Mission Update – Belarus

Dear brothers and sisters, greetings in the name of the Lord! Winter is knocking at our doors here! This year summer was not very friendly in Belarus. June was our only month of good weather! The most cold and rainy month was July! July is expected to be the warmest month of the summer! However, this year it was different.

As you may know July is the month when we have our Bible youth and children’s camp. As I said, the weather was very rainy and cold, but the Lord protected the camp! He gave us a big tent that protected all the small tents from rain and cold. Ten small tents were put inside the big tent and this arrangement was perfect for such bad weather conditions. The children were happy and the Lord was glorified! No one wanted to leave; however, our teachers constantly monitored the state of things. They made sure the children had dry socks and warm hands, so to say… The parents were worried and this we could understand!

A team of youth from Slovakia came to help with the camp. This has become a good tradition and made the camp international! Evenings spent around the fire were good times for personal witness and fellowship.  The bonfire became a central gathering place and all seats were taken around it when it was not raining, to dry clothes and catch some natural warmth from the fire.  

The theme of the camp was “The Lord’s Prayer” and “Destructive behaviour in a contemporary society.” At the end of the camp the children knew the Lord’s Prayer and what every aspect of it means. The Bible camp was also evangelistic and we were happy to see new faces!

At the end of the camp every child received a Bible and some Christian books as a gift. One of the books is called Love, Truth and Grace by Swedish Lutheran theologian Per-Anders Grunnan. This book is a reflection, in simple terms, on Luther’s Small Catechism. The children also received a famous book titled, Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman.

Thank you, Lord, for our Bible camp and for the Lord’s people who made it possible! Thank you for the wall of protection around the event! Bible camps and ministry to children restore historical and biblical Lutheranism in Belarus!

Written by Pastor Valery Hryhoryk, serving as an NALC Global Worker in Belarus with East European Missions Network. For additional information or to partner, please visit: https://thenalc.org/partners/pastor-valery-hryhoryk/

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