Yay!
God answered my heart’s desire to serve at a camp this summer!
My morning started early, at 5:25. I left Vinnitsa early on Monday to get to Kiev. I got ready for the trip and my dad helped me to get into the train with all that stuff I carried.
The train was chilly so I couldn't sleep tight. I decided to take a train blanket and come back to rest. I got up and jumped up to reach the blanket on the top and my neighbor woke up. He looked at me and said "All this time I've been trying to get warm and didn't have the idea to take a blanket". He took it for himself and looked at my bags. This was the key to starting our conversation. He said "I am not from here". I asked where he is from and he said he has lived in Rome for 7 years. His name is Andrej (Andrew; right in a picture).
Word after word, I got to explain where I go and why I do so, what it means for me, preached to him about God's love and challenged him to try God so he will not have any regrets.
After a while he said a repentance prayer!
In Kiev I was met by my very good friend and brother, Nazar, who was the leader of this camp. I invited Andrew to spend time with us, and during the few hours before he flew back home he got along very quick and well!
So we spent the day in Kiev getting prepared for the first day of camp. I also visited my friend in the hospital who got poisoned that day. We prayed and now he is alive :)
Mytlashivka, Cherkas'ka region, Ukraine.
Fun note: The neighboring village is "Goatslaughter".
We had 6 on our team, but believe me, every time we gathered each of us felt that we have somebody 7th. We knew, God is with us and we need Him, so we felt like there HAD TO BE somebody 7th.
back from the left: Denis and Pasha.
middle: Nazar and Vladeek.
front: Anya and I.
Nazar and 3 other people on our team (siblings: Anya, Vladeek and Denis) left to the village very early in the morning to set up camp, find contacts, and get to know the place.
Pasha and I left later in the day by car with the spouse of our host.
On our way from Kiev the car broke around 5 times. The road trip of 3 hours turned instead to 6 hours. We came at the evening late at night when the house was so quiet and the night cold had already come down close to the ground.
We unloaded all the bags from the car and came into the house. Silence, dim light.
Immediately we went to our places to have our short sleep because of our early wake up.
All that day I was curious where am I going? But I was sure this time is going to be a good fruit for God.
Day 1.
A very full day of moving, events, talks and laughiiiing!!))
The way to the village where we had the camp is long: 6km one way, through another smaller village and many fields and a forest. Yep. Walking a lot. Walking dusty and dirty. Sweat. Dusty.
We got to the village school and no children were there. They came later for the repetition for the 1st September (an annual program for the beginning of the study year). They spent an hour for that and some of them stayed with us afterwards. All of them were 5-6 years old. We made a shorter program and at the end we had 2 girls. One girl in the beginning started to cry and I sat near her and she jumped to me and hugged me. So I took her and walked a bit till her mom came and took her away. Another 2 girls left because their parents took them away after a song about God.
So at the end when the parents of the 2 girls who were left came, one shared, "Mom! I just talked to God!!"
We had crafts, songs and a watermelon game. We decided to come back to that village that evening to meet youth on a football field. Again, we had a long walk. When we arrived, they had played already and so we prayed what to do. So we stayed aside and played Ultimate Frisbee. In a while a guy came to us and asked to join. We moved to the bigger field and started to play. In another while we had 2 more guys. It was such a nice game! My team won. The field is just entire dust. Imagine those clouds from our running ;)
The first guy asked what we are doing in the camp and Nazar said that we are talking about God and etc. So that guy asked us to tell him about God.
What an open heart!! He was the first one whom we met who himself asked about God. I am glad those villages are not spoiled by religions and are seeking for the truth.
Day 2.
We had a very peaceful worship in the morning.
The camp was good! No rush, not tense. We had 2 kids, one girl who cried yesterday and her brother. Alla and Bogdan. She cried again today so I came to her to comfort so she spent all the time sticking to me. Cute.
On the way to the camp we met 2 men on a corn field and one politely stopped us to ask, "I see you know your deal. You know what you do. Please, can you tell me about God? What about Gods in Egypt, Asia..? ..oh they are false. So every nation has its own God?” ... "The God is the only One" we said.
"Oh, true. Thank you for your help".
On the way back we met 2 persons: a grandma and grandpa. The first one said, "People see you, and they are curious, and they asked me to ask you to come to us and play some songs for God". So we did that on our 4th day. The second one stopped us and said "Sorry, just a moment. I know you are Christians. I love God. He saved me. I was dead. He brought me back from that world. I felt down from a 20m high height and doctors couldn't do anything. And now I'm good. Another man doesn't believe in God and he still be crooked. But I’m good. God saved me."
What a miracle!! Definitely, it is useful, our long walks are useful. I would say it is my first time I have met these situations. We barely have children in the camp but adults are catching us to ask about God!!
That day I had felt some pain in my foot, but though it will pass away. My suggestions were because of a lot of walking plus caring the bags and etc. I didn’t fall and didn’t hit that.
Day 3.
Morning was quick we slept over :)
I started to walk and my foot started to hurt .I thought about staying but I don't like to be outsider, especially in a ministry. I would go till the end if I am able. Sometimes it is not a good choice :)
We came to the school and it was closed. We sat and waited, played some songs. Then the teacher who opens the school for us came. And still no children.
Suddenly they started to come. Some of them were with moms. We had 8 maybe. They had their repetition and 5 of them stayed with us. Again it was a nice time. We had songs, craft, Bible lessons and a snack.
A pastor named Kim came from Kiev to check on us and brought ice-cream and 2 watermelons. He is Korean, lives in Kiev, and we stayed at his church. Here he had evangelizations and a church in the past. So he spent a few hours with us, we had lunch together and prayed on the place we were going to have worship on Saturday.
That evening we got invited to visit one missionary family with 7 children. That evening visit was sooo nice! Those people are very hospitable and open, wise and blessed. We entered their garden and I saw all those kids, but the atmosphere of order and coziness impressed me. We had good food and played ninja (active game) with their children. It was so nice to hear their story how they got to that village. God is good!! We had a watermelon from their garden :)
Day 4.
24th of August, Independence Day in Ukraine!
I learned that day that I had a sprain on my foot. To move that day was harder. The same as yesterday I limped to the camp.
No kids. We were waiting an hour. Soon the pastor whom we visited yesterday evening came and brought his 6 children. That day we had the most kids :)
It was Saturday, the day of our "concert" for the grandmas.
We had around 6 songs and between them Nazar was preaching. The grandmas were listening very carefully. Some of them said a repentance prayer. They took our literature and we left.
I got back and couldn't move my foot anymore.
I got a bandage and later we got invited to visit the family again. I so wanted to go but I regret I couldn’t walk anymore so my team found a wheelchair and brought me to that house and back. Fun. Tell ya :)
Again we met our friends on the cornfield, 2 men. We had a talk about faith and love, providence and church. They were apologizing for their "wildness" :)
Day 5.
The last day of the camp surprised us with a locked lock on the school door. Somebody had put matches in it. While our host tried to open it we were playing games and waited for the kids. Finally he opened the door and we started to take out all of our stuff, and suddenly 3 kids came. Because we had a train later and they came late, we made shorter program. That day they heard about God for the first time.
We came back to Kiev, spent some time all together as a team, said thanks and hugged.
It was not an ordinary camp and it was a good influence on each of us.
My personal acquisition was to get a chance to serve in a team with the achievements I got from DTS, such as: flexibility, patience, encourage, stretching and loving.
I was glad to leave a good memories after myself, but all glory and thankgivings belong to God!
If I was to make a main point of this big story, it would be:
"Trust God and offer everything that you have in Him".
Thanks to our hosts!
