Your Support Leads to Many Children Hearing and Responding to the Gospel

Pavel M.
Camp Director in Kobrin, Belarus

Greetings brothers and sisters! This year is the 29th year of the ministry of the Little Pearl Children’s Camp (Zhemchuzhinka) for sick and needy children in Belarus. All of this has been possible because of the support the Lord has given through you. During that time, a whole generation of ministers has grown up who remember the camp as a place where new people were born again to faith in God.

This year was also a special year. Before the start of the camp season, we could feel tension growing in the team. The very stressful preparations had a very strong effect on us, and I could feel the nervousness. The whole team experienced a very strong spiritual turmoil where we struggled with energy and the ability to work. It felt like something was going to happen. And indeed it did, as God moved in the prayers of the children! Believers who serve in camp ministries rarely see such a widespread, mass repentance like we saw in this camp—much less in churches. I’ve never seen anything like this in all my years! Every day 20, 24, 27, even 60 children and teenagers came forward to the call to reconcile with God. Afterwards during the day, the children prayed alone with their counselors and stated their desire to follow Christ. During the day from the moment of the call to God, 71 children repented and trusted in Christ! 

There were more to come. They didn’t stop coming. I can’t say that there was a special program. The usual topics were studied—biblical examples of heroes, also looking at the sins and actions associated with their lives. It is hard to estimate even the total number of children who prayed. Only from the photos, perhaps. We determined that at least 147 of the 204 children in the camp repented. The counselors shared with us about the special, conscious prayers of children. They say that even adults rarely pray this way. One testimony came from young Nikita, who is 10 years old . . .

“I want to tell you a story that made me believe in God. It all started on my cousin’s birthday. For some unknown reason, my parents had a fight, I don’t remember exactly what it was about, but I do remember that they yelled a lot at each other, I remember lying in tears all night in my bed and crying. But I don’t think it was all for nothing! In some strange way, I decided to pray, yes, pray! My parents ended up in divorce, and after that my mom and I moved in with my mom’s brother. Now, I would like to thank them all so much for their kindness and help! It was very difficult for me. When my mom found us a place to live, things started to get better. 

Now I don’t regret that I went through that. I don’t, because I received the most important thing for all people in this world—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. On the one hand, one might think and say, ‘Lord, why?’ but on the other hand you can think and say, ‘Lord, thank you for everything!’ Yes, it was very difficult. That’s what we sometimes, even I would say always, have to sacrifice for faith! God always knows what’s best for all of us. I am glad I am living by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!”

The counselor said that Nikita prayed during the camp like this—“I’m sorry my little brother wasn’t born. Forgive my mother. Thank You for the Bible lesson today, through which I learned how to forgive. You took away my heartache. And I was able to forgive my father today.” Another counselor told how a child was talking to his parents on the phone and hearing his father’s swear words said, “Daddy! We can’t say such swear words in front of God!”

Time is very short. The days go by quickly. Not everything can be heard and shared. But changes are evident in both the children and the counselors, and we thank God for what He has done!