We are now home, and rejoicing in how God worked during this Ukraine trip! Over and over we saw God work in supernatural ways. We had many obstacles in getting to Ukraine. However, in the providence of God we finally arrived after three days of travel, and our luggage followed us three days later. Yes, the entire team was without their luggage for six days. J While in Ukraine, our primary ministry was helping Revival Baptist Church run an evangelistic camp for children. Many of these children came from the Chernobyl area of Ukraine, which is about sixty miles north of Kiev. This area is known for poverty and disease. Some of these children were orphans and others were from terribly abusive homes, and many of them had never before been to a church or had ever heard the gospel.

It was a wonderful privilege for our team to be used by God to point these children to Christ. When camp first started several of the children were spiritually hard and very rebellious. However, the Lord began to soften hearts by the power of the Spirit of God. The camp lasted for ten days, and as camp went along hearts began to soften to the gospel. Only God truly knows the hearts of each child, but we know of twenty-six children who repented and turned to Christ. Please continue to pray for these children that the gospel would take root and bear much fruit in their lives. We rejoice in the power of the gospel that is able to transform even the hardest of hearts.

We knew that in going to Ukraine to exalt the glories of Christ, God would teach us many things. He taught our team the power of prayer in a wonderful way. Almost all of our travel plans did not go according to our plans, but they went according to His plan. Through all of our struggles and trials our team learned how to “wait on the Lord.” They learned to “cast their cares upon Him.” We are so thankful for the many ways the Lord grew and stretched our team as our view of God was grown!

Alleluia, Alleluia!

We just arrived back in Kiev about 15 minutes ago. We left camp this morning around 5:30 am. It was very difficult to leave the relationships and new friends made during camp. Praise God for a rich time of ministry, and learning dependence on our great Lord. It was incredible seeing God work in the lives of the children, some coming to repentence, and all having seeds of the gospel planted in their hearts!

As you know the trip started off with some difficulty in travel, and then 6 days without luggage. Yet what an amazing way to begin this trip...learning that God's will is best, and that His strength is sufficient. This post will be short due to time, but I want you know that we are all rejoicing in the work of the Spirit, though our bodies are weary. God gave strength and joy even in long and active days. We are so excited to share with you all the many details and relationships with children formed during this time. As an encouragement to you as well, this was the largest group of children they have had attend camp to this time. The camp directors' hearts were greatly blessed, and many children were ministered to during these 10 days. Praise God!

We will be heading out now to do some sightseeing of Kiev. It is about 11:30 am. Due to our late arrival at the beginning of our trip we have not done any "touristy" activities (besides visiting some castles with the children:), so it should be a fun afternoon together. The team slept most of the ride into town this morning, so they should be ready to hit the city. :)

Please continue to pray for us as we begin our travels home tomorrow mid morning. We have a very short layover in New York, so please pray that we will be able to gather our bags, make it through customs and re-check in during this brief window. We will be arriving back to San Francisco late Tuesday night as well...so we will miss a day as we follow the sun. Quite a fun experience. :) All the students' health has overall been well, with a couple battling colds here and there. However, nothing worse, and we praise God for the protection and strength He gave us. It is unbelievable that this trip is almost over!

We have many pictures and stories to share soon!

Greetings from Kiev!

Praise the Lord! We arrived in Kiev last night shortly after 11 pm after a multitude of delays and flight changes. The only way to describe the past couple is days is this: God is so great! Time after time we had the opportunity to see God answer prayer. Every time we would encounter a new "roadblock", we would stop and pray...which meant many many times over several days. We saw God open up flights and seats in supernatural ways. Though I am unable to go into great detail currently, I can say that after we arrived in New York, every flight, travel arrangement, and ticket detail did not make human sense. It has been very evident that GOD is the One that answers prayer and has power over the hearts of men. This experience has only strengthened our dependence on the Lord and encouraged our hearts in worship.

We would ask that you continue to pray for our luggage. Due to the many flight plan changes, our bags are still in New York. These bags contain everything, from our club supplies to changes in clothing. We are learning how to live off of one extra pair of clothing and hand washing the other...great lessons of what is truly necessary for living, and what is luxury. :) Our main concern is for the club supplies to arrive. Please pray that we will receive our baggage quickly. We have been informed that we will receive them Sunday at earliest, but most likely later. Once again, we are not discouraged by these challenges, only reminded of our dependence upon God. Please pray with us!

We just finished a very full and gracious meal provided by the ladies of Revival Baptist Church. We are now full and ready to begin our travels to camp. We will be leaving in about 30 minutes on a 6+ hour bus ride to the western side of Ukraine. The church is overwhelmed with how many children will be able to attend camp this year due to God's provision, even through you! They are anticipating around 100 children...praise the Lord! Please also pray that our bodies and hearts would be strengthened as we begin this next time of ministry. We know God's timing is best, and we are eager to see what lies ahead, even after we have witnessed the mighty hand of God during our travels.

The students and staff send love to their families. We are doing well and learning much! Thank you all for your prayers!

Before we depart...

We are now hours away from leaving for Ukraine. Time has gone by fast! God has provided for twelve young people, and two staff couples to participate in this trip. What a blessing it has been seeing the students grow in their preparation, both spiritually and practically. We also rejoice in God’s provision...our entire team's financial support is completely raised, and we praise the Lord!

We leave early tomorrow morning from San Francisco, and will arrive in Kiev, Ukraine on Wednesday afternoon. We will then spend two days finalizing any errands of camp preparations, before taking an overnight train ride through the Chernobyl zone where we will pick up around 60 children, and continue on to a camp on the western side of Ukraine, near Poland. The following eight days we will be assisting a Ukrainian church in staffing a camp and providing clubs and Bible lessons, as well as “camp counselor” type positions. Our sample daily schedule is as follows:

7:00 am Wake Up

7:15 am Leadership Meeting

7:30 am Personal Worship & Prayer

8:00 am Wake up cabin kids

8:30 am Raise flag and morning calisthenics

8:50 am Skit

9:00 am Breakfast

9:30 am Free time with children

10:00 am Bible lessons

11:00 am Sports Activity

1:00 pm Lunch

1:30 pm Quiet time for children & staff prep for clubs

3:00 pm Clubs (basketball, balloon making, English, gymnastics, etc.)

4:00 pm Snack Time

4:30 pm Game Time

6:30 pm Dinner

7:30 pm Evening Service

9:30 pm Children wash-up/shower

10 pm Cabin Discussion Time

11:00 pm Lights Out

As you can see, the days will be full, so we ask you to pray for strength and joy as we serve these children. We desire to be effective in our communication and interaction. We will then return to Kiev from camp, and return home, arriving back in SF on July 27.

We are so grateful for your encouragement and prayer, and know that God will use you greatly in your ministry in this way! Bud zdorov (goodbye in Ukrainian)!