English Camp 2013

On August 1st, we hopped on a bus headed to the Carpathian Mountains for a week long English camp. We weren't completely sure what to expect from this camp, but we knew The Lord wanted us there, and we were excited to see what He had in store for us. 

Over the last few months (maybe 6), we've been working with Philadelphia church (A local church pastored by a Ukrainian man) in addition to the work we've been doing at Calvary Chapel Ternopil. Every summer for the last few years, Philadelphia has put on a summer English camp for youth in the Ternopil region. There are a few really cool, unique things about Philadelphia's English camps. First of all, the camps are outreach camps. Every day, the campers heard about the Good News. Secondly, Americans from churches in the States come out to Ukraine to help teach English at Philadelphia's camps. And finally, the whole camp is split equally into Ukrainian and English portions.

You're probably thinks, What does that mean? 

Well, it's really cool actually... So, every day, the students went to English class. These were 3 hour long sessions (with a break of course), and students were split into beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes. Then, in the afternoons, there were games and sports. The Ukrainians and Americans alternated days for leading the sports, which was cool because it made it a cultural experience. One day, Ukrainians experienced games common in America. The next day, Americans experienced games popular in Ukraine. In the evenings, the most important part of the day, Worship was in English and Ukrainian and the message was translated so that Americans and Ukrainians could understand. Then, there were small group discussions, which were only in Ukrainian, to help the Ukrainians feel more comfortable and open. 

So, as you can imagine, this camp was really good for us to develop our Ukrainian, and really good for the campers to develop their English!

It was such a blessing for us to be at this camp. We were so encouraged to see the leadership and service of Philadelphia church, and to also see the unity that developed between the American team and the Ukrainian team. 

We were technically on part of the Ukrainian team, but we were blessed to be accepted onto the American team and were so blessed by the fellowship we had with the Americans at camp. We were also blessed to build strong relationships with many of the campers too!

The most important thing about camp was the spiritual boldness of the team and the movement of the Holy Spirit. All week, we all openly prayed in front of the campers, talked about the Bible, shared our testimonies, and encouraged the students to seek out having a relationship with God of their own. 

By the end of camp, the Gospel message had been given to the campers, and they had an opportunity to respond in their small groups. We were so encouraged to hear that some of the campers decided to follow after The Lord and have a relationship with Jesus! Now, we're praying that the campers that have chosen to follow Jesus will follow through with that decision by praying, reading their Bibles, and getting plugged into church. And for the campers that didn't choose Jesus, we will continue to pray for them, that they would see their need for a savior.

Thank you guys so much for praying for us this summer, and thank you for praying for this camp. Please continue praying for the campers, both for the new Believers and those that haven't chosen Christ yet. 

Also, please lift up the Americans that helped at the team as they travel back to the States and for Philadelphia church, as they reach out to the youth in their community. 

Blessings,

Emily




P.S.
One of the things we liked about this camp was that it was kind of on a farm... I wanted to share one funny story with you guys.

At this camp, there were lots of chickens running around on the camp ground, and they were really mischievous chickens. So, one day, I was in my room, and I heard some chirping. It sounded like it was coming from right outside my bedroom door. So, I opened the door, and I was greeted by my favorite little chickens. They had made it into the girls' dorms, but the door somehow closed behind them, and they couldn't get out. Fortunately, they didn't make any messes in the dorms, and they made it back outside, safe to get into trouble another day : )