Last week we held our teen camp in the mountains, and it was our biggest one ever! There were over 80 of us altogether, including more than 40 of our young people (Croatian youth, and Ukrainian youth living in Croatia); volunteers from Zagreb; and 28 Americans (both teens and youth leaders) from the Southside Church of Christ in Lexington, Kentucky, one of my supporting churches. We truly had a special and blessed time together. The theme of the camp was, Unfiltered: Seeing Jesus as He Really Is. Me, my Croatian co-worker, Mateja, along with Jeremy and Allie (Southside Youth Minister and summer Youth Intern) shared evening Bible messages about the real Jesus, and how He wants to meet us without masks or filters, and how we need to see and experience Him for who He truly is. Each day was filled with discussion groups; worship in Croatian, English, and Ukrainian; games; sports; crafts; prayer; and wonderful fellowship. Many of the teens said this was the best camp ever. Many of them shared that their favorite part was the worship and prayer time, both as a large group, and when the adults spent time praying with each teen individually.

The young people from the church in Lexington led most of the worship times, and it was truly inspirational. After the Wednesday evening worship and lesson, there came a spontaneous time of prayer (photo above), with groups of the young people staying afterward, praying together, and for one another. This went on for over an hour. Many of the teens stayed in the room for that, instead of going outside for s’mores. We are so thankful for the way God worked in all of their hearts. The photo below is what one of the Ukrainian boys (Timofei, or Timi) showed many of us on his phone after the camp was over. This sums it up well.

Much thanks to the Leander Church of Christ, in Leander, Texas (just north of Austin) for coming on board in support of our camps!