“‘Hi’ is to the left, ‘Ha’ is to the right! AUE” A game which quickly formed into a bonding session performance by many strangers who I became close with in only 5 days.
My name is Foni Teli and this camp was my first experience volunteering with Logos. The alarm went off at a crazy hour and my head said “What are you doing Fonz?” I panicked a little but gathered myself because I knew I was meant to go on this camp—for the love of the kids and the youth! I arrived at Logos at 7am to meet four beautiful strangers who I was about to road trip with. Little did I know the rewarding experience I ended up sharing with them on our stay at the Cooper’s Beach Campsite. We headed off listening to Hannah’s Broadway music, Joe’s confusing riddles, Jandal’s dry jokes and Nicole’s serious funny giggles. By the time we reached our first destination I was comfortable and knew we were going to have fun together!
We arrived to a group of young leaders at Big Mama’s house and began our journey learning names and building leadership skills. Instant bonding came about. We ended the day with a yummy dinner and Fr Frank’s touching Liturgy. The next day we headed to the campsite to meet all the youth. It was a great experience for all the leaders to be welcomed by Powhiri and I was invited to Karanga to the young people when they arrived - an opportunity I really appreciated as I haven’t done it since Primary!
Everyone on camp was split into 5 teams, who bonded and became like tribes, doing activities together, eating together and competing for points. The cute little ‘Ninjas’ (a group of the younger ones) thrilled my heart as they played around the grounds, enjoyed their artwork, admired their team leader (Te Paea) and took out the ultimate team prize at the end of camp! Each group had heaps of fun competing, chanting, chilling and growing close.
Every day was full of new experiences and it was a fantastic experience to be surrounded by happy people, filling me with energy and adrenalin - even when the alarm went off at 6am so we could get ready for morning exercise (and I’m not a morning person)! Another highlight was definitely the water slide and flying fox. Especially once the young people had to get changed and the Logos crew got a chance to make the most of the water slide!
A totally different and new experience for me was leading the night prayer liturgy on the last night of camp. I felt an enormous amount of love and a strong sense of spirituality shared amongst all the campers. We began the liturgy with an Avatar prayer (where we were all physically connected), we included a skit and ended the prayer time outside, lying in a circle, gazing at the starts and harmonious singing in the background.
I miss everyone already! Working with the young ones has always been a passion of mine and having this opportunity has led me further on my career path. Thanks everyone for making this an eye opening, unforgettable experience.

Foni Teli, Logos Volunteer