Bring Back Smiles This Summer

It seems like we talk a lot these days about how different our lives have become. Phrases like “unprecedented times” and “physical distancing” have probably become a permanent part of our vocabulary. We all know that life will not go back to “normal” for some time yet. So, how are you feeling after months of lockdown? Maybe, like me, you no longer feel like you’re in a persistent state of shock, but you still lament what we’ve lost. Maybe you just desperately want to return to work. Maybe you long to connect with people outside your home, go to church in person again, or see someone’s face without it being on FaceTime or Zoom.

In normal circumstances here in Canada, June would be the month where children of all ages look forward to the end of school and the beginning of summer. Children eagerly anticipate hot summer days at the beach, pool parties, and summer camps. Sadly, we know that many typical summer activities won’t happen this year.

One of our priorities as a ministry is to always invest in the lives of children. One of the ways we normally do that is to send children to Christian camps in summer. A couple of years ago, Together Camping Ministry, our ministry partner in Belarus, mobilized their camping ministry and sent teams of volunteers to some of the most poverty stricken villages in Belarus. Each team ran a 3 day VBS-style evangelistic day camp. We were excited to watch this ministry grow into a year round outreach in these villages whe