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As Summer begins to draw to a close, we are excited to share with you how successful our Christian Camps in Moldova have been. We thank the Lord for being with us during this period and for supporting us. The camps have provided an exciting opportunity to spend time teaching children and youth ages 6-17 about Jesus and the Christian life. These summer camps enable our volunteers to reach hundreds of orphans, foster and destitute children with God’s message about His love and plans for their lives, through Bible study, one-on-one spiritual counseling, religious readings, magazines, skits and songs.
Save the Orphan's (STO), Moldova Mission Network's partner working with orphans, in these camps stresses building self-esteem and team building through sports, games, skits, counseling, and the Good News of Jesus. Our presenters focus on the value of education and awareness of the frightening realties of human and sex trafficking. Many of these children have no permanent homes and may live on the streets, summer camps fill the need for housing and two nutritious meals a day. The young people were satisfied and happy, and so were the leaders, but all this happened because of our good God who was always there!
Our major local partner is Pastor Vasile’s ministry Isus Salvatorul Soldanesti (“Jesus, the Savior of Soldanesti”). This ministry’s largest camp Tabara “New Life” involved over 100 teenagers from the villages of Soldanesti, Cotiujeni, Glinjeni, Samascani, and Oliscani, July 11-16. This camp provided wholesome meals, along with hiking, soccer, volleyball, team-building competitions, and archery. Special for this year at the camp were training classes for First Aid and how to protect oneself from the dangers of human trafficking. The theme of this camp was “How will young persons keep their path clean?” Guest speakers reflected on the history of Joseph and his life.
 At the Tabara Camp, teenagers like Virginia P. took much interest in these discussions. Virginia speaks about the meaningfulness of the worship time, the music, and applying the Bible to her personal life. All the participants felt the presence of God.
On August 1-6, STO held a Bible Study Camp in Soldanesti for 60 girls and young women. In this camp’s outdoor setting, the girls and young women felt they could freely communicate. Discussions focused on building their relationships with God and on avoiding human trafficking.
 Girls at the early August Soldanesti camp display the anti-trafficking literature they received.
During the same period, the church sponsored the Charity Cup Ministries Mission Tour 2022. This summer camp for 64 boys and teenagers showed participants how the Lord’s work is carried out through sports, principally soccer.
 “My name is Ianik. I am 13 years old. I like sports and games during camp, such as soccer and basketball. I have made many friends in this camp. I have found many things about God in this camp especially about Joseph. My favorite school subjects are history and sports.”
 “My name is Maria E. I am 13 years old. What I liked most at the Tabara camp is the fact that every day different teachers would tell us new things from the Bible! The activities I like the most are sports and crafts. I also made new friends here. I had many questions about God, and in this camp, I received answers. My favorite school subjects are Romanian, history, and sports.”
“Children of the Light” Day Camp. Here 95 children heard about God’s love and learned how to practice it. Thank God for the opportunity for these wonderful children to spend time together and hear God’s Word!
We held our most unique Christian Camp yet for teenagers August 8th-12th – a Computer Camp for learning computer skills included coding and robotics. At the camp orphans and destitute children enjoyed two healthy meals a day and learned valuable, introductory computer skills, while also building their relationships with God. Our instructor Ion Gadarenco is a recent graduate of UDG has been a volunteer with our ministry since 2019.
STO will hold its final camp August 22-28 jointly with the Cricova Baptist Church for approximately 80 orphans and destitute children. This camp will provide two nutritious meals a day, overnight accommodations, outdoor activities including hiking, soccer, and volleyball, plus Bible study, singing, and building relationships with God. Our organizers assisting the Cricova church for this final camp are Diana Todica and Pavel Pagor, both graduates of UDG. All of us look forward to spreading God’s love in Word and deed to these needy children.
If you would like to contribute in general for the camps discussed here, simply write "Orphans" in the dialog box on the Donate page. You can also send a check to Moldova Mission Network, 4919 43rd Place, NW Washington, DC 20016 (note "Orphans" in the Memo line). For information on STO's past work with camps and orphans, see the Orphans section of the Moldova Mission Network site.
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