Chesmont is proud to announce the first wave of a new long-term mission project in the country of Latvia. Camp Hope will be a Christian summer camp for orphans in Latvia, and represents the dream of a remarkable young man who grew up as an orphan in Latvia himself--Janeks.

Janeks came to America in the summer of 2007, hoping to be adopted by an American family. The adoption fell through, but he decided to remain in America and enroll at Coventry Christian Schools as a 9th grade student. After finishing a full year at CCS, he decided to come back to school the next fall. After much thought and prayer Janeks choose to become a Christian in November of 2008. He was baptized in front of the whole school. Janeks shared in chapel how he finally knew the love of a Father, a love that he had never experienced before. His decision to become a Christian was now changing his life as well as the lives of everyone around him.

After becoming a Christian Janeks began to think about his home country and the orphans there who did not know the love of a father. He decided that he wanted them to experience the same love and have the same hope as he has now! He decided that the most effective way to reach them was through a Christian Camp setting.

Before returning to Latvia for the summer of 2009, Janeks began discussing his conviction with Eric. Though Eric didn't know it at the time, God had been laying the groundwork for this mission long before Janeks came to him. In the months that followed, a number of pieces fell into place, culminating in a trip to Latvia by Mark and Eric. During this trip, Janeks accompanied them to a number of orphanages to float the idea of a summer camp. The interest was so great that Mark and Eric secured the rental of Camp Ganchauskas for June 26 - July 3, 2010, and Camp Hope became a reality.

The video below shows a glimpse into Mark and Eric's trip, and into the lives of God's precious children in Latvia, whom Janeks hopes, one day, will know the Father that he has come to know.