From August 11 to 16, a family camp "Obnova" (“Renewal”) was held for soldiers, their wives and children in Ukraine, in the Chernivtsi region, at the Christian base "Source of Life" in the village of Boyane. Thanks to the team of missionaries of the Pacific Coast Slavic Baptist Association, the House of the Gospel church (Fresno) and the organization Stop the War in Europe for organizing it.
Seventeen families and 18 children had the opportunity to rest in the camp. For the military personnel who were injured in battle, wounded, concussed, some lost limbs and are confined to a wheelchair, this camp became a good opportunity to receive spiritual and psychological support, to rest physically and hear about God.
The program was quite intense. Christian psychologists gave lectures on the topic: "Family Relationships During War". Chaplains organized personal meetings with them, where they listened to the experiences of both the husband and the wife, and at the end of the meeting they prayed with them. The camp had a team of doctors who provided consultations for all campers and massage. Various types of entertainment and recreation were also created for the military and their families. There was a special children's program for children and a youth team that served them. Children of war are especially sensitive and require a special approach. The war stole their childhood, and they are forced to live with this trauma, overcoming certain fears every day.
The camp was very blessed, and we thank God for all the blessings. In the future, we plan to maintain contact with the families of the military and organize various meetings for them in a narrower circle. Here is a review from one married couple of the “Obnova” camp.
Spouses Sergey and Tatyana have been living together for 5 years. Everything in life was like in all families, but always together, and the war made its own adjustments. With the beginning of a full-scale invasion, Sergey joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. When he returned after some time, much had changed in their relationship too. But God gave them the opportunity to go to a recovery camp. Here is what they personally say about themselves:
Tatiana: "Honestly, I didn't even hope that it would be so cool here. It just feels like when the soul is wounded and something healing is applied to it, and I have exactly this feeling now; something was applied, it became easier, calmed down... and it is happiness that I got here."
Sergey: "It was probably fate itself that gave us such an opportunity that we came here. Our family was already on the verge of divorce, because we reached the point where we did not understand each other and demanded a lot from each other."
Tatiana: "At different moments in life, it was as if he was right and I was right, but we could not come to a common agreement."
Sergey: "Thanks to the lectures that were at this retreat, we understood a lot and now our family will be built differently."
Tatiana: "Divorce is the simplest thing that can be, but you need to fight. We realized that we are different and that is normal. Communication is what leads to mutual understanding and acceptance of our differences. Difficulties will not break us, so we will fight to the end!"
Vitaly Yasnitsky
