Who would have thought that it is so difficult to be the leader of five boys for one week of camp? Because there wasn’t enough Russian speaking staff I was appointed to be the leader of the boys group (I had some awesome non-Russian speaking guy helpers). These are not the nice polite kind of boys. One of them hasn’t gone to school for about two years, just because he doesn’t want to. He definitely has a problem with rules and discipline. At times Pasha is like any other 12 year old boy, having fun playing in the sea and even singing songs, at other times he would get so upset that he climbed up the roof of the old soviet camp and stay there until he has calmed down enough to communicate again. His friend Roma told me that he and his Mum fight all the time and beat each other up.
Then there are the two brothers that I would call: ‘what for?’ That is their reaction for almost everything you say to them. Brush your teeth, clean the table, play a game, all end up in the questions: what for? These brothers have already lost four brothers and one is about to die. They were put in a correctional boarding school, because the state considered the living conditions at their home as not sufficient.
There is Andrey who lives only with his father. He is hungry for love and attention. Roma seems to be a good 12 year old, but his mood depends a lot on his friends. It was always a challenge to gather all the boys for any camp events. As soon as I had three of them had to make sure some one watched the door so the ones there would not escape while we were looking for the others.
So those were my boys. And I have learned to love them very much. I could really feel Gods heart reaching out to those boys, left without love and care. The best times were probably when we would pray in the evening before the lights went out. Even though it was hard to calm them down they were always quiet when I prayed for them. I do believe that God has touched them during this week. Unfortunately they have not turned completely around yet, but I am sure that this camp had a big impact on their lives. Roma lives somewhere near our flat, so he took my phone nr and said that he wants to come and visit.
We will continue to work with the ‘living hope’ organization, so hopefully I get to see my boys again and keep investing in them. My desire is for them to give God total control over their lives. Only the Holy Spirit can bring them to the point of surrender. Otherwise I don’t see a lot of hope for them!