From January 11 to January 17, in the village of Polyana, Svalyavsky district, Carpathian region, the Christian youth camp on the topic “And the Word Became Flesh … ,” was organized and held by the employees of Hope to People along with the Second Presbyterian Church from Memphis, USA.
The purpose of the camp was to explain to the children the true meaning of Christ’s Birth and establish them in these profound truths. During the camp, the children had an opportunity to learn and find the answers to the big questions:
- What is the Birth of Jesus Christ?
- Why did Jesus Christ come?
- What does this have to do with each of us?
A lot of orphans from the children’s shelter and boarding schools of the Rivne region, as well as the children from low-income and disadvantaged families, were invited to the camp. A group of young people from eastern Ukraine – from the city of Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region, and one girl from the city of Slavyansk, Donetsk region, also had an opportunity to be in this camp. Many of the forty participants were in a Christian camp for the first time.
We had a good opportunity to teach children to ski and snowboard – right near the campsite was a ski complex “Katerina” which has three ski tows. Also, the recreational trips were organized to the thermal pools “Zhayvoronok” in Beregovo and “Kosino” in Transcarpathia. Every day, sister, Marilyn Whittemore, held very well-organized and interesting classes on crafts. Also, there were a lot of games, quizzes, and a bunch of other activities. For six full days, the camp’s program was aimed at explaining the Good News about Jesus Christ to the children, as well as getting them more familiar with the Bible – God’s Word. Many of them opened the Book of Books for the first time in their life, read it, wrote notes, and memorized golden verses for the first time. During the classes in the camp, the children listened carefully to the gospel.
At the end of the camp, after studying 5 Bible lessons and attending 10 worship services (every morning and every evening), 13 camp participants responded to the altar call to reconcile with God and prayed a prayer of repentance.
We saw God’s grace in this camp, which was vividly displayed in His willingness to save sinners. We’re also grateful that He, over and over again, reminds us about the importance of sharing the Gospel with teens and young people whose hearts are open to the Good News.
Please pray for the children’s further spiritual growth, that the Lord will send them disciple-makers and will bring each of them to the local churches. Please pray that the Lord would bless us to continue the post-camp ministry to these young people.
Arkady Slyoza
