In Tambov

We arrived at the central church in Tambov last night (Friday) at about 6:00 PM. We were tired but encouraged after 10 full days of camp plus a day on either end for campers to arrive and leave. We spent the night at the church. It was just as warm but there were no flies and there was a nice, private shower that felt very, very good. Today we slept in, ate breakfast at the church, bought a few more gifts to take home, and had lunch at the apartment of a young American couple who recently moved here as long term missionaries.

At 5:00 pm today all the campers from the city of Tambov are meeting up at the church for a mini-reunion. It's a great idea because many of them have never been to church before and may be intimidated at the idea of stepping in the doors. The youth leaders here are very intentional about following up and discipling these young people who attended camp. The hope is that they can gather today and make it more likely that they will come to church for further growth and encouragement to press on in their newfound relationship with Christ.

Tonight we board the overnight train for Moscow. We will have a few hours in Moscow before our flight leaves at around 12:30 PM. Pray that the smoke from the fires would not delay or cancel our flight. We're ready to get home to our families!

Girls at Work

Nicole and Sam have both been very busy at camp. Nicole didn't realize she would be putting her nursing skills to work. She and the other camp nurse see between 30 and 40 patients each day! Ailments range from headaches, heat exhaustion, pink eye, flu, colds, scrapes, a young hypochondriac complaining about high blood pressure, sore throats and more. We have also had three fairly serious medical situations. A young boy fell from about 8 feet and broke his arm. An 18 year old homeless orphan that one of the pastors picked up from the street and brought to camp one day went into alcohol withdrawal and had a seizure. Last night a camper had some type of a seizure as well. In all of these cases Nicole was right there to help take care of the person and assess what needed to be done. I was impressed at how calm she handled herself and the knowledge she brought to the situation.
Sam has put crafts together each day at least once and sometimes twice along with Nicole. They never know how many people might show up. It could be 5 or 20, which makes it tough. In the evening after the meeting the campers have snack time that they can invite people to join. On many nights Sam and Nicole have done crafts with girls until 11:00 or later. Like all our activities, our hope is that the campers enjoy it and that it builds a relational bridge that gives us a chance to speak truth to them.
Both have also helped with the Olympic games and whole camp games that we organize and implement each day. One day they might run an Uno or Dutch Blitz tournament, another day they might referee soccer, help with the climbing wall or frisbee golf, teach softball,  or lead water balloon volleyball.

One Day of Camp Left

It's hard to believe but there is only one day of camp left. Friday morning they will pack up and leave. At first we were all concerned that a camp would last 10 full days with two half days for travel. It seemed like being forced to sprint the distance of a marathon. Now we can see that it has been worth it. It took 6 or 7 days to really connect with some of the campers to the point that they would open up to us. We have had most of our significant discussions over the past couple days.

Dirk can now consider himself an international recording artist. Two nights ago we had a concert with Dirk as the headline act. They wanted it to be retro rock and roll so he rewrote the lyrics to some classic rock songs. In the end he only played a handful of the songs but it sounded great. They even recorded one of the songs and we heard it playing later through the sound system. He has really reached out in a pastoral/fatherly way to many of the younger campers. They really esteem musicians, which helps, but I think they can see that he really cares for them.

Vadim, one of the regional pastors and the camp speaker this year, gave a clear gospel presentation the other night and invited people to come forward to repent (the main phrase the Russian believers use to refer to placing your faith in Christ for salvation). It seemed like more than 20 campers came forward. Obviously we never know if this was simply an emotional moment for them or a whole hearted commitment to Christ that will last a lifetime. Only time will tell. Still, it was awesome to see so many young hearts making a profession of faith. One of the reasons we enjoy this partnership is that we know the churches here are committed to following up with this campers over the next year. They will try very hard not to let any slip through the cracks after they return home. Please pray that their professions of faith would bear genuine fruit in their lives.

Monday

We're getting to the home stretch for camp now and definitely need endurance. The heat continues so we'll have to break out another game today that gets everyone really wet.
I (Dan) had a great talk with two guys named Alex (both of them . . . name creativity isn't a high priority here . . . just ask Sasha, Sasha, or his buddy Sasha). They are in their late teens and are nice guys but aren't believers. One of them speaks a little English and likes to practice so it gives us many opportunities to talk. We spoke for a long time about how they view God and what they have thought about the messages at camp. Alex 1 used to place all his faith in science but now sees that science doesn't explain everything. He thinks that many people just wear a religious mask in order to exercise power over others. As an example they told me about the hypocrisy they see in the Orthodox priests. I told them that Jesus got very angry at religious people who use their position to gain something. I think that surprised them. Their big hang up now is that acknowledging God makes man insignificant. I tried to explain that it is only a worldview that is built on God that can give true value to humans. Pray for insight on how to talk further and for openness in their hearts.
Another prayer request is for a young boy named Pasha. He has been the camp trouble maker. That ended when he took a nasty fall from about 8 feet and broke his arm. Dirk was the first one there, calling for help and comforting Pasha. His right forearm was bent in a wicked, rounding 90 degree bend. Nicole's nursing training came in very handy. They got Pasha to the hospital where his arm was cast. Remarkably, I think he is coming back to camp today! We're all sad this happened but are praying that the Lord uses it to sober him up and work in his heart.
I've included a picture of Dirk with a young boy named Sasha. He's been on all of our hearts because of his downcast expression and lack of participation. He wears the look of a dog that has been kicked around and is just waiting for another boot to come his way. He's responded well to our care and affection.

Heat

A big theme of camp has been heat. It's been hot everyday. We don't have a thermometer here but I'm told it has pushed 100 degrees each day. At night it only cools down to high 70's. Thankfully it is humid also. Actually, I think we are getting used to the heat but it does wear us out. Today we decided to take drastic action to cool everybody off. We built a massive slip n' slide. I assumed this was common in Russia but I think it was a new experience for the campers. Dan and Nicole had to demonstrate before they were willing to try it. After they started sliding it was non-stop laughter and smiles. I think they were just glad to cool off!

It morphed into an hour long water fight. I was swarmed by a group of young, Russian men who grabbed me and hauled me away. 30 years ago a story that started like this would end in the gulag. Now they just tossed me in a huge water trough. Samantha was next. Dirk and Nicole managed to sneak off. We were soaked but it was actually a good sign that they felt comfortable enough with us to pull us into the action. 

Nicole did a great job sharing her testimony last night. I'm sure she was nervous but she communicated clearly and naturally. We're praying that the Lord would use it in the lives of some young girls here. We continue to have good conversations with the tents during "snack time" after the evening meeting. Dirk and I spent some time with a group of young men who wanted to know about American cars, cell phones, and how we met God. The conversation flowed between those three unrelated topics.

We've reached the half way point for camp. In some ways it has gone fast. The days are so full that they are gone before we realize it. In some ways it seems like we have already been here for a long time and the thought of having 5 more days of camp makes me tired just to write about. We need endurance and sustaining grace.

Activities

As camp goes on we are having more and more opportunities to interact with campers. Today we ran several games that allowed us to spend some good time with small groups of campers. Dan and Nicole ran a frisbee golf course, Dirk organized paintball, Samantha helped with the climbing wall. This in addition to the crafts and all camp games we organize and lead each day. It's a challenge getting 100 Russian kids to listen to us when they can't understand us. An interpreter helps, obviously, but it's still difficult. It's like herding cats that can't even hear.
We have seen some neat fruit and opportunities. At least one young girl repented and trusted Christ as her savior after the meeting last night. Dirk has been sharing the gospel with a young man named Alex who is eager to practice his patchy English. Nicole is planning on sharing her story of coming to faith in Christ at the meeting tonight. Please pray that it would be impacting. Her story may mirror the background that many of these young people come from.
Thankfully, all of us are in good health after a week of drinking Russian water. We're starting to feel worn down from lack of sleep but are glad to be able to serve in many different ways.

I've included a few pictures...Cat herding, Dirk and Nicole on the ropes course, Samantha leading crafts.

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