On January 9-15, in the village of Polyana, Carpathian region, our Christian Ethics Department, along with American friends from the Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis and East Albany, held a camp for teens, most of whom live in difficult circumstances.

37 participants of the camp, aged 13-17, from Rivne region, including 5 orphans, studied the Bible course Mortal Sins: Victory Over Destructive Temptations. In addition to studying, the teenagers participated in corporate worships, socialized in groups, played sports games, strolled, skied and snowboarded, and went to natural thermal springs.

On the last day of the camp, a boy and a girl prayed a prayer of repentance and reconciled to God, asking Jesus Christ to enter their hearts. They took this step consciously and thoughtfully.

Although, some teenagers are happily going to camp for recreation and entertainment, they are not interested in listening to the Word of God or find it boring. We pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will bring about His victory in the hearts of all these teenagers by the power of the Holy Spirit, that they will accept the Word of God and surrender their lives to the Savior, Jesus Christ!

Arkady Slyoza

 

Review by Camp Participants:

Victoria, 15 years old

I am very glad that God made me want to come to this camp. During my stay in the camp, Jesus changed me. Memories from the camp will remain with me for a long time. Here, I had fun with friends. I will miss them and my counselor Diana. I liked the experience of communicating with Americans, they are open and sincere.

Angelina, 15 years old

I enjoyed being in the camp Victory. I’d like to thank the counselors – Diana, Merlin, John.

I enjoyed praising God, singing, drawing, sledding and doing exercise in the morning. And I also liked the way we decorated our Christmas tree, played all sorts of games, drank tea, and the way children conducted skits. I enjoyed going to the pool. And now I have a new girlfriend.

Anastasia, 16 years old

I really liked the camp, it’s very cool and fun, a lot of emotions. Most of all I liked to go to the thermal waters. I really liked the mentor Diana. I didn’t like the Bible classes because it took a long time to study and I had to sit through classes. I didn’t like the worship services either.

Victoria, 16 years old

In the camp Victory, I really enjoyed spending time with new friends, sledding down the hill, riding on the bus to the thermal waters, talking to mentor Diana as we shared our life stories. Diana is very interesting, fun, if I had the opportunity, I would still spend time with her and new friends. I also liked the testimonies of the mentors, I would say that these stories were a bit sad, but thoughtful. But overall, the impressions of the camp are just wonderful! I will tell all my friends about the Victory camp and I hope to come here again.

Anna, 16 years old

What I liked most was the creativity and interest of the mentors, the glorification of the Lord, interesting adventures and trips to different places, the sermons of Scott and John, Teresa’s concerns for those who were ill.

This camp helped me to make new acquaintances, learn to listen to God’s Word and not forget about the One who created us and everything around us.

I didn’t always want to listen to the Word of God, but I tried to overcome my laziness.

I don’t often listen to the Lord in my life, but the Victory camp has made it clear for me that this is the most important thing in everyone’s life. We need to listen to God and pray.

He sees everything, so let us be kinder and love Him, as our Father.

“Trust in the LORD, and keep His way, and he will exalt thee to inherit the earth” (Psalm 37:34).

I love you, “Victory”!!!