The world of amazing discoveries was prepared for the children on January 2–9 by a winter camp called "In the World of the Unusual", which traditionally took place at the Mir base. More than 100 children, ages six to sixteen, from different parts of Belarus came to study unusual places on our planet, strengthen themselves spiritually, and meet new friends. The groups, into which the children were divided according to age, were given the names of some of the unusual cities of our planet: Oia, Auroville, Neft Daşları, Longyearbyen, Dubai, and The Villages. 

Every morning and evening, the children learned a lot of facts about unusual cities, and during the next meeting, they answered questions about them. For example, the American city of The Villages, Florida, is considered a city of the elderly, where the average age of residents is 64 years old. The settlement of Neft Daşları in Azerbaijan was built by oil workers on piles right in the open sea. And Dubai is known as a city … ???

The spiritual mentor of the camp, Oleg Gabrusevich, daily led the children into the world of biblical discoveries, archaeology, and linguistics, drew attention to true values, ​​and warned against the alluring traps of this world. The children could also demonstrate the acquired knowledge through questions and quizzes.

In addition to general services in the hall, the children gathered in groups to meditate on the Word of God and study special lessons together with mentors. Also, everyone had the opportunity to attend a circle of pre-selected specializations, some of which were creative and some of which provided understanding of the world around us, as well as ourselves.

The general camp game every day contained a creative task for the detachments, and in the evening, its winner was announced. Also, a long-awaited moment of the day was the "Shop", where children could purchase various useful little things for special camp money, "Atlantika", which encouraged them for good behavior, activity, and discipline. However, probably the most joy and emotion among the children was due to the “Mail”, which traditionally ended the evening services. The children and mentors dropped gifts and messages for each other into a special box and were waiting for a pleasant surprise for themselves. 

On Sabbath, Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Buchnev, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Belarus, visited the winter camp. He addressed the children with spiritual guidance and also expressed his gratitude to the entire camp team: mentors who took care of their pupils around the clock; cooks who prepared a delicious variety of food, “like at home”; Dr. Ekaterina Gabrusevich, who stood guard over the health of all children; Oleg Gabrusevich, spiritual mentor; and, of course, the organizers of the camp Sputai, Sergey and Oksana, Gulnara Giniyatullina, and the Gavrilyuk family, who, for many years, have already been working on the improvement of the base. 

The final anthem and prayer marked the end of the winter camp, with the hope of a new meeting in the "Special City"! The bright fireworks at the stadium in honor of the end of the camp caused a special delight among the children.

This article was originally published on the Euro-Asia Division’s news site