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.

First of all, God's presence was evident in may ways as we finished camp. To each of us on the team, He revealed this through different situations and observations. For me personally, I have experienced God's pleasure in seeing His children worship Him. God's presence in a Ukrainian orphan camp is a very powerful thing. I believe a lot of the kids recognize it when they see it. This team saw seen God push back some solid boundaries of distraction and apathy and has really communicated with kids through this team.

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.