Hundreds of orphans attend Global Action's camps every year and return home with their own Bibles. (Photo courtesy of Global Action)
International (MNN) ― Global Action needs more people to run summer camps for orphans in Ukraine, Moldova, and India. It runs four camps in the Ukraine, one in Moldova, one India, and two in Kenya's Kibera slums. In particular, two of the camps badly need more team members.
"We desperately need people for the third camp in Ukraine and for the one in Moldova," said Lars Dunberg, president of Global Action. There are still openings for other Ukraine trips as well.
The trip to Moldova, Europe's poorest country, will take place on July 12-25. The third Ukraine team will travel from July 22 to August 7. Dunberg said that anyone can go.
"The qualification is that you know Jesus and you have long arms, because you're going to do a lot of hugging," he said. "These kids are starved for love, and they will be at you like stamps, clinging to you for 10 days. And your job is to show the love of Jesus to these kids."
About 12 people go on each team member, and the oldest team member who ever went was 80. Another elderly team member goes every year.
"We have one man that goes over to Ukraine every spring to help with getting this camp ready," Dunberg related. "He's 78 years old; he's been seven times. He could not preach, he could not sing, but he knows every part of that sewage system in that camp, and he can fix it. And that is his passion. So anyone that has any gift can come and operate and work and do what they do best."
At the camp, the kids enjoy games, crafts, team sports, nature walks, daily devotions, singing, drama, and bonfires. At the camp in Ukraine, the kids also get to swim in the Black Sea. In addition, they get three square meals a day -- a rare treat for residents of state-run orphanages.
Many of the children have suffered abuse.
"One boy came last summer," Dunberg said. "His mother had tried to throw him out from the fourth-floor balcony to kill him. Prior to that, she had sold him for a bottle of vodka. The hatred and bitterness in these kids are enormous, and we saw this boy's life just transformed as he learned that he was forgiven by Jesus and that he had to forgive his mother."
A majority of the kids respond to the Gospel message during camp.
"We try not to run perfect statistics, but we've found about 65 percent of these kids go home not just with a Bible in their hand but with a friend in their heart," Dunberg explained.
Local churches follow up with the kids through the Sunday schools they run near the state-run orphanages. The program has made a huge impact in kids' lives.
"We see a lot of the older kids now coming out of orphanages being really transformed, wanting to come back and work at the camp and so forth. It's been a very, very good model," Dunberg said. He asked for prayer for not only travel safety, but for wisdom for camp staff as they minister to troubled campers.
"These kids come from very difficult backgrounds into this loving community; sometimes they don't even know what has hit them," he said. "So we pray that they will open their hearts, and when they do, we see the transformation. Help us pray for the leadership of these camps."
For just $23, you can sponsor one day of camp for a child. Global Action also needs people to join the teams and help run the camps.
"There is nothing more wonderful than to invest in a child," Dunberg said. "And when you see a child that is so deprived of everything there is, investing in their lives is wonderful for them. And it also does wonders for you."
