camp drawing to a close

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6.

Last night at camp created what the Slovaks call a “labyrinth.” Essentially this was an exercise to cause each student to reflect on those things that shape them. The emphasis by the end of the exercise is to put before the students a clear and unmistakable presentation of the Gospel message - leaving them to decide. We highlighted faith as the key element by giving them an experience with all their senses (Taste, Touch, Smell, Sight and Sound). 

Most of the students have never been made to think on this level before and it was a humbling experience for those who approached it with the right attitude. However, we are not so naive as to think that everyone at camp wanted to jump right into this whole experience. The enemy was (and is) hard at work - hating even the connections that are made this week for the sake of the Gospel. Last night was no exception. We noticed in the time leading up to the Labyrinth that there were a myriad of distractions and behavioral issues. Through the grace the God provides, both the Slovak and American teams pushed through. 

This morning the students have a rich discussion happening right behind me. For most the hangup is that they believe they must do something to replace the bad things they have done. Pray for both the Slovak and American teams today and ask the Spirit to give us insight and wisdom, because explaining Christian justification (just-as-if-I had never sinned) is a very hard concept to grasp for a nation so caught up in tradition and works.    

Finally, tomorrow will be our last day at camp. We will be packing and leaving the camp just after lunch and getting on a train across the country to Stara Tura. Once there we will spend the night and go out all day Tuesday to see the sights and sounds of Stara Tura with the youth. Packing up and getting on an 8:00pm train to Zilina. Zilina is where the training center (Kompass) is located and where we started our journey. Once there we will board a bus through the night to go to Vienna, Austria in order to catch our flight leaving the following afternoon. 

Home is near, but our work is not yet done with the Slovak youth from Stara Tura.