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.