It was singing that I heard through the woods on the final night of camp. In July, it doesn’t get dark until after 11pm, but this was “bonfire night” at “Yolochka Camp.” Bonfire night is a very traditional event for any Russian summer camp, a tradition started long ago during communist times.  The kids come pouring out of their cabins after dark, and celebrate friendships gained through their week of camp around a huge bonfire… the kind of fire that is often so large it’s like burning down a small barn. But it was the songs coming out of the dark woods that struck me most. Familiar “praises to

Bonfire at Yolochka Summer Camp

God” music that we had sung all week, and these kids with a joyful noise and at the top of their lungs were belting them on their way to join the bonfire. It was here, and only here, that I realized that these children felt truly free to sing songs like this. Most had no school friends that were believers. Many of them did not come from homes of believers. They lived in neighborhoods where there were very few believers. Even those who attended churches, they were small with very few other children attending. Where could they go sing with this freedom? It was here, at Camp Yolochka. I was glad to be part of it and witness such wonderful joy that overflowed from their hearts. There is great life changing power in the summer camp experience.

Tags: LifeWay Church, Russia summer childrens camp, Yolochka