Our return in June marked our 8th annual “Lifegate Summer School of Rock and Roll.” This camp was born from an idea Darijo brought up to Kurt and Jake on their trip to Serbia in 2015. Kurt and I came back with a team in 2016, and it’s been an annual tradition ever since (with the exception of one year of Covid).
As we came back to Serbia, Kurt and I worked to reestablish our “Serbian normal” including our Wagoner Wednesday Worship, which you can find on the Reels tab of our Instagram account.
We even threw Vienna a birthday party at the cutest little venue – Door 404 – an escape room for kids. (Which is a fantastic idea and should be marketed in America. Pro-tip. lol) She had the best time and was treated like a princess.
After that, it was time to prepare for Rock and Roll Camp! We knew we had an amazing team from Omaha flying in to help, but our Serbian team also needed to learn the songs and practice them so we’d be ready to teach the parts to the kids when they came.
Rock and Roll Camp has continued to be an amazing opportunity to reach kids with the love of Jesus, to speak life over them and encourage them, and in some cases, even provide them with lifelong skills that they can potentially develop into careers someday! We give them plenty of follow up opportunities in our Lifegate School of Music, our Lifegate Teen Band, Lifegate English Camp, and numerous other youth activities throughout the year. It’s been so cool to watch these kids learn and develop over time.
The American team that came was fantastic. They’re all talented musicians with servant hearts, who really poured into these kids. The students went from beginners (in some cases) to bands performing in a live concert in just four days. It’s one of my favorite things we do all year, and I’m so grateful Lifegate on both sides of the ocean continues to make it a priority.
It was sad to see the team go, but we knew we had only a couple of weeks before our English camp, so I scrambled to do laundry and rest up for the long week of English camp ahead. We were so proud to see our girls step into music with bravery and talent, and it was fun to work with such an amazing team from both America and Serbia. Things went so smoothly, and we are grateful for your coverage and prayers.
A couple of prayer points before I share about our English Camp!
- Pray for the kids and families we encountered during camp. We want to continue to build meaningful relationships within the community, but more than that, we are praying that God would encounter each child and each family in a way only He can. Pray that He would break through the darkness that has claimed this part of the world for too long and would meet each of them in undeniable ways.
- Pray for opportunities to continue to cross paths with these kids and their families, and pray for softened, open hearts that are curious about what God has in mind for them. We love teaching them new skills and loving on them, but more than that, we want to see lives changed, families restored, and healing brought to the wounds that only God sees.
Thank you so much for partnering with us in prayer and finances. You all are immeasurably valuable, and if we don’t tell you enough, THANK YOU. We love you so much!!
As always, if you feel so led to partner with us financially, feel free to click the button below. ❤
Emily Wagoner 