Montenegrin youth leaders Lazar and Izabela Atanasovski report on a summer camp supported by Stoneworks:
Due to the epidemiological situation in our country, we thought that we would not be able to hold a camp, but we are thankful to God that we could have a camp with 15 teenagers and five teachers. During those six days we spent together, God gave a lot not only to the teenagers but also to us teachers. We want to share some of these things with you.
Before the camp we checked the weather forecast and it was announced that it would rain all six days. We invited as many people as possible to pray for this camp and God performed a miracle. The Lord showed power over weather and removed the rain, we did not have rain for a single day. Due to the nice weather we had the opportunity to do everything we planned.
Petar
We want to share a brief encouragement from a teenager named Petar. Petar’s grandfather was very close to God and during communism he suffered because of his faith. Seeing this outcome of the faith, the rest of the family decided to reject Christianity so that they would not pass as a grandfather. In Petar’s house, God was mentioned only when there were church holidays. Petar knew who the Lord Jesus was but never experienced him personally, although he had heard about it many times in our teenage meetings.
During camp we had one part of the program or time when the teenagers had 15 minutes to spend in silence alone with God. During this time, Petar really began to seek God and in small groups recounted his experience even though he was a silent teenager. He felt he just wanted some change in his life. He struggled with some things and while reading his Bible, God answered his prayer and gave him the answer he had been looking for for a long time. He came to the decision that he wanted to have a closer relationship with God and to change his life.
Milica
We also want to encourage you with Milica’s life. She has been coming to children’s clubs since she was a child, and now she is also a teenager, even though she comes from a completely non-Christian family. She has been struggling for a long time to dedicate herself completely to God. We were encouraged by the fact that during the camp she repeatedly gave her testimony to other teenagers that she believes that God will have mercy on her home and the problems she is going through.
She was on the worship team during this camp, and we first saw her during the song raising her hands and truly praising God. It was a great encouragement to us that even her prayers had changed, which her other friends recognized. She struggled the most to have her time with God and to read the Bible. She promised herself that she would work on that problem. We are grateful to God that He works in the hearts of young people who make new decisions and want change. We called her after camp to see how she was reading, and we were surprised that she had already read the entire Genesis. We only pray to God that all the decisions made by these young people will come to fruits.
Djevora
The third testimony is about another teenage girl, Djevora. She is almost 12 years old, she used to come to our children’s camps and comes from a Christian family. During the corona, she was very introvert girl and had no friends. Even her mother talked to us before camp, to pay attention to her, and to help her fit in. We prayed a lot for her during the camp that the Lord would free her from all fear and confinement. God performed a miracle.
At the end of the camp, around the campfire, many teenagers testified about how God encouraged them, and among them was Djevora. She said that she came to the camp without any friends, and now she is going home with as many as 14 new friends. Our hearts were full as we watched them socialize and complement each other.
From Miruska Cmelik
I am thankful to God that we were able to hold this camp for teenagers. It was a good group of young people, many of whom I have known for years.
It was a great encouragement to me to be able to have a few conversations with them and to be able to see where they stand in their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They go through many trials, but they fight through all of that and that is encouraging. I want to continue to pray for them and just as I told them I want to be available for them to call me and talk to them whenever they need it.
From Mateo Roniller
I had the privilege to preach every night and see from my eyes how God was working in the teens life. But the best was last night of the camp where I could hear their testimonies. As well, I saw how good was the worship team. We have some teens that where part of the worship team and that was great too. From the first night I could sense the presence of God through worship.
Here are some pictures from camp:
