C. is a twelve years old girl. Coming here from a broken and rather disfunctional family a camp scholarship was her only choice to spend a week here. She was invited by a friend, who had come and had become a Christian here on one of the previous summers. Cynthia came to learn English better - but something more important happened while here. She says that it was a fantastic joy, a relief to receive Christ in her heart. She is so happy and thankful now. She understands that the most important things about Jesus are his death and resurrection.
R.'s (12) first sentence was about his mom, who died when he was only 4 years old. We have had a lot of behavioral problems with him during the one week of camp – this is understandable. His dad is 66 years of age, and, as Robert whispered to me at one point in the interview he is an alcoholic. Robert, as you may see on the picture, has gone through a lot of suffering in his short life. His face is slightly disfigured, becuase of an earlier very serious head-injury and the hospitalization that followed. Thankfully, mentally he is a brilliant boy. For him, the
purity, happiness and unsurpassable joy of heaven – of which he has heard during the week of camp – were the deciding factors. As he said he did not want to go to hell, did not want to suffer, he had already had enough suffering in his life. He confessed that sometimes his suffering was unbearable. He hopes that in his difficult circumstances Christ will help him daily. This week he started reading Scripture and he said that he just cannot wait to learn the end of these stories. „It is impossible to be bored when I am reading Scripture.” he confessed. He really wants to come back to our camp, for it is beautiful and he loved German instruction.
E.: "I am about to turn 17 years old, and I came from a little town, where I live in a state-sponsored family home, under foster-care. My parents were mute and deaf, besides this they were alcoholics. Any family problem ended up in brutal agression, that is why the government took us when I was only 3 years old. I do not even remember what it is like to live in a normal family, with a mother and father. Me and my 4 sieblings enjoy the safety and protection of the foster-home. There, in my town the only ttraction is a small swimming-pool, and a little bible institute. My older sister went through that bible-school and she has always been my example. Her life shines the love and example of Christ, but until this week I was never able to shine like her. I cannot even count how many new friends I made. I loved all the messages and the pantomim. I made a decision, because I did not want to postpone it any longer. I am still not perfect, there are still many problems in my life, but I will try to
live the Christian life seriously from now on. If you allow me, I would like to come back next year as a camp-counselor."
P.: "I am 18 years old, my grandparents have raised me, since my parents divorced long ago. I am from the same little southern-Hungarian town, where Al Konya's (director of WOL Hungary) ancestors immigrated to America. Many years ago Al came to visit our town to reunite with family and that is when I heard of this camp. I just finished high school and passed my comprehensives to graduate. Boy, math was hard, but I passed. From September I will go to hunting school, because I want to be a professional hunter - a rare but very exciting job I think. The week in camp was very cool, I liked the programs a lot - I know that there is not much that can be done about the rain (it was a very rainy week of camp). I really liked English instruction where I could practice my language skills with American English speakers. On Tuesday I made a decision because I meant the sinners prayer seriously. I think I always want to mean my prayers seriously. A long time ago I decided to live religiously, but until this week I did
not convert. Since I meant my decision, I thought that this is something I wanted to stand up for, that is why I went forward at the invitation. Thankfully there is a little Baptist church in my town where I want to attend - and perhaps the next step for me is to come and help as a volunteer in this camp."
A. is a 15 year old gypsy girl from the poor northern region of the country. Friends and family acquintances told her about our camp and the local Baptist pastor organized her trip and he asked us if we could provide a scholarship for her. She loved the volleyball trainings and really enjoyed our low ropes-course. She will start high-school this fall and she made many new friends in camp. The reason for her decision was her family background. "I decided to trust
Christ because of my family background. I just felt that I need to break free from the dirt that is around me" says Arabella, who lives in a disfunctional, very poor single-mom family with grandma and two other sieblings. "I want to stick with my decision and I think reading the Bible and praying will help me to keep my relationship with God. I will go to church and to youth-group and I hope that I will not have a lot of backslidings." She really appreciates that she could get a scholarship.
G. is a 17 years old gypsy teen, and comes from a town about 250 miles from our camp. He lives in a large state-sponsored orphanage (that in some aspects resembles a prison). "Big place, many kids, a lot of problems..." he describes his home. A Christian foundation started sponsoring a couple of these children and they organized and supervised the camping of Gyuri as well. "Being here was strange. Before camp a lot of people talked to me about God and and had tried to make myself believe that there was a God. But this week was the one, when I finally and really understood and accepted Him. So I stood up and I was among those, who so to say 'converted' and I am very proud of my decision." While at camp Gyuri got the news that his girlfriend was pregnant and that she wanted to get an abortion. He is ready to go home as a Christian and he wants to decide well. "How can you make the right choices?" I asked him. "I would say... Bible. Through the Bible I will try to make things right when I go home." He is a very strong athletic
fellow and he made a lot of friends and found the counselors very cool. "Thanks for paying my camp, I will be here next year" says Gyuri.
