Click here to view this newsletter as a PDF.
Hello Family and Friends!
We finished off the summer with another 2 weeks of VBS programs in 4 more villages and saw 250+ kids!! In total we were able to share the Gospel with over 400 young people this summer. We shared in our last newsletter a couple of the ways we saw God moving in the lives of the children who came to our programs. This past summer we also saw God clearly working in the lives of our teenage volunteers. It’s been a gift to be a part of their journey as they develop into Kingdom leaders and to see them grow and mature as Christ’s disciples. During one of our programs in August, we saw one of our teen boys come alive in a new way. He noticed there was one little girl who had braces on her legs and was also deaf. She was having a hard time connecting with the other kids and engaging in the activities. This teen decided he was going to be her buddy for the program and showed incredible love and compassion for her throughout the day—a side of him we had not seen before. He picked her up and ran with her in his arms for the sports games and tried to help her understand the teaching time later on in the day. My heart was so touched to see him not only try to communicate our VBS’s theme of God’s love to her but also by the way he showed this message so clearly in his actions that day!
Over the past few months there have been many events that have happened at Camp Falcon Rock:
-In August, there were three rentals of the camp for kids programming. It was neat to see kids running around the camp property playing games, making crafts, having campfires and most importantly learning about Jesus.
-In September, we hosted a Harvest/Thanksgiving day celebration there and had over 600 people at the camp!!!! The service included music from a 30-piece band and choir.
-In October, there was a Youth Leader conference held up at the camp. This was the first conference of its kind. Twenty-five young people participated and grew in their relationships with God and in their call to be leaders to the next generation. It was exciting for us to see one of the youths from our village choose to join this Conference and the continued transformation in her life.
Right after the Thanksgiving Day service, we ran a two-week English course at the camp. Last year the Hungarian Baptist Convention of Romania approached us to see if we’d be willing to teach their seminary students as most of their biblical commentaries and resources are in English. We were delighted to be invited again this year. We were impressed with the students’ progress over the 2 weeks as some of them started the course barely being able to introduce themselves in English and then ending their time being able to share a 10-minute message! Aside from learning English, it was also a spiritually rich time as the students shared devotions and had theological discussions in English.
We were extremely blessed this past month (October) to be able to make a trip to the US and Canada to visit many of you!! We had a whirlwind of a trip as we flew all over the two countries. We were in Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Lacombe, Edmonton, and Camp Caroline. We had the opportunity to speak in many church services and visit with many people. We were humbled by all of the encouragement, support, and generousity we experienced from all of you. Being home, visiting churches and meeting up with many of you reminds us of the community of support behind the ministry in Romania. The only reason we have the opportunity to serve in Romania and that programs can run at the camp is because of the ongoing prayer, support, and encouragement from our North American partners. We are able to witness Christ’s transforming work here in Romania, which all of you play an important role in. So thank you!
We have been so incredibly blessed by all of your support and prayers! We pray God’s blessing on each of you as you continue to serve Him!
Tanya and Paul