- It is funny to me how fascinated the kids all are by my Bible. In the morning the staff has quiet time and prayer together. I always bring my Bible. And everyday, I have had kids want to look at it and ask me questions about it. There are two main questions; Can I/Do I read my Bible and is my Bible the same as the Russian or Ukrainian Bibles? If I do nothing else, I think my presence here helps the kids to see that God is bigger than what they see and what they know. The God who loves them in Ukraine is the same as the God who loves people in America. And the truth of His word is the same for all people.
- The phrase I will always remember in Russian “it’s not fair”. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard that and every time I am reminded that kids are kids!
- Language. The adults have been trying to curb the use of some not so nice slang. There are a couple of words that are not really “bad” words, but they aren’t really nice either – kind of the equivalent of “shoot” and “darn” in English. When adults hear children say these words, they subtract behavior points. I never subtract points, I just act shocked and surprised and the child apologizes and then I make them promise not to say it anymore. Now, I do not say these words in Russian, but the words themselves make me want to laugh because of the translations. One “bad” word is “pancake” and one of the phrases is “Christmas tree sticks”.
- Today is the last day of camp. It is funny to me. I was talking to Luda, who wanted to go home earlier in the week, and she told me she doesn’t want to go home tomorrow and that she is going to cry if we make her. Praise the Lord for working in her heart and helping her to love camp. Luda is one of the campers who made a first time commitment to Jesus during camp. I am praying God will continue to work in her life and she will grow to know him better and trust him more.
- Tonight I had my first foray into public speaking. In front of everyone, with a microphone, speaking in Russian. To be honest, I felt remarkably uncomfortable, but praise the Lord I was able to do it. And I know that even though I could hear the grammatical errors, everyone understood me and they loved me anyway.
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