| Thursday, July 16, 2009 |
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Orphans receive Jesus at camp
By Nireesh @ 10:38 AM :: 114 Views ::
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Orphans in Ukraine live in very bleak circumstances. Global Action works with the state-run orphanages there, and founder Lars Dunberg said the children live in deprivation.
"They barely get fed," he said. "While they get an education, their social life is nil. It is the worst environment that you can dream of. The older children in these orphanages have venereal diseases; many of them are HIV-positive."
Many of the kids also come from difficult pasts. Ten days of summer camp, however, can impact even the most hardened lives.
"This first camp that we did, which happened when I was there, was probably the hardest group of kids we've ever had," Dunberg said. "They came from an orphanage in Kiev. They were older kids, and some of them said when they came, ‘We will have nothing to do with your Christ. We worship Satan, and that's what we're going to continue to do.'"
Over the next ten days, the kids enjoyed crafts, Bible lessons, outdoor activities, music, and swimming in the nearby Black Sea. Gradually, they grew interested in Christianity and began asking questions.
"Slowly, through the camp, they started to listen," Dunberg said. "And they stood in the outside and listened to the Bible and the worship, and started to involve themselves in dialogue. And the last night of the camps, several of them committed their lives to Christ. In one dormitory, there were 17 teenage girls. One was a believer, 16 were not Christians. The final night, there were 16 believers and one non-Christian in that dormitory."
Global Action has follow-up preparations in place, to help the kids grow in their new-found faith.
"Now we're following up these kids, linking them to churches as they go back to their orphanages, so they can continue to live out their Christian faith," Dunberg explained. He encouraged Christians to pray for the kids.
"One kid was there because his mother had tried to kill him for a bottle of vodka," he said. "How do people who have seen so much hate learn to love and find Christ's love? That's what we need to pray for, that they find Christ's love."
Global Action has two more camps planned for Ukrainian orphans this summer. Each day of camp costs $17 for each child. Dunberg called for Christians to help, and to go on missions trips to do God's work around the world.
"That is the [most] life-changing thing you can ever do," he said. "Whether you go to India, whether you go with us or any organization, go, because that's what Christ told us to do. And your life will never be the same."
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