You Really Want to Read the Bible?

     Many of us have a Bible sitting on the shelf in the living room, maybe one beside your favorite spot for our morning coffee and the reality is, you may have read the Bible since you were a kid. That is not the reality for everyone, and it is something that we are reminded of as we share the gospel around the world. What great joy it brings us to see the excitement of someone who reads the Bible for the first time. Curiosity, awe and wonder as they discover the stories on the pages of the Bible and more importantly, read and discover more about God.
     Last month we had our second official Koper English Camp. We had 42 kids in total, which was above and beyond what we prayed for! 20 of those were returning from last year. It was great to reconnect with all those kids and continue to build on those relationships. With the help of a youth focused ministry here, Josiah Venture, and a church team of Americans from Tennessee, we were able to connect with these kids and ultimately share the Gospel with them. Malea and I were also able to connect with some of the parents that were coming at the end of the day to pick up the kids. One family realized we were neighbors and they invited us over coffee!
     The Saturday directly following camp we had a hangout time with the kids where we went and got pizza and ice cream together with the American team before they left. This is not part of the camp and completely up to the kids to show up if they wanted to. Of the 42 kids at camp, 30 of them came!
     Two boys expressed to some of the leaders at camp that they would like their own Bible to read. So, we brought them Bibles, but we first asked their parents when they came to pick up the boys if it was ok if we gave them Bibles. One of the parents turned to their son and asked, "You really want to read the Bible?" She was shocked when her son then told her he was interested in reading the Bible. In her astonishment, she happily allowed it!
     God is at work in the hearts of the teens here and you are all a part of this! With the help of our missionary friends from Josiah Venture, we will continue to have a youth group meeting throughout the year and this week is the first official time they are meeting.
     Pray for these teens that they would see their need for Jesus and want to know Him! Pray for the two teen boys who asked for Bibles. We believe that God has great plans for the future of the church here in Slovenia, and the soft hearts and open minds of the youth.