Ukraine (MNN) — Fourteen-year-old Aneliya lives in Mykolaivka, a small coastal town in Ukraine. Like many teens, she was looking for a place to belong this summer. When she heard about a youth camp hosted by a local church, she asked to join.
What she found there changed her life.
Aneliya at summer camp. (Photo courtesy of Valentin Lupashko/Slavic Gospel Association)
One evening during worship, Aneliya came forward in tears. She prayed, and believed in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Later, she shared her story with a pastor — a story marked by pain and abandonment.
Aneliya’s father was drafted to the front lines of Ukraine. Not long after, her mother found another man and left the family, walking away from her two children. Aneliya and her younger brother now live with their elderly grandmother, trying to process trauma far too heavy for their young shoulders.
“She told me that this camp saved her,” the pastor reported. “She experienced spiritual renewal and found hope again.”
According to Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association (SGA), Aneliya’s story represents the hope many young people found in Christ this summer.
“These stories are of young kids saying they did not know of the love of God. They did not know they could go to heaven. They did not know of the grace of God. They were angry and confused, and now they walk away with hope,” Mock says.
But this ministry took place against a backdrop of war. “The war zone of Ukraine is getting more violent…. The nights are getting worse, the missiles and the drones are constantly coming in and harassing families,” Mock says. “In fact, we were told by one family that when they go to bed at night, they know that they’ll be awakened at 1:30, at 2:00 in the morning, often for four to five hours, and the sirens are blaring [while] they’re in shelters.”
For churches in Ukraine, the response may seem surprising. “What would you do if missiles and rockets were raining down every night?” Mock asks. “And their answer is this: ‘Well, what we’re going to do right now is we’re going to hold a summer camp.’”
(Photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association)
That commitment to Gospel service and encouragement is exactly what SGA exists to support. “The joy that we have is to serve the churches in these embattled countries who are faithfully ministering in their community.”
As summer camps wind down, local congregations are already preparing for the next outreach.
“We might think we’re done with summer camp. We can relax,” Mock says. “They’re already thinking of Christmas outreach. They never stop planning and prepping and ministering to the people in their communities.”
Pray for Aneliya as she begins attending church, and for many more young people across Ukraine who need the peace only Jesus can bring. Ask God to strengthen local churches as they continue year-round discipleship in the face of exhaustion, loss, and war.
Header photo courtesy of Valentin Lupashko/Slavic Gospel Association.
