On Saturday, July 15th, we had the opportunity to have a youth camp in Chicago. The guest of honor was Rev. Kamal Dadlani Ji from Washington D.C. ,accompanied by his wife, Maya ji. Several youths from Minneapolis and Atlanta also participated in this event. The response of encouragement, enthusiasm and participants was remarkable. The youth camp's main focus was to bring forth a strong sense of unity and to cover some topics that the youth felt strongly about, such as the do’s and don’ts related to sangat and sewadal duties.

The day began at 8:30 am with breakfast. After breakfast we stretched out and were guided by youth seva dal coordinator, Seenu Ji, for PT exercises to get everyone in a disciplined atmosphere. It was a good way to begin the day, getting the oxygen to our brain and the blood flowing throughout our body; it also freshened us for the seva that we had designated afterwards. Next there was a session of "Do's and Don'ts" for Seva Dal members and saints. In this session Kamal Ji gave explanations of how we should behave in sangat; from sitting to speaking. Sanjay Ji, one of our youth coordinators, discussed the do's and don'ts for the Seva Dal.

After lunch a spiritual question and answer session was organized with Rev. Dar Ji and Rev. Kamal Ji on the chair. The questions asked were related to the Mission's ideology and spirituality. Youth discussed the questions openly, with different point of views. Kamal Ji and Dar Ji gave final thoughts on the questions. By the end of the session, what we realized was that the answer to all these questions were lying in the five principals of our Mission and that's the way of life His Holiness has rightly chosen for us. If it wasn't for a fixed schedule, this session could have gone on for hours.

Next, games session was organized to inculcate team spirit in Youth Saints. There were games of Volleyball, Football, and Tug of War. This was a good showmanship of unity and teamwork. It was nice to see how every youth participated whether they knew how to play the game or not.

Then the youth coordinators, Rev. Seenu ji, Rev. Sanjay ji, Rev. Natasha ji, and Rev. Neena Ji hosted a game show named "Mission Jeopardy." Questions were based on Mission's history and knowledge. There were three teams and their names were Seva, Simran, and Satsang. One youth from each team was invited to answer a question. If one answered correct, he or she would get points for their team. Each team also had three "life lines." The first lifeline was to consult with one's own group. Second was to call or ask a saint standing by. And the third lifeline was to get multiple-choice answers to choose from. It was amazing to see how the youth worked as a team. Not only did they have fun, but they learned many things about the Mission as well. To end the day, we received blessings from Rev. Kamal ji.

Sunday morning's activity began at 9am. It was the youths' duty to make langar for the day. The menu was all Indian food. Again, it was great to see youngsters giving a helping hand in washing the pots, cutting salad, and preparing food.

At 10:30 Seva Dal Rally was organized in Bhavan. The whole sangat consisted of youth speakers who had prepared on a choice of two topics, "My Experience of Camp" and "When I Felt Close to Nirankar in My Life." All the youths came prepared and shared their thoughts on these two topics. It was wonderful to hear how much the youth enjoyed this camp. We now know that our generation can work with unity by following the teaching of His Holiness. And so all Chicago Youths looked at this camp, as a preliminary to the Salvation day samagam, which will be held in Chicago in September.

Rev. Kamal Dadlani Ji blessed the Sangat. In his discourses Rev. Kamal Ji said, 'just like the Mission Jeopardy game, we too have "life lines" in our everyday life. We need to realize that we have access to many saints around us to answer any questions or to share any thoughts.'

Overall, everybody felt that this Youth Camp was a great success and pray that with the blessings of His Holiness Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji, the youth will implement all that they have learned in their daily lives.

Prepared By,

Neena Singh and Sanjay Jawanda

Chicago Youth Sewa Dal Coordinators

Chicago (USA)