Hello friends! Greetings from Estonia. Dmitri and Elissa Bahtin, here, and we are so grateful to share what has been going on in our lives and ministry lately.
After spending the holidays in America with Elissa’s family, we returned home to Estonia in the early Spring. Elissa dove into her classes (she has been teaching English to over 120 children in our community) and was kept quite busy with it up to the close of the school year this month. This was her second year in the schools, and it is evident that God opened doors for her to enter into these children’s lives, not just as a teacher but as God’s hands and feet, to share His love. Many of these children will be attending our summer camps at Christian Camp Gideon, where they will hear the gospel for possibly the first time in their life! Please be praying that the Spirit will move and work, and transform hearts.
Dima’s role in our church has changed, and he has been able to give more time and energy this Spring to the youth in our church. We still don’t have a “big” youth ministry, but we have been praying that God would bring us in contact with those who need a friend or a support system. With summer beginning, many youth will be in camps with us. Pray with us that the seeds sown will bear fruit. Please pray that Dima will hear and heed God’s calling, as there seems to be many things vying for his time, attention, and devotion. He is in a season of critical, Godly discernment.
Christian Camp Gideon’s summer 2019 officially begins on Monday, the 17th of June. Starting off the season, we’ll host the first ever “Career Camp”, which is a camp organized by the Estonian Emergency Service Providers. This is a huge opportunity for the Camp Gideon team to show the love of Christ, as this is the first time a secular group has rented the camp facilities. Following this camp will be English Camp, beginning on the 24th of June. A team from the states has formed a clever way of sharing the gospel while teaching the English language. This same week will be Sunbeam (daycare for children with disabilities) Camp; a week to rest in the sun.
In the weeks to follow, there will be Youth Camp (a week for anyone 15 and up to come meet other Christian friends and engage in meaningful lessons designed to bring them closer to Christ), Teen Camp (12-14 year olds) and Children’s Camp (8-12). Each of these weeks are designed to share the gospel with unchurched kids, as well as encourage those already pursuing Christ. Our final children’s camp for the summer will be our first ever “Christian Sports Camp”, which we pray will be a way to reach out to children through sports, who would otherwise not be interested in coming to church or other Christian events. We pray that God will provide the opportunity to share the truth of Christ with His children and that He would use us as He sees fit.
We ask for your prayers. We need them and we feel them. We love each of you are are so thankful for your support and friendship. Special thanks to the Cantrell, Boldyrev and Loluako families, who will be spending some time in Camp Gideon with us very soon!
