I tried to grab attention with a catchy title. This has certainly been an up and down week
as we are close to wrapping up our second week in Ukraine with our second set
of campers. The group we are working
with have been really great. The camp is
much more organized and the leaders are really doing a great job of leading the
kids. The kids this week are much more
respectful of each other. The cook has
really reached out to us. He wanted to
learn how to pray in English so I taught him the Lord’s Prayer. The leaders of the group are quick to invite
us to take part in anything going on at the camp which has given us many
opportunities to share with the children.
Now for the down part of the week, although it’s not all
bad. Wednesday morning we were given
instructions to level this field at the camp.
The project looks nearly impossible. The field consists of a hill which is about 3
yards wide and 25 yards long. All we
have is a pick axe and a few shovels. We
worked for about 6 hours Wednesday and knocked out only about 5 yards of the 25
yard hill. We will be working on this
project until we leave Ukraine I believe.
I prayed that God would just move the mountain, but he hasn’t yet, I
guess he’s giving us a chance to glorify him through our work. It’s tough work though and not particularly
fun. We are sore and very tired when we
get done working and it’s hard to interact with the kids that want to play
soccer or volleyball after we get done shoveling. I know it will be a blessing to the camp to level this field as
it can serve as a soccer field, but while the project is still ahead of us it’s
hard to spin it in a positive manner.
All’s not lost though, we got a chance to white water raft down the river that runs through camp, Chad
got thrown off and has a bruise on his leg and arm, but he’s ok. The raft we used was an air mattress, we also
got a chance to teach English to the kids by teaching them the Lord’s prayer
and talking to them about the importance of prayer. We also hiked a mountain today which was
tiring, but I was able to share the gospel with multiple children. Two of the boys in particular come from
Muslim families and their families are open to them hearing about Christ. I did not think we would witness to Muslims
in Ukraine but we got a chance to today.
Our days have become very busy as we are trying to shovel as much as we
can and still spend time with the Lord and the kids at the camp. Please pray for energy for our team. Pray also for the kids as they are wrapping
up camp, pray that God will change their lives and reveal his purpose for their
lives.
