How was your summer?', 'what did you get up to?' Those awful, painful questions. A sudden lump in your throat, a desire flooding over you to run away.

What do you say? Everyone else seems to have done such cool stuff! How do you make six weeks asking 'Do you want fries with that?' sound interesting? What's original about spending ten days hurting all over, and shining the sort of red that only British holidaymakers shine? Days spent complaining that the chips don't taste as good as at home. Writing the same boring drivel 'the weathers here, wish you were great!' on all the postcards to all those relatives you only see at Christmas.

Would it not be great actually to have something to add to the conversation for once? Something that will even impress that slightly weird guy that always has a backpack on, and talks with a fake Australian accent. The one that thinks that diarrhoea should be an essential part of all holidays?

Groups of Christian medics all over Britain faced this same dilemma last year. Some chose to do something radically different. CMF summer trips abroad can be a great opportunity to step outside of you 'comfort zone'.They have a profound effect on all that attend. Those brave enough to go, leave having been challenged and with increased faith. It is humbling that people in other countries, who have far less (materially) than us, are striving for so much more. We marvel at the visions they have for their homelands and their desire to see them won for Christ. For more information about summer projects contact the CMF office, students@cmf.org.uk

Neil Fisher

What did I do?

In August 2001 I went with eight others from Scotland to spend a week at a Christian camp in the Ural mountains in Russia. This was run by local church volunteers for around 40 students, both Christian and non-Christian, who were studying in the nearby university city of Chelyabinsk, population 1.2 million. Although the camp was originally intended to be primarily for medical students, around half of the campers were studying either languages, physics or maths.

The format of the camp was simple. Every morning (after a rather interesting breakfast!) we led seminars on topics such as creation evolution, worldviews, the occult, suffering and sex and then split into smaller groups for further discussion. The Russian students listened attentively to the translated seminars and then eagerly engaged in discussion about what they had heard. I was used to being asked questions by British students because they wanted an argument: the Russian students asked questions simply because they wanted to know the answers! Spiritual conversations and prayer dominated the remainder of each day, although there was a lot of time spent swimming, playing football and singing around the campfire until around 1am every morning.

Over the course of the week many deep relationships developed between the Russians and the Scottish team. It was phenomenally exciting to see people becoming Christians after sharing the gospel with them. This was something I had never experienced before, but equally encouraging was the transformation I saw taking place in the Christians' lives. Jesus said that when we know the truth, it sets us free[1] and as the power of God's word began to work in my new friends' hearts, I saw them being filled with joy as they were set free from the bondage of Satan's subtle lies.[2]

God's truth came to the camp with two of its closest friends, love and unity.[3] Along with freedom, they were present in a way that I had rarely experienced before. We all became so close that when it was time for the Scottish team to leave, almost the whole camp turned up at the railway station to say goodbye. For the first time since meeting one another we felt deep sadness and wept openly. As the train began to pull out of the station, the Russians started to run alongside our carriage, desperate not to lose sight of us until the last possible moment. And then we left them and the platform behind, deeply sad yet unspeakably joyful at all that had happened.

What did God do?

God said 'Yes!' to all of our prayers before our very eyes. This was a new experience for me, but every single thing we asked God to do, he did there and then.[4] At least five people became Christians (including everyone we specifically prayed for by name) and those who were already believers grew in their faith, not least me!

God used his truth to set people free. Some students in the camp had been involved with the occult, some belonged to families which had given up their faith in God because of great suffering and others simply struggled to believe that God could love them and forgive them and care for them with all of his heart. When we don't believe God's truth, the only alternative is to be in bondage to Satan's lies, which rob us of hope and lead to despair. The truths we learned together in camp exposed Satan's lies for what they are and brought freedom, hope and joy to us all.

God gave us love for one another. People know we are Christians when they see the quality of our relationships with one another.[5] This was especially clear in camp. The non-Christians saw the way in which the Christians sacrificially served one another in love and this pale shadow of Christ's love for us became a living parable that everyone could understand.

God did far more than I can tell you or indeed know, and even all that God did in our camp is just a small part of what he did and is still doing throughout the whole world. What I do know is that since coming home I have had a renewed hunger and thirst to know him more,[6] to serve him better[7] and to pray,[8] for I have seen that God is able to do immeasurably more than all I could ever ask or even imagine.[9]

There will be more teams invited to Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe this summer. God will work again. Will you be part of it? There are no words I can use to fully communicate to you the immensity or intensity of my experience last summer. Why not go and know for yourself?

Everett Julyan