The first group of children left
the camp Saturday, followed Sunday by a larger and better organized group of
about 35 kids (ages 10-15ish) and 5 or so staff members. We have been told that
these children are from a very poor area in the Ukraine and from families that
most likely deal with alcohol abuse and other struggles at home…. Judging by their clothes and spirit I wouldn’t
have guessed this to be true. These kids love talking with Americans and at
this minute I actually have two hovering over me while writing on my computer.
Make that three… aannnd now four peering at my word document. One of their
leaders, Dennis, speaks English well and has helped translate conversations
between the kids and us. Unfortunately our right hand man in the Ukraine,
Pasha, had to head out to help with another camp so it was great that Dennis is
here to help fill Pasha’s void.
Sunday night Dennis invited Kyle
and me to come and speak with the children. This provided us an opportunity to
share our testimony and the Gospel. We ended up spending about an hour talking
with the kids as well as answering all kinds of questions about ourselves and
America. Tuesday we were able to go on a hike up the nearby mountain side, spotted
with 1500 year old man made caves. The pastor we work with, Igor, gave a history
lesson and I listened second hand through Dennis. It was an amazing feeling
listening to Igor speak about Genesis and God’s creation while sitting on
ancient ruins, overlooking a river, forest, and watching birds fly above us
into their nests inlaid the limestone.
The guys have been kept pretty busy
with work. I was surprised with Igor’s “vision” of how he ultimately wants the
camp to look because of the fact that it requires us to level a mound of
dirt/grass/weeds/trees 25 yards in length. It makes you appreciate the backhoe
as well as functioning shovels and spades. Despite the heads of the tools
falling off and the tedious/time consuming work, we have kept an upbeat
attitude and only jokingly complain after the work is done. We know ultimately
that this is a huge help to the camp and that people love free labor.
The team is getting along well and
growing deeper in our relationships every day. Our Ukrainian friends are always
upbeat and kind. It seems that they enjoy cooking and serving us food, anything
they can do to show their appreciation. The kids have made us necklaces,
bracelets, and other artwork depicting our names (misspelled: Ched/Chab), ‘stick
on’ eyeballs, and glitter.
It’s been tough not having the
internet as much as we’d like, but I think it is probably beneficial to us as a
group and to the locals. I’ve been thinking about everyone back home a lot and
I hope everyone is doing well. Please keep me and my team in your prayers as we
pray for you guys back in the states.
-CR
