GRISHA had immediately caught my eye because he was such a sad boy. In the summer of 2021, he had come to Summer Camp for the first time with a small backpack that contained nothing more than a T-shirt, a towel, and a bar of soap. No one had bothered to pack a bag for him. His behavior was also striking. Clearly, he lacked attention, love and care....

On the third day, Grisha sustained an injury to his leg while playing sports. On the way to the hospital, he begged me, "Do whatever you want with me, but please, please don't take me back home!" I was shocked. But the doctor ordered just that: home, complete rest, daily bandage changes at the doctor's office.... Grisha was heartbroken. When we arrived at his "home," his mother came to meet us, completely drunk and upset that we had brought the boy back early. She was not interested in her child's injury.... I could never forget that goodbye. Grisha, who was crying heartbrokenly, and his mother, who was shouting angrily at him.... My whole family prayed for the boy.

After some time Grischa began to call me. Mostly on weekends. Then he told me about himself and his sister, sometimes also about his mother. I listened to him, comforted him, asked him to be obedient, to make an effort in school and to pray that he could come back to Summer Camp in the summer of 2022.

God has answered this prayer! How happy I was to see Grisha again in our Summer Camp of 2022! But I still noticed how disturbed and frightened the boy was. Only at the end of the second day I saw a small, furtive smile on Grisha's face. "I'm doing really well here at the Summer Camp," he told me. The other boys in his group took him in, helped him, and in the end Grisha had received many credit points for his behavior and good results in learning Bible verses, which he could redeem in our "Camp Store." However, he did not "buy" anything for himself, but a doll and sweets for his little sister.

How grateful I am to the Lord that I was able to meet this boy - even in the suffering of his everyday life at home.
We can embrace him and all the children God sends to our camps with God's love, so that they know that Jesus knows and loves them. It comforts me to see Grisha grow and see God begin to work in his heart.
Of course, Grisha dreams of being able to attend the Summer Camp again this year. I have encouraged him to pray about it. And I know that deeply in his heart, Grisha is praying for God to change his mom too.

Reporting: Tatjana K., Bible Mission Moldova

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Please pray for Christian Summer Camps 2023:

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‍Let's pray together for:

8.000 CHILDREN

14 COUNTRIES

121 CAMPS

Countries: Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan

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Please help by sending kids to camp:

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For thousands of children on the mission field, SUMMER CAMPS are the BEST TIME OF THE YEAR. For many, it is the ONLY TIME they can leave the suffering of their everyday lives behind and simply be a child.
Above all, these children need to know that Jesus loves them and that He can change their lives!

You can make this possible by giving children a chance to hear about Jesus at Summer Camps and to carry God's love into their families!

Thank you for your help!‍