1st Bible Camp Update
August 10, 2023



Above: Last week we held our first of two Bible camps in our hometown of Petofibánya. Due to the growing number of kids that were attending our camp the past few years, we began to see an issue with camp becoming too crowded. We were also loosing our ability to have the space and personal time to interact with kids when the number was exceeding 100 attendees. We decided this year to do the same camp twice, asking that parents choose one of the two to send their kids. This would allow us to limit the number of campers while also giving anyone who wanted to attend a camp the opportunity. In the end we had 107 kids registered for the first camp and our second camp has 82 kids registered. We praise God for giving us a solution to keep these camps effective and are thankful that the number of campers grows each year.


Above: (Top) Elianna leading her group through the gate to our campgrounds to begin the day. (Above) Kira helping children in her small group with their daily workbook. We praise God for both of our daughters Elianna and Kira being back for the summer and serving along side of us. Both of them continue to mature in their faith and flourish in their giftings that God has given them.


Above: Ellie also helped put together the drama with cliff hangers every day that always kept the kids engaged and excited to know what was going to happen next.



Above: At scheduled "free time", lots of kids congregated and wanted to sing songs we had been learning throughout the week.


Above: Our famous slippy-slide is always a hit with the kids, especially in the summer heat.

Above: Sharon had opportunity to share her testimony in the 7th and 8th grader groups. These are the kids that are beginning to think more serious about life and have important decisions ahead. Many of these kids have attended our Bible Camps for years and for some of them, this is the last opportunity for them to attend as campers.

Above: Anna began asking Elianna more questions about becoming a believer, specifically at a young age. Ellie was able to meet with her at free time to share her story of coming to know Jesus.

Above: Ellie was one of the leaders for the 8th grade class. She had already developed friendships with some of the students in the English Camp that we held in Petofibanya's middle school in mid-July. She had some challenging kids that may have been more interested in drawing attention to themselves with their questions, but Ellie was glad to give answers as she enjoys apologetics and was thankful that other kids who may have been taking things more seriously could hear the answers to difficult questions.
One young man Ricsi, (second from the left in brown jacket) approached me (Allen) on Friday asking if we could talk. Ricsi is one of a group of kids that attended from a local foster care center that has been attending our youth group off and on over the past year. Ricsi shared with me that something was happening in his heart that he could not explain. He told me that it was time for him to repent and follow Jesus. I was able to explain the cost of putting faith in Jesus and the magnitude of the decision that would call Ricsi to no longer be lord of His own life but honor Jesus as Lord and Savior. It was clear that the Spirit was working in his heart and Ricsi wanted Jesus to save Him and become Lord of His life. After praying, there was some struggle with what I believe to be evil spirits. Ricsi became dizzy and weakened. We continued to pray and then he told me that it was if he had heard a voice telling him, "You don't belong to them anymore. You belong to me, and are my child." Ricsi became so weak through all of this that he had to lay down for a bit. I had challenged him earlier that the next time he was tempted to smoke, to turn to Jesus and ask for help to be free from this addiction. Later in the day, he excitingly shared with me that some others had invited him to join them for a smoke. He prayed and told me, "I was able to say no for the first time!" Ricsi has many challenges ahead as he is in an environment that has a powerful current moving in the opposite direction of God. Please pray for him as he will face these challenges everyday that God will give him a passion for Christ and righteousness and that Ricsi will receive all the spiritual support he needs to grow into the man of God that he is called to become.

Above: After Ricsi put his faith in Christ, he was not hesitant in sharing it with others like Dani, who is also one of the kids from the foster care center. Dani soon after expressed his desire to become a follower of Jesus as well. I don't know all the details, but please also pray for Dani who also has been coming to our youth group for over a year.


Above: Jennifer getting dowsed with water as she maneuvers through the obstacle course. Jennifer is classmates with our youngest daughter Ziva and they have become good friends over the past year. When the summer months approached, we made sure to invite Jennifer to camp and she had a great time. This is Jennifer's FIRST time being at any summer camp, and we're glad that she could come and hear the good news of Jesus Christ and experience the love and joy of being among Christians throughout the week.



Above: Janka who served with us many years ago and had moved to Budapest is now moving back to Petofibanya and will be teaching in the local middle school. We praise God for bringing her back and look forward to serving children together.

Above: Pray for a new generation of believers to be transformed by His power and serve as His ambassadors.


Above: Our youngest camper, Noé with parents Patrik and Anna who not many years ago were also campers at VBS.





Above: Saturday's closing ceremony for Bible camp. By this time, the kids know all the motions and words to the songs we sing throughout the week and God was gracious to give us a spirit of unity that powerfully proclaimed Jesus Christ. The songs that we sing are full of gospel truth, especially the one where the kids are arm and arm singing, "There's no question that He loves me. Do you see what He has done. Jesus chose to come to us. This is the truth whether you believe it or not. What more could God do for us to prove His love?"

There were various disturbances through the week that we attribute to spiritual warfare. Our Hungarian teammate Erika, who would be doing one of the main morning teachings, heard from her mother that she had fallen. Initially, it seemed that she had hit her head in such a way that there was internal bleeding that could not be stopped. God was gracious to bring help and healing, and her mother was able to return home from the hospital that same day. On Thursday night, a vicious storm rolled in and our main tent above our stage and all the bench seating collapsed with many poles being bent out of shape. God was gracious to allow us to meet at the local community center in the morning while a group of helpers worked to move our secondary tent in place and clean up the mess left behind by the storm. Thankfully the painted drama backdrop and all the technical equipment was unscathed. By that afternoon, we were able to walk the kids back over to the campsite and spend the rest of the day enjoying beautiful weather.
Praise God for His many provisions throughout the week and for the gift of salvation that some of the kids are experiencing after making decisions to put their faith in Jesus Christ. In just a few days, we're doing it all over again in our second Bible camp in Petofibánya and we ask for your prayers for great things for His glory to happen throughout the week. Enjoy a few films from our first camp below:
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