Personal impact
The camp experience impacted the ladies in powerful ways.
The "throne" was a focus area for the ladies.
One lady, Sharne, shared how she couldn’t afford to go to camp last year and prayed earnestly to God that he would open a way for her to come this year. She received employment and was able to attend.
Having experienced camp, Sharne wants to bring more women along next year and is inspired to return to her corps to consider ways to connect with women in her community and corps.
Another lady explained that being able to perform in the camp concert has given her more confidence, while another shared that coming to camp motivated her to check that she is listening to what God wants her to do.
Major Smith praised the contribution of Colonel Maxwell, saying how deeply impacted the women were by her teaching.
The formal dinner was a highlight event.
“Colonel Robyn’s messages were so God-inspired. I truly believe that she was sent to us by God,” she said. “She was so relational and relatable. Not just in the Bible teaching, but also the stories she shared about the Philippines and also her own family life. They touched the hearts of all the women in a very special way. She spoke with such grace and humour and humility.
“The worship times, all blended so beautifully with the messages. You could see and feel God bringing all the elements together. Colonel Robyn said to the women at the beginning of camp ‘this place is holy ground’ and it truly was!”
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