Summer Camps 2007

Summer Camp Reports 2007

(Selected Excerpts for the Supporters of BIEM’s Children’s camps)

Mountain Air Bible Camp, Romania

From Fred and Margie Canaday:

Margie and I are just finishing a three month trip to Romania and Moldova. The trip has been rewarding and challenging. Some of the highlights of the trip are as follows:

We spent a week in Moldova dealing with some administrative issues. I met there with

Sam Slobodian and Bob McQueary. We had 2 saved at the Sunday service.

We arrived in Romania to start the camp ministry, preparing the camp for use first. We found that someone had vandalized the camp, costing at least an extra $1500 to get it up and running. Praise the Lord, we had good help and we were able to start on time with just a few incidental things being finished even as we began the camp.

The camp ran for 5 full weeks, during which time we saw a total of 22 young people profess faith in Christ. Also 3 adults came to Christ during our evangelistic meetings held at the camp. Many interesting incidents included a night when 4 or 5 professed faith at the invitation, and then through personal evangelism after the service 3 more came to Christ. Another blessing was that Margie and I were blessed to be able to stay in a very nice home, having the entire first floor to ourselves. The owner of the house allowed us to rent his Mitsubishi 4-wheel drive pick-up for a very good price for the duration of the camp. That’s a blessing, but a greater blessing was that one of the children of that family came to camp. She was very rebellious at first, but came to Christ after spending most of two weeks in the camp. I attribute her salvation in a large measure to the fact that she was intent on memorizing Scripture, and then the Scripture began to work in her life.

Since there is no organized local church in that community, one of the brothers in Christ asked us to baptize his two girls. They of course joined the nearest Baptist church after that. George, the son of our missionary Marius Simionas, also came to Christ and was baptized. A young man named Peter, who had come to the camp for 3 years but resisted the Gospel, made a statement that he would get saved (repent) on the next Monday night. I thought what a dangerous statement. God saved him on Sunday instead, I think so he would realize Who was in charge.

After the camp we began to work with these teens, discipling them week-by-week. We had meetings in our home, at the nearest Baptist church, and even back up at the camp.

Romanian churches normally wait some time before baptizing young people, even up to a year or more, but many of these young people have expressed the desire to follow Christ in baptism as soon as they can. We praise the Lord for this; it’s a step in the right direction changing the mentality of this long waiting period.

During this time we also held soul-winning and evangelism meetings in Moldova with the final service showing some fruit from that effort, with one older lady coming to Christ, 4 coming for baptism and a young couple joining the church.

We concluded our final days in Brasov, Romania, where we are establishing an “Association.” In the first line of our purpose we state that “our purpose is to start Independent Baptist churches.” This has been a long time coming. The laws of Romania are very difficult, but finally we have found a way to do what we have set out to do from the beginning, and do it legally.

Nahabino, Russia

This year for the first time the church in Nahabino, Russia, switched from a day-camp program to a full, 24-hour camp setting. The actual name of the camp was “The Way to Happiness,” and it followed a program titled “A Soldier of Christ.”

Elena Skotnikova, the director of the camp, thought up this program after overhearing a discussion between two boys, who were trying to decide which branch of the army was most prestigious. Realizing that service in the Lord’s army is the highest honor of all, she began developing a military theme for the 2007 program:

“A Soldier of Christ” - Who is one?

- What is his battle gear?

- With whom does he fight?

- What is his field of battle?

- Why partake in this battle?

Each of these questions provided themes for daily discussions that touched upon the importance of proper military gear (such as armor), interior mental preparation, and even rewards for good soldiers of Christ.

When those who would lead the camp searched for a suitable facility that they could rent, they nearly exhausted the choices available when they came upon a place in the woods that had a lake and a nice sandy beach, but the cabins were in deplorable condition. Or, as one of the women leaders there put it, they were in such a dirty and horrible state that it was hard to imagine human beings living there. But church members came with buckets, mops, and rags to clean and even to repair broken window panes. By camp time all was ready for the new “recruits.”

Upon arrival, the children were met by counselors wearing camouflage clothing. The camp staff informed the children that they had been inducted into the Lord’s army and that this camp would run with military efficiency and discipline. The kids loved it and strove to keep proper discipline in their ranks!

So each day began with rousing music, then the raising of the flag, which was followed by breakfast. Next came Bible study hour in which leaders both discussed God’s Word and led the young recruits in memorizing special verses. Games, hikes, singing and other fun rounded out the camp.

Although only one child came to Christ at this particular camp, the leaders feel confident that these days of “military life” and all the conversations and lessons served to help their young charges to grow in grace and in the nurture of the Lord!

St. Petersburg/Otradnoye, Russia

From Oleg & Katya Vladyko:

We had our camp for teenagers July 8-15. There were 22 teens, and among those 12 new people!

I decided to rent the same place as last year near the lake. There were 4 groups of teens: two for girls and two for boys.

After camp five boys and one girl expressed the desire to continue the Bible studies with us in Otradnoye. They all prayed for salvation, and I believe trusted the Lord. Now they are in the youth group going through discipleship courses with Alexei, who is our youth pastor.

Fastiv, Ukraine

From Lilia Andrushko:

“A camp! A camp! We’re going to camp!” Merry kids’ voices were ringing in the yard and on the street. The Christian camp is always something special and unusual. Both kids and parents look forward to it. The parents let their children go to the camp with pleasure because they will be taught some good lessons there; they will play games and won’t be hungry there. This year our camp was held in its usual place. It’s a forest valley where we had lessons, and a green meadow was our playground.

“Noah’s Ark” this was the name of our camp, and that’s why the teams had to be named after a bird or an animal in the ark.

There were 5 teams:

Tortoises

“We are the tortoises – God’s creation

We received God’s revelation

Not to be in a hurry

But to be thankful to God for everything”

(This and other the teams’ mottos rhyme in Ukrainian.)

But actually the kids of this team were not slow at all and not easily caught!

Eagles

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings as eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

and they shall walk and not faint” Is.40:31

We fly high and see far.

This was the team that had a big desire to win.

Worms

“We shall break all the hooks

Because we are cool worms.”

Luckily there are no hooks in the forest and on the field because they would be broken.

God’s Lambs

“We are friendly lambs,

Obedient to God.

We all go to the ark

And sing our song:

I am a little lamb, I follow Him

I go to Jerusalem choosing the narrow path”

5. Christ’s Doves

“Doves can fly,

Sing, run and cry;

We are God’s doves

We know how to worship God”

The camp started with prayers and songs to God. Fresh air and the beautiful landscape inspired us to worship the Creator of the entire world. The fresh air filled with the aroma of the greenery presented the kids with a good appetite. They ate their breakfast with great pleasure. There were many kids from the poor families in our camp. And we had to prepare a substantial meal for kids so that they wouldn’t think about the food all day long. Otherwise they just wouldn’t have heard us. There were also the kids in the camp that had to be washed in order to disinfected. Some girls were ready to have their hair cut if that would help them stay in the camp. They are the girls wearing big scarves on their head. When the time for a lesson came, all the kids sat on the blankets and listened to the Word of God. During the preaching time the kids received the task and a golden verse they had to learn. And then Yaroslav, a young preacher from Fastiv, talked to the kids and taught the lesson by painting on the cardboard.

Olia and Yaroslav are the young family that has a little son Dima. They worked in the camp with a great inspiration. Yaroslav was a leader of the God’s Lambs team that became the winner of the camp.

Olia was responsible for the games and crafts. She was the “soul” of our camp. It would have been so bad without this family. Always smiling and happy (despite the illness of their child), they were the blessing to our camp. Olia is the teacher of the Sunday school and a big support to me. Another teacher of our school, Valia, taught the lessons and the new songs. The sisters from the Rehab Center were also a big blessing. Svitlana, Iryna, Nelia, Natalia, Maryna and Toma used to be alcohol-addicts. And now they are sisters in Christ. They started to serve as the leaders in the camp with enthusiasm. They learned the Bible verses together with kids and always helped them in the games. I wonder who enjoyed the camp more, the kids or leaders. The camp lived its joyful and noisy life for five days. We had a break for one day though, when a big phosphorous cloud was hanging above Fastiv. Many parents didn’t allow their children outside that day. But after that the camp lived its usual life.

Our cooks, Tania and Nina, eagerly prepared the meals for kids. All of the kids had an excellent appetite. The last day of the camp is always special. Kids are waiting for the presents and something unusual. And God made a special present to us. Fourteen kids answered the altar call and gave their hearts to God. And we know that the whole heaven rejoices when one sinner repents.

Dear brothers and sisters that financially supported this camp, THANK YOU! This camp was a blessing to many people. Kids heard God’s message of salvation. And 14 kids prayed to accept Jesus as their Lord. God bless your hearts and hands to do good deeds!

Ternopil, Ukraine

From Vitaly & Katya Bilyak:

Christian Day Camp for Kids in Ternopil

We are thankful to our Lord for the opportunity to have a Christian day camp. The aim of this camp was to get acquainted and start the work with the new kids in order to expand the children’s ministry of our church. This camp, just as the previous one, was held with the help of the youth of our church.

I think I’ll start with the difficulties we had organizing such camp. One of the hindrances was the absence of a suitable spot. We had to compromise on this issue. It is not easy to find a good place in the part of the town where we have meetings. We decided to do all the sports in the park and the Bible lessons in the gym we rent for the kids meetings and church Sunday service. God blessed us with the good weather. Every day the kids could play games on the playground. Once a day the kids had a snack. It was either juice or biscuits, or yogurt and fruit (oranges, bananas) and sometimes ice-cream. We also went on the excursion to the museum.

An impression was made on the new kids. The youth of our church went to the playgrounds and invited the kids to the camp. God blessed us with some new children. Certainly it is early to talk about any results but the very opportunity to preach the Gospel to the kids is a big blessing to us and to the campers. Every day there was a special Bible lesson. The entire camp program had a motto: “To the future with Jesus!”

The Bible lessons were taught in a row by our Christian brothers and sisters. Some lessons were indoors, others in park, in the open air. We paid special attention to the golden verses. We are glad to have a chance to serve the kids because while preaching to kids we have an opportunity to preach to their parents. We finished with a camp feast, to which the parents were invited. We preached the Gospel. At the end we had a golden-verse and a camp-picture contest…

Please pray together with us for the development of the children’s ministry.

WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF THIS CAMP!

God bless you!

Vitaliy Biliak

Here is some feedback from several children:

I liked the camp a lot. We had a great time here. We went to the excursion, sang songs, played games, listened to the Bible stories and watched the films. The meals were very tasty. I thank our leaders for looking after us and that’s why it was interesting for us to spend time with them. Oleg, 11.

I liked everything very much: games, snacks, Bible lesson, songs and everything… I would like the camp to go on! Tania, 12.

In “Topilche” park in Ternopil there is a small playground. Every morning the people walking past could see the group of kids and leaders heading there. The morning tranquility of the playground was interrupted by joyful kids’ voices singing “Our camp always welcomes you all!” When everybody was hurrying to get to their workplace and to manage their business, I could enjoy time in the Christian day camp. Camp means new interesting Bible stories, exciting games, and new friends. The sport games and rallies helped us to become friends. Together we learned how to win and lose. It is especially interesting to listen to the Bible stories in the open air. The cordial atmosphere, the rustle of trees, August breezes, and the shoulder of a new friend made the talk so familiar, sincere, and united by God’s love. The sky was filled with a special joy and awe when the songs and praise and thanksgiving were lifted up from the children’s mouths. Nobody feels lonely in the camp. We could feel the love, care and attention of our leaders, because the example for everyone of us was Christ. Veronika ,13.

Bilogorodka, Ukraine

From Viktor Golovay:

The kids camp in Bilogorodka was held from July 23 until July 28. We thank God for the opportunity to have this camp. It was a big blessing not only for kids but also for all who took part in it. For 6 days 35-45 kids, mainly from the unbelieving families, attended the camp.

Our schedule was:

9.15-9.45 – prayer, worship, reading of Word

9.45-10.15 – breakfast

10.15-11.30 – lesson 1

11.30-12.45 – lesson 2

12.45-14.00 – lesson 3

14.00-14.30 – lunch

14.30-15.30 – lesson 4

15.30-16.00 – summary, prayer

16.00 – snack

We divided the kids into three groups:

kids up to age 8
kids from 9 to 12
teens from 13 to 16

Every group had the following lessons:

Bible (teacher Luba)
Musical (teacher Katya)
Creative (teacher Alyona)
Sports (teacher Maryna)

Oksana from Bilogorodka always took care of the youngest kids.

The camp was great. The kids learned new songs, made beautiful crafts, and played sport games with enthusiasm.

Once a grandmother of a boy who attended our camp came and said: “For the first time my Sasha asked me to give him a Bible because he wanted to learn a ‘golden’ verse.” Sasha learned 3 verses from the New Testament and recited them at camp. Please pray for Sasha, that God would work in his life through His Word and that Sasha would open his heart for Jesus. And we also need your prayer for the kids that attended the camp and heard the Gospel. Pray that God would bring those children to repentance.

Rumyantsevo, Russia

When BIEM’s Rick Barry arrived in Moscow back in July, he soon learned some unexpected news. The camp he had planned on attending and helping at had to be postponed. The government was conducting inspections of all camping facilities in that immediate area, and so the camp simply could not be held until they were done. Rick wondered what to do, since by then it was too late to postpone his flight. He was already in Russia. Spend two weeks just strolling the streets of Moscow and taking photos? Too much waste of time!

Then a local pastor told him about another Christian camp that had already started and needed more workers. In fact, the goal of that camp was to evangelize people of various ages who were students of English. Campers ranging in age from about age 10 up to their 40s came to improve their grasp of English, and having Americans on hand to check pronunciation and grammar skills was a big plus for the students. At the same time, though, they heard the Gospel through songs (both in English and in the Russian translation), heard prayers, and listened to chapel messages (sometimes in Russian; sometimes in English with an interpreter), and memorized and recited verses Bible verses in English as part of their daily pronunciation competitions.

At first some of those who signed up for this 10-day Christian English camp were pretty rough in appearance and attitude. Some openly complained about the strong spiritual emphasis. But after several chapel times and invitations to repent and accept Christ, it became evident that God was working in hearts. At the first invitation 9 people came forward to accept Christ. In following sessions others—both children and adults—likewise yielded to the Holy Spirit and turned their backs on the world to follow the Lord. The atmosphere in the camp began to change, and skits that the campers themselves organized often included serious thoughts taken from the Scriptures. How many actually accepted Christ became difficult to count, as some who did not fully understand came forward more than once until they were told that they needed to ask Christ to save them only once, not at every invitation!

Of course, the camp included all the other activities that one would expect from a vacation/camping experience, including volleyball, soccer, basketball, other fun games, a closing party and nighttime bonfire and testimony time. When it was time to say goodbye and go their separate ways, faces wore both smiles and tears—smiles for all the new friends and tears that they were now parting.

Then, off to the side of the parking lot, a girl named Yulia who had the most tear-filled eyes of all could not wait any longer. She said she did not want to leave before she, too, asked Jesus to save her soul. So right there in the grass she and two camp workers got on their knees and prayed together. A fitting ending to a wonderful time!

So it turned out that this camp that Rick was not supposed attend originally provided a good, fertile field for conversations, sowing the seed of the Gospel, and seeing new spiritual fruit! God makes no mistakes!

Fedorivka, Ukraine

From Mikhailo Tytarenko:

Peace attends you, brothers and sisters in Lord Jesus Christ!

Last month was a big God’s blessing for us. Praise to the Lord!

In June we planned to have a weekly Christian camp for the kids from Fedorivka and Rovy villages. We thank God that everything went well. This year the team was different than last years. The camp director was a brother who did the work of the manager for the first time. Another unusual thing was that the team consisted of four young sisters. It was also pleasant to have much more kids attending the camp than we had had last years. The maximum quantity of kids was 37. Last year we had 26-28 kids.

God blessed us with nice weather. God sent us rain and coolness so that it wouldn’t have been stifling. We also thank God for the mission “Good will” that prepared the program for the camp and gave the part of money and sports inventory for the camp.

Our church bought 7 mattresses and 9 pillows so that leaders and campers had where to rest.

And we also praise the Lord for the repentance of 9 kids!