Camp - Day 4

Yesterday was the fourth day of camp and the most important. Every day we have discussed different themes to tell the kids of God's love, and how He has a plan to redeem us from our sin so that we can have a relationship with Him and receive eternal life. With this relationship God can lead us to follow Him and be with us in every situation we face in this life.

Thursday's theme was – Does the sacrifice for another person in life make sense?  Honza (on the right), who is the games leader of the camp, had the opportunity to share the gospel.  He asked the kids about sin and should we be punished for sin or for the things we do wrong.  Sin cannot be excused.  He talked about the Old Testament sacrificial system and by killing animals the people would receive forgiveness. But this was not enough. This is why Jesus came to die in our place.  Even though we deserve great punishment for sin, God loves us and has a plan.  Honza very clearly shared the gospel with the kids. This brought such joy to my heart as our Czech partners have been very bold this week.

Selah and Elizabeth told the story: "The Paralyzed Man" during English class.  The friends of the paralyzed man knew that Jesus could heal their friend. So, they took him to Jesus and tore open the roof to let him down in the middle of the crowd where Jesus was teaching because there was so many people, Seeing their faith the paralyzed man was healed. But even more so Jesus said to them and the crowd that the son of Man has the authority to forgive sin. This connected really well to what Honza shared about Jesus' sacrifice for our sin. Pray for these kids to come to know Christ.

Every year on the important events we do during the week of the camp is to have a grill party.  We want to invite all the parents, siblings, grandparents, and other family of the kid's that have come to connect. Building relationships with the kids at camp is important. But building relationships with their families is even more important. Our prayer is that the English camp is a bridge reach Czechs for the gospel - whole families! 

Thoughts from the team on Thursday

Mickey Ann says,
"Today I met a missionary family (Larry & Melissa Lewis - old supervisors of Stephen & Jennifer) who has served The Lord in the CR for 16 years.  We now follow each other on social media.  I will commit to pray for the work they are doing in their city (Plzeň) on the western side of the country.  We also had the opportunity to meet the parents of the kids who attended camp.  We grilled out and had a great night of fellowship after a fun day at camp.  I was able to make friends with the mother of two boys, twins, that were in my afternoon class.  I have prayed for this opportunity!  The Lord is doing a great work here."

Elizabeth says, 
"I was getting really tired and overwhelmed, but the kids no matter what hugged me even if they didn’t know the Lord. Finally at the end of the day we played a game, and I was just reminded how if God can connect so many people and cultures to play a simple game, then whatever I break he can mend, and when I want to give up He will prevail for me."

Lorraine says, 
"Busy day! As I walked among the camp surrounded by high rise apartments that looked down on our tents and classes and games, it occurred to me to pray to reach more families and children with each passing day. It was almost surreal because I began on one end of the almost mile long complex and prayed that the Lord would reach hearts in each area."

Selah says,
"I was so tired on Thursday, but I ended the day more energetic than I had begun it because of the encouraging nature of the people around me - mainly because of the strong Christians around me whether they are Czech, American, Slovak, and Dutch."

Dontralisa says,
"It was really amazing to see how the kids retained their vocabulary words for the week. Although some kids initially thought the words were easy, I believe that all of them learned something new."

Noah says,
"Thursday was my 18th birthday and even though I was on the other side of the world
they made me feel like home."

Noah has been such a joy to have on our team. He keeps it lively and has really connected with the kids. On Thursday we celebrated his 18th birthday. He received a card signed by everyone and a small cake, which he ate all of it.