Story by Trevor Novak
Conquest Regina completed another year of faith, fun and formation with the annual Father & Son Campout May 24-26, 2019. By the grace of God, we were blessed with beautiful weather, wonderful young men, committed fathers and an abundance of faith filled moments we all soon won’t forget. The campout was held amidst the beauty and tranquility of the Qu’appelle Valley at Camp Monahan on the shores of Katepwa Lake. It truly was a wonderful weekend with the focus on fatherhood and the relationship between the fathers and their sons. A whole lot of fun was had by all.
This year we were blessed with not only one priest but two to help us deepen our faith and appetite for Jesus Christ. Father Alejandro (Alex) Mijangos L.C. and diocesan priest Father Arpee Urquico were able to attend our campout this year, celebrating daily mass and helping bring the campers closer to Christ in every activity. They provided us with great kindness, witness, wisdom and guidance. Without them, the camp this year would not have been as faith filled and the celebration of The Great Mystery of the Eucharist would not have been evident. The tone was set early as the camp started with opening mass in the beautiful outdoor chapel on Friday evening. The evening also included our traditional father-led torch lit Stations of the Cross at dusk followed by fellowship and the hot dog and marshmallow roast by the campfire. 
One of the benefits of our Conquest club is the ability to create and build friendships, fraternity and fellowship with other boys, young men and fathers. This theme was a natural fit seeing as we were all committed to the weekend, to our sons, to our faith, to our families and to our club. We had two ‘Dad Talks’ sessions revolving around this theme, the benefits of fraternity, and the options for men in Regina to create these bonds. I think everyone left the discussion with an openness to the idea of fraternity as well as some reassurance of the necessity of peer groups within our daily lives and church. During these dad’s sessions the boys engaged in activity and/or sport as a group led by one of the dads with help from the young men.
The younger boys, to put it simply, had a blast being able to roam freely throughout the weekend with their dad to fish, swim, canoe and hike. The ability to spend time with their dads and other boys in a controlled setting is a wonderful gift to them and to us as fathers. We ate well, slept well, played hard and prayed. Sharing the gift of our faith as a group of dads, men, young men and boys was a wonderful experience for all. Most of all though, we have formed new bonds with other men and boys with the similar struggles, the same faith and the same goal to help bring Christ to ourselves, to others and especially to our families. 