New Hope International
P.O. Box 25490
Colorado Springs, CO 80936
1-719-577-4450
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Christian Summer Camps |
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"As a boy, I grew
up on a farm in Holland. Summer, for us, meant harvest
time! When the crop was ripe and the weather good, there
was nothing as important as getting the combines out
into the fields and bringing in the harvest. No one could
convince my family that next week or next month would
be fine, too." - Hank Paulson
Jesus, seeing a spiritual crop ripe for harvest, is
moved with compassion…
With another summer season ahead of us, it is harvest
time! It’s time to get the combines out into the
field. Year after year, we see God use summer camps
as the combine harvesters for a spiritual crop!
Rei and Ramona in Romania, when asked, “Why
are camps so important?”, had an easy answer:
“That’s where we became Christians and committed
ourselves to follow Christ.”
This summer, Rei and Ramona, together with their dedicated
team of staff and volunteers, are committed to lead
camps in Romania and neighboring countries. It will
be exhausting, but also exhilarating and rewarding to
see God at work in so many lives! They will be sharing
with a new generation how God reached out to them about
16 years ago.
When, several years ago,Hank asked ten pastors in
Eastern Europe where they received God’s call
for the ministry, nine of them answered, “It was
in a Christian camp.”
There is one more important reason for camps: during
the school year, New Hope’s national staff and
a large team of trained volunteers reach over 20,000
kids in the public schools. The important place for
follow-up during the school year is clubs, and during
the summer – you guessed it – camps!
Time to leave drab and hot cities. Cities that look
more like an overcrowded cement jungle than a place
to spend a vacation.
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time, not just to get away from everyday life, but to
be exposed to Christian teaching. And almost just as
important, to experience Christian fellowship and community
in the midst of God’s beautiful creation. A time
for individual care and counsel, and, most important,
a life-changing experience with Jesus Christ!
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Adriana, a teenager in Romania, looks
back to her camp experience and says, “It is not
the beautiful mountains, the fun and games – or
even the many days of constant rain that is hard to
forget. What I liked most about the camp was that our
leaders were able to listen to our problems and help
us find solutions from what the Bible says.”
Christina put it this way: “The
camp helped me to dedicate myself totally to God and
to sharing Him with people around me.”
It’s the same happening over
and over, in Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Slovakia and
Hungary. It’s harvest time!
This year, over 40 camps and conferences
are planned. More than 1,600 kids and adults hope to
participate.
While in some countries, like Slovakia
and Hungary, most of the cost can be covered by the
parents, the situation in Romania, Moldova and Ukraine
is different. Without our help, most kids will not be
able to go to camp.
So, what makes the difference between
kids being able to go to camp and not being able to
go? On the average, we subsidize each camper with about
$30 per person. That’s the difference between
staying home in the city or going to a Christian camp.
For New Hope, this harvest season
with 40 camps is not only stretching physically, but
also financially. Though $30 per child for a camp of
3 to 10 days may not seem much, sending 1,600 kids to
camp adds up to an enormous $48,000.
Too big a mountain to climb?
If we have the compassion Jesus expressed
when he saw the fields ready for harvest, I believe
we can do it, with your help! Help
Now!
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Itinerary