Dear Friends and Family,
Earlier this month we successfully organized our first overnight camp for a group of approximately 20 adolescents who have been coming to our after-school program for the last year. We rented a facility about 40 minutes outside of Chisinau that included dorms, a cafeteria, sports fields, an auditorium and plenty of nature in a beautiful, forested setting. The kitchen staff prepared our meals, but other than that, our team organized all of the rest of our time and activities. Although it felt like a big challenge a few months ago, especially considering the behavioral issues some of our kids face, I was pleased to see how well our team worked together and how engaged the kids were as they participated in the various activities. They enjoyed art, nature walks, first aid training, reading and discussions about the life of Moses and plenty of both organized and free game time. The kids also enjoyed a film each evening and separate trips to an amusement park, a cave monastery and bowling and pizza on the last day. I think that the kids felt like they were a part of a community that week and that they were safe and free to be themselves.
We are also extremely grateful to the Leo Club team from Denmark who entirely financed this camp. Alexander, Gitte and Mads not only helped financially but also came and volunteered for the entire week at camp. They immediately entered into our team by organizing games, craft projects and first aid trainings and did an amazing job of entering into relationship with the kids. They also created a wonderful video with pictures and interviews from the week that we watched on the last night of camp. We look forward to collaborating with their club again in the future.
Looking ahead, during the third week of June we will be hosting a team from George Fox University (Newberg, Oregon) that is coming with the purpose of learning about Moldova and about ministry among people living in poverty. They will be spending four full days with us and then more time in Galati, Romania with our sister community there.
On June 25, Rachel and I fly to Columbus and begin our two-month period of fundraising for La VIA (WMF Moldova). Please see last month’s update letter for our itinerary. We will be traveling quite a bit and would love to meet with any of you if we happen to be in your city this summer. Please contact me (john.koon@wordmadeflesh.org) if you have questions about our schedule and events or if you would like to get together.
With love,
John & Rachel