The Atheist and the Muslims who loved the Christian Camp

When we planned this camp we designed it to be a stepping stone for the people who are in our mentoring program and are either at the beginning of their walk with the Lord or just considering following Jesus but haven’t made a decision yet. Most of the Christian students that participated last year came back and brought friends. A couple of weeks before the start we had a waiting list but in the end we were able to accommodate all of them. 

In the previous letter we wrote about what last years camp meant for people like Ionatan. 
Here are a couple of stories from this years camp. 

Bilal, next to his mentor, Stefan

Bilal came from Pakistan to study business in Bucharest, Romania. When he will graduate he wants to open a business just like his father. Bilal's family belong to the businessmen caste in Pakistan. Bilal was one of the participants in the leadership conference in Bucharest and joined our mentoring program. Stefan, his mentor, invited him to the Christian Camp although Bilal is a devout Muslim. But being part of the program, experiencing the spiritual disciplines, the discussions in the group or even the fun the students had In the camp, Bilal noticed that Christianity talks so much about love and that people are loving. He said, "in Islam you have to obey or be punished. This is different."

At the end of the day students were asked to write down their highlights for the day, This is Bilal's card.

As long as you keep organizing this camp I will come every year

Ali is a highschool student in Iasi. He has a Pakistani father and a Romanian mother. He is also a devout muslim, praying 5 times a day and observing all the rules of Islam. Ali was invited by his friend, Sami, and he signed up immediately. 
Ali loved the conversation he had in the camp with Christians student and said: I love this camp because you guys are the only people I can talk about God with. At the end of one of the discussion groups he said: Salvation must come through faith because you can do all the good deeds you want but if you lack faith it is for nothing. Next year Ali is going to college in Turkey but as we were saying goodbye he said: "as long as you keep organizing this camp I will come every year".

The atheist who wants to take his girlfriend to Church

Liviu is or used to be an atheist. He participated in the English Club in Cluj. He didn't even intended to go to the English Club. That day he was looking for a different club and somebody at the door invited him in. He said yes because he liked the energy and enthusiasm of the American lady inviting him in. He came to this camp because Dana, our staff, invited him. Then he went to the Alfa Class because he liked the people. Then Dana, our staff, invited him to camp and he just couldn't say no to Dana. 

When we asked him what does he think about the camp he said he loved the experience. When I asked what was about the experience that he loved he said: I felt accepted and nobody judged me. He also said that he wants his girlfriend to experience this feeling also and asked me to recommend some churches in Cluj where he could take her. 
Liviu wants to be a volunteer for the student ministry in Cluj and probably he will be the one who enthusiastically will invite students in at the English Club this October. 

From left to right: Ionatan, Liviu and Emi sharing about their experience with practicing the spiritual discipline of the day. Ionatan who last year was a first time participant, this year was the small group facilitator. 

Thank you for praying and investing financially in this camp and in our ministry. We are so thrilled to see how God is working in the students' lives.