Baltic Family Camp 2023

God certainly blessed our camp sesson this summer in numerous ways. Over 120 folks–missionaries, Christians, families–all came together in Moletai, Lithuania to enjoy a week together of praise, fellowship, study and encouragement. Countires represented at our camp included Lithuania, USA, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, England, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain and even India and Brazil.

Our theme was Redeemed. Each day adults, teens and children had opportunties to study together in classes designed just for them. Each night we gathered to worship together. It was a beautiful representation of God at work through our different cultures to bring us together as one. This was made even more meaningful considering the ever present war in that region that directly affected some of our campers. One sister from Kiev, Ukraine shared heart-wrenching stories about what she has witnessed and the consequences of this conflict for her, the church and families in that country. For her and others, the BFC served as a refuge from that ever-present tension. She is in the middle in the photo below.

One of the purposes of the BFC is to offer missionaries and Christian families the opportunity to enjoy a week of rest and retreat, while also providing them in-depth study and resources to help them navigate their local ministries. This year we were blessed to have Harding University professors, Drs. Tim and Anessa Westbrook as our guest Bible teachers and Mitch Anderson from the Czech Republic who, along with he wife, Monika, offer missonary care through their Caretakers ministry. Each brought to us their giftedness–blessing us through their teaching.

The BFC also brings back several adults who grew up attending youth camps in the area. It is always a sweet reunion. Many of these adults are now parents who bring their children. For instance, I first met Viktorija when she was around 13 yrs. old. She never missed a session of youth camp in Lithuania. This session at the BFC, her son, Adomis, who is now 13 was baptized into Christ! We all rejoiced with her, her family, the camp and the angels in heaven!

Of course, the BFC could not happen without the fantastic team who travel over from the states to teach; to serve; and to make sure everything is in place for those attending. It also could not take place without the support of my home congregation, the Levy Church of Christ or without the good work of my Lithuanian colleage, Ilia Amosov. God has blessed us with an exceptional team.

The above picture is of the five of us who were at the very first youth camp in Lithuania in 1998 including on the left–David Pryor, who along with his wife, Louriella come from Clinton, MS each year. He leads worship and she leads one of our kid’s classes. Also pictured with me from left are Zivile Puodziukaitiene, Viktorija Dapšienė and Vladimir Rancev.

We are already planning for next year, God willing. We are excited to share that Drs. Evertt and Ileene Huffard will return to be our guest Bible teachers. Please join us in praying for God to continue to work through our session this year and for his blessings as we plan for next year.

Here is the team from Levy who worked so hard to make the camp a success.

Baltic Family Camp 2016

The Baltic Family Camp (BFC) takes place each year in an old Soviet Pioneer Camp now called, Camp Ruta, near Moletai, Lithuania. It grew out of the youth camps held annually at the same site since 1998.

It began in 2012 with two main purposes–to provide rest and renewal for missionaries and their families along with other Christians in the Baltic region and to help foster a connection and network among the small scattered churches in those countries. Those goals have been wonderfully realized, but as with most of our plans, God has gone well beyond what we could “ask or imagine” to create a truly special week of learning, fellowship, reunion, renewal, joy and family.

Since its beginning people from fourteen different countries have attended the BFC. This year twelve nationalities were represented among the 118 participants. The BFC brings us all together, works through our language and cultural barriers to form one body worshipping God with one spirit, heart and voice. It is an incredible God-defined, Spirit-led experience.

The BFC really is about the people who attend. This year I was reunited with Ugne. Ugne now lives in the Netherlands with her husband and son. Back in the late 1990s she was one of my students in Vilnius, Lithuania and attended some of the youth camps at Ruta. She has never forgotten the time she spent in study and at camp. Through social media we were able to reconnect and as a result she attended the BFC for the first time this year with her son. She is not a part of a church of our fellowship since none exist where she lives. She expressed how meaningful the Bible classes at the BFC were to her and her son and how she yearned for such study opportunities in her area.

Ugne is representative of how God has used the BFC to reconnect with friends, former students and campers, who now return to Camp Ruta with their families to enjoy the week of study, praise, and fellowship.

Then there are wonderful people like Sansom and Monica Karumanchi from India. India is not quite in the original geographical footprint imagined with the BFC. Sansom, through friends in Tallinn, Estonia first attended the BFC a few years ago and is now an integral part of our week. This summer he brought his new, beautiful and courageous bride, Monica. The Karumanchis along with a new participant this year, Seth Amofah of Ghana, demonstrate just one way God has expanded the BFC more than we could have ever dreamed.

Our teachers are a huge part of our camp. Dr. Alan and Sherry Pogue, who have a Christian counseling center and ministry in North Little Rock, AR are a regular part of our sessions. They provide Christ-based teaching and counseling during the week on family, marriage and parenting. While most of us in the states take these kinds of opportunities for granted, they do not exist in the Baltics.

This year Dr. Earl Lavender of Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN and Dr. Joy Rousseau, a retired educator from Tyler, TX served as our primary class teachers for our men and women. Both brought a wealth of mission experience along with their rich teaching expertise to the camp. Digging deeply into God’s Word is at the core of the BFC. We work to provide a richer and fuller learning experience to assist in renewal.

Kids also are a large part of the session. This year we had more babies and toddlers than ever and as someone noted, our own youth group–kids who have grown up attending the camp. We have a great team who lead the kid’s day camp.

The BFC was just a dream for several years, but through God working in hearts and through the generosity of my home church, Levy, along with the commitment of an incredible American and Lithuanian team, this dream has been realized in amazing ways.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

 

 

 

 

 

Baltic Family Camp 2014

Christians from all over central Europe will be gathering (God willing) at a former Soviet pioneer camp in southeastern Lithuania on the dates of July 28-August 2. Camp Ruta near the Lithuanian village of Molatai will host the third annual Baltic Family Camp (BFC). Our theme for the session is “10,000 Reasons’ and people from Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Russia, Germany, Sweden, England, Lithuania and the United States will spend this week in study, praise, fellowship, and fun.

The concept of the BFC is to provide missionaries, Christian families and individuals an opportunity to rest, relax, and refresh together in the Lord. The churches represented by those who attend the BFC are small and separated by hundreds of miles. The BFC has helped to create a sense of brotherhood among them–connecting them with a network of believers who now interact all throughout the year. It has been a joy and a blessing to witness!

The BFC has two separate daily schedules–one for the children who attend with their family and another for the adults. Bible classes and marriage enrichment classes are offered daily for adults while the kids follow a typical camp-type schedule: Bible classes; sports, games, and activities; as well as arts and crafts. The highlight of each evening is our worship together.

God just continues to bless this effort and each year the camp has grown. I solicit your prayers as we journey over very soon. As camps go–this is one of the best in which I have ever been involved.

And just to keep in step with the pattern of this blog–here are five reasons why!

• I love Lithuania. I have been working in this country since 1996 including two years as a resident missionary in the capital city of Vilnius. It is a lovely little country with great people.
• The fellowship. It is wonderful to witness the bond that the BFC has created among the diverse people who participate. I rejoice when I hear of the connections that grow between these Christians. They live so far apart and their churches are small and resources limited. The BFC has provided for them a sense of brotherhood that we often take for granted.
• The people. Of course! I get to renew many older relationships and establish new ones. We may speak different languages but we are one in Christ Jesus!
• The weather. How about highs in the upper 70s to lower 80s and lows in the 50s at night–in July and August?
• The food! Yes, I love me some Lithuanian blynai (better known to us as pancakes). I do not lose weight at camp, I usually gain it! 🙂

May God bless our efforts in the BFC in 2014!

 

2013 Baltic Family Camp

Next week (July 29-August 3), Christians from the countries of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Germany and the USA will gather at Camp Ruta in Moletai, Lithuania for a week of worship, fellowship, study, strengthening, prayer, fun and games. Including kids there is a total of about 90 scheduled to participate in our second such camp.

What a blessing it is to be involved in this ministry which brings together folks from the scattered churches of Christ in this region. This year’s theme is “Here I Am to Worship.”

Join me in praying for a week of God’s blessings!

P.S. For pics from this camp click here.

Baltic Family Camp: “We Are One”

July 29 through August 4 was an amazing week to be at Camp Ruta in Moletai, Lithuania. God brought together 71 people ages one to seventy-one from the countries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, USA, Canada, Holland, and England for the first Baltic Family Camp. We were there to celebrate being one in Christ Jesus and to become better aware of the ministries of the Churches of Christ in this region.

To say that God worked through this camp ministry to exceed all expectations is an understatement. It was such a joy to witness wonderful fellowship break out among the participants– all coming from different areas but sharing a common bond in Jesus. This camp which had been a dream among a few of us for years helped the Christians in the small churches in this part of Europe realize that they were not alone.

One of the strengths of the camp was the incredible and in-depth teaching done by folks like Mark Abercrombie, a missionary from Leipzig, Germany who taught a class focused on the challenges of mission work; or Alan and Sherry Pogue of North Little Rock who as licensed professional Christian counselors shared with couples what God desires in their family; or from Joey and Melanie Griffin of Dallas who work for Eastern European Missions and taught the younger people at camp about how they could make a difference in their churches and communities.  Other teachers in the daily men’s and women’s class equally challenged their students.

The kid’s day camp led by Scott Jordan of Pensacola, FL and Andy and Lisa Gibson of North Little Rock also offered the children attending a delightful mixture of Bible instruction; fun and games; arts and crafts; and learning activities. What a joy it was for me to have my family there and to see other families enjoying this week together.

Another blessing was our evening worship. Someone from each country had the chance to lead our worship thought each night. Hearing the songs sung in the different languages simultaneously was incredibly powerful and moving.

The churches in this region are all small and scattered. The purpose of this camp ministry was to offer them a place to come together as one; become better acquainted with each other; learn from one another; and find encouragement in that fellowship. By God’s grace, I think this was accomplished.

Please keep your brothers and sisters in the Baltic area in your prayers. They are faithfully serving the Lord and striving to share his message to their cities.

For more info and many photos of the week visit the BFC Facebook page.