We greet you with the love and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, dear brothers and sisters from the USA - our partners in evangelism here in Ukraine!
I. We are grateful to God for helping us organize and conduct such a wonderful Christian teenage camp in Boyany during this difficult time of war in our Ukraine.
On the last Sunday, after the camp, the team from the USA, led by brother Cornel Stef, and I were in the village of Tarasovtsy for morning worship. And we were pleasantly surprised to see Evelina, the girl who repented in our camp last year. She sings with the youth on the worship team, was baptized this year, and has shared her testimony. She prays and asks and we all pray for her unbelieving parents. We have taken on the responsibility of praying for her and her parents. May they too come to the Lord. So that the Lord would give Evelina strength and faith to stand on the path and bring her parents to God.
II. As we wrote to you earlier that there were 142 teenagers and children vacationing in this camp, and when there was a call to repentance, 35 teenagers responded and came forward to repent.
We have already received all the information about these teenagers from the leaders and want to write a little from their testimony of repentance:
1. Hutsul Anastasia, 14 years old, Kotilevo.
I am very happy that I accepted Christ into my heart. Thank you for giving me an invitation to this camp. I come from an unbelieving family, but I am glad that in one week I learned a lot about Jesus Christ, the Savior of the whole world. I was in Brother David's group and I really enjoyed his lessons. And everything about this camp was great. Thanks again to everyone for this wonderful camp.
2. Shpargalyuk Isabella, 14 years old, Kotilevo.
I am very grateful to God and everyone who organized this Christian camp. This was my first time in such a camp. Although I was at a teenage day camp in our village at the Baptist church, and I knew where I was going and what camp I would be in, it was only half a day, but in this camp I felt real happiness. Firstly, I found many real friends, and secondly, I really liked the entire camp program, from morning to evening. I never thought that studying the Bible could be so interesting and exciting. But I became interested, and then I liked it, and when I realized that I was a sinner and needed repentance, I came forward to repent and accept the Savior Jesus Christ in my heart. I pray that God will help me to adhere to His teachings and be faithful to Him.
3. Sofia, migrant, 14 years old.
I am very grateful to everyone who helped me get to such a wonderful camp. I am a migrant myself and I now live with my mother in Novoselitsa, Chernivtsi region. My mother and I went through evacuation and thank God that He helped us settle here in Novoselitsa, where we have everything we need for a normal life. We go to a Baptist church where the pastor is brother Popov Valery. Before this camp, I went to a Christian day camp at a church. And I am grateful to God that I received an invitation to the Candela youth camp in Boyan. After our wanderings during this terrible war in Ukraine, this was a wonderful rest for me both body and soul. I went to lectures with Brother David and I really liked the way he taught the lessons. I understood through the Word of God how Jesus loves me and at the end of the camp, when there was a call to repentance through Pastor Paul, I could not sit indifferent to such great God’s love for us sinners, but I went out with those who also wanted to repent before God and repented -God bless! Now I know that I am saved through the blood of Christ which washes me from all sin - Glory to Jesus Christ! Thanks again to everyone for this wonderful camp.
4. Ilya, immigrant, son of a military man, 14 years old.
This was my first time in such a camp. What should I say? There are simply no words for what I saw and heard in this camp. I've never seen anything like this. I didn’t think that studying the Bible would be such an interesting activity. And the entire camp program was very interestingly organized. And the leaders were great. And not a single bad word was heard. Even if someone started with such words, they themselves were then ashamed of their words. The main thing is that everyone understood that the situation here is different and you can live differently, that is, not use foul language. And the main thing that I understood is that I am just a miserable sinner and that God loves me such a sinner. That's why I came forward when there was a call to repentance. Now I am saved and a child of the Lord and belong to Him. I pray that the Lord will help me stay on His path.
5. Daniella, 14 years old, Marchenzi.
I am very grateful to God for helping me to be in such a wonderful camp. Although my parents are believers, I realized that I am a sinner and I must repent myself and accept Jesus in my heart as the Personal Savior of my soul. I really enjoyed going to class with my brother Pastor Paul, where we studied the beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ and the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5. And also wonderful evenings where there was praise and sermons. It just seems to me that we spent very little time in this camp. We just managed to adapt and 5 days have already passed. But thank God for these 5 days of a wonderful camp. .The most important thing for me is that I realized in this camp that I must repent and that I must give my heart to the Lord Jesus - Thank God that the Holy Spirit helped me take this important step. I went home inspired and told my parents about my decision to be a child of God. My parents were very happy to hear the good news from me and now we pray together to God. My mom and dad are grateful to all of you who sponsored this camp and who organized such a wonderful camp.
6.Alexandrina, 16 years old, Moldova.
- I was born in Moldova, and my parents are from Ukraine. And I often come to my people: to my grandfather Valery and my grandmother Viorica. And this time I was visiting my relatives and heard that there were invitations to a Christian camp. A neighbor of my relatives was in this camp last year and invited me too. To be honest, I have never been to such a camp. I was even glad that the camp was Christian because my parents would not let me go to a secular camp. My father serves as a priest in the Orthodox Church and I always knew how I should behave so as not to discredit my father. And so I went to this camp and didn’t know what awaited me. But it was something! I was amazed that believing Baptists organize these Christian camps for young people so well. Well, everything was thought out to the smallest detail and the program was very wonderful. And I saw how all the leaders, administration, teachers served and worked as if for the Lord God. I really enjoyed being at Brother Pavel’s lecture. It seems that the topic was not difficult, because I read the Bible at home, I know many of the taught prayers, but God revealed so many truths to me through this topic from the Sermon on the Mount of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the Holy Spirit revealed to me through the Holy Scriptures that I am a sinner and without the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God, I am nothing... I am a lost soul... Therefore, when there was a call to repentance, I came forward and gave my heart to my Lord Jesus Christ. What a pity that the camp ended so quickly! But I pray that the Lord will help me to adhere to His Holy Truths on His Holy Path. Thank you all for inviting me to this wonderful Christian camp!
7. Zhitaryuk Vitalina, 14 years old, Kotileve.
I really enjoyed being in camp Candela, it’s a pity of course that it was only 5 days, but thank you for these 5 unforgettable days in this camp. Everything was great in this camp and the whole program was very useful for us. But the most important thing is that at the end of the camp I realized that I was a sinner and that I needed to repent, and together with my 2 friends we decided to come forward to the pastor’s brother’s call to repentance and give our heart to the Lord Jesus. I am very happy that now I belong to the Lord Savior Jesus Christ. I don’t know what will happen next, but I pray to God that He will support me on His path. Thanks again to everyone for a wonderful camp.
8. Statnik Nikolina, 14 years old, Rokitne
I am very grateful to God and all the organizers of Camp Candela for the invitation that I received in this camp. And what’s even more pleasant for me is that I realized in this camp that without Jesus Christ I am nobody and nothing. He is the Savior of the whole world and my Savior. It seems like my parents at home are believers, but I only now understood this truth. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. I accepted Jesus in my heart and I am happy now. I told my parents when I got home and they thanked and praised God for it. My parents and I say to all the organizers of this camp, sponsors from the USA, leaders and teachers: thank you all so much for such a wonderful camp. We wish everyone that the Lord bless you abundantly!
9. Vanya, 15 years old, Novoselitsa.
- This is my second time in this camp. I was there last year and really enjoyed the camp. I live only with my mother at home, my father died 2 years ago and we have a very hard time living. It’s good that my mother and I go to Emmanuel Church in Novoselitsa. This church is our second family. I am grateful to Pastor Valery for the invitation that he gave me to this camp and I rested for free all these 5 days. Then they explained to me that this camp was paid for by a sponsor from Baptist churches in the USA. Many thanks to all sponsors. You helped children from poor families to relax in such a prestigious camp. Blessings to you from our Lord! So, in Camp Candela, I came to know Jesus Christ and accepted Him as my personal Savior. On the first day of camp, I was naughty and did not behave very well, but they quickly put me in my place. The leader Tatyana was there and said right away: either you will follow all the rules in the camp, or brother pastor Pavel will take you to Novoselitsa. And I realized that there was iron discipline in the camp and asked everyone for forgiveness. They left me in the camp and I went to classes with Brother David. There I understood the love of the Savior Christ, how He took upon myself the sins of me and the whole world and carried them to Calvary. How He was crucified and He died for us. And I simply could not stand indifferently on the day of the call to repentance. I gave my heart to the Lord that day. I now have a heavenly Father, thank God, although my earthly father is already dead.
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10. Milena, 15 years old, Nesvoya village.
This was my first time at this camp and I really enjoyed it. Although my parents are believers and I attend church with them, I have not yet thought about my life. Here, in the camp, when I took lessons from Brother Paul, our pastor, along with other peers, I realized that only Christ can give me the bliss that He spoke about in the Sermon on the Mount. I myself will never be able to reach those heights of bliss, no matter how hard I try, only in Christ Jesus. And I am glad that the Holy Spirit prompted me to repentance. And I am happy that from now on I am a child of the Lord. Thank you very much everyone for such a great camp.
11.Paskar Gabriel, 13 years old, Dinivtsi.
Thank God for such a camp where we can relax both soul and body. This is not my first time in this camp and I always enjoy coming here. I am very glad that the Word of God and the Holy Spirit prompted me to repentance. I took classes with teacher Tamara Bozdugan. She had a good theme from John. "The Deity of Jesus Christ." This Gospel clearly proves that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, is the Word and is God. And there was another lecture on how we should watch our words. That God is omnipresent and all our words are written there. I'm glad I gave my life to Jesus Christ. I pray that the Lord will help me stay on His path. Thank you very much for a wonderful camp.
12. Daniel Tofan, 13 years old, Marchenzi.
Thank you very much to everyone who organized this wonderful camp. Thanks to everyone who helped sponsor this camp. I was previously in this camp about 3-4 years ago. Then we were in a group for 8-10 years. And now I’m in a teenage group with my sister Tamara. Very cool lessons and useful for us. I am glad that the Holy Spirit worked on me and prompted me to repentance. I praise God for this. Thanks again to everyone for the camp. Blessings to you all from the Lord!
III. There are still many good reviews and a lot of gratitude about our camp. Many thanks to our sponsors from the USA, Camp Candela. We don’t know if we could cope without them, because the prices are very high during this difficult time for us. We are glad that we were able to take into the camp those children who could not pay due to difficulties in their families, and orphans, and refugees. We are grateful to God for your generous hearts and for your support. We also thank you to all those who supported us in your prayers before God. As you can see, the result is very good and God has answered your and our prayers. Now our task is to pray both for those who repented in this camp, so that God will strengthen their faith, and for those who have not yet realized that they are sinners on this earth. But they heard the Word of God for a whole week and we believe that the Word sown does not return without the fruit of repentance. Let's all pray and trust in God!
-Also pray for the war in Ukraine to end.
-Pray that there will continue to be peace and quiet in our region, so that we can serve God here where we live. So that there are no arrivals of enemy missiles.
-Pray for all our missionaries and their families so that the Lord will protect and protect us all.
And we pray for you, brothers and sisters from the USA - our partners in evangelism here in Ukraine. We wish the Lord to abundantly bless you, your families, your churches and your country USA!
With love to you, the Petikhachnyy Pavel & Larisa family.
