Children's Summer Bible School in Ogre, press release
For the 6th year already, the interdenominational children's summer Bible school “Make Friends with God” took place in the city of Ogre. This year, from July 16 to 20, we welcomed not only Latvian-speaking children but also Russian-speaking children. Interesting classes for teenagers aged 13 to 15 were led by Kaspars Ozolins, head of the organization “True Love Waits”, and his team. The rest of the children, aged 9 to 12, were led by a team representing people from five different churches.
Because this event was intended for the city's children, some of them came from disadvantaged families facing unemployment and other problems. Some children had serious behavioral difficulties. We told the children that they are good and lovable. It felt as though some of them were hearing that for the first time. We tried to make the children feel accepted, listened to and loved here, because God Himself loves them... We saw them blossom and saw how their behavior changed.
It is known that behavioral difficulties are rooted in a lack of love and communication in families. Therefore, to promote relationships between parents and children, we asked the “Elvi” store chain for support so that children and parents could spend at least a little time together, enjoying a tasty meal and talking one-on-one in the “Elvi” cafe.
Our kitchen helpers took care of lunch during the week, and local cafes also supported us.
We were all delighted by the wonderful team that had formed. The children were different. Some attended local churches, while others had previously heard nothing about God. Our team was ready to give them comfort and love from our Heavenly Father. During the day we watched how their behavior changed and God's peace filled their little hearts. We tried to accept them as they are, encourage them and love them. We saw tears fall from children's eyes in God's presence. Thanks be to our dear Heavenly Father for this grace. We gave the children the opportunity to entrust their lives to Jesus Christ and taught them to build a personal
friendship with God by reading the Bible every day and talking with Him. The week passed in such a wonderful presence of God that the servants were ready to work another week. Perhaps in the future we will do that too.
We thank the largest supporter of this children's Bible school, Pastor Vadims Kovalevs and his wife Alina, as well as the churches of Ogre. We also thank the organization “Latvian Evangelical Alliance” for its support.
I believe that God can reach parents' hearts through children... I thank the Heavenly Father for His love, grace and the opportunity to work together with Him in this project of His!
VBS leader
Daiga Balcere