One big thing that was different this year than in years past was that I could really feel people’s prayers. Not that people didn’t pray for me and the teams in other years, I just couldn’t “feel” it. I know it’s a very “Christian” thing to say that I feel people’s prayers for me and that they make a difference, but in past years I’ve been so wrapped up in what I was doing that I didn’t even think about it.

This year we had some turbulent reactions in the village we worked in from the very start. The first day of camp we had some opposition from the people of the town of Florseti and the day ended with the police knocking on our apartment door!

For most of the people in our camp it was the first trip to Moldova. For me and a young lady who had been assigned leader of our camp, this was the first time for us to lead a team in Moldova…so in other words, we needed a lot of prayer! And the really cool thing this year was that every day I could feel people’s prayers for us. I just felt so much peace and things ran so much smoother than I could have run them on my own. There were so many times during the week that I could feel people praying for me and I was able to do things that normally I couldn’t have done or that would have been really hard to do.

And in the end, on the last two days of camp, I could see before my own eyes people’s prayers being answered in that kids just started coming and wanting to ask Jesus to lead their lives. On the last night they came to our apartment to talk and pray with us until 11 o’clock. Then the morning we left, again they were at our door early in the morning. So I could really see God at work more plainly than I have in the past. It was so awesome to really and truly feel covered in the prayers of my friends and family. Thank you all so much for your prayers and next time somebody asks me to pray for them, I’ll remember what I saw this year in Moldova and be sure to pray---it works!

Benjamin

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One of the blessings of this year was that all of our teams got along well. We were split up in five places and almost every year some problems have arisen among one or more of the groups. This year all returned asking to be placed on the same teams next year.

These past two weeks that Heidi and Ben have been gone have been good ones. I have been keeping busy going to a V.B.S. and relaxing. But God saved the best for last to bring to a close the two weeks. 

It happened on Sunday, July 31. We went to church as usual. There was some excitement around church because over 100 young people from our church had gotten back from camp and they were going to sing. The pastor who led the camp was going to preach.  At the end of his sermon he called the 36 newly saved young people from camp up to the front of the church and, lo and behold, who was one of the youth, but Paul!!!  Paul is one of the courtyard kids from our old apartment. I was and am so excited that he got saved. I was hoping and praying that he would be the first of all of the courtyard kids to get saved. Please keep him and all of the others in your prayers. Thanks.