By Jayna Richardson
“Our family changed so much since we started coming to this camp.”
“Every interaction is God-focused; all activities are serving families and strengthening us.”
“My kids are learning what it means to follow God—thank you for your example and for making it fun and interesting.”
For the past eight summers, FamilyLife Croatia has put together a unique and fun experience for families to come together and play games, laugh, learn from the Scriptures, and create great memories in the lakeside town of Orahovica.
The camps follow a simple but effective schedule that allows families to have fun together but also gives couples some time to focus on each other and receive marriage or parenting training and encouragement while the kids are occupied with fun activities such as sports or crafts. Families have plenty of free time to enjoy nature or just relax in the afternoons, then the group comes together in the evening for activities such as worship, a guest speaker, movie night, or a talent show.
Feedback from attendees is very positive—they get to have fun, grow spiritually, and even try out an unfamiliar sport called “baseball” that most have never seen or played before.
While there’s plenty of fun and recreation, the camps also hav
e a deeper purpose. “Our goals for the camp are to reach unbelieving families and strengthen believing ones. We cover topics like communication, boundaries, resolving conflict, intimacy, budgeting, and parenting teens, while openly sharing our failures and victories, being transparent, and pointing people to God,” says Davor Kukec, FamilyLife director of Croatia. “It is a unique place because we provide a safe environment where people can be open about their struggles and seek help.”
The FamilyLife team holds seminars, small groups, and counseling sessions, and they use the camps as an opportunity to train their volunteers in public speaking and leading small groups. They also show FamilyLife’s Art of Marriage® and Stepping Up® videos and challenge couples to use the materials to reach their communities.
The FamilyLife team is seeing lives changed—with an added bonus of plenty of fun and excitement as well.
FamilyLife Croatia plans to hold their next family camp August 3-8, 2020.
