Final Summer Camp Recap

Hi friends,

A friend of mine has to stay at work late tonight so he had to cancel our plans to meet this evening. Don’t worry, I’m not short on social life here. Last night I got to introduce my favorite board game (Settlers of Catan--thanks Derek!) to some of my friends. It was a success, I think. My best friend over here almost beat me but the dice played to my favor at the last minute. haha.

Anyway, I’m going to take advantage of some unexpected downtime this evening to tell a little about how the end of summer was. I've been looking back at some journal entries I made during the final camp of the summer and I think it is time to tell about it now.

This camp was to a gypsy village in western Ukraine. We slept on the floors in the two classrooms of the church and got to experience the life of outhouses and bucket showers. I personally tried to avoid showers as much as possible, but with the under-cared for and under-cleaned state of the children, it was probably very wise that I took one or two during the week.

Some of the homes in the village were reasonably safe and comfortable, although a simple carpet is usually the only barrier between feet and the dirt floor. Others were one-room shacks with leaking roofs and perhaps three reasonable sleeping surfaces to rest a family of five through the night. All of the homes are in danger of turning into soggy mush during the rainy season. When the dirt bricks get wet, the majority of the village can just collapse almost simultaneously.

The gypsies are usually hated by their neighbors and, generally speaking, all of Europe. They are uneducated and generally do not contribute positively to society. They are stereotyped as untrustworthy and unscrupulous because, well, many of them have earned this image. They despise farming and try to survive by raising horses and children. Unfortunately, they often raise children for the money involved rather than for the family aspects. The Ukrainian government pays a fairly large sum of money to a family for the birth of their first child, even more for the second, and still more for the third. This money is practically enough for a gypsy family to live on in their meager conditions. Although the children seem to have a healthy respect for adults, this respect is often apparent as a sense of fear rather than of love. Many of the parents spend most of their day watching the television (yes, even the most simple shacks have electricity to run solely this one electronic device).

Our team partnered with the church that already exists in the village. The pastor was very glad to receive us. He has been patiently teaching the villagers for years, attempting to lead by example not only spiritually but also economically. After showing how to plant and farm for a couple of years, he left the process in the gypsies' hands. That year, nothing was planted. The church is just large enough to serve as a school for first and second graders. The older children do not attend school and never learn the Ukrainian language. Our role was simply to bring love to neglected children and spread God's light alongside the existing ministry of the church. Our church in Kiev has also sponsored the digging of artesian wells for the village to provide safe drinking water.

This camp was the most challenging one for me for a few reasons. First, the team was entirely Ukrainian except for myself and the other intern. Secondly, the gypsies speak Hungarian, not Ukrainian. Except for a few adult gypsies who spoke some Ukrainian and helped translate, the Ukrainian team was in exactly the position I am used to being in; not being able to verbally communicate with the people we are working with. For me, that meant I had no hope of speaking to any of the kids because doing so would have required two stages of translation--first from English to Ukrainian, and second from Ukrainian to Hungarian. This was yet another opportunity to learn the value of physical interaction and the impact of simply paying attention to someone. These kids wanted us to swing them around in circles, with their feet coming off the ground, literally for hours.

It was very difficult for me to engage in this camp. There was much less structure to this one than to the previous ones. The benefit is that I had a decent amount of downtime that I could spend thinking and praying and journaling. I spent time with the kids but was not required to be with them all the time. I got to develop and deepen some friendships with Ukrainian team members and this was very valuable, but it is a somewhat draining process at times and reminds me that I am not in the United States any more. At that point in time, I was nearing the end of my fourth month in Ukraine. I guess if I ever hit the "culture shock/what am I doing here?" moment that missionaries tell me about, that was it. But it wasn't very low and I quickly bounced back.

God reminded me that he had sent me to Ukraine. I never doubted that. I learned to understand that this is enough, even if I don't understand the "why?" And that's a question I am still learning the answer to. But even while I do not completely know the answer, there are plenty of ways I can be serving and making an impact while I grow to be the man who is ready to receive more of the answer. The key is that following God's direction does not require us to know the future or the outcome.

We are all in a position to work for God's kingdom through the places and occupations in which he puts us in our own lives. That week at camp helped me grow in understanding what it is to work for His kingdom. I am trying to hear His direction for me and narrow my efforts a little to concentrate more in areas He wants me to work. I would like to share a journal entry I made during that week.

“One question on my mind right now is whether or not it is okay to walk away from a camp feeling, ‘Well, this isn’t really my thing. Maybe once-a-year, or maybe not even that.’ It feels like a guilty thought, but I also know I cannot be all places doing everything. I guess the key is hearing God’s ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for each opportunity. Sometimes ‘doing’ all we can pull off physically is a far shot from what we can do if we are spiritually ready, rested, and in tune with God’s specific desires and plans for our life. God can work through us in any situation, but He does have specific plans for us and they involve being His tools and witnesses in exactly the way He has prepared us.”

If you want some lighter news, I can tell you I have my first date here in Ukraine exactly one week from today! This is a huge blessing and this woman has played a very large role in assisting me and encouraging me during my time in Ukraine. She is a very Godly woman and we have learned many things about each other as we have kept up for over a year since I met her.