Servant Leading in Action

Our Youth group planned a trip to visit our friends in Venihorodka 3 hrs away. The church purchased a rundown dormitory from a closed sugar factory a while back. Their desire is to have kids camps in it and use it for the glory of God. The building is in desperate need of repair and there is lots of work needed. We planned a 2 1/2 day trip to serve and help clean the building in preparation for a kids camp in Aug. We joined our friends and and geared up for the big tasks ahead. The days were spent sweeping, patching walls, painting doors, drawing murals, cleaning carpets and landscaping. I shared about servanthood and that we work as though we are working for the Lord not as unto man. It was great to see the students in action...they did a great job. We spent the evening at a local quarry that has been turned into a lake. Never thought I would be able to pile 14 people into my 7 passenger van...new record! We enjoyed swiming and cliff jumping. We came back to camp and spent the rest of the evening around a campfire eating sala, and singing worship songs. Looking back I was truly blessed to serve alongside these hard working youth. My prayer is that their relationship with God will continue to deepen and they will see some of the fruits of their labors on the kids faces next month. Those students who came to serve will also next month be counselors so teaching them servanthood before leadership is huge.

Legal Graffiti

Petya, one of my youth teens just graduated. Every year there is a custom to have the graduating class paint on the asphalt on school grounds their farewell address. This year Petya asked me to design a graphic and paint it on the school fence. Here is the finished product...it says 11b Graduation 2009.

Kids, kids, and more kids

We were blessed to be a part of Jono's English camp last week. Magdala and I led one of the groups in songs and games. It was great to be able to sings songs in English! There were around 50 kids each day and everyone seemed to have a fun time.




We have been visiting the internaut, which is like an orphanage, in a nearby village. This Monday, we took the whole family to visit with the kids there. Magdala brought some dough and we made some interesting pastries over the fire. These special kids have touched our hearts and we look forward to getting to know them better!





Here are a few pictures of our kids while we were hanging out at the stadium here in town...

Jaden graduates!

Jaden is now officially graduated from kindergarden in Ukraine! He had a little program at school, with lots of singing, dancing and reciting verses. So, now he is ready to start first class! We are so proud of him!!!

Here is a short clip of him saying his line. The translation of the verse he is reciting is this: To school we will soon be going, before long ready for first class; everyone will now call us school-kids!

The kids in their Easter Sunday best...

Christy's Birthday

We are so blessed to have great friends here that offer to watch our kids so that Christy and I can get away together. For Christy's birthday, we took a day trip to Kiev. We checked out the mall, Caravan, where we had some good coffee, window-shopped, went bowling, and had some yummy soup bread bowls for lunch. It was chilly outside, but we still enjoyed a walk along the river. For dinner, we tried out one of the many theme restaurants that are just outside of Kiev on the road heading back to Kaharlyk. The one we chose was called Three Musketeers. It was actually very nice...it had ducks, swans, and even a petting zoo. We were the only ones dining in the restaurant, which gave it a very romantic feel. It was a nice get-away and I think Christy had a very relaxing and enjoyable birthday!

Youth Conference in Kaharlyk

Last week we put on our first youth conference in Kaharlyk. It was a big step, but awesome to see so many come together and be involved to make this event happen. The theme of this one-day conference was "Being Called By God." Jake Knotts, a pastor from Chernihiv came and spoke on God's calling on our lives and also on serving God. The day included worship, games, Bible teaching, dinner and an afterglow. Six towns came and participated. It was wonderful to see a room full of youth eager to love and serve God more. We closed the night with worship and lighting candles. Each person came forward to light a candle symbolizing their desire and commitment to let their light shine in their community.