On January 8 – 14, 2024, the youth Christian camp “He Is!” was organized and held by the Christian ethics department of Hope to People Mission Ruslana Kovalchuk and Arkadiy Slozha in the village of Polyana, Transcarpathian region.
Camp participants, teenagers from Rivne region, Khmelnytskyi region, Ternopil region, and Ivano-Frankivsk region, studied the first 5 chapters of the Gospel of John, glorified God by singing, performed various creative tasks based on the learned material, had an interesting program of active recreation in the mountains and thermal pools.
During a closer acquaintance with the participants of our camp, we learned that among them there were refugees from Lysychansk, Luhansk region, Dniprorudne, Zaporizhzhya region and that one girl’s brother died at the front.
We had the great joy of witnessing the repentance and spiritual birth of three 16-year-old young people, all of whom were also in the previous Christian camp in the summer of 2023. All three declared their desire to entrust their lives to the Lord, get baptized, and become members of local churches in their cities.
This year, the Lord made it everything in a way that the mentors and members of the team became young people who themselves had previously participated in our camps and repented and were born again in front of our eyes.
We are grateful to all our friends from Ukraine and our ministry partners Global Recordings Network from Belgium for the prayer support and financial assistance in holding the camp.
May the Lord bless you abundantly according to the wealth of His grace!
Arkady Sloza
This camp was a miracle of God. There were a lot of interesting things: meetings, Bible classes, pastimes, meals… This is not my first time in this camp and I can say that I want to come back again. This camp directs people to live with God, and every time my heart opens up more and more. I am very happy that Christ was with us, who helped us in everything, who blessed this camp, and sent people who supported us financially.
It was very interesting when we read and discussed stories from the Bible. I benefited from them a lot for myself: that life without God is useless, it does not give you any satisfaction, and is stripped of meaning and love. After this camp, I often think about life with God and realize that in the end, I will be with Him.
Everything was great! There was only one drawback, that we had to get up early, but I understand that without it there would be less time for everything useful and important.
Every part of the camp had some reason. We also supported our military: we wove bracelets for them, wrote letters, and drew pictures. The fact that there is a war in our country encourages us to ask God for salvation even more.
We filmed skits and conducted interviews to better understand and remember God’s Word. At the evening meeting, there were interesting questions about God, which were well explained. A lot of things remained in my thoughts, in my memory, especially the fact that God gave His Son for us!
In this camp, some repented, but there were also those who believed in something else. Talking to them, I realized that this is absurd and only God can change you, change your thoughts, purify your soul, and give you a new life. These memories will stay with me forever, so thank you to everyone who contributed to my coming to this camp.
Dasha N.
I am sincerely grateful for the good time we had in the camp. I celebrated my two birthdays in this camp. The first is January 8, my physical birthday. The second is January 12, a spiritual birthday.
I met incredible people, I was very happy and most importantly, I repented and was born again. I will never forget this camp, because here I heard the call to my heart, after which I will never leave Christ again. I am saved!
I realized that the best moments in my life are connected to Jesus. The teachers were kind and supportive.
To be honest, I don’t want to go home, because here I truly feel grace, but I know that the Father’s care will not leave me. Thank you!
Nastya V.
I am very grateful to the team of the camp “He Is!”, thanks to which we spent 5 wonderful days in the Carpathians. Although the road trip was difficult and long, we could go skiing and swimming in the pool. I had the opportunity to learn what I was afraid of or had never done. I want to note that there were very tasty lunches, breakfasts, and dinners. The rooms were warm and comfortable. I was given a new swimsuit. In the camp, I met people through whom God reached my heart. On 01/12/2024 my life changed, I repented and now I want to glorify God! There are a lot of emotions that cannot be expressed in words. But there is such a small downside – there was very little free time since the camp program was filled with different activities.
I am very glad that I had the opportunity to be in this camp. I thank God for the fact that He gives people who are willing to help and want to reach our hearts.
Svitlana T.
I want to share my impressions of the time spent in the Christian camp. The atmosphere was filled with kindness and encouragement, which inspired us to grow spiritually. The camp program was very diverse, providing us with the opportunity to develop our relationship with God and each other. I especially enjoyed being able to get closer to God during the camp. I also repented.
Vitaly K.
