The day-camp in Elblag was a real blessing. I am happy to report some of what I witnessed and what the Lord allowed to happen. The first day we mainly got to know the kids in our respective groups. I found out a little about my group of “older” girls and was glad to see a handful of them that I know from several other camps.

Dear Christian Friends,

Let me express my joy and gratitude to the Lord for His great blessings poured on the participants of the Bible Camp held last week at our new headquarter at the Baptist Seminary in Warsaw - Radosc.

Finally, another work I have seen and been involved in, is that of helping the needy and their children. There are many children’s homes in Poland. The children are rarely true orphans, but most often come from broken homes where their parents were not able to provide for them properly.

July this year (2006) I’ve had a wonderful opportunity to participate in yet another one of the successful children’s camps organised by Christian Joy Foundation. Over 60 children who participated in the camp came from the orphanages and from the poor and socially disadvantaged families in Poland.

The camp program was led by Ester from Germany who came very well prepared for all the activities and purchased all the necessary equipment. To assist in the activities she had some talented helpers, like Johanna and Natalie from Germany, Dan from Wales, Elisabeth with her husband Janusz and their daughter Rachel from Texas, Cherry, Gareth and Ricky from Northern Ireland and Amanda from Texas and of course all the leaders and translators from Poland, a couple from RSA  (altogether ca 20 adults from 8 countries).

Children enjoyed participating in many different activities like singing, drama, games, English lessons and arts & crafts where they could develop their creativity. And the results were lovely to see. There was also a Bible teaching every day with the main theme: Who is Jesus? For example Jesus as the Bread of Life, as our Shepherd, as the Vine, and as The Way, the Truth and Life. At the end of the camp children were given new Bibles or if they already had a Bible they received other christian books.

The weather was fantastic throughout the week and the main atraction was of couse swimming in the lake. Children spent in the water many happy hours every afternoon with a swimming guard watching over their safety at all times. I would olso like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to all the kitchen staff who made very delicious and nutricious meals that kept us going all the days long.

The children benefitted tremendously from this camp. By the end of the week we were all tired but happy with the new friendships made and the lessons learnt. We hope and pray that God enables these children to grow in faith and and to make it possible for Christian Joy Foundation to organise more such camps.

May God bless all who read this and support the camps.

Grateful partcipator and translator
Joanna Magnét