Did you go to camp when you were little? I do not know whether I was fortunate or unfortunate to spend almost every June at what was called “the pioneer camp” during the Soviet Union days. These camps were scattered around major cities and provided summer rest and recreation for kids while their parents worked. Each camp session was about 3 weeks. There was a week in between sessions that allowed camp leaders to rest. Thus, each camp would host 3 sessions per summer. It was a very special time when you hardly cared about accommodations but cared a great deal about friendships. The one major downside to these camps, though, was that you never kept in touch with these friends once the camp was over and you all went home.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, these camp facilities largely fell into various states of disrepair before they completely disappeared. However, a few of them were bought by Christian ministries and continued to serve as kids’ camps. Only this time around, these facilities would accommodate various churches. It is on such grounds that we normally hold our summer kids’ camp. This year we tried a new facility that was farther away from Moscow and a little bit more run-down. But as I mentioned above, kids care more about friendships than they do about accommodations. Another distinction from the pioneer camps is that relationships built at a church camp will then transition into friendships at Sunday School.
A while back, I mentioned our neighbors that we befriended almost eight years ago. This couple came to our church several times and even joined us on our church retreat. They are yet to decide to put their trust in Christ or to join the church for regular services. But their daughter Sophia, who is a year older than our eldest son, Misha, joined our kids’ camp for the second year in a row. She loved her experience, and her camp participation makes it a little bit easier for her to transition into Sunday school. Not to mention that we constantly share the Gospel with kids during the camp and give them an opportunity to put their faith in Christ. Praise the Lord with me that two girls from our church entered into new life at our camp this year! A person remembers his or her summers at kids’ camps -– especially if this was the time when one started walking with the Lord.
Yours in praying and hastening the day of revival in Moscow and Russia,
Constantin and Alexandra
P.S. Next week, starting this Saturday, will be jam-packed for me. I am scheduled to speak, moderate a discussion, and participate in the panel discussion at a Missionary Forum which is part of the Ecclesia Pastors’ Conference, one of the larger pastors’ conferences in Russia. Then on Monday we resume our Incubator for Church Planters with City-to-City Russia. This will be a three-day intensive for church planters from all over Russia. After that, on Wednesday, I leave for Istanbul where I will be facilitating a Church Planters’ Intensive for European Church Planters on Thursday and Friday before flying back to Russia next Saturday. I will share more about the Incubator in my next newsletter.
THREE PRAYER REQUESTS:
Please take a moment right now, after you fnished reading this e-mail, to join us in praying for God:
- To bless abundantly this next week of ministry at the Missionary Forum, Sunday church service, the Incubator, the Inensive in Istanbul and to provide necessery strength to Sasha to handle 3 kids along full workload while I am gone.
- To raise necessery funds for us to purchase our own building. I shared in one of my previous newsletter about our capital campaign that we just launched. Check it out if you have not yet and if you can please share about it with as many people as possible especially with the missions board of your church.
- To bring peace to Russia and Ukraine. Moreover, ask God to use this conflict by bringing reconciliation and revival to these countries.
