There’s a moment in Scripture that defies logic, challenges time itself, and—strangely—feels right at home in a Latvian schoolyard filled with white boards, trumpet blasts, and the echoes of imperfect English.

Today in our bible lesson, we stood with Joshua. Not beside him at the walls of Jericho—that was yesterday. Today, we marched all night toward a new battle. One he didn’t ask for. One where his new allies couldn’t win without him. One where his people were outnumbered. Again.

But this time, Joshua didn’t just ask God for strength. He asked for time. And God said yes.

“The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.”
—Joshua 10:13

Today, here in Latvia, the sun is a bit scarce. It’s cooler than usual, and intermittent showers have given our Sports rotation leader some extra challenges- Welcome to the mission field, as we say. In spite of that and a few other challenges today opened up space for conversations, surprises, and spiritual momentum we couldn’t have scheduled even if we tried.

Our theme at English Bible Camp today was “Courage When We Feel Overwhelmed.” That feels about right. The kids are tired from the week’s excitement. The short-term missionaries and local volunteers are managing noise, translation challenges, homesickness, and the creative chaos of crafts, sports, and snack distribution. And yet, in the midst of it all, God made room for breakthroughs.

An unexpected and deep conversation about life after death, the meaning of the Book of Revelation, and other not-so-light topics. But this conversation happened in a classroom where the teacher was uniquely prepared to guide the discussion and provide responsible, Biblical answers. This is but one example of the God-organized surprises for the day. We couldn’t have made that happen. But God could. And He did.

What Happens When You Show Up Anyway

That’s the thing about overwhelming situations: they rarely come with good timing. For Joshua, the request to defend Gibeon came after a long night’s march and just days after a major victory. He could’ve said, “Let someone else handle this one.” But instead, he remembered the promise he made—and he showed up.

The Spiritual Orphans Network (www.sonetwork.org) was founded on the same kind of promise. We made a covenant to stand with forgotten believers, marginalized communities, and spiritual seekers—especially in places where the Gospel was once outlawed, repressed, erased, or simply never known. It would be easier to stay home. It would be easier to fund programs than people. But we keep showing up.

Because Jesus shows up.

Outnumbered, But Not Alone

Today’s story is not about military strategy. It’s definitely not about human wisdom.. It’s about covenantal faithfulness, divine timing, and the sheer audacity of praying, “God, I need more daylight to finish what You started.” That’s not a casual prayer. That’s a prayer rooted in mission, relationship, and trust.

And that’s exactly where we’ve found ourselves this week: outnumbered, but not alone. Our camp team is smaller than we’d prefer (maybe some of you could help fill our ranks a bit next year?). Each person brings the kind of courage that only comes from knowing you’re not doing this on your own.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But when you’re walking in obedience, God multiplies what you offer.

Sometimes He even holds back the sunset.

Mission Isn’t Always Measured in Miles

If you’re reading this from a distance—thank you. You’ve helped make this week possible. Whether you gave financially, prayed intentionally, or encouraged someone on our team, you’re part of what God is doing here. I really mean that. This team really prepared for this. Yet, all this work is nothing without God taking what are still feeble efforts and turning them into Kingdom moments.

Every coloring page, completed craft, and every whispered prayer around a cafeteria table carries echoes of a much larger story. A story where Jesus Christ conquered sin and death, not just so we could survive, but so we could thrive and serve others. Not just so we could be forgiven, but so we could become sent ones. Serving, according to the example of our Lord Jesus. One of the things that I shared with the camp first thing this morning at our opening was that as team members share their testimony, they may hear things they can relate to and things that they cannot relate to, but that’s OK. All we ask is that you listen and ask God to guide you, be curious, and be prepared for God to give you a delightful surprise. 

Every team member at this camp has a story about their walk with Jesus that a camper or volunteer needs to hear. We know that the Holy Spirit calls us to saving faith. The beauty is that God chooses to do this through our testimony, our actions, our responses, and our presence. 

So if you’re wondering what this camp has to do with your life back home, here’s the connection: The God who paused the sun is still holding back time in sacred spaces where courage is rising, faith is forming, and futures are being rewritten. Thank you for being a part of that. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for sending us.

Mark- | Latvia Team Leader 2025 | Spiritual Orphans Network

P.S. Today, after camp, we were honored to participate in a celebration of the 20th year of the Strikí location for the English Languare Bible camps. Our first batch of pictures are from that event.