Deep in the mountains of Northern Slovenia, a group of Abilenians gathered for a very unusual outreach camp. They were about to give a group of Slovenian youth the experience of their lives.

Curt Howell, founder of the rock climbing guide service Crux, learned of the need for experienced guides through the First Baptist Church Missions Coordinating Council in Abilene. The adventure camp mission group Josiah Ministries had been working with youth in post Communist Slovenia and needed experienced climbers to help with their program. Howell didn’t think twice about offering his services, “Taking students climbing with the purpose of stretching and challenging them physically is how God engineered us.” He gathered staff, equipment, travel documents, and was quickly on the way to the Julian mountains in northern Slovenia.

Curt Howell helps Christian rappel into a sinkhole in the Julian Alps

Slovenia had been heavily Christian before the communist era, but now the population of 2 million people counts less than 1100 Christians among its citizens. A faith had been reduced to a footnote in history; although Josiah Ministries hopes to help turn that around. Said one Josiah member, “It feels like we’ve been doing CPR on the region for 5 years, and just recently the body is beginning to breathe on its own.”

The Communist era not only decimated the region’s faith, but instilled an innate distrust among the population. High adventure activities have long been known as barrier breakers, and Josiah Venture saw an opportunity to build trust among youth in hopes of planting a seed that will eventually reverse some of the damage caused by years of living in fear of persecution from government officials, and neighbors who might be government informants.

Curt goes over technical climbing details with Sasha

So it was that HSU grad Curt Howell, our own Bethany Howell of HSU University Communications, HSU grad student Jordan Neal, and HSU student Amanda Eichhorst joined with Josiah Venture adventure camp administrators to challenge 18 Slovenian teenagers, aged 13 to 21, to ask deeper questions of themselves; to question the “norm” and go beyond.

HSU climbing staff near Bevocs, Slovenia, (l-r) Curt and Bethany Howell, Amanda Eichhorst, and Jordan Neal

The cultural and religious environment was an eye-opener for Bethany Howell, “Coming from Abilene, it is hard to imagine a place where there is not a church on every corner. Although they are few, the Christians we met in Slovenia have a deeper faith than many in America because the choice to follow Jesus is a complete lifestyle change.”

Over six days the group participated in a round of hiking down mountains, exploring World War I bunkers, rappelling down into sinkholes, playing paintball, and trekking the Soca River. Trust relationships emerged as participants were forced to depend upon strangers to belay (control the safety rope), solve obstacles as a group, and rely on each other’s judgment in critical situations (often hundreds of feet above terra firma). Daily activities were designed to encourage the youth to think beyond themselves, beyond their culture, and beyond today; hence, the theme of the camp, “Beyond.”

Amanda Eichhorst with Matthies on the hike down from the mountain

Curt speaks for the group when he says, “Climbing is what we do, so we definitely enjoyed that part of the trip. But the most amazing thing we experienced were the relationships that we were able to make and help deepen.”