- This morning I was not needed to help with the breakfast preparations, so I joined the morning calestanics. Now these are not your normal gather around the flag pole morning stretches like you might expect at camp, but 30 minutes of serious Olympic athlete type work-out. It really did remind me of the little behind the scenes stories they always show in between Olympic events with all the little children in a circle working out. The couple who are in charge of sports and swimming are very sweet, Christian people, but Leana turned into a drip sergeant calling out “one, two, three, four, again”. Periodically, she would shout out someone’s name and tell them to work harder. Veta wandered around the group helping people to get a deeper stretch or to have the proper technique. It was really quite serious. I found it all to be comical, but I took it very seriously because I didn’t want to draw Veta or Leana’s attention to my efforts.
- Today’s craft was better; I had the younger boy group. I love them and they love me and we had a great time.
- I have had several invitations to be a guest in tents – it is really a big deal to have me over to visit. The kids have decorated their spaces and so the tents are like their little houses. When I come over, everyone who is sleeping in that tent also needs to come in. Today, seven of us crowded into a 3-4 person tent and they tried to host me. They showed me where they each sleep, their decorations and all their stuff. They offer me water and swished cookies or melted chocolate. How sweet it all is.
- One of the little boys overheard one of the older girls trying to speak in English with me. After she walked away, he came over and started quizzing me on English words. After he had said about eight words in Russian and I knew the English translation he was impressed.
He said, “I think you know all the words in English”
I said, “not all.”
He said, “but you must have studied in school a long time.” That is when I realized he did not know I was not from here. Which is amazing! So I explained to him that I am from America and we speak English there.
“Oh,” he said, “is that far away like Kiev?” I am guessing he hasn’t had a lot of geography yet.
It really is a great big world and it is so easy to get caught up in our own little part of it. Over and over I am struck by the fact that God is big enough for the entire world. He knows us all, he understands us all, and he loves us all.
- One of the other workers, Sergey, pulled me aside today to show me a picture on his phone. I thought, “Wow, that women looks remarkably like me.” It was a photo of Sergey’s wife’s sister and it was kind of cool.
- Again, I am praising the Lord for the Russian I can understand. One of the counselors for the older boys is named Allosha. Today he and I were talking and he asked me how I became a Christian. Then he shared his testimony with me. I was really struggling to understand and over and over I had to ask him to speak more slowly. In the end, I felt stupid and frustrated. It is such a special thing to hear how God has worked in someone’s life and I missed a lot of it. After our conversation it really bothered me. So I went back and found him again and asked him to forgive me but I really wanted to understand and for him to be able to share with me. I explained to him what I had understood, but where I was confused and he was so gracious to share with me again. What a wonderful connection.
- Tonight’s service was our intentional call to repentance. We had a special guest speaker, a missionary from Norway and youth from another church here in Berdyansk. We also had a school group that is backpacking around Ukraine staying overnight at the camp grounds. They did not attend our service, but they could not help but hear it. Our guest presented shared how sin keeps us from God but that through Jesus’ sacrifice we can be forgiven. And then he asked us about sin in our lives. Several of the children responded and asked to be forgiven of their sins, including two of our “difficult” teens – Praise the Lord!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Camp Day 6 - Wednesday
- This morning I had a new kind of kasha (kasha is basically like oatmeal, but there are lots of kinds made of different grains). It was quite a novelty that I had never had it before, children and adults were fascinated – I felt a little like a freak. It really tasted a lot like cream of wheat, but really sweet – of course it was prepared by Ukrainians so it probably had lots of sugar.
- Today I am tired. There is no craft because the weather is really warm so we are allowing extra swimming time. I could be swimming, but instead I am sitting and journaling. I can hear the younger boys practicing their song for service tonight. Such beautifully sweet voices, they are singing “I’m in the Lord’s Army”. It is a little different in Russian. We sing “I’m in the Lord’s army, Yes Sir!” they sing, “I am Jesus’ servant, I serve!”
- This afternoon my friend and Russian tutor, Marina, is graduating from university and I was invited to the ceremony. So, I went to Berdyansk. It was really nice to take a shower. It was also really wonderful to share this special time with Marina and her family. As I was preparing to return to camp, the van made a funny little sigh. Praise the Lord I was only about two blocks from the Home of Hope. When I arrived, I discovered the oil leak that was recently repaired had re-broken in a big way and oil was all over the engine. So, I am stuck at home until it is repaired. I really wanted to go back to camp, but it is not a hardship to sleep in my own bed tonight. I am very hopeful the van will be fixed in the morning so I can lead crafts tomorrow at 10am. Praise God I was not out in the middle of nowhere on my way back to camp when the van broke!
- Since I had planned to be at camp, I ended up with a free evening. It turned out to be a lot of fun. I spent some time with two of the other American volunteers here, Mark and David. It was wonderful to have a conversation in English. And it was hilarious as our topics ranged from: do you believe in a literal seven day creation (I do) to if the Hulk and Superman fought who would win (Superman, of course) to if you could change the meaning of any word in the dictionary what would you change (I would change a “bad” word to meaning something happy and nice). What a blessing this evening turned out to be.
- Today I am tired. There is no craft because the weather is really warm so we are allowing extra swimming time. I could be swimming, but instead I am sitting and journaling. I can hear the younger boys practicing their song for service tonight. Such beautifully sweet voices, they are singing “I’m in the Lord’s Army”. It is a little different in Russian. We sing “I’m in the Lord’s army, Yes Sir!” they sing, “I am Jesus’ servant, I serve!”
- This afternoon my friend and Russian tutor, Marina, is graduating from university and I was invited to the ceremony. So, I went to Berdyansk. It was really nice to take a shower. It was also really wonderful to share this special time with Marina and her family. As I was preparing to return to camp, the van made a funny little sigh. Praise the Lord I was only about two blocks from the Home of Hope. When I arrived, I discovered the oil leak that was recently repaired had re-broken in a big way and oil was all over the engine. So, I am stuck at home until it is repaired. I really wanted to go back to camp, but it is not a hardship to sleep in my own bed tonight. I am very hopeful the van will be fixed in the morning so I can lead crafts tomorrow at 10am. Praise God I was not out in the middle of nowhere on my way back to camp when the van broke!
- Since I had planned to be at camp, I ended up with a free evening. It turned out to be a lot of fun. I spent some time with two of the other American volunteers here, Mark and David. It was wonderful to have a conversation in English. And it was hilarious as our topics ranged from: do you believe in a literal seven day creation (I do) to if the Hulk and Superman fought who would win (Superman, of course) to if you could change the meaning of any word in the dictionary what would you change (I would change a “bad” word to meaning something happy and nice). What a blessing this evening turned out to be.
Camp Day 7 - Thursday
- With a patch on the van, I am back at camp. Craft time today was wonderful and fun.
- During Bible lesson, the younger boys made the bracelets that explain salvation. When Benjamin saw me, he rushed right over and started explaining to me, “This black bead represents sin and the red one is Jesus’ blood and the white one is being made clean.” How incredibly cool that he listened and learned what the beads meant, but even better that he responded by wanted to share it with others. I pray God will give Benjamin the boldness to continue to share Jesus with others!
- One of the little guys, Oleg, was bitten or stung by something last night and today it is infected and he has a fever. After much prayer, his temperature has come down, but because the swelling and redness of his leg we are going to take him to the hospital. Praise the Lord again for the van. Oleg doesn’t want to leave camp and keeps asking if he will be able to come back. Poor guy!
- Oleg and his family attend the Bethel church in Berdyansk and Oleg has been part of the Kid’s Club I teach. He is usually so full of energy it was difficult seeing him so lethargic. After not being able to get a hold of his mom, we were finally able to reach his dad, Volva, at work and he agreed to meet us at the hospital. When we arrived, Oleg’s shout of “Papa!” revealed he was a lot more concerned about coming to the hospital than he expressed. The hospital here was a nightmare – I won’t go into details, but truly not a place I would ever want to have to go with a real emergency. The sweet part was I got to listen to Oleg share with his papa all the wonderful things about camp. The name of his group and the chant they made up. I got to hear what he thought about the games, crafts, swimming, puppets, music, and services. Camp meant so much to him and it was great to be able to hear from him all of the wonderful things during a time when he was hurting and scared.
- Tonight I went to bed early and then sat for almost two hours talking to my bunkmate Nadia. I do so much better with one on one conversation how great it was to get to know her better.
- During Bible lesson, the younger boys made the bracelets that explain salvation. When Benjamin saw me, he rushed right over and started explaining to me, “This black bead represents sin and the red one is Jesus’ blood and the white one is being made clean.” How incredibly cool that he listened and learned what the beads meant, but even better that he responded by wanted to share it with others. I pray God will give Benjamin the boldness to continue to share Jesus with others!
- One of the little guys, Oleg, was bitten or stung by something last night and today it is infected and he has a fever. After much prayer, his temperature has come down, but because the swelling and redness of his leg we are going to take him to the hospital. Praise the Lord again for the van. Oleg doesn’t want to leave camp and keeps asking if he will be able to come back. Poor guy!
- Oleg and his family attend the Bethel church in Berdyansk and Oleg has been part of the Kid’s Club I teach. He is usually so full of energy it was difficult seeing him so lethargic. After not being able to get a hold of his mom, we were finally able to reach his dad, Volva, at work and he agreed to meet us at the hospital. When we arrived, Oleg’s shout of “Papa!” revealed he was a lot more concerned about coming to the hospital than he expressed. The hospital here was a nightmare – I won’t go into details, but truly not a place I would ever want to have to go with a real emergency. The sweet part was I got to listen to Oleg share with his papa all the wonderful things about camp. The name of his group and the chant they made up. I got to hear what he thought about the games, crafts, swimming, puppets, music, and services. Camp meant so much to him and it was great to be able to hear from him all of the wonderful things during a time when he was hurting and scared.
- Tonight I went to bed early and then sat for almost two hours talking to my bunkmate Nadia. I do so much better with one on one conversation how great it was to get to know her better.
Camp Day 8 - Friday
- Today is Benjamin’s birthday. As a special gift I have allowed him to take all the pictures he wants with my camera. All the kids, especially the younger ones love digital cameras because they want to see the picture right away. They also love taking pictures, especially Benjamin. Usually, I will let them take one picture each and then make them give the camera back. I told him he can’t take it to meals – I can’t imagine how to clean kasha from a camera.
- Today has been a difficult day. Today, feels like camp will never end and I am super tired of dealing with all the foreign things. I praise the Lord for my proficiency in Russian, but often I am not able to be understood and don’t fully understand. It can feel quite frustrating.
- Today I spent a lot of time with the girls, swimming and doing hair. Then we played a game where they would quiz me by saying a word in English and I would have to say it in Russian and then I would say a word in Russian and they would have to say it in English. I am happy to say I won. I really am thankful to be here at camp.
- Americans smile. That is something I like about us and it is something I very much enjoy doing even though it isn’t really cultural here. As I am walking along the paths here at camp, I always try to greet anyone I pass by name and smile at them. It turns out this is a contagious behavior. I had a couple of boys stop on the path as I approached, paste on giant cheesy smiles, wave a greet me. Now, I hope I don’t look quite as silly as they did, but I thought it was really nice. Allosha, one of the teen boy’s counselors, smiles and waves every time he sees me. I know my Ukrainian friends don’t always understand me, but I know they always love me.
- Tonight we had a campfire with the older groups and talked about relationships. Each kid shared about what they look for in guys or girls and we talked about what things are really important and how to behave in a relationship. Then Veta and Leana shared their testimonies and how God brought them together. It was a really wonderful time.
- Today has been a difficult day. Today, feels like camp will never end and I am super tired of dealing with all the foreign things. I praise the Lord for my proficiency in Russian, but often I am not able to be understood and don’t fully understand. It can feel quite frustrating.
- Today I spent a lot of time with the girls, swimming and doing hair. Then we played a game where they would quiz me by saying a word in English and I would have to say it in Russian and then I would say a word in Russian and they would have to say it in English. I am happy to say I won. I really am thankful to be here at camp.
- Americans smile. That is something I like about us and it is something I very much enjoy doing even though it isn’t really cultural here. As I am walking along the paths here at camp, I always try to greet anyone I pass by name and smile at them. It turns out this is a contagious behavior. I had a couple of boys stop on the path as I approached, paste on giant cheesy smiles, wave a greet me. Now, I hope I don’t look quite as silly as they did, but I thought it was really nice. Allosha, one of the teen boy’s counselors, smiles and waves every time he sees me. I know my Ukrainian friends don’t always understand me, but I know they always love me.
- Tonight we had a campfire with the older groups and talked about relationships. Each kid shared about what they look for in guys or girls and we talked about what things are really important and how to behave in a relationship. Then Veta and Leana shared their testimonies and how God brought them together. It was a really wonderful time.
Camp Day 9 Saturday
- This morning many of the adults are dressed as and acting like campers. One camper from each group has been appointed counselor and the adults are acting out all the problem behaviors – it is very funny! Andrey, one of the counselors for the younger boys, is making Maxim, his “new” counselor crazy. All he has been talking about is food. Andrey says, “I am hungry” and “I want to eat”. After listing all the things he wants to eat: sausage, cheese, fish, he began to say over and over again, “now, now, I want to eat now.” Finally, in exasperation, Maxim sat down and said, “me too!” Poor kid, but really quite funny.
- It is adorable when little people correct my grammar. Its like “is this what you are trying to say?” I love it.
- Today, there was an obstacle course full of difficult situations. As the groups went through, the adults would try to help them to make good decisions. At one point, the younger boys were trapped in a net and every solution they suggested was rejected. Finally, one of the little boys said, “let’s pray.” Everyone agreed it was a sound idea. Another boy said “okay, the Lord’s Prayer” (which they had been learning during their Bible lesson) “No, no,” came the response of another boy, “let’s just pray a normal prayer”. Who knew the Lord’s Prayer wasn’t a normal prayer? This funniest part was the gasp and shocked expression from their counselor Andrey, I couldn’t help laughing out loud. I can only imagine what they will talk about in their quiet time before bed tonight.
- It is adorable when little people correct my grammar. Its like “is this what you are trying to say?” I love it.
- Today, there was an obstacle course full of difficult situations. As the groups went through, the adults would try to help them to make good decisions. At one point, the younger boys were trapped in a net and every solution they suggested was rejected. Finally, one of the little boys said, “let’s pray.” Everyone agreed it was a sound idea. Another boy said “okay, the Lord’s Prayer” (which they had been learning during their Bible lesson) “No, no,” came the response of another boy, “let’s just pray a normal prayer”. Who knew the Lord’s Prayer wasn’t a normal prayer? This funniest part was the gasp and shocked expression from their counselor Andrey, I couldn’t help laughing out loud. I can only imagine what they will talk about in their quiet time before bed tonight.
Camp Day 10 - Sunday
- 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.
- 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.
Camp Day 11 - Monday
- Today has been chaos. Clean up, packing, making breakfast, and driving two trips from camp with the van packed full of kids. Camp is officially over. Looking back, I am both glad it is finished and sorry to see it end. I am exhausted and sure it will take me a week to recover, but God has been remarkably good and has truly blessed this camp!
- On a more personnel note, God has been really working in my heart. He has used some of the “hardships” of camp to show me areas in my life where I think a little too highly of myself. God has been working in my heart to help me to be more humble before Him. Something I didn’t recognize before, I have some cultural issues that make me a little proud and just some selfishness that I did not realize was a problem. God is so good to me and I am so thankful to have been able to come to camp and serve him here.
- On a more personnel note, God has been really working in my heart. He has used some of the “hardships” of camp to show me areas in my life where I think a little too highly of myself. God has been working in my heart to help me to be more humble before Him. Something I didn’t recognize before, I have some cultural issues that make me a little proud and just some selfishness that I did not realize was a problem. God is so good to me and I am so thankful to have been able to come to camp and serve him here.
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