It was the summer of 1993, in Mostar young people were living through the hell of war, but an idea emerged. An idea that seemed so impossible that it could only have come from God. Sandra one of our founders turned to Nikola her husband and said “What if a holiday in Crikvenica could be offered to young people in Mostar?” There
were only two weeks to organise the trip before the young people returned to school. They needed visas, transport, funding and an array of other challenges to overcome.
They first thought to take 25 young people but God in His glory grew this to 43. For 10 days young people were taken to be young people, to laugh, “hang out” and most of all hear the Good News of the Gospel. In 1994 Novi Most was formally registered as a charity in the UK to aid in the support and work of these pioneers and
to equip those called by God to serve in this nation. – Read the first camp story: Miracle in Mostar, pg
107-119
Today we continue this work working with the Evangelical Church of Bosnia and Herzegovina at their Camp site Emek Beraka. Our team spend months planning and preparing for camp. The one thing you can’t plan is the weather,
we do prepare, but we weren’t prepared for this. We caught up with Becca from Caplina who shares how when the weather tried to catch them by suprise the young people suprised the weather.
Sometimes the most memorable moments on camp are the spontaneous, unplanned ones. That was
definitely true for me on teen camp this year. Last year teen camp was defined by unprecedented
thunder storms which left tents flattened and the boys sleeping in them seeking refuge on
mattresses in hallways in the dry.
So when we saw the forecast for thunderstorms midweek on teen camp this year, there was a sense of ‘oh no, here we go again!’ However, instead of happening in the middle of the night, this time the storms hit during the afternoon. The reaction of the teenagers completely took me by surprise.Instead of taking shelter in the dry of the house, they kicked off their shoes and started running through the pouring rain. One by one, more and more of them joined in. For about an hour they ran, danced and rolled around in the torrential downpour.
Although at the time it seemed like something that was just a bit of fun, and also quite rebellious (culturally, going out in the rain and getting soaking wet is a big no no) on reflection, it was something liberating for many and an activity which brought joy, laughter and freedom to the whole atmosphere of camp. A Godly downpour!
30 years on camp remains a place for young people to be young people even when that means running and splashing in the rain.