One of the most remarkable Christian men I know is from Northern Moldova. His name is Victor Cucivari. Before we bought the central camp, Victor pleaded with me to buy a camp in the northern area of Moldova. In the north there are few churches and little going on to reach people for Christ. Victor was burdened for youth and had a vision to reach them through a Christian camp. When our paths crossed he was sure it was divine providence. The northern camp was nice but not what we were looking for because it was not centrally located in Moldova. We were already in negotiations to purchase the other camp, and we had no intent of buying a second one. Victor was one of these guys that cannot take “no” for an answer, but he is not the overly aggressive type. Going “around the barn” so to speak, he found a way to get me involved in the ministry of reaching northern Moldova: he invited me to preach evangelizations in three villages which had no church. We started our evangelistic outreach, and God blessed it with many souls saved. I spent many weekends up north during the winter of 1999. Every weekend we prayed for the spiritual needs of northern Moldova and the need for a camp there (at least Victor prayed for the camp). One week Victor asked me what would be the maximum I would pay for a camp in the north? A camp was for sale for about $20,000, which was unthinkable for me with the other camp pending. Finally, just to get him off my back, I told him: “If you can get it for $5,000, I will buy it.” Victor worked nearly a year on getting the price down. In the spring of 2000 Victor called, and his excitement was high. He had done it; the camp was ours for five thousand dollars! We found the money and bought the camp. Each week of the summer that camp hosts 140 youth. Many youth have been saved, and the camp is a great blessing in the north of Moldova.
There is a great lesson to learn from Victor’s efforts in the northern camp. Victor had no money and no opportunity to buy a camp, but that did not stop him from accomplishing the will of God. God blessed the faith of Victor and a few others who had been praying for this. Also there was a cost to Victor. One, he and several of his church folks gave up some of their personal land as part of the cost for the camp. I do not know all the details of this, but the cost to Victor and his friends was substantial. Two, Victor agreed to give his life as director of the camp. Most of his extended family immigrated to America, and he gave up his right to immigrate to stay and work there in Moldova. Yet, there are no regrets on Victor’s part. On my part, I can think of no man I’d rather serve with than Victor Cucivari.
At the same time this was all going on in Moldova. I was beginning to work in Africa with my friend Tom Gentry from Romania. I will save that for a special blog, but God has just poured His blessing out on my ministry here in Moldova and in Africa.
In Moldova we have seen in the two camps more than 20,000 youth and children accept the Lord as Savior. I know this sounds too incredible to be true, and it is hard for some Americans to accept. However, considering that Moldova is the poorest country in Europe, that the youth are looking for answers, and that the Gospel is powerful, why would we doubt God is able? My staff and I are very careful not to mislead the youth in our camps about salvation. Campers arrive on Monday morning and settle in for the day. We go over rules and guidelines for the week. This is important considering that 50 to 60 percent of the youth are unsaved and un-churched; however, they all come to camp by invitation of a local church. We tell the churches how many they can bring, and they bring their own children and some unsaved. The churches are eager to come and bring unsaved youth, because they see the change in many of their lives. Each week the youth hear five sermons about Christ and salvation, they hear Bible lessons in the mornings and again Bible lessons directly from their counselors. Each youth is also singled out by the counselors for a private time to talk about their soul and to answer questions about the messages and Bible. Everything is geared to helping them understand their need to accept Christ as personal Savior. So we do not confuse the youth before they are ready, we do not give an invitation until Thursday night. The invitations are very low key, yet we clearly give the opportunity for them to be saved. When the young people come forward at the invitation, we send them out with their counselors to be dealt with. Many are actually saved after the invitation night, led to the Lord by their counselors on Friday.
The result of this method of reaching youth has been phenomenal. This last summer of 2008 about half our counselors had been saved in previous years at our camp. As I visit churches throughout Moldova, I meet youth that were saved in our camp. Many are serving the Lord as pastors or missionaries. I hear testimonies all the time about changed lives as a result of the camp. I would be the first to admit that not all who make a profession of faith at the camp stay with Christ. However many do, and I can not worry about those who stray when so many have stayed with God. We are very careful not to give inflated numbers. Many who come forward at the invitation just need assurance, and some are not serious about accepting the Lord. Our counselors decide the final number of those saved in the camp, and they are taught to not inflate the numbers but to be careful in the reports. Many of the invitations are very sober, and the change in the camp on Friday is remarkable. There are battles and difficulties every week, but that is to be expected because this is spiritual warfare.
The single most important thing we can do for the camp is pray. Satan would love to shut us down, and he tries every year. We have a sanitation inspector that hates us in every way. He tries every year to closes us down, yet every year God intervenes. There are now so many governmental regulations that it is becoming very difficult to operate. There is always the possibility that if a child were hurt or accidentally died at our camp, our directors could go to prison. The cost of running camp is sky rocketing. The dollar fell to record lows this past summer of 2008, and we are on our knees every day asking God for help. I do not know how long we can continue with the current financial situation, yet we will trust God and move forward as best we can. What I can say is this: the camp is making a difference in Moldova, and the future is bright for reaching Moldovan youth. The Bible Institute will also open doors for expanding the ministry, not only in Moldova, but in other areas of Eastern Europe and Asia. At the end of each prayer letter I close by saying “Pray for Moldova.” That means that we believe we can reach the world though this little insignificant country. Is not God in the business of using the weak things of the world?
There is a great lesson to learn from Victor’s efforts in the northern camp. Victor had no money and no opportunity to buy a camp, but that did not stop him from accomplishing the will of God. God blessed the faith of Victor and a few others who had been praying for this. Also there was a cost to Victor. One, he and several of his church folks gave up some of their personal land as part of the cost for the camp. I do not know all the details of this, but the cost to Victor and his friends was substantial. Two, Victor agreed to give his life as director of the camp. Most of his extended family immigrated to America, and he gave up his right to immigrate to stay and work there in Moldova. Yet, there are no regrets on Victor’s part. On my part, I can think of no man I’d rather serve with than Victor Cucivari.
At the same time this was all going on in Moldova. I was beginning to work in Africa with my friend Tom Gentry from Romania. I will save that for a special blog, but God has just poured His blessing out on my ministry here in Moldova and in Africa.
In Moldova we have seen in the two camps more than 20,000 youth and children accept the Lord as Savior. I know this sounds too incredible to be true, and it is hard for some Americans to accept. However, considering that Moldova is the poorest country in Europe, that the youth are looking for answers, and that the Gospel is powerful, why would we doubt God is able? My staff and I are very careful not to mislead the youth in our camps about salvation. Campers arrive on Monday morning and settle in for the day. We go over rules and guidelines for the week. This is important considering that 50 to 60 percent of the youth are unsaved and un-churched; however, they all come to camp by invitation of a local church. We tell the churches how many they can bring, and they bring their own children and some unsaved. The churches are eager to come and bring unsaved youth, because they see the change in many of their lives. Each week the youth hear five sermons about Christ and salvation, they hear Bible lessons in the mornings and again Bible lessons directly from their counselors. Each youth is also singled out by the counselors for a private time to talk about their soul and to answer questions about the messages and Bible. Everything is geared to helping them understand their need to accept Christ as personal Savior. So we do not confuse the youth before they are ready, we do not give an invitation until Thursday night. The invitations are very low key, yet we clearly give the opportunity for them to be saved. When the young people come forward at the invitation, we send them out with their counselors to be dealt with. Many are actually saved after the invitation night, led to the Lord by their counselors on Friday.
The result of this method of reaching youth has been phenomenal. This last summer of 2008 about half our counselors had been saved in previous years at our camp. As I visit churches throughout Moldova, I meet youth that were saved in our camp. Many are serving the Lord as pastors or missionaries. I hear testimonies all the time about changed lives as a result of the camp. I would be the first to admit that not all who make a profession of faith at the camp stay with Christ. However many do, and I can not worry about those who stray when so many have stayed with God. We are very careful not to give inflated numbers. Many who come forward at the invitation just need assurance, and some are not serious about accepting the Lord. Our counselors decide the final number of those saved in the camp, and they are taught to not inflate the numbers but to be careful in the reports. Many of the invitations are very sober, and the change in the camp on Friday is remarkable. There are battles and difficulties every week, but that is to be expected because this is spiritual warfare.
The single most important thing we can do for the camp is pray. Satan would love to shut us down, and he tries every year. We have a sanitation inspector that hates us in every way. He tries every year to closes us down, yet every year God intervenes. There are now so many governmental regulations that it is becoming very difficult to operate. There is always the possibility that if a child were hurt or accidentally died at our camp, our directors could go to prison. The cost of running camp is sky rocketing. The dollar fell to record lows this past summer of 2008, and we are on our knees every day asking God for help. I do not know how long we can continue with the current financial situation, yet we will trust God and move forward as best we can. What I can say is this: the camp is making a difference in Moldova, and the future is bright for reaching Moldovan youth. The Bible Institute will also open doors for expanding the ministry, not only in Moldova, but in other areas of Eastern Europe and Asia. At the end of each prayer letter I close by saying “Pray for Moldova.” That means that we believe we can reach the world though this little insignificant country. Is not God in the business of using the weak things of the world?
