Serbia Team Update #6
Thursday was our fourth day of English camp, and it was incredibly fruitful but also challenging. It was one of the hottest days in Backa Topola on record. However, the Lord was able to use our exhaustion and our burnout to bring us closer together. We constantly uplifted one another up in prayer, and I was able to see God work through each one of my teammates throughout the day.
I shared a piece of my testimony in the morning, afterwards I was almost immediately approached by one of the younger leaders, an 18-year-old girl who was not saved. She shared with me that she had been going through a similar struggle, and I was able to share some of the ways that Christ had changed my life. This conversation led to four other conversations throughout the day, where I was able to explain the gospel, share how I read the Bible, and pray with her.
The testimony I shared also led to several other deep conversations throughout the day. My team was also able to engage with the students, starting conversations or showing the light of Jesus through their actions and servant hearts.
In the afternoon, we had three back to back activities and we had to be very flexible due to the teams exhaustion and the heat. We started with relay games led by Maggie and John, but we moved them inside to get out of the sun. We also had country line dancing, led by Tyler and Christian. We taught them the “boot scootin’ boogie” but stopped before the church clap because of how incredibly hot it was. We then moved into our craft, led by Kinzie and I. Slime was messy and a little frustrating for the leaders, but the kids all had a blast and got to take a cup of slime home with them.
After an evening sermon shared by Stocje [one of the local leaders] the kids went through a self-paced, tangible gospel presentation called the Labyrinth. The Campers were asked to visit stations and contemplate their sin, their need for a savior, and learn how God is present through everything. At the end of the labyrinth, they have the option to go to a prayer room, where Jenn, Nathan, and the local Serbian leaders were there to answer any questions the students may have, and pray with them about anything on their hearts. Students who chose not to continue to the prayer room returned back to the sanctuary, where we had crafts and games and were able to ask them about their experience and engage in conversations.
This night was crazy impactful, to both us leaders and the students. It’s evident that many of the students are ready to follow Christ and are seeing Him work in their lives.
Maddie Stumbo, for the team
