A picture of us relaxing at a English camp in the future. We are both a little out of style. Our clothes don’t fit the way they used to. But we are still in love on the swings. romantic.
It is a long summer with little time for rest. I (Ben) am tired…. but it is so worth it. These guys make it worth it. It is a privilege to encourage and train these young leaders. God is using these guys to change the world around them. Pray for them and their work. If there is one thing the Ukraine lacks it is Godly men. There are few men discipling younger men. Camp allows me to have an intentional time to disciple these guys. What a privilege! Pray that these men would continue to serve God with their gifts and become more like their heavenly Father.
Tolik (small group leader from Cherkasy)
Chris (college intern from Iowa)
Boris (main youth leader from Cherkasy)
Yura (small group leader from Lviv)
Syava (main youth leader from Lviv)
Andriy (small group leader from Lviv)
Josh (college intern from Iowa)
Andriy (main youth leader from Lutsk)
This was a year of some transition for us and camps. Previously Jay played the role of Ukraine country leader, as well as of camp director. In ‘07, we did 3 camps side-by-side with Jay, learning the ropes of Ukrainian camps, which are very different from Czech camps. Then the baton was passed and we gained the giant responsibility of directing camps. In ‘08, we grew to 5 camps, leaving us and Jay to split up so there would be JV presence to help at each camp.
We had 5 strong North American youth groups come over, which resulted in Ben and Jay not having to be key speakers. Only at the L’viv camp did Ben give a few talks, but still sharing responsibility w/ Syava and Erik. Ben was still there to encourage leaders and fight any battles that arose. He was free from English teaching, which gave him key time w/ his main youth leader each day. Of course, students and interns were also on his heart. That is a given. And, he was also the camp photographer. He did such a great job! Thanks, Dad W. for all the great gear!
For me, I felt my role change a bit, too. I translated a LOT. For the 1st camp, I didn’t even teach an English class. Instead I visited others and helped groups in need of a boost. I taught at camps 2 & 3, and always enjoy that personal connection with students.
It was very strange for me to not participate in follow-up after our 1st camp, and to leave for a day in the middle of our 3rd camp, in order to visit the 2 camps that Jay was running. We wanted that personal connection w/ the American youth group leaders, with whom we had been working throughout the school year as they prepared to come to Ukraine. I felt the huge responsibility of caring for our American teams on a daily basis during their 15 day stays. It is exhausting work but worth it. I think of all the Czech missionaries who cared so deeply for us in the past. What a great way to expose young people to missionary life and be an integral part of their stay. We are so thankful for our USA teams! We couldn’t do camp without you.
With the Illinois short-term high school missions team arriving on the same plane on which the NJ short-term high school missions team was departing, we knew there was very little time to inform anyone on how our second camp ended. It was such a growing experience as we worked with our largest Ukrainian camp yet, and as we watched leaders step up to the plate and tackle responsibilities that they were afraid of before the week began. God really used the camp to teach all of us about personal growth and faith. He also used that camp to connect youth to Christ. Now the students from camp know that there is a church in the city that loves them and welcomes them. It is really exciting to watch students’ interest in Christianity come alive during the week. Stay tuned for more stories during the year, of course. Our work has only just begun…but until then, enjoy the pictures. Hopefully you’ll be seeing more of these same faces in the fall and during the school year in our Lviv local youth ministry!
Celebrating Ben’s birthday at camp has been a highlight for 5 years in a row now, especially handmade cards (captions like this one) created by team members and campers…all years have been memorable; some better executed than others! This year we were determined to make it an improvement over last year. I gathered many FUNFETTI cake mixes and frostings, lugging them to camp, along with all my 13×9 inch glass pans, as well as a few birthday presents. I get to the camp facility to find that there is no oven on the premisis. The cakes had to wait until our follow-up activities in L’viv a few days after camp ended. (We had over 60 people out to follow-up activities, which was a huge highlight as we watch certain students already feeling connected to our church.)
But the party had to go on. The camp woke up early on Ben’s birthday to make him a human sign. Then they dressed him up like a king and made him a special birthday lunch table. It was precious. It was no surprise that Ben is always one of the most popular peole at camp. What a memorable year this was.
I write this quick post from Lutsk on our last night “on the road” on this long 2008 tour of English camps. We are surrounded by the Blanchard (Wheaton, IL) team of 17 Americans, plus about 25 Ukrainians who came out today (Saturday) to spend the day sightseeing in Lutsk before we return to Lviv on Sunday after church. We intentionally plan camps for Friday to Friday at the facility; then we have Saturday AM to debrief w/ the Ukrainian team, and then the afternoon to tour the students’ city, and Sunday to invite all the campers to the hosting church. We were blessed again by awesome weather (no flooding by us, thank goodness) and tons of Ukrainians who wanted to spend the day with us. We visited the Lutsk castle, the tower that overlooks the city, and also some amazing catacombs under a famous Catholic church. It was great. I can’t wait for the church service tomorrow. It is only my & Ben’s second time visiting a church service with Golgotha, so this is good relationship-building for us, too. I look forward to posting so much more about camps once we are back in Lviv. Summer is winding down, but it is certainly not done yet!
It has been almost 15 days since I’ve last blogged - understand that this is a good thing. We have given our 100% all during the past two weeks of English Camp with L’viv and our Fellowship Alliance Chapel (Medford, NJ) team. It was a PRECIOUS TIME together! Exhausting physically; challenging spiritually. We saw God empower our Lviv youth group leaders to lead their small groups well and increase their faith. At least 10 students stood up and said “I want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.” They understand that this is not only believe in Him with their heads, but to follow Christ will all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. These are exciting times! We are all now wondering what fall youth ministry is going to look like at New Life. But we have trusted God to bring us this far. We will keep stepping in faith and obedience.
We could seriously use your prayers for us tomorrow (Tuesday, July 22). As we depart from NJ with tears (well done good and faithful servants on that team), they will board the same plane that the Wheaton, IL (Blanchard Alliance Church) will have deboarded just a few minutes before. Basically, we have no time between camp program #2 and camp program #3. NONE. We are really exhausted, and we know that there is much work to be done with the Lutsk Golgotha church, who has never done their own English camp before. I am clinging to these verses, and trust that you will pray them for us.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
It is time for us to focus on our 2nd camp with New Jersey and Lviv now, but we posted some great Cherkasy English Camp pictures on our website. Click here.
If you want to see a tv commercial made by Josh and Ben’s English class, click here.
If you want to see music video-like footage of our Cherkasy camp, click here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz4wliaFU7I
Just a reminder - we went to Cherkasy (2 hrs south of Kiev, in the center of Ukraine) where Ben, Brittney (JV Staff), Chris & Josh (JV Interns) and I attended camp with a strong, experienced North American team from Parkview Church from Iowa City. So there were about 23 Americans and 50+ Ukrainians, 20+ of which were Christians and were helping at the camp. The rest were campers, most of whom had been to camp before. Students like Maxim and Lena were there for their 4th yr. in a row…unreal. We went deeper into the message of what it means to be a follower of Christ. Students were interested and had great small groups. Only 2 or 3 made a decision to receive Christ as Lord, but we don’t count conversion moments, rather lives transformed over time by God.
The Cherkasy camp ended yesterday morning, but we know that God is not done working in the hearts of the young people there. Wow, their leaders did a great job of loving the campers and the students in their small group. There were true heart connections between the Ukrainian church kids and the non-believers, which was a huge prayer request of mine. The other request was that the Gospel be presented clearly. This is the message of needing a Savior from sin, and that the only way to full life on earth is follow Jesus and obey everything He has commanded us. This was communicated over 7 evening programs and morning worship services. Each camper left, having heard the message of salvation. It is our responsibility to share this good news; however, they must personally receive it. So join us in praying for these youth as they continue to contemplate this relationship with God who loves them so much that His Son died for them. Here are some faces of students we dearly love from Cherkasy.
