Dear Family and Friends,
Greetings from Camp Caroline! Paul and I are having an incredibly fruitful summer here at the NAB camp in central Alberta. Paul and I are serving as the staff pastors and mentoring over half of the camp staff. We have had many powerful moments where God has been working through our relationships with the people here. Paul and I are feeling energized and excited for Camp Falcon Rock as we are daily witnessing the fruit of camp ministry in the young adults, campers, speakers and families that are experiencing Camp Caroline. We feel our minds are racing with ideas for ministry in Romania and feel that God is continuing to speak to our hearts about His vision for Camp Falcon Rock.
Over the past few months since being back from Romania, there have been many advances with the ministry. Tamas and Tunde (our partners in ministries from Romania) arrived in Canada on June 1st and have been serving at Camp Caroline. They have been observing and learning about camp ministry through being counsellors, program leaders, kitchen/maintenance staff, and office staff. Tamas and Tunde have been enjoying their summer and we have had many fruitful conversations with them about the vision for Camp Falcon Rock. A powerful moment for us and the vision for Camp Falcon Rock was when Tamas made an observation of how many returning campers there are at Camp Caroline. The moment was eye-opening to the potential for building long-lasting relationships with the young people of Romania and to walk with them through their spiritual journeys over a number of years. We look forward to many more experiences as well as conversations with Tamas and Tunde to further envision the specific ministry of Camp Falcon Rock.
Another advancement for the ministry was establishing a Canadian Advisory Committee (CAC). This committee serves as advisors, along with the NAB, to Paul and I as well as to the Hungarian Baptist Union (HBU) as we begin to determine the details of our partnership. All of the partners have been working together to establish a framework for working together in developing Camp Falcon Rock. Through the CAC we have also made progress with the fundraising strategy for raising the capital costs for the camp building developments. We are excited to launch the fundraising campaign this fall, so please keep informed of this project! The CAC is comprised of George and Arliss Cuff, LaVern and Rosie Liskie, Tom and Bev Berekoff, and Terry and Tammy Fossen. We feel blessed with the wisdom and experience among our advisory committee.
Paul and I have been inspired and encouraged through our time here at Camp Caroline as we recount the incredible impact this ministry plays in changing the hearts and lives of young people. We are at the halfway point of summer camp and we are overwhelmed that already 57 campers have given their lives to Christ for the first time and 50 teens have experienced an intensive leadership and discipleship training program! This inspires us as we continue to prepare for our big move and transition this fall. There are a lot of details to take care of as we determine how to move our lives to Romania. We are encouraged and excited for this upcoming transition as we feel God’s hand clearly guiding and providing for us.
Please continue to pray for this ministry as we know the blessings we are experiencing now are answers to your and our prayers!
Paul and Tanya Gericke