Quickly before I leave...
I need to find a new roommate for my house in Nashville. One of my guys got a job in LA and moved out there last week. So please, please, please pray that God will send a great person who will be a good match for the other two roommates and whose rent money will fill the financial void that opens up with one guy leaving!
Also, I need to find a new place to live here in Kiev. One of my roommates got married a month ago. I stayed here for July because there was only one week of the month that I would actually be home. But I would like to find a new place now in order to give the couple their space. My new place of living could have a huge impact on my ministry and well-being here so your prayers on this matter are very appreciated as well! Roommate(s) and location are the two primary factors.
Thanks,
Josh
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Preparing for a Week at a Gypsy Village
Hey everyone,
I want to ask for your prayers for this next week. I will be participating in a camp from New Life Church which will take place in a gypsy village. These are people truly without nationality, most of whom cannot work legally in the country and who have generally received no formal schooling. They speak their own mix of about four different languages combined with their own words, making communication very difficult even for native Ukrainian and Russian speakers.
Basically, I have no idea what to expect. I know that I will be leaving early tomorrow morning to help someone drive their car full of supplies on the 12-14 hour trip. This will be a cool chance to see more of the country. Beyond this, I know I will be helping lead worship for kids and I know I have been asked to work specifically with a young age group for other aspects of the camp. Other than that, details are pretty foggy. There are some plans but a lot remains to be decided once we see what things look like when we arrive. We may be doing a small construction project as well. Originally the church hoped to dig a well and build a shower facility and source of clean water, but we do not have the funding for that at this time.
Maybe the fact that I do not know details, and hence have not formed specific expectations, will be helpful in emotionally enduring the camp. Still, I have been told this particular experience can be very challenging due to the conditions the gypsies live in and the process of becoming aware of their way of life. Thanks again for your prayers.
Josh
I want to ask for your prayers for this next week. I will be participating in a camp from New Life Church which will take place in a gypsy village. These are people truly without nationality, most of whom cannot work legally in the country and who have generally received no formal schooling. They speak their own mix of about four different languages combined with their own words, making communication very difficult even for native Ukrainian and Russian speakers.
Basically, I have no idea what to expect. I know that I will be leaving early tomorrow morning to help someone drive their car full of supplies on the 12-14 hour trip. This will be a cool chance to see more of the country. Beyond this, I know I will be helping lead worship for kids and I know I have been asked to work specifically with a young age group for other aspects of the camp. Other than that, details are pretty foggy. There are some plans but a lot remains to be decided once we see what things look like when we arrive. We may be doing a small construction project as well. Originally the church hoped to dig a well and build a shower facility and source of clean water, but we do not have the funding for that at this time.
Maybe the fact that I do not know details, and hence have not formed specific expectations, will be helpful in emotionally enduring the camp. Still, I have been told this particular experience can be very challenging due to the conditions the gypsies live in and the process of becoming aware of their way of life. Thanks again for your prayers.
Josh
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Second Camp
It is funny how things work. During the first camp of the summer, I was wondering if my physical interaction with the kids was truly enough, not sure it was the main support I was supposed to provide. That was at an orphan camp with kids and teens running around, all in desperate need of attention.
During my second camp, I worked with university students and young adults in their late teens through twenties. I realized just how much I missed having the physical interaction at the orphan camp and how reassuring it was not only to the kids, but to myself as well. Sometimes it's more difficult to know what's actually going on in the mind of an intellectual university student than in that of an excitable, ADD child who wants to hang onto whichever limb is most easily reached.
This second camp was an evangelistic camp organized and run by New Life Church. I am pleased to say that it was evangelistic both in vision and outcome. This particular type of camp was a first effort by the church and God met the flexibility of the leaders by keeping unbelieving campers in line where stating minute rules and regulations never could have succeeded. The Spirit of God was present at this camp and was seen undeniably in the combined Ukrainian and American team. This is what the campers saw and experienced. This is what touched them. They saw love and servanthood like they had never seen it before. Really, they felt it.
One thing I learned through this experience is just how strong worship is as an evangelistic tool. I always thought worship was to be kept mainly to circles of believers and that unbelievers would simply think it strange and a turn-off. However, I have come to realize that unbelievers can sense the presence of God in worship, however different that sense may be to them at first. And because God is good, His presence and initiation of awareness into the hearts of the unbeliever is good as well.
Thankfully, most of the students in my group were ones I already have connections with, giving me the opportunity to follow up with them and really find out what is going on. Many are students at ICU (International Christian University, although the "Christian" in the name means little these days), where a self-supported missionary by the name of Steve Copland has already spent a few years cultivating a ministry and Bible study which I have just recently gotten involved with. These students also speak English, which is a great opportunity to use my primary language as a strength rather than a weakness. A few of these students gave their lives to Christ during this camp and I feel it will take many conversations in the future to truly understand what they are experiencing spiritually and to build them up.
Again, I just want to reiterate that God put a lot of pieces in place for this camp and that he honored the willingness and God-seeking attitudes of the leaders and helpers. God was invited to this camp and he was certainly present. There are many more things I could share now and there will be more to share in the future as I follow up with some of the students. For now, please pray that I will have wisdom and time and God's energy to continue this process.
During my second camp, I worked with university students and young adults in their late teens through twenties. I realized just how much I missed having the physical interaction at the orphan camp and how reassuring it was not only to the kids, but to myself as well. Sometimes it's more difficult to know what's actually going on in the mind of an intellectual university student than in that of an excitable, ADD child who wants to hang onto whichever limb is most easily reached.
This second camp was an evangelistic camp organized and run by New Life Church. I am pleased to say that it was evangelistic both in vision and outcome. This particular type of camp was a first effort by the church and God met the flexibility of the leaders by keeping unbelieving campers in line where stating minute rules and regulations never could have succeeded. The Spirit of God was present at this camp and was seen undeniably in the combined Ukrainian and American team. This is what the campers saw and experienced. This is what touched them. They saw love and servanthood like they had never seen it before. Really, they felt it.
One thing I learned through this experience is just how strong worship is as an evangelistic tool. I always thought worship was to be kept mainly to circles of believers and that unbelievers would simply think it strange and a turn-off. However, I have come to realize that unbelievers can sense the presence of God in worship, however different that sense may be to them at first. And because God is good, His presence and initiation of awareness into the hearts of the unbeliever is good as well.
Thankfully, most of the students in my group were ones I already have connections with, giving me the opportunity to follow up with them and really find out what is going on. Many are students at ICU (International Christian University, although the "Christian" in the name means little these days), where a self-supported missionary by the name of Steve Copland has already spent a few years cultivating a ministry and Bible study which I have just recently gotten involved with. These students also speak English, which is a great opportunity to use my primary language as a strength rather than a weakness. A few of these students gave their lives to Christ during this camp and I feel it will take many conversations in the future to truly understand what they are experiencing spiritually and to build them up.
Again, I just want to reiterate that God put a lot of pieces in place for this camp and that he honored the willingness and God-seeking attitudes of the leaders and helpers. God was invited to this camp and he was certainly present. There are many more things I could share now and there will be more to share in the future as I follow up with some of the students. For now, please pray that I will have wisdom and time and God's energy to continue this process.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Back From The First Camp
I am back safely in Kiev, at least for today. Tomorrow I will leave for another camp but I am happy to tell you that the first camp has been a success and a blessing.
It is difficult to leave the kids to the situations they are in. We are tempted to feel our work is incomplete. In many ways this may be true. But I do believe we have carried out the good work God called us to for this past week and that God is using this experience to work in the hearts of the kids now and in the future. Please pray over continued communication with the kids throughout the year because writing letters in our absence often has shortfalls in the aspect of getting deep into the lives of the children.
The first day or two of the trip were very difficult for me. In my effort to not have expectations of things being the same as they were last year at this camp, I subconsciously expected my experience to be different. In reality, it was very similar. My role again seemed to be to help create the environment in which the kids were receptive to what others had to say. Most of my communication was either through high fives and countless variations of handshakes or through worship. I am still trying to make sure I did not miss something I was called to, but I do sense satisfaction in the result of this trip. God used this team together as a whole, made of many unique parts.
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