For two chilly weeks in June, 31 young people between the ages of ten and twenty-three from as far south as Tasmania and as far north as Bundaberg converged on the Eastward property to be a part of Eastward's first Music Camp - the first of it's kind in Australia we believe.  For two weeks, all we seemed to think about, to do was music. During the very intense time we learned, recorded and filmed three precious songs. Besides this, we were all taught some valuable tips and techniques to not only singing but also playing instrumets and music in general.

One of the songs we did, called “I Am Weak but You are Strong”, everyone sung together. It’s a lovely simple prayer-song that was pretty easy to learn. This was filmed at the top of “Little Nellie.” Little Nellie is a rocky, scrubby mountain with a magnificent view all the way to the ocean. 

Then we learned “Rock of Ages”. The arrangement that we used would be extremely difficult to describe, but it is very pretty and moving. Instead of a piano accompaniment, Eman arranged instrumental parts. We had two cellos, two flutes and seven violins playing that song. This song was filmed on a grassy point jutting out into the ocean down at Diamond Head. It was morning, sunny and warm and we were able to get some really awesome footage. I think that “Rock of Ages” is my favorite song from the camp.

The third song we did was called “Onward”. At first it sounded atrocious and I was almost ready to despair. But once the kids had learned their parts and got it together, it sounded really good and the kids (and us) started to enjoy it. We had Stephanie, Shanna and I playing violin, Kasey played a very dramatic cello part and it was topped off with a trumpet part. “Onward” was filmed at a local picnic ground on the Wilson River. We combined the winding walking track throught the semi-rainforest and a big flat rock at the junction of the Wilson and Tinebank creek to create a dramatic, marching, victorious feel to the video.

On Sabbath evening, our group put on a concert in the Senior Citizen’s Hall in Wauchope. We performed our three songs from the camp and smaller groups presented a selection of other items to accompany them. Approximately 120 people came along and were blessed on the night. 

There are allot of words that I would use to describe those two weeks. The first that jumps to my head is exhausting, but others quickly follow: exciting, hard, successful, rewarding, a learning curve, stressful...ok you've got it by now. It's been a BIG two weeks. I mean BIG. But...it was an amazing two weeks. God has granted me the opportunity to be a part of something that I’ve always wanted to do. Sometimes God sees fit to fulfill our dreams.