For the third summer in a row, FLF teamed up with Southwest Baptist University (Bolivar, Mo.) and the Baptist Union of Lithuania to host a Christian camp for teens in eastern Europe. From July 24-29, more than 50 teens made the trip to Wesley Camp in Lipaja, Latvia. The teens ranged in age from 18 to 24, and enjoyed small group gatherings, morning and evening services, water sports. Lodging and meals were provided. (For good measure, there was even a 35-year-old who attended!)
As in past years, SBU provided leadership for camp, called The Way 2017. sending two faculty members and six students to Lithuania. The local leader was Dana Podriabinkina, a member of New Testament Baptist in Vilnius, Lithuania.
These heartfelt comments came from one of the camp volunteers, Helena Stolyarchuk:
Despite the negative things happening in our town, God’s grace is greater. We see this while observing the little ones in camp and their changing hearts. The kids experienced love, a warm atmosphere and good food. Some kids come to camp because they are starving and live in poverty. They want their parents to know the feeling of God’s love; they invite their loved ones to church and hope the whole family will gather to worship God.
The team from SBU was on the ground for a week before the camp started, offering training in church leadership and children’s camps. SBU’s efforts to train local leaders over the past three summers have paid off, as more and more of the responsibilities for camp planning and operations are being handled on the ground in Lithuania. The teams are already hard at work for summer camp 2018!
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