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But these circumstances are no obstacle to the hundreds of children who can hardly wait their turn to camp in Ivanovka, Siberia, in a forest of birch trees. They come from isolated communities and endure long Siberian winters. The chance to be with other children and to run free for a few days is cherished.
The camping program--this year serving 740 children, each for a two- or three-day stay--is a ministry of the Omsk-area Mennonite Brethren Church Conference, which is affiliated with the Evangelical Baptist Convention. The program is an outreach; some 60 percent of the campers are non-Mennonite Russians.
Nikolai Dueckmann, conference executive of the small but active group of churches in western Siberia, developed the camping ministry several years ago. He and church members believe the church's future lies in its ability to relate to children.
With the current chaotic economic climate of the former Soviet Union, the camp program relies heavily upon its volunteers' creativity and resourcefulness. Essential to the program are Bible stories; the children relish these as well as the opportunity to play games and do crafts.
One year the campers learned stories of Jesus' healings, and memorized the exact words Jesus used as He healed various people. At the end of their camping time, the children went out into the forest to locate church members who were dressed as the Bible characters. If the camper remembered what Jesus had said, the "character" stood up and was healed.
"This made a great impression on the children, who have grown up without TV or videos for entertainment," comments Walter Bergen, former Mennonite Central Committee country representative for the former Soviet Union.
MCC began providing monetary help to the camping ministry in 1994, when the church conference could no longer finance it. Emigration to Germany was reducing the number of church members and available workers (from 2,600 to 1,700), inflation and rouble devaluation were increasing costs, and more children than ever wished to attend camp.
But the 24 established churches still see the ministry as very much their own, and MCC support is intended only to help sustain the churches' outreach. Each day a different congregation brings food, milk and whatever supplies are needed. Church members use their vacation time to serve as camp volunteers.
A sister-camp relationship has also been established with Camp Crossroads, a ministry of the Ontario Conference of MB Churches. This year children and staff in the two camps are exchanging letters. For the past several years campers at Camp Crossroads have given their offerings and shared their resources with the Siberian camp.
MCC release
Return to the M.B. Herald Vol. 35, No. 16
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