Camps at Alpinis have started since the first week of July. You may have wondered how things are going, so I will share a few highlights with you. Thank you so much for your prayers and support throughout the year and especially now during the summer.
Since camps are taking place at Alpinis, some of the work behind the scene was done with the support of friends from the US. We installed a new septic system without which the cabin would not be operational, and we upgraded the kitchen so that we can cook for larger groups. This was done before the end of June. On the development side, we still need to insulate the building, add an appartment and finish the deck before the completion of the house. I really appreciate your support in this, Grove Group from Memphis, TN, as well as Stonegate Fellowship Church from Midland, TX along side friends like Chris Statton, Lois Mitten Rosenberry, Bill & Bonnie Kinschner, John & Stephanie Moore, and others have all made it possible for us to function this summer. Thank you!
Camp 1: Grace Church, Normal, IL with partnering churches from Campeni area, central Transylvania
The theme of the first week of camp at Alpinis this year was “LIVING WATER”. We hosted up to 40 people in our 30 beds facility and 12 more people stayed in a near by cabin. George, the administrator cooked for 52 people! We split into three age groups, and the whole week was filled with fun, great Bible lessons and discussions, times of worship, swimming in the salt lakes, and other games and activities. This is a very unique event for the youth from Campeni, and a great help for the ministry in the area. Grace church is partnering with the churches in Campeni area for over 7 years.
Camps 2 & 3: Zionsville Presbyterian Church, IN, in partnership with churches in Fetesti and Giurgiu, in the east and south of Romania
Bruce and Sue Thompson have done it again! They led two weeks of camp with the youth from the above areas teaching on the “SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES” following Richard Foster’s book. Both camps included hikes and camp fires, as well as swimming in the salt lakes, lots of volley ball and soccer. One of the kids was lost on the mountain for a few hours and thank God he was found in good timing. We say all is well when it ends well… besides the scare and the potential danger, this provided quite a lesson on prayer and discipline - no other illustrations needed that day! We very much appreciate the long term vision and investment of ZPC in the church and leaders in Romania.
Camp 4: Stonegate Fellowship Church, Midland, TX and churches in Timisoara area
A team of five from Stonegate came to lead a camp together with Romanian leaders from three churches at Alpinis. The theme of the week was “IN THE WILDERNESS”, lessons God is teaching His children in the wilderness. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit in the wilderness and came out victorious over sin where we failed, and we also see Jesus withdrawing to the wilderness to spend time with the Father. The week included great messages and discussions in groups, skits, hikes, camp fire times and worship times. We saw God at work in the lives of youth as well as in the life of a person who was very reluctant to the Gospel in the first days of the camp.
Backpacking Adventure Trail - while Stonegate and the youth were at Alpinis, I personally led a group of 10 young people on a 4-5 day adventure hike. We left Alpinis on Monday and camped at the base of the highest range of mountains in Romania. The second day we camped after a 14 hrs. hike up on the ridges, and the following days were quite similar. We made a parallel between this strenuous hike and our spiritual life following the same wilderness theme. There is not enough room here to mention all the lessons learned, but for sure we all came closer to God. We learned about unity and encouragement, about the importance of packing well and not carrying unneccessary things, about the need to set goals and follow a map and a compass… We saw God in the views of the mountains and the experience of being on the ridges together. The last night was back at Alpinis sharing the experience with the others around the camp fire.
Summer is not over yet… In August we have three more camps scheduled. The first week of August we host a Christian Journalism camp organized by Written Word with emphasis on communicating through writing. The camp will include projects on how to write on web and how to handle conflict in writing.
From August 27 we will have the 2nd edition of the “Essential Searches” Camp, organized by Written Word in partnership with MLI. In this camp we have an emphasis on mentoring and personal/spiritual formation. Students come from various parts in Romania.
From August 13, the children from the Lupeni Children Home and youth from the church in Lupeni will come for a week of camp at Alpinis. Hope Lutheran Church from Toledo, OH and the Kinschner family from this church have generously offered this camp to the children and youth in Lupeni.
Please take a look at the camp photos in the Alpinis Gallery section. Thank you for your prayers and interest in what is happening at Alpinis. I hope to share more with you in a few weeks.
Joy and peace in Jesus to you and yours!
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