THE FRIENDS OF ISRAEL GOSPEL MINISTRY

Global Report

POLAND | SUMMER 2024

Dan Price

Director of International Ministries

The Blessing of FOI Summer Bible Camps

According to Barna Research, almost half of all Christians decided to follow Jesus prior to the age of 14, a compelling reason for The Friends of Israel’s (FOI) International Ministries representatives to invest their time in showing the love of Jesus to Jewish children by hosting summer Bible camps.

This summer, our teams in Eastern Europe are providing nine weeks of Bible camps to hundreds of children from Ukraine and other countries affected by Russia’s war. As Ukraine is in its third year of war, the opportunity for these children to leave the war-torn landscape of their homeland and travel to Poland is life-giving.

At home, many of these kids don’t have electricity available during the day, and access to basic needs and services is restricted. But at the camps FOI has hosted for more than 25 years, Jewish families from Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and even Russia enjoy delicious meals, energetic games, creative crafts, outdoor music, and an opportunity to connect with God.

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The Benefits of Camping

The fact that Jewish families would entrust their children to Christians is an extraordinary testament to the deep relationships our teams have formed with Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. Despite generations of persecution from Christians, our Jewish friends have come to trust our teams’ true love and genuine desire to bless them. And since Jewish communities view the Bible as “their Book,” many parents want their children exposed to it as often as possible, even if it’s by Christians.

One camper, Mark, 14, told our staff that he loved coming to FOI’s camp in Poland because it offers things no other Jewish camp does, in his experience. “The food! The food is very tasty here, even tastier than at my mom’s home,” he said. “And I love the Bible lessons here. No other camp talks to us about the Bible. I really like the stories from the Bible.”

This year, our teams led campers through lessons about the prophets of Israel. They learned how God worked through Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, and others, using difficult circumstances for His good purposes. Leaving camp, each child takes a Bible home to his or her family, since most don’t own a copy. Our teams also provide backpacks full of clothes, food, and school supplies that are in high demand back home.

One camper, Nastya, 16, received her gifts with tears in her eyes, saying, “For me, God has always been distant and abstract. But here in Poland, I discovered the good and loving God. The love of the people who serve us, fun times, care [of the staff], and gifts are all from God! I believe He really does know me and care about me.”

Camping for Moms

Children come to our camps emotionally and physically scarred by war. They ask heartbreaking and poignant questions about where evil comes from and how God wants them to look at their enemies. Our staff points them to Scripture for their answers.

This year, many mothers have asked to come to camp with their children, a surprising blessing to our ministry. As one of our team members said, “The war created fear. Mothers were afraid to let their children go alone to camp as before because of the war. But this created incredible communication opportunities. Mothers get to hear the Bible alongside their children, and it deepens our relationships even more.”

Frequently, parents who send their children to our camps join other ministry efforts by our Eastern European teams. Last year, a girl named Sasha attended one of our camps. When Sasha brought home a copy of the Bible, she read it every day. Her mother, Tamara, grew interested as she watched Sasha read God’s Word throughout the year. Eventually, Tamara joined one of our team’s Bible study conferences because of the remarkable change she had seen in Sasha when she came home from camp. Tamara wanted that type of change too.

Children and mothers from the Jewish community of Cherkasy

Heading out for a day at the pool

Praying Together

Many of us forget how decades of Soviet control over Eastern Europe reshaped its cultures. Long prohibited from worshiping God openly, many Jewish people only now are beginning to learn their own culture and history. As one of our staff members explained, “The most moving part of camp ministries with Jewish kids is hearing the children of God praying to their God, who they’re just getting to know for the first time.”

Would you please pray with us for this vital, ongoing ministry in the lives of Eastern European children? And would you also prayerfully consider financially supporting the work of our summer camps for Jewish children and their families? Your generosity means everything to our team and the Jewish families to whom they minister.