Does your light shine brighter in the darkness or the light?

As we went through this week, day by day, it was obvious to see that our light, which is the light of Jesus, shines much brighter in the darkness than it does in the light. When we are in our Christian school, our families, or in our churches, our light still needs to shine bright, but when we are in the darkness-out in the world-our light shines bright for God. That is what He calls us to do; to be a light in the darkness. We cannot do that without going into the darkness to be that light.

Spending time with these kids, in their world, has been emotional and draining, but it has been worth every bit of sacrifice of time and energy. Being the hands and feet of Jesus cannot be done without the supernatural power of God Himself. What an awesome opportunity to be used by Him in such an incredible way. We praise Him and give Him all the glory for all that has been done this past week.

God opened the door for us to go to Fontanka every morning. We presented Bible stories about Joseph in the Old Testiment and also stories of Jesus and tied them together with a spiritual message that they could apply to their lives today. Little did we know that these boys knew their Bible stories as well, if not better, than we did. When we had our small group time and showed pictures from the stories, they couldn't wait to describe what was taking place in each scene. Each craft was done with care. Many crafts were given to us as gifts because they wanted to give back and had nothing to give. On the day of the Salvation message every group had several boys receive Jesus in to their hearts. The boys were beaming. Please pray for a boy named Dima who was in Carol's group. At only 12 years old, he feels God cannot forgive him for what he has done. Carol's heart was broken as she was describing to us how he looked as he confessed what he felt from his soul at such a young age. We pray that this week made a difference that gave him some hope that, yes, God can forgive him and that God does love him.

It was a challenge to be able to teach at Camp Viktoria every day, but we did get some stories and small group times in. Some days they had a program and we taught afterwards. One day they went to the Sea, so we went to the Sea to play with them. We also came back in the evenings and went to their disco time and spent time playing ball, making bracelets, doing sidewalk chalk, or just sat and talk. We firmly believe that the "hanging out" time is crucial to building the relationships that help these children trust us and grow to trust and believe in God.

On our Salvation message day, each group had about 8 kids who prayed to receive Jesus as their Savior. WOW! We were so excited! We did not have a lot of teaching time there, yet God still worked in their hearts in a mighty way.

One of our main concerns is that there is not much in the way of follow up with the children. There are some local churches and we are praying that some will get more involved with helping out in that area. Some of our translators do work with the orphans through out the year so they are not left alone the rest of the time. What we would also really love to see is for them to be in a Christian church full time.

We hated saying good-bye to our kids last night. It's always so hard. It breaks our hearts to leave them behind. Hopefully some will be adopted; there is no life for them once they graduate. Just more to pray about! :)

Job 42:2 'I know you can do all things and that no plan of yours can be ruined.' This verse seemed to be the theme of the day. After many of Satan's attacks, God's plan of taking the orphans to church prevailed. Even though our bus driver never showed up and our team had to split up to use public transportation, we finally made it to church. The children loved church and afterwards we treated them to McDonald's. They ate so much and were happy and full by the time we dropped them off back at the camp. Today is our second to last day to minister to the children. We are presenting the gospel today at Fontanka and Viktoria. We need your prayers as we teach about the amazing gift of salvation.

Great weekend!

Saturday was a great day in Odessa. Because we cannot teach on Saturdays and Sundays, we usually do shopping and touring on the weekends. The team went to the very large market for a few hours to buy lots of gifts for a very good price. The translators, as usual, were a very good help in this. Igor, Carol, and I went to visit an old friend, Alyona, and her little baby girl, Maria, and little 2 year old, Mark. We enjoyed our fellowship time of catching up and hearing of all the things that God is doing in the ministries that God has been leading her and her husband to do.

We caught up to the team and bought $200 worth of sheets for the kids at Camp Viktoria. The director asked if we could do this. After lunch we headed to camp and met with the director who was happy to see us. He was very thankful for the sheets and allowed us to come and see the kids. The kids were going to be heading to the park for a pre-planned game so we were not able to teach a lesson but we went with them, played with them and visited with them. Some teachers heard the Word of God from one of our leaders.

Of course the kids loved being loved on and many new kids were there to get to know us. Our new team members made lots and lots of new friends and those of us who have been there many times made lots of new friends as well. It's always awesome to see how God creates strong bonds right away. We know His Word goes deep in their hearts when these close relations are created.

After dinner we went back to camp for their disco time. Of course we can't really talk during this time because of the loud music but it's just a fun time to be silly and play with the kids. Our teen age boys had little boys on their shoulders dancing around and they were loving it. I was able to visit with some older girls whom I have known for at least 7 years. One of them picked me up and twirled me around. She's a big, strong girl and will be going to Korea soon for a boxing championship match. I guess she's pretty good! :)

My personal favorite part of the night was when my little boy, Kostya, who is 14, came to sit by me. We couldn't talk because the music was so loud. He asked if I wanted to go for a walk and OF COURSE I did! We went for a walk and talked and talked. He knows English so we had a great talk and caught up on how our year has gone. I didn't mean to cry but I did; I just miss him so much. He held my hand and said, "please don't cry or I cry too". I tried very hard not to. He's precious.

I forgot to mention that we asked the director if we could take kids to church again. We were allowed to take 12 so we had to give him the names and make a list. We were so excited we were given permission again and prayed that no one would misbehave or runaway.

Sunday morning came. The bus did not come. We had a few choices. We could just go to the church that was near by and give up since we had been waiting and waiting and we could consider this a closed door. We would be late for church since it was an hour away. But, there was no way we were going to disappoint those kids and not show up. So, Igor came up with a plan that he and Carol would take a city bus and pick the kids up and meet up with us at church. Two other translators would take the rest of us on another city bus or two and go straight to church. We were right on time and the kids were about 5 or 10 minutes late. God is so good! The service was wonderful and the kids 14 and under even got to go to a Sunday School class, which they loved.

We took them to McDonalds afterwards and my friend, Vova, who is now 21, met us after church. He also met us at the mall on Saturday. I've known Vova since he was 14 years old. McDonalds was a lot of fun and the kids ate so much.

We spent part of our day shopping and touring Odessa since we could not go to the orphanages on Sunday. Sunday evening we went to Igor's church to play Volleyball with his youth group and had a praise and worship/fellowship time. They always invite us to do this when we are in town.

Please pray for us as we can feel satan attacking. There is a battle raging and we can feel it. It's exhausting. We are putting on the full armor of God; He is so much more powerful than any attack the enemy can put on us, but it's still no fun being attacked. We're tired, it's over 100 degrees every day and we are on the go all the time. This morning it's very cool but it won't last long. Igor will talk to the director of Fontanka in just a little while this morning to see if we can teach there this morning. We can teach for sure but the time may change. It may be tonight but we will find out. We know God is in control and His plan is perfect.

Please also pray that we will be able to teach at Camp Viktoria. We never know before we get there whether or not we will be allowed to teach. It always depends on if there is another program there or not. Last year, even though there were other programs scheduled, God opened the door for us to be able to teach every day and many kids accepted Jesus. He is more powerful than any schedule.

Thank you for your prayers!

Leaving the village

Exciting news:

"On our way back to Odessa. Had a wonderful time of ministry and great fun connecting and playing with the children. Many trusted Jesus for forgiveness of their sins. We said one last prayer together as we circled around the orphans. No dry eyes as we said special goodbyes. The director gave us a blessing and they all want us to come back next year! Tomorrow we will visit Camp Viktoria; pray that we will easily connect with the children and that we will be able to present our program."

The above update was sent by Carol.....

In the mean time...Pam (mwoa) got to Ukraine safe and sound today. I flew in to Odessa and found my friends, Viktor and Artyr waiting for me in the airport. It was so great seeing them again. Artyr took the bus to his home and Viktor took me to his house since the team wasn't there yet. Viktor's wife made a delicious meal full of fresh vegetables, meat, salads, bread, and Ukrainian dishes. It was the best food I've had in 2 days. We ate outside in their beautiful back yard. Diana has planted several fruit trees that have grown so much since the last time I've been there. She has also added a fish pond with a little fountain. So nice and relaxing. I was so spoiled after being on that plane for so long.

After a long nap, Viktor took me to the Kindergarden where I met up with the team. I was so happy to see of all them and my "son", Igor! We all caught up, ate dinner, and then went to the store to buy water, exchange money, and buy chocolate.

When we returned we had an awesome praise and worship time. After singing, and thanking God for all He's done, we had a share time. I especially enjoyed the share time because I got to catch up on a lot of what I missed.

It sounds like there was a lot of opposition about our team going to the village even once they got the ok to go. Igor had to call Kiev and get things worked out. It wasn't easy but he worked out everything.

Some of the stories were how the director's heart has really softened towards our group coming. She has been pretty stern in the past but she gave a little speech on how much she appreciated them being there and how much the kids love them.

One person from our team bought 3 bikes for the orphans. Needless to say, they were overjoyed with this gift! The director said it has been their dream to have bikes.

Many kids shared stories of how "their kid" came to Christ. They shared about how deeply in love the kids were with them and visa versa.

One shared how he and his teenager, who hung out with last year too, just sat and locked eyes and talked back and forth, barely noticing that the translator was translating every word they were saying.

God is moving. Many seeds were planted and much fruit was harvested. How exciting to be a part of it; especially for those who came for the first time.

Tomorrow is Saturday and Carol and I will go visit a friend, Alyona, who had a baby about 2 months ago. The rest of the group will go to a huge market where you can buy anything and everything for a very good price. We will meet them there. At 4, we will go to Camp Viktoria, then dinner, then back to Camp for Disco, if all goes well.

We may have the opportunity to teach tomorrow at Camp but we do not know yet. Please pray for God to open this door.

Oh, I found out when I got here that my son, Trent had been sick with fever this past week. Possibly strep. Please pray that no one else gets sick and that we all stay healthy and strong. The moms on the trip took great care of him and he's doing great now.

New update from Carol

All is going great! We have all made very good friends with the orphans and many village kids, and are having a great time with Bible stories, crafts, and games! An extra blessing today was the supervisor telling us that they were so happy that we came back. The kids have been looking forward to it because they love to play with us and the teachers love it because they get a rest. Everyday we have more village kids come also. Tomorrow we will be sharing the gospel message so we really need your prayer support! Can't wait to share pics when we get back to Odessa.

Thank you, Jesus

I just thought I would take a moment and blog my thank you to God out here on the Internet. I ask for prayer many times and I know people are faithful to pray. Every year our team has to raise funds for the trip and every year God is faithful to meet our needs.
It would be amazing to see the number of people that God used to fund this trip. I don't know if it would even be possible to know how God orchestrated it all and how many people were used by Him. We have heard testimony after testimony of how the givers were blessed or how God made the gift possible when someone had nothing to give. The Spirit was teaching one family about tithing and they saw the promises that His Word spoke about and did not give just one time, but two times. One faithful supporter came to the school after the team left and found out how much was still needed for each person who was not able to raise all the support they needed and she covered the remaining amount. God just never ceases to amaze me with His care for us.

Not that I should have a favorite gift or story, but if I did (and I think I do) then this would be it.
My oldest son, Mike, started going on this mission trip with SA Christian School since the very very beginning of our trips. I think it was 8 years ago...maybe 9; I'm starting to lose track. On that trip, he met a little girl named Anya, who he became very close to. Every year that he went back, he would see Anya and hang out with her. Meridith (Mike's friend) also loved Anya and they would let her listen to their Christian music and talk about Jesus and spend a lot of time with her. One year, when Anya was about 14 or 15, she was adopted and we are all so happy that she has a wonderful Christian family who adopted two girls from Ukraine. But the part of the story that I was getting at is that Anya has given money to support the mission trip this year and also in the past. I just think that speaks volumns of what God has done in her life and what the relationship means to her. She feels so strongly about the mission trips that we take there that she wants to help support us financially. Praise God for this and thank You, Jesus!
What an amazing opportunity to be used to reach kids who need Jesus. It doesn't matter where they are. They could be here in San Antonio or way across the world, but when we allow God to use us to give or to go and tell it is amazing!
We know that we can do nothing without God and we would not attempt to make these trips without God leading the way. He gets all the glory and praise. May He be glorified.


So, I just wanted to thank all of you who prayed for our finances to be raised and I wanted to thank all of you who gave. I want to praise our Savior for meeting our needs once again, as I had no doubt that You would!

Please continue to keep our team in prayer as they teach the kids in the village about Jesus. Thursday will be the death and resurrection of Jesus and they will be teaching about Salvation. Satan will not like that so he will be trying to destroy in any way he can. Please pray for unity, good health, the armor of God, protection, good weather, and that they will not be feeling too tired.
Friday they will leave the village after lunch and head back to Odessa. I will also be in Odessa on Friday and I cannot wait!

First few days of the mission trip

Group walking to church and then in front of Igor's church.

Despite a few mishaps, including Carol (our leader) and one of the teens missing the flight to Odessa from Vienna due to a lost passport, we finally made it to Ukraine. We were welcomed by our comrad, Igor the great. The following day we visited the children from Camp Victoria at the World War II Memorial Park. It was so great to return to the kids we knew. It was even greater to watch God work through the new team members. They were all naturals and became very close friends with the orphans quickly.

The two team members who stayed in Vienna arrived and met us at the mall in Odessa and we were all able to return to Camp Victoria and hang out with the children for awhile. One girl thought Colin was Michael Jordan because he could dunk the basketball so easily.

We went to Igor's church today and are about to take off for the village. God has blessed us with great food, weather, and new friendships so far this trip. We are excited to see what He has in store for us the rest of the trip.

Brian

(Pam writing now) We also received a message from message from Carol today (Sunday) letting us know that they made it to the village, got settled into their rooms, and had their first meal. They are so ready to meet the kids tomorrow and hope that word spreads quickly through out the village that they are there. Many kids will come to the orphanage to be with the Americans and hear God's Word. They love playing the games, doing the crafts, and learning the Bible stories. Normally the kids from the village do not come to the orphanage, but they do come when the Americans are there. It's a blessing to watch them help the orphans with their crafts.

On the count down! Special prayer request.

Our mission team leaves in 2 days. We have had a lot of planning meetings, shopping trips, and have packed up all the supplies and donated clothes and flip flops. We have been asking God for His direction as we continue to make plans and work on schedules and last minute details.


Now we have a special prayer request. On our last 2 trips to Ukraine, we have spent the first half of our time in a little village called Nikolaevka, where we stay in an orphanage and teach the orphans and the children in the village about Jesus and His love. The second half of the trip is spent in Odessa where we go to Fontanka (the boys juvenile detention orphanage) and the camp for 2 orphan schools. We just received word that Nikolaevka's control audit office is there this week and if they are not finish with the audit before we get there, we will not be able to go to the village.
Our prayer is that the audit will be over and that we will still be able to go to Nikolaevka. But, we also know God is in control and His plan is perfect.

Above all, we pray that God's plan for this trip will prevail and that we would have wisdom to know what that is. We pray for peace as we wait on His timing and on His direction.