Camp

I'm pretty far behind on all of this, and will most likely continue to be, but I'll get it all on here eventually. I didn't write much about camp in the last update- just a quick blurb about it being great. I've got about 30 minutes right now before I need to check out of the hotel I stayed in last night in Budapest after taking the train here from Austria(see, I really am behind!), so I though I'd write a bit more about camp.

The IM Evangelistic English camps continue to be a tremendous tool for reaching people with the gospel in E. Europe. Everyone who comes knows that we are Christians, and that they will be learning English through use of the Bible and other Christian materials. They come and are exposed to the Bible, who Jesus is, what He has done for them, and what an impact being a Christian can have on people's lives. They see Christians serving them and each other every single day. They see us loving them and each other, being serious, but also having lots of fun. Their beliefs are challenged in ways they've never been challenged before, and many of them take a very serious look at the things they've been taught all of their lives, and begin to wonder if it is true. We quite often don't see the actual conversion experience, but we see many taking serious steps in coming closer to knowing Christ.

Every day is quite long and exhausting, but also full of many joys and blessings. I woke each day at 6am and went to bed around midnight. In between was personal quiet time, staff mtg., breakfast, all-camp songs and announcements, kids bible study time, 2 English classes, lunch, free time(which included crafts, playing with the kids, English planning time, fellowship w/campers, optional discussions like marriage, God vs. Evil, etc), worship practice, afternoon session with the kids(craft and songs), dinner, all camp games and evening mtg., fellowship w/campers, more English planning, and finally- bed!

That lasted for a week and then we returned to Odessa to do three more full days. The idea of having planned activities in Odessa is to introduce the campers to the weekly ongoing ministry that continues in Odessa throughout the year. Many of them will now show up for the English clubs, craft classes, and various other activities, and Lord willing, will eventually start coming to the bible studies, church, and other "Christian" events.

The camp that we did was a family camp, with married couple, moms with their kids, grandmas with their grandchildren, and many teens. There were about 125 of us in all.The second camp is starting today and will be a teen camp. Please pray for all who will be involved, and particularly for the staff that were at the first camp, as they're most likely still quite exhausted. Please pray for open hearts and minds, for vulnerability, and that many lives will be reached for Christ. Thanks for all your prayers!

 In a little while I'll take the train to one of our younger staff couples who live an hour outside of Budapest and will be with them overnight. This will be my first time visiting with them. I'm feeling rested, thankfully, but you can be praying for a good connection with them(the young wife, in particular), and that we'll have good, deep conversations that will be an encouragement for her. Thanks so much!

Jonathan and I taught an adult beginner's English class(well, almost all adults). We had such a fun week with them, playing children's games non-stop. They thought we were very funny and said that it was like being in adult pre-school, but that it was such a fun and effective way to learn. =-D