Sixteen-year-old Sofia lives in a small Ukrainian village where there is no church.
And yet, her faith is strong, thanks in part to friends like you who make iYouth Camp possible.
I wanted you to hear her story.
“The Lord has been my help…”
Sofia’s father died before the war, leaving her and her mother to fend for themselves.
Although life was difficult, Sofia and her mother forged an inseparable bond that helped get them through the dark days that followed the loss of her father and the looming war with Russia.
Life took a turn for Sofia in 2022 when she was invited to attend iYouth Camp in Germany with 30 other Ukrainian teenagers. It was at that camp that Sofia came to faith in God.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“I truly believed in God at iYouth Camp three years ago,” she said. “My prayers felt like a conversation between God and me. And for the past three years, the Lord has been my help and support.”
But early this year, Sofia’s mother grew sick, and life became uncertain again. Sofia began to feel distant from God. And while she continued to pray, Sofia couldn’t hear God’s voice as clearly as she did before.
Remembering how it felt to lose her father, fear and anxiety began to cloud Sofia’s mind.
“I thought, ‘did I do something wrong?’” she continued. “It was a big shock to me. Prayer wasn’t helping as it did before.”
But when she learned that she would get to return to iYouth Camp again this summer, she felt hope again. “I prayed, ‘Lord, bless me to establish a connection with You there,” she said.
And that’s exactly what happened.
“Now I’m able to pray again!”
As Sofia prayed and worshiped during services at iYouth Camp, she felt God release her from the anxieties and fears.
“The Lord stretched His hand out to me, and I held onto it tightly,” she said. “Now I am able to pray and have conversations with God again!”
Today, even though there is no church in her village, Sofia attends online church and is looking for a fellowship near her village. In the meantime, she goes to school, studies English, and thanks to you – is already looking forward to iYouth Camp in 2025!
