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.