Such moments are the highlight of summer camps. It is what they are about – young people encountering God, friends and nature in a new way while removed from the comfort of the home and the city. We often think God does not intend the wilderness for us, bur Jesus himself was led by the Spirit in the wilderness and often he withdrew to such a place for quiet and prayer.

Attached you can see some of the testimonies of the Deborah House girls about the experience on the mountain hike.

Over the summer we had seven camps at Alpinis. Five of the camps were at the villa with youth groups from Giurgiu, Fetesti, Bucharest and the girls from Deborah House. The teams from Zionsville Presbyterian Church, IN and Christian Life Fellowship, Baton Rouge, LA, have done a great job helping us with camps. Thank you!

The other two camps were backpacking trips – out on the mountain without watches, cell phones or mp3 players, sleeping in tents and making a loop starting from Alpinis and returning five days later. We witnessed God’s work of transformation in the lives of both leaders and participants as we hiked, shared a tent, shared meals and life stories, rock climbed and learned from Scripture together. In June, like in the previous two years, we continued the training of leaders with Wilderness Ministry Institute from CO, USA, preparing for the later camps.

Throughout the year we continued to host camps and retreats organized by other groups and churches at Alpinis. Some groups return to Alpinis every year for such events. We hosted two series of three consecutive MLI Church Based Leadership Development seminars in May and later in October.

In September we had a team from Harrisonburg, VA who replaced the stairs between the 2nd and 3rd floors, and did repairs and interior work on the villa. Thank you!

We are grateful for being able to continue the work at Alpinis and thank you for your continued support in prayer and giving. We continue to depend on your participation through teams, support and prayer for building the Kingdom in this way, and please take this as an open invitation to participate in our work by coming, giving and praying.

„This was a real adventure! Rain, cold, wind, sunshine, friends, bonding and fun. What seemed difficult at the beginning turned into an unforgettable experience. None of us will forget how wet we were and how we dried our boots and clothes. But we will also remember the special moments and the breathtaking view. Climbing up was hard, climbing down even harder. Yet, in all of it I experienced God’s joy and care. (Hedda, Timisoara)

„For me this camp was one of the greatest things I experienced. I returned home spiritually, emotionally and physically stronger. I got to know special people in circumstances that forced us to see beyond appearances. I learned that I can do more physically than I thought. This camp was also an answer to prayer – going through a difficult situation at home, I needed a break and a time to meditate and change my perspective. I prayed before the camp that it will be a turning point in my life journey and God answered my prayer – I could see how He is Emmanuel, I saw His Spirit in Creation, His kindness, care, and sovereignty amidst our fears and desire for all to be well. All was new to me, and I am usually resistant to change. Here are a few words that sum up the experience: an investment in the relationship with God and friends, renewed strength, great fun, new passions.” (Cristina, Timisoara)

• Alpinis letter (dec.09) – page 1
• Alpinis letter (dec.09) – page 2
• Alpinis letter (dec.09) – page 3
• Alpinis letter (dec.09) – page 4

At the beginning of this year we finished the deck with wood and we had to postpone other development projects like building the sports ground for later.

Outdoor Ministry

Objective: Sharing the Gospel effectively with young people in the context of a wilderness journey.
I remember sitting in a “counseling and content” class at Frontier Ranch, a Young Life camp in Colorado, in March 2008 while a group of youth leaders were trained. I was really impressed with the teaching on how to relate to young people, how to serve, how to ask good questions and to bring the Gospel alive on a trail. I was hoping that the same training would be available for guides in Romania. Last year we had a first experience of training eight Romanians along side eight Czechs in the Romanian mountains. This year at the end of May, the Romanian team went for ten days of training in the Czech. We aim that the first group of Romanian guides will be equipped to take youth groups out in the wilderness by next year.

We are grateful to Wilderness Ministry International from CO for their service and hearts, for sharing their wealth of knowledge and experience and for offering this training in Eastern Europe. In August of this year two of the instructors from WMI will be back in Romania to bring equipment and assist us in leading a youth group up on the trail. I am not sure if I should ask you to pray for the leaders or for the youth group that will have so many leaders training on them. Pray for us all and especially pray that this unique tool of using the wilderness to draw young people to Jesus will really bring fruit in Romania and Eastern Europe.

Camps
We have summer camps scheduled at Alpinis from June 29 until the end of August. Christian Life Fellowship from Baton Rouge Louisiana led the first camp this year with the girls from Deborah House. Other camps this summer will bring together church partners and youth groups from Zionsville Presbyterian Church, IN and churches from Giurgiu and Fetesti in the south east of Romania; Grace Church from Normal, IL and children and teenagers from Campeni area in central Transylvania.

In the first week of August we will have for the 3^rd year consecutively the “Essential Questions” camp. The goal of this camp is to offer spiritual and intellectual direction to those who have essential questions about life, faith, vocation, church, and others.

This year we hosted two Leadership Development training sessions in May and we will have three other sessions in October at Alpinis.

Alec Woodhull Jr. and Aaron Clevenger have taken a few weeks to come and serve at Alpinis this summer. They are doing an EXCELLENT job cutting paths of access between camp fire – the villa – sitting areas. Alec and Aaron have raised money to install a ventilation system in the kitchen and to buy materials for landscaping. Thank you both and to all who graciously took part in your work here by praying and giving!

Emil Toader