STORKS

On the way to camp there are a couple of Stork nests. It is always fun to see the storks and their babies in the spring and early summer. The Stork is the national bird for Lithuania. Their nests are large and placed on top of poles with a platform. According to tradition, if a stork builds a nest near your home it is a good "luck" sign. Your home was chosen as a good place for the stork to live.

Here are a couple more pictures of the campgrounds. In one month it will be filled with children and teens having a great time. Already everyone is getting excited and preparing the land for a soccer field, basketball, volleyball and many other events. Just like the stork needs a comfortable place to live, we want the camp to be a place where the campers can feel comfortable. We want to prepare a place for them to grow in the Lord and enjoy their time together.

AT CAMP AGAIN

We traveled to the campgrounds. (As you can see in the pictures, the way is through farmland and open fields. The sign shows that we are 6 kilometers from the camp. The red line shows we just left a small village.) Churches are getting ready for the summer ministry time and it was exciting to be back. (The third picture is the entrance to the camp property.)

There were two teams that came from Ohio and CA to work on the cabins. A lot of work got done in two weeks. PTL! Many odd jobs got done, the interior of the first cabin was done, and the second cabin's frame was finished. (It was like watching men put together a house with a giant Lincoln Log set.) It was exciting to watch them all work and they did work hard!!!!!!!

Once again we realized that we can't do this alone! We are thankful for the many people that have volunteered their time and money to help our camp and its facilities grow.

Also, we were pleasantly surprised with indoor plumbing in one of the outhouses!!!!!! They plan to put one more in so the girls and the boys each have a real toilet :)









We will keep you posted on the progress at camp throughout the summer. There is MUCH TO BE DONE and we need your prayers for this project to be completed.

New TC Director in Vilnius

After Juri's death recently, the need for a new Director
at the Teen Challenge Men's center in Vilnius was
decided. His son, Ruslanas, (the man in the red shirt in the middle of the picture) was chosen as the new Director. Please keep him, his family, and the students in prayer as they go through this transition. Ruslanas was working with his father for a few years already and is very familiar with the program and situation.

Pictured below are some of the students singing a song for everyone.

Camp photos

You can go to the following "youtube" presentation and see what is happening at camp right now.
Bob is there and a team is arriving this week as well. Lots of work is getting done in preparation for the team. Thanks for praying!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo7CZe4nipc

You just have to copy this address and paste it in your website address to see the video. :)

Happy Birthday, Bob!

It was Bob's birthday yesterday. We celebrated the way he enjoys the most by eating tacos and Apple Crisp! We missed having Matt with us but he sent a wonderful gift to help Bob as he gets older. It was so nice of him to think of his Dad with such a special gift...a lighted, wallet-sized magnifying glass to help when reading menus, grocery items, and even his birthday card! What a son!

Happy Birthday, Bob, and we hope you have many more!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE HAD VISITORS

We were privileged to have two pastors visit us this past week. Pastor Brooks McElhenny, our own pastor from Northville Christian, and his brother, Pastor Phillip McElhenny, from Kalamazoo, Michigan, came to view the land and see the possibilities for a ministry team in the future. Both of their churches have faithfully supported our ministry from the beginning. It was very nice to be able to show them some of the work that they have invested in over the years.

We started our time with a seminar dealing with offenses in relationships. This was held in Panevezys with churches represented from the area.

Both pastors preached in different churches on Sunday. Pastor Brooks was in Kaunas where he is planning to bring a team to join the pastor and his church in reaching out to a village area where they are planting a church. Pastor Phil was with the Millsaps at their church plant, Kelyje.

Our traveling also took us to three of the Teen Challenge centers where they met students and workers. Many gave their testimonies and we were blessed to hear of what the Lord has done in their lives. This ministry is so vibrant and challenging in our country. We are seeing God use it to change lives in miraculous ways.

Bob even squeezed a quick trip in to the camp for the men to see the project there.

Of course, there was time for some fun and relaxation one day too as we visited the Trakai castle and saw some of the history of Lithuania. We even got to eat at the new Pizza Hut in Kaunas.

It was so good to have them visit us! We were blessed and reminded that our ministry is a team effort and everyone doing their part allows the success stories to be told.