Family camp in Varmaga 2007

                Vărmaga, 27th August - 1st September

    It is such a blessing, priviledge and necessity for Christian family members to spend time together, growing in understanding of themselves, each other and the roles God has placed them in their families. Families are so important to God, if this wasn't the case then the devil wouldn't try so hard to destroy and break apart families. Perhaps many of you know even better than we do, that a church with healthy families is a healthy church.

    The time spent together at this years' family camp was a real blessing for all 67 leaders and participants. As with last year, the men, women and children all shared in times learning about God's word, but in ways that were specific to the differing needs of each group. One need that became apparent and was thus implemented during the camp, was the need to have separate discussions with the teenage participants. And so, as well as the adults and children's groups, we had discussions with the young people addressing issues specific to this time in their lives, looking at things such as self image, friendship, relationships with parents etc.

    The sisters and women were taught the word of God through our sisters Gail Harris and Mary MacDonald from the USA, who presented a number of special subjects that were very useful for all of us:

    1. The fighting field for our minds

    2. Freedom from the grave

    3. Strength in the Name f the Lord

    4. The call to serve with faith

    One of the many wonderful ideas presented to us was about the fact that God waits for each of us to serve him with faithfulness. The gifts of God are varied, and not all of us have the same talents or abilities. BUT God doesn't compare our abilities with those of others, He looks at the faith with which we choose to serve him, or not.

    The men had a separate meeting and were taught the word of God by brother Ray MacDonald from the USA. Personally, I wish to leave you with just one single thought from what God taught us through Ray that I really liked - We have at our disposition the strength of God to fulfill the role in which God has placed us in our families. We can't fulfill this role through our own strength, but only through the strength that we receive from Him.

    One of the things that contributed massively to making the camp a success was the amazing food prepared by two sisters who served us the entire week - Dorina Sava and Dana Bold. We are so thankful to God for them and we wish His abundant blessings upon them and their families.

    Aside from the time spent in God's word, we had time for various interactive games and activities with a goal of better the communication and interactions between family members. This included indoor games, outdoor games and sports, and morning devotional times which were held within families and were led by the adults and seniors and helped each within the family to grow and relax together. Our amazing camp experiences were completed by a hike to a gold mine and an enormous camp fire!

    Evening fellowship was filled with a time of praise and worship followed by a discussion of topics related to entire families - communication, how to resolve conflicts, the power of setting a good (or bad) example etc. Brother Ken Luse shared with us one night a very powerful message inspired by David's Psalm 139 looking at the plan that God has for EACH of our lives.

    The children were able to learn in ways they would understand bout the miracles of Jesus. We had a special team of teachers present the children with this material in an interactive and captivating manner. Carolyn and Andrew Putt from Canada were also present to help serve in this work in the camp.

    We are so thankful to God for this amazing camp, for the teaching received, for the families who were able to enjoy time together, and for the fellowship with other families, But most specially we are thankful for the presence of God that was truly felt throughout the entire camp. May He continue to help each of us to be the people He desires us to be within our families.

    We recognize and greatly appreciate the work of God in this camp, and the work of all thos who made this camp possible, and we wish that God would bless each one fully.

                Corneliu & Diana Medrea