If I could describe the camp in one word, it would be “impactful.” It was impactful for the kids, impactful for the English team, impactful for the Serbian team and leaders and most of all, it was impactful for me. I feel like I learned so much about God in this short time overseas. It was such a blessing for me to be there and serve God in the best way I could.
Camp Days!
We started every day with the a staff meeting to pray over the camp, kids and the daily activities. Then the kids would start coming streaming in through the gates of the church. The camp was located in the midst of the Bačka Topola city center in the single Evangelical church in that town. We would have a morning program where we would pray, sing worship songs, do the camp dance and go over the schedule for the day. Then, everyone headed to their English classes.
I was teaching the lowest level class with three of my teammates. Some of the kids only knew Hungarian and some only knew Serbian so we had two different translators: one who translated from English into Hungarian and one who translated from Hungarian into Serbian. Our class also had several different levels of students: ones who could speak English fluently and some who could only speak a few words.
For the other activities, we had a talent show with actual judges, superhero night, kickball, soccer (or futbol hehe) – the kids loved it.
It was so interesting to talk with the kids and get to know more about their families, faith, hobbies, school, friends, etc. They were also super curious about us asked a lot of questions about life in America. They were very open to talking to us and even sharing personal things about themselves and families.
Every day they had a church service where we had more worship, a testimony from someone on the American team and then a message in English. The Serbian leaders do such a good job to meet the kids where they’re at – it’s just heartwarming. They made it so fun and exciting for the kids and wholeheartedly accepted the kids the way they were. Our team was there to support them in every way we could.
On the very last day, the Serbian leaders organized a labyrinth which the kids could walk through and learn about all the steps to understand the gospel. There were a few kids that accepted Christ.
One really amazing story was that one of the current Serbian staff came to this camp a few years back and accepted Christ. He prayed with a boy and led him to Christ. This is the Serbian church’s vision – to not only create converts but true followers who in turn, continue to spread the Gospel.
Reflections
It was definitely a blessed time. I felt like I received so much on this trip. It was so much fun building relationships with the Serbian missionaries and kids and even after we’ve been back in America for a while, we still keep in touch. I feel like God has been showing His love toward me through the Serbians and through the conversations we had.
One misconception I had about missionaries was that they were in some way on a different level of Christianity and spirituality than the rest of us which is not necessarily true. They go through hard times, depression, breakups and more – all while, also, trying to spread the Gospel as their primary job. This just makes me want to support them more. Also, if anyone here is interested to support the Serbian team, you can do so here.
