Camp - Day 1

Yesterday was the first day of camp. We have 18 kids between the ages of 9 and 14. It was a great day.  

Each morning we start with a morning program, during which we play some games, learn a dance, listen to a skit, and one of the leaders shares the theme of the day.  The theme is very important because it is centered around a biblical topic.  Each leader will give a short testimony about the theme.  This opens the door to go deeper and have discussion within small groups after lunch.  

During the day there are English classes, and we are sharing a different bible story each day that is also connected to this theme. During the whole week the skit that the kids watch tells a story about a Captain that is looking for a treasure. In the skit the captain does not believe in God, but throughout the week he will learn from his friend that God is real and wants to have a relationship with him. As the captain looks for the treasure – the kids are divided up into 4 teams for games each day. Their goal throughout the week is the work with the captain to find the treasure.

Monday’s theme was – Are you looking for some kind of treasure?  Marek, who is one of the main leaders of the church plant, shared about his life and his search for treasure.  At a young age his parents got divorced and he stayed to live with his father.  This situation left a void in his heart. He began searching for things in order to fill this void and knew something was missing in his life.  After some time he realized that God is the only one, who can fill this void in his heart and He decided to give His life to Christ.

Selah and Elizabeth told the story of the "Woman at the Well" during English class.  This story was a great way to introduce Jesus to the kids.  Many of these kids come from unbelieving families and are hearing these stories about Jesus for the first time. Our prayer today has been that God would grant us favor with the kids and that they would be able to trust us to open up and tell us more about themselves.  We have prayed that they would see the joy of Christ in us. 

Thoughts from the team on Monday

Mickey Ann says,
"I enjoyed time with the children.  To see that there are children that have returned since the camp first began is so neat. It is a joy to see Stephen reunite with this ministry and his family here! I pray for further Kingdom Growth!"

Elizabeth says, 
"I loved how ready and willing the kids were to help even if they didn't speak much English and they almost seemed more polite than most kids I've met, at some of them."

Lorraine says, 
"I echo Elizabeth and Mickey Ann. I also enjoyed watching Noah, Selah and Elizabeth engage with the kids in games and discussion groups with our Czech partners! It is really neat to see them work together."

Selah says,
"Same here! Seeing the kids understand us and connecting with them was so awesome!! They were very receptive and kind, even though they didn't always know how to respond."

Noah says,
"One of my favorite parts was the first English group - how they really were wanting to learn English and they just wanted to be there with us. And I also loved just getting to know the kids and hanging out with them and watching how much they opened up in just a few hours."

Dontralisa says,
"The highlight of my day was seeing how enthusiastic the younger kids were to learn English. Introducing new words excited them and they were very attentive in class."