Mikhail (left) and Oleg (right)

Part 2 of an Orphans Reborn ministry report from SGA-sponsored missionary pastor Mikhail V. in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia

Earlier this spring we had a Christian camp called “Hiding Place,” which has been run by our SGA-sponsored church for about 20 years by now. This is a creative camp, and the main goal is to demonstrate Christian love to the children, to become friends with them, and to share the Gospel.  

We sent 12 teenagers from orphanages there. The best memories of all the children were the attitude toward them, and the attention and care that was demonstrated by Christian camp workers. After the Hiding Place camp, I regularly bring several children to our church and the orphanage administration allows this. Those 8 to 10 days helped the children see a life example of trustworthy and kind adults, as well as get introduced to the powerful Word of God! 

Six places were paid with donations of our church, and this is great! Those people are as passionate about those children all of us at SGA are, and they understand how important it is to take the children from their daily routine and away from their phones in order to talk about real values. The children who once have been in our camps always want to go there again, and they say that it helps them to change for the better and to look at their lives differently. The children do not want to show the pain of their loss of their relatives, because they themselves are scared of their thoughts. It is really great when a child wants to share something personal, and this usually happens more naturally during a camp. As the result of such a conversation, we understand how we can help them and what we can pray for them.  

During the camp, 2 boys — out of the 12 children attending — accepted Jesus into their hearts. Their names are Maxim and Vlad. Both of them are very positive and well behaved, and with some pride they announced to me that they repented at the camp. We want to support them on their path. I want to spend some time with them and to talk with each one of them about the importance of the step they have made, and what should follow after that. They expressed genuine gratitude for that camp, and they asked me to pass their thanks to those people who paid for their camp pass.  

Maxim is in the process of being fostered by a family. Vlad has an aunt whom he visits on the weekends; we want to meet with her as well. Both of the boys are 14 years old, and they never skipped any of the training or Bible lessons. I am grateful to God that in spite of hard life of those boys and the loss of the relatives, Maxim and Vlad continue to believe in goodness and love!  

Your support for SGA-sponsored summer camps will help Pastor Ruslan’s camp and 398 others that we are preparing for now. Our goal is to reach 30,000 children and youth in our 2019 summer camps. Your gift of just $41 will make it possible for a child to attend camp … and hear the Gospel!