@SU Magazine | July 2023

Who are SU Scotland?

Our vision is to see every child and young person in Scotland exploring the Bible and responding to the significance of Jesus.

We are a Christian charity with over 2,000 volunteers and 100 staff working in four contexts: schools, holidays, community-based missions, and training and equipping.

We work in partnership with churches, SU Scotland Associate Trusts and others to help children and young people across Scotland have an opportunity to explore the Bible and respond to the significance of Jesus. We offer safe places where they can have fun, meet new challenges, feel valued, accepted and free to express their views and consider their own beliefs as they engage with peers and Christian leaders. We aim to prioritise the needs of those from a disadvantaged background in all our activities.

SU Scotland

70 Milton Street, Glasgow, G4 0HR 0141 332 1162 | info@suscotland.org.uk suscotland.org.uk

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If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.

Psalm 139 9–10

Editor: Hilary Phillips | cygnus-extra.co.uk

Design: Kimberly Wray | innovivid.co.uk

Print: Johnston Mailing

© Scripture Union Scotland, 2023 Scottish Charity SC011222

ISSN 1357 - 7171

A large print edition is available on request.

4 Our centres are for everyone

Young people from Drummond school had a great time when the Alltnacriche team introduced them to some new outdoor activities.

8 School residentials

It’s been a busy season at our centres and there’s more to come. Rachel Luxton shares about school residentials at Lendrick Muir.

12 Gowanbank developments

It’s five years since Gowanbank first opened its doors. Find out about the new projects that are helping the centre to grow.

16 Cabins at Kingscross

Campers at Kingscross this summer will be sleeping in cabins rather than tents, as the famous SU Scotland campsite gets an upgrade.

18 Motiv8

Our holidays for young people from challenging realities make a huge impact. Read some powerful stories of change.

20 Vorzel in the front line

Oksana Khimich shares about the situation in Ukraine and how Open Bible, the Scripture Union movement there, are responding.

Welcome to the summer!

It’s an exciting time, with schools finishing and the holiday season getting into full swing. I hope you can find a few minutes to relax in the sunshine and read about what’s happening at SU Scotland.

In this edition of @SU we are focussing on the contribution of our incredible outdoor activity centres at Alltnacriche, Gowanbank and Lendrick Muir. These unique places and the teams based there play a mission-critical role in helping deliver our vision to see every child and young person in Scotland exploring the Bible and responding to the significance of Jesus.

Each year, they welcome around 4,000 pupils on school activity breaks, many of whom will have little or no other live experience of Christianity, not to mention the thousands more who enjoy an SU Holiday or weekend away with us or as part of a church group. Turn to page 4 to learn how young people with additional support needs enjoyed outdoor activities at Alltnacriche, just one example of many.

You can also read about new developments, some already underway and others coming soon, all made possible by the generosity of committed supporters like you.

Our SU friends in Ukraine have been encountering far greater struggles and we’ve included news from Oksana Khimich about how the Vorzel centre became a place of refuge during the

invasion and how gospel work continues there in the midst of the ongoing conflict.

As we head into summer many volunteers and staff are gearing up for SU Holidays at the centres and campsites as well as Missions in communities across Scotland, not to mention the Magnitude Festival taking place at Lendrick Muir in July. You’ll find information about the Prayer Hotline on page 23, just one of many ways that you can get involved in praying for our events over the summer season.

Looking ahead to the end of the summer holidays, why not put Saturday 19 August in the diary for the Big Celebration at Lendrick Muir? Hope to see you there!

Robin MacLellan, CEO robin.maclellan@suscotland.org.uk

Our centres are for everyone

Over the last few years, the team at Alltnacriche has been getting to know pupils and staff at Drummond School in Inverness.

Drummond is a school for young people with Additional Support Needs and includes both primary and secondary pupils. Initially the team went to visit the school, introducing the young people to some outdoor activities and this led on to day visits to the centre.

The school staff worked closely with the Alltnacriche team, to create experiences that would help enrich learning for the young people, in line with Curriculum for Excellence.

Hannah Steeds, the Ministry Development Coordinator at Alltnacriche says, 'We are totally committed to making sure everyone can get involved. For example, we have ground anchors fitted for our climbing wall so that we can create a pulley system for wheelchair users or young people who need a bit more support to climb.'

Isabel Black is the Depute Head Teacher at Drummond School. She says, 'Being able to take groups of young people to Alltnacriche for a day experience was so positive. Seeing young people achieve things that they never thought they’d be able to do, such as the zip line, the climbing wall and gorge walking, was so significant. We saw young

people trying new things and encouraging each other and clearly experiencing a sense of success and flourishing. That ethos of positivity is such a valuable thing! Our school is a wonderful positive place anyway, but being able to widen the experience of these young people is so important.

'The team at Alltnacriche were wonderful... there's always lots to be done in meeting the needs of the individual young people in the group. For example creating visual timetables with meaningful symbols to help in preparing for the day. There was a genuine, collaborative attitude, with the team ready to learn and develop their approach.

'As well as the outdoor activities the visits contributed

'The outdoors itself and activities in the outdoors are both so beneficial to the wellbeing of young people and we’re working hard to develop both our skills and our facilities. Over the winter our team also engaged in soft skills and neurodiversity training to help us work well with young people with a variety of different support needs.

—Hannah Steeds, Ministry Development Coordinator, Alltnacriche

to the RME curriculum, with the centre team introducing the young people to some Christian teaching.'

Hannah explains, 'For the Bible story, we did practical retellings of Jesus’ miracles. For example, for the feeding 5,000 story we used the outdoor spaces available so that the young people could imagine being part of the story as we walked around, sat and talked. We got really positive feedback from the school staff who hadn’t really heard the stories told in that way before.'

So, what about the long-term benefits? Isabel comments, 'Some of the young people achieved a John Muir Award through the visits, and now we've actually decided to take some young people away for a residential trip this year.

This is the first time for many years that we have been able to do this. Working with the Alltnacriche team has really contributed to the young people being ready. We aren't visiting Alltnacriche for our residential as we need a centre with more specially adapted facilities, but the relationship with Alltnacriche has been very important in widening young people's experience and an excellent use of some of our Pupil Equity Funding (PEF).'

Hannah concludes, 'As well as Drummond we have also been working closely with Able2Adventure to provide sessions for pupils with Additional Support Needs from Kingussie High School and SNAP (Special Needs Action Project in Inverness). Whether a camp or school residential,

we are always happy to meet with pupils before they come to explore how best to adapt our activities so that they can get involved.' 

All three of our centres, Alltnacriche, Gowanbank and Lendrick Muir, provide support to groups and individuals with Additional Support Needs. Please get in touch to discuss requirements.

alltnacriche@ suscotland.org.uk

gowanbank@ suscotland.org.uk

lmoffice@ suscotland.org.uk

Always Growing

SU Scotland’s outdoor activity centres— Alltnacriche, Gowanbank and Lendrick Muir—provide thousands of children with fantastic residential experiences each year. In these safe and encouraging environments, children and young people are able to try new activities, learn new skills and make new friends. These unique settings provide temporary Christian communities in which we’ve seen children and young people discover God’s love, explore the Christian faith, respond to the gospel and flourish as disciples of Jesus. In the upcoming year, we anticipate 13,500 young people will visit as part of school residentials, SU Holidays, weekends, and other youth groups, not to mention our Magnitude festival!

GREENING THE CENTRES

At all our centres we’re looking into ‘green’ energy sources as well as improving insulation and considering other ways to reduce our carbon footprint (and our running costs). At Lendrick Muir, we’re investigating the feasibility of wind power, having already made use of solar and biomass energy at the centre. Gowanbank already has solar panels fitted and, as part of the upcoming Alltnacriche appeal (more information on page 11), we hope to raise funds to install solar panels there too.

NATURE

Recently at Lendrick Muir we have been organising work party days with Peter Vardy staff. Groups of 10–15 people came to plant the trees, remove the invasive rhododendron, plant the wildflower meadow etc. So far, we have run three of these days and are planning more this year.

A ROCHA UK

Our environmental partners, A Rocha UK, ran a successful hub event at Lendrick Muir in May, which included sessions on red squirrel conservation, creating 'edible mini landscapes' and thinking about growing food. 

Right to outdoor education

Across all the SU Scotland centres we are continually thinking about how we can make residential outdoor activities available to as many young people as possible.

We are convinced of the value of outdoor education for every child and young person and currently SU Scotland provides about 5% of the capacity for school residentials across Scotland, working with over 100 schools representing over half of Scotland’s local authorities. The teams at the centres work closely with schools and other organisations to ensure that all our programmes are accessible, and the story on page 4 is just one example of many groups where we will think carefully about the support they need.

Of course, there are other barriers to outdoor education, some social and some economic. Currently in Scotland, not every child has equal access. Some schools have a pattern of offering a residential event to every child, while others don’t. Some groups get access to funding, often parents are covering the costs and sometimes finance is an issue. Some young people have additional support needs which need tailored provision.

I’m delighted that we have been able to contribute to a Scottish Parliament Cross-Party working group that is exploring how an outdoor residential event could be part of every pupil's school experience. The next part of the journey is the development of a members bill, which will then come before the Scottish Parliament. The Entitlement Bill is currently in draft stage with different stakeholders and we have been part of the sector-wide contribution to the working group.

I hope we’ll be able to report progress on the Entitlement Bill in the near future. 

Paul Bayton, Director of Centres

A day in the life of a school residential

There’s literally never a dull moment if you are taking part in a school residential. Here’s some of what happens at Lendrick Muir...

FIRST THING

Each day starts with a 30-minute Time for Reflection session. During this session we explore themes of teamwork, confidence, resilience and P7/S1 transition, from a Religious Observance perspective.

DURING THE DAY

Young people work in teams to develop their skills on the rope courses, trail biking or any one of the many outdoor activities available that make use of our extensive site.

New for 2023, young people can now dig a bit deeper into the amazing habitats at Lendrick Muir and think of the impact we have on the environment. Young people are loving this and it’s a great way for them to explore God's creation. We have had positive feedback from teachers and pupils during the sessions and lots of excitement when we see a red squirrel.

LATER ON

Schools love the food that is provided by the Lendrick Muir catering team, supported by regular volunteers. This is a great chance to sit round a table, eating food and sharing about the adventures of the day. During free-time there is the option of using the many sports areas outside, including the astroturf pitch and beach volley ball or relaxing inside in a lounge chatting with friends and playing board games.

The young people then head to their dorms after an action-packed day to the excitement of sharing a room with friends. A teacher comments, 'Residentials are essential to provide the experiences, resources and expertise that can’t be provided within school budgets.' 

Jo Corrigan, Trainee Activity Instructor at Alltnacriche, shares about her role and the journey to working at an SU Scotland centre.

It’s Monday morning and I’m out in a canoe with some team members from Alltnacriche. Looking around, it’s hard to believe that this is work, but it is! It’s an incredibly important part of gaining the skills and experience that I need as a Trainee Activity Instructor.

At the moment, I am approved to deliver some of our centrebased activities. I’m gradually working towards gaining the qualifications I need to lead other types of activities. Working with a new group of young people every week is exciting. I love seeing the young people taking part, especially when they are just being kids, enjoying getting mucky or splashing about.

I can remember coming to camp at Alltnacriche as a young person and I know how important the relationships with the Activity Instructors can be. I first encountered SU Scotland when I started at Smithycroft High School. I didn’t know anyone, but I was invited along to the SU Group and that became the place where I made friends and felt comfortable.

I used to go to the Junction 12 drop-ins after school and then day trips and SU Holidays. To start with I went to make friends and enjoy the activities. By the time I was in S4, I was beginning to notice the Bible content and I remember one particular Junction12 prayer time when I realised I wasn’t talking for other people to hear me, but for myself.

My Christian faith has grown from there. Before coming to Alltnacriche I completed a Masters in Theology and now, living here in a Christian

community is an amazing way to support each other and build our faith together. 'Feet off the floor' is the bit of the day when we chat about our faith with the young people. We talk about how God created the world, that he loves us and cares about the choices we make. We get the young people involved in acting out stories from the Bible, linking them to their everyday lives.

At the end of a school residential, I’m always exhausted, but it’s totally worth it. Working here and living on site is such a brilliant experience. 

Jo Corrigan

*Junction 12 is a youth project with close ties to SU Scotland.

Interested in becoming an Activity Instructor at one of our centres?

Find out more at….

suscotland.org.uk/jobs

It's so rewarding to see a young person tackle and achieve something they didn't think they could do.

Your generosity reach new heights is helping young people

Sports hall makeover at Lendrick Muir

Lastyear our amazing supporters donated a total of £260,000 to the Lendrick Muir Development Appeal, which has facilitated muchneeded improvements to the centre. The focus of our developments was turning our aged sports hall into a multifunctional space, creating greater options for wet weather and winter activities.

The most exciting new addition is the climbing wall, which will help young people to grow in confidence, ability and teamwork as they solve problems, improve coordination skills and celebrate together as they reach new heights (both literally and metaphorically!).

We’ve also been able to make the sports hall a more useable space with new flooring and heating. Acoustic curtains suppress the sound and allow multiple groups to use the space, and it’s all had a fresh lick of paint.

We’re so grateful to each and every person that made a gift to this appeal. The developments at Lendrick Muir will not only benefit those that visit, but they add an extra element of appeal to the centre, attracting new groups. Your generosity is creating more opportunities for children and young people to not only grow personally but to encounter our amazing God!

Growing the impact of Alltnacriche

ThisAugust, our special ministries appeal will be to raise funds for developments at Alltnacriche. It is our oldest centre and 2023 marks its 35th anniversary. The site has evolved over the years, and now has a team of 12 committed and skilled staff welcoming almost 2,500 guests each year.

We want to develop Alltnacriche so that it can operate at capacity in winter months, adding new indoor activities and space

for ministry. The team at Alltnacriche have a real passion for ensuring the centre is accessible for all, and this will be a focus for the upcoming appeal.

Dave Moss, Alltnacriche Centre Manager says: 'We’re excited to see what we can do at Alltnacriche in partnership with SU Scotland supporters.

'Our vision is to see more young people experience the Christian faith in a meaningful way, exploring the Bible and responding to the significance of Jesus. We believe that the impact of this investment will enable this by enhancing activities, improving accessibility and reach and extending our viable operating season.' 

Our appeal officially launches in August but if you’d like to give the campaign a head start, you can visit suscotland.org.uk/ appeal to give a gift.

The Shed @Gowanbank

GOWANBANK STAFF TEAM

IN PROGRESS

A new facility at Gowanbank in Ayrshire will expand the use of the centre and help groups make the most of the outdoor facilities.

Currently known as the 'The Shed Project' a large outbuilding is being converted to create a hub for visiting day groups. The new room will provide an ideal base, creating a place to gather up, leave bags and have lunch, when the weather’s not up to spending time outdoors.

Sometimes groups who come to stay at the centre are there for meetings and conferences, meaning that the outdoor activities are available. The new room will make it easier for us to accommodate two groups on site at the same time. There will be wifi and a big screen, making the space great for

briefings and reflection times, especially on days when sheltering from the Scottish weather is a good idea.

It’s now five years since Gowanbank first opened it’s doors as a residential centre and the latest development means the centre continues to grow. The house was gifted to SU Scotland to extend our residential ministry and Sylvia and Colin Campbell moved from Lendrick Muir to manage the centre in 2018.

Sylvia comments, 'For me, the highlights are always about the people—the way the team of staff and volunteers has developed over that time and about all the groups that come to visit. And God’s goodness of course! We’ve welcomed groups from all over Scotland and it has been wonderful to see the school residentials growing, especially over the last year.

'We want every child and young person to be able to

visit, and we are working hard to make sure that can happen. We offer discounts to groups that come from areas of priority and we can also offer bursaries to individuals. We have strong links with schools for children with Additional Support Needs and will take time to tailor programmes to suit particular needs.

'Over our five year journey, we have got to know the local churches and we’re hugely grateful for prayer support and the many local volunteers who help to make it all happen.'

There is still time to book for your group to visit Gowanbank this autumn for a weekend, a week, a few days or a one-day activity session based at The Shed.

gowanbank.co.uk

Gap Year FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT

GAP YEAR 22–23

• DEBOR AH

• SUSANNA

• CAMERON

• FINLAY

• SOPHIE

• JO

All the way through school I had the clear idea that I wanted to go to university. I hadn’t stopped to consider taking time out for a gap year. So, it was a surprise to me and my parents to suddenly find myself applying for the SU Scotland Gap Year Programme just 24 hours before the deadline.

Iwas in my sixth year, had made my university applications, and was waiting to hear from my top choice. I was praying about my next steps and had the clear sense of God pointing me back to the Encounter prayer event and the chat there about the Gap Year options.

Now, a year on, I am making plans to study computer science at Glasgow University. I will be heading there having had an amazing experience for the last year, with a range of transferable skills to take into my student experience.

Throughout the year I’ve been based at Gowanbank in

Ayrshire, one of SU Scotland’s three residential activity centres. Gowanbank has a close-knit team of six staff (not all of them full-time like me!) and it has been a really fantastic experience to get to know them well and to work with them on what is truly a very varied range of tasks. I get involved in everything… practical things like catering, cleaning—lots and lots of hoovering—and outdoor maintenance as well as working with the young people directly, including activity instructing.

The teamwork experience has been great—even tasks like washing up are fun because you are working alongside other people and knowing it’s in service to God. I’ve learned an amazing amount from all of the people that I’ve worked with this year. I know that I’ll be able to use that experience in future volunteering and all sorts of other ways too.

My final term here is proving to be full-on, with school groups here all the time. I now have the skills and experience to lead some of the outdoor activities and that’s going to be useful for future work and, as well as for my own interests. I really

enjoy outdoor activities and it has been great to be able to go climbing with some of the others on the team just for fun.

Throughout the year I’ve benefited from being part of the gap year programme with links with the other participants, a mentor (he’s actually in Canada, but that works fine!), an active church in Townhead and time to get into reading the Bible. I’ve been able to explore more about God and what it means to be living my life for him.

During the summer I am heading to Hungary with the rest of the Gap Year Team to support some SU Holiday clubs there where the children and young people get to find out about Jesus and also practise their English. I’m hoping we can be genuinely helpful while we are there!

My gap year has given me an incredible breadth of experience that, starting out, I had no idea I was going to get. Moving away from Callander into Ayrshire has been something I never expected, never planned, yet this God-given opportunity has done so much for me.

Finlay Murphy

Glamping arrives at Kingscross

This season, Kingscross, our campsite on the beautiful island of Arran, has been transformed. Instead of sleeping under canvas, young people will be staying in beautiful new cabins.

The Kingscross project was delivered in partnership with Brass Tacks. Since 1986, Brass Tacks have worked on approximately 250 projects, mainly in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Their projects have included the construction, repair and maintenance (building, bricklaying, carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, plastering, painting, etc.) of churches, schools, hospitals, training centres and houses. We were delighted to be able to work closely with Brass Tacks and a group of dedicated volunteers pouring their hearts and souls into the build, grafting away over several weeks in the early spring.

Alan Webster says, 'This year marks my 60th year since I gave my heart to the Lord at my first SU camp at Kingscross. When I saw the article in the @SU magazine, I was intrigued, thinking what better way to mark the 60th by helping with this project.

'I did five years of camping at Kingscross in the mid 60s, becoming a tent leader. Then in the mid 70s I led for three years at Scoughall, and a further three in the mid 80s at Scoughall as Adjie (or Assistant Team Leader as they’d be called now.)

'Over the years I have read of the developments at both sites and always wanted to see the changes.

I may be long retired, but to quote Caleb, "I am still as strong as I was!" Since my retirement I have been a volunteer at Citizens Advice Bureau one day a week and also at the Reconnections Project, one day a week. The latter is a Dundee based project working with recoverees from addiction problems. I also help at the Windmill Christian Centre, where I am involved with gardening and maintenance, and have been mainly doing painting over the winter months.'

Commenting on the volunteering to support the buildling project, Alan says, 'I reckon that was the best ten days I have spent in a long time!'

Graeme Stangoe, Holidays Operations Manager, who co-ordinated the project says, 'The canvas tents have served us well over the years, but now, as expectations have increased, we are responding by increasing the quality of accommodation we provide our guests.

'I am extremely grateful to the staff and volunteers of BrassTacks and our own committed SU Scotland volunteers, for making this long awaited project a reality, and we all look forward to lives being transformed as young people experience God at this amazing site.' 

The cabins will not only enhance the comfort of children, young people, and teams, but also allows us to consider using Kingscross outwith the summer season for church or youth weekends.

—Graeme

Last year cabins were new at our other campsite, Scoughall, and are proving really popular.

Stangoe, Holidays Operations Manager

Worthwhile exhaustion!

I'm one of the volunteer leaders for the Motiv8 Holiday at Gowanbank which runs over the Easter break with children from the Ferrywell project in Edinburgh, Room Sixty in Ayr and Glasgow City Mission in Govan.

Young people who attend Motiv8 tend to come from priority areas, bringing a different dynamic to camp, as the children may present more challenging behaviour. Leaders prepared with an overnight together, prior to the arrival of the children,

to discuss approaches and the needs of specific children. We also took time every morning to go through 1 Peter. This was a blessed time as it centred us on our goal for the week with the young people.

Throughout the holiday I was a group leader for a team called the Snowballs. It was great to develop relationships with the young people— though they often liked to poke fun at the leaders in a witty way. At Motiv8 you have to be thick skinned—it is their way of showing endearment!

During the evenings we would hold a session where leaders would share their testimonies, interlaced with a Bible verse or passage. This was an effective way to demonstrate the reality of Christ in our lives but prompted many questions from the young people—we

had to answer carefully to avoid negative triggers.

At Motiv8 you have to be ready for challenging behaviour, tough conversations and tiredness. That’s the truth—but the reality is that our relationships with the group grew, and I made memories that will never be forgotten.

This was a week where young people, many of whom had nothing, had the opportunity to learn about Jesus and the inheritance that they could have in him. A week where Jesus was slowly prodding away at their hearts..

I was physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted by the end, BUT! I would not have changed this for the world. It was worthwhile exhaustion, and it was a privilege both to share Jesus and be part of these children’s stories.

Starting a new chapter

At Motiv8 I worked with Joe* , a young boy so full of life and energy, yet noticeably pushed aside and often misunderstood by his peers.

When talking with Joe, he would often speak nonsense— I do not use this word lightly. When I asked him at the start of the week about Jesus, he replied with, 'Meh, I don’t care.'

I felt throughout the week that there was a block with Joe as he would not engage when discussing the Bible nor gospel message.

At the end of the week there was an opportunity for the

children to respond to Jesus and make a commitment to follow him. When I saw Joe enter the room, my initial thoughts were that he had come for a joke.

Joe approached me and said, 'This Jesus thing— I want to go for it’. Hesitantly I stopped Joe in his tracks and questioned him, as I assumed he did not understand the message of the Gospel.

I made it clear that this was not a small decision to make and that he needed to consider what it means to be a Christian. We further discussed the message of the Gospel, what sin is, how Jesus died on the cross for our sins and how he was victorious over the grave. Joe understood everything!

Considering the cost of being a Christian, Joe looked into my eyes with tears rolling down

his face saying, ‘I want to follow Jesus.' I shed a tear too.

We soon prayed after that, and Joe committed himself to Jesus. It was a privilege to share in this moment with him. Once we finished praying, I looked at Joe—this child speaking nonsense all week—and then he told me the most profound thing: ‘This is a new chapter in my life’. 

*Name changed for privacy. Motiv8 Holidays give youth leaders the opportunity to bring their young people away on an SU Holiday specifically designed to be suitable for those that come from a priority area.

Vorzel in the front line

The last year has been full of the unexpected for Vorzel, Open Bible’s camp site to the north of Kyiv. It’s a story of courage, trust, community and determination and through it all a clear sense of God at work. Oksana Khimich shares some of what has happened since the start of the war in Ukraine and looks forward to hopes and plans for the summer ahead.

Lukatskyi AP Photo

Many in Scotland know the Vorzel campsite, having visited or supported work there. No one expected it to suddenly become occupied territory when the Russians invaded Ukraine in March 2022…and then to be a focus for local aid, providing food, heat, safety and comfort for some of the most vulnerable people in the community.

In the first weeks of the war in Ukraine, Vorzel was occupied by the Russians. Nearby buildings were destroyed and it was a miracle that the camp building only suffered minor damage, such as broken windows.

For the two weeks of occupation the team and some local people were camping in the basement and from early on started to help neighbours. The campsite has a generator, a water supply and there were good supplies of food. People came to get water and charge their phones. Local people started to offer fuel to keep the generator running and people who were isolated or unable to look after themselves were brought to the centre… sometimes literally carried there on pallets!

An elderly neighbour who was brought to the campsite

commented, 'It’s like heaven here' just because of the simple food and heat that were being provided. Other people said, 'This place saved our lives.'

For several months around 100 people were receiving hot meals at the campsite, with the cooking all being done on an open fire. While the local village had no electricity or running water, we were able to provide for the basic needs of nearby people. We distributed food supplies to the local area with many of our network of Open Bible volunteers focusing on providing help both to those at Vorzel and to the areas in the east of the country hardest hit by the conflict. By summer, things had improved sufficiently for us to be able to run a camp for local young people. We called it 'There is Hope' because even in apparently hopeless circumstances, God offers hope. Many of the children had experienced the occupation and many had fathers in the army and parents volunteering in different roles. They came to the camp wearing national colours and wanted to sing the national anthem, which we all did with enthusiasm… they also came with lots of questions about God.

Now, looking ahead to summer 2023 there are plans for two events at Vorzel, but there is so much to be done. Practically, we need to turn the basement into a bomb shelter and continue to repair and replace windows.

There are other kinds of deep damage too. I think of a young girl, Anna, who used to come to camp here and who tragically died in the war. She represents so many others… we all know of people who died. Of course, there are some positives too. Overall, the last year has brought us much closer to the community. We have stronger links with the church that meets on the premises and far more connections with local people. Some, who had found our campfires a nuisance in the past, are now our friends and supporters.

Our work elsewhere in Ukraine is very limited at the moment. Many of our volunteers have left the country or are in the army or involved in humanitarian work. We value your prayers as we think and plan for the future.

Oksana Khimich is a member of staff at Open Bible in Ukraine and part of the SU Global staff team.

Appeals update

We’re so grateful to all those who support SU Scotland ministry through giving, prayer and volunteering. We simply couldn’t do the work we do without you!

LATEST NEWS: The 2023 Holiday

Thank you so much to those of you who eagerly read and respond to our appeals, which currently go out three times a year. Our appeals are a key part of how we raise money to enable our ministries and allow us to share Jesus with even more children and young people.

For the eagle-eyed among you, you might notice that our appeals will be arriving with you at slightly different times this year—August and November—so don’t worry if your appeal letter doesn’t arrive when it usually would. You can of course donate at any time by visiting suscotland.org.uk/donate 

sponsorship appeal is at £98K, thanks to your generous giving.

PRAYER HOTLINE

Register to receive weekly prayer information, prayer letters from Team Leaders ahead of events and updates as needs arise.

suscotland.org.uk/prayerhotline

MISSIONS

Missions and holiday clubs provide a fabulous setting for children to have fun together and find out more about Jesus. Find resources and a list of holiday clubs running this summer online.

suscotland.org.uk/missions

SU HOLIDAYS

To find out about and book spaces on a summer Holiday, visit the holidays website. suholidays.org.uk

MAGNITUDE

22–26 July 2023

Lendrick Muir

Magnitude is a five-day annual Christian youth festival for young people aged 11–18. Based in the breathtaking Lendrick Muir, it is a week like no other: a space to encounter God, enjoy community and experience nature together. magnitude.org.uk/2023

BIG CELEBRATION— SAVE THE DATE!

19 August 2023

Lendrick Muir

Our guest speaker is Robin Sydserff, minister of Chalmers Church, Edinburgh. Join us for main sessions, seminars, activities, and a ceilidh to finish off the night! suscotland.org.uk/ bigcelebration

GO CONFERENCE

13–16 October 2023

Lendrick Muir

Go Conference is SU Scotland’s national youth conference for S4–S6 pupils who want to grow in their relationship with God and understand how the Bible shapes all areas of life... home, school and friendships. suholidays.org.uk/go

VOLUNTEER TRAINING

• Bible Alive (residential)

29 August–1 Sept 2023

• Allergy Awareness (online)

• Food Hygiene (online)

These training courses are open to SU Scotland volunteers. Book online or contact the Volunteers Department.

suscotland.org.uk/events

What’s on ?

Get

online:

SPOTLIGHT & EQUIP!

SPOTLIGHT EAST (S1–S2)

EQUIP EAST (S3–S6)

EQUIP WEST (S1–S6)

29 September 2023

27 October 2023

24 November 2023

Enjoy time with your friends, sharing what's going on at school and spend time thinking through the Christian faith in the face of the big questions of today. With challenges, games and music. Times and locations are being confirmed, so keep up to date with the latest online.

suscotland.org.uk/bsg

Summer is here and we are already prepared for what comes next! Check out our new resources on the theme Be Strong and Brave, exploring Joshua 1:1–9. We have everything you need to hold an all-age church service or children’s talk—plus prayers and activities for use in Sunday Clubs. Find out more and register online.