Passion for the Orphans In Ukraine

Sharing about our trip in Chapel

2011-10-11T20:14:00.001-07:00

This Thursday, our Ukraine team will be sharing about the trip from this past summer. We love when we get to do this. We are so excited to come back to school to share all the things that God did on our trip. He changes us and shows us His power. He leads and guides us every step of the way. Just when we think we may be coming up to a closed door, God shows us that He really wants us to take a step in faith.

He wants us to take a risk and be obedient and in that, be persistent. It is amazing what happens when these three components come together. If you take a risk without being obedient.....disaster. If we are obedient but are not persistent...then we fizzle out. Our pastor has been preaching about this while our church has been examining Saul and David in the Old Testament. I can look back on our trip and see how many times God called us to take a risk. So many things looked impossible and we would wonder if it was a 'no' from God. We would pray about it and know that God was telling us to take a step.

At chapel, we will share many stories of the risks, the obedience, persistence, and the result of the journey. God wants to use us. We just have to be willing.

God wants us to take care of the orphans, so of course He is going to make a way.

We are already planning our next trip for this coming summer. The kids know we will come back if it is at all possible.

Remember you can go to YouTube and search "SACS Ukraine mission trip and find previous trips.

There will hopefully be a new one for Thursday. I've had more technical difficulties than you can imagine. But....I will be persistent and will keep trying to get a new DVD made for Thursday! I can tell you this, if there is a DVD on Thursday, it will be a miracle from God. :) I'm not even joking.

Will you help a child go to camp?

2011-07-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

My dear friend, Alyona, who I've known for 7 years, sent out an e-mail from Ukraine that I would like to share with you. Alyona used to be the leader of our mission teams as we served in Ukraine. As Alyona and her husband have become more involved with children's ministries, camps, and the orphans, and as she began helping people with adoptions, and has begun raising a family of her own, her ministries began changing and she could no longer lead our groups. We still go and see her every year and love to sit and visit and hear what God is doing in her life. It is wonderful to see her family grow and are excited that God has blessed her with a little boy (almost 2) and a sweet baby girl. Alyona's husband, Slavik, is very much a leader in the children and camp ministry and loves these kids and serves with all his heart.

Below you will find an e-mail with a short update about what God is doing. You will also find a very easy way that you can help a child go to camp this August. I know we will be doing this. Even if you can give $5.00 or $20.00, I know that God will multiply that gift....as I always say....just as He did with the loaves and fishes. I've seen Him do it time and time again. You will be as blessed as the child who goes to camp.

Dear Friends,

Greetings to all of you who have touched our lives and ministry in so many ways. Many of you have witnessed the work we are doing here in Ukraine and many have supported us through prayers and financial means. We are grateful to God for your partnership in the ministry and are excited to share with the vision God has laid on our hearts.

Our teams have been working throughout the Odessa oblast. Our entire ministry encompasses a clown ministry in hospitals and orphanages, puppet theatre, one day evangelistic programs, kid’s festivals, Kids Games and Family Games, collecting clothing for orphans, day camps, extreme camp for boys, working with the kid’s orphanage at the women’s prison, Sunday Schools in the villages, and visiting orphans in many orphanages to bring hope to the children. We have also distributed Christmas gifts, Valentines, stickers, and other small gifts to the children in partnership with other missionaries.

We would like to share with you that this August we are going to have a camp for the children of Odessa and Odessa region. The theme will be Robin Hood. The children will be coming from mostly non-Christian homes. We also hope to invite many children from villages. These children come from families who are not able to pay for the camp and we would like to ask you to help. Besides them we are inviting at least 20 boys from Fontanka detention school for boys. Those are mostly orphans. Total number of children that we are expecting is 150. Almost half of them won't be able to pay for their ticket.

The camp will be held from Aug 11 – 20 in the beautiful forest where the children will be staying in tents. The price for the camp (including transportation, food, crafts, and all activities) is $60 for one child, just $6 a day.

We are really looking forward to ministering to children through the camp and pray that these 10 days will have a big impact on the children. Please consider how you can help.

Donations can be sent to:

Harvest International PO Box 6690 Ocala, Florida 34478-6690. www.harvestinternational.org

Please note in the memo part of the check Slavik and Alyona Puzanov, Robin Hood camp.

We highly appreciate your interest and support in any way!

Slavik and Alyona

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

2011-06-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

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! :)

2011-06-22T00:09:00.000-07:00

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.

2011-06-22T00:04:00.000-07:00

Great weekend!

2011-06-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-14T22:22:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

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.

2011-06-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

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.

God, we need a miracle!

2011-04-14T08:44:00.001-07:00

We received some tough news yesterday from the man who arranges all the travel for us every year for our mission trips. Because of all the gas and oil prices going sky high all over the world, which is also affecting the Euro/Dollar exchange for us, our ticket prices are going up $250 each. That is a total of $3,825 increase for our 17 tickets. Wow...that is a lot of money especially considering the fact that we haven't raised the needed funds yet. Does this surprise God?
NO! I believe He has this all under control. However, we still have to take action. The first thing we need to do is ask for prayer. We need to pay for the tickets and we need to raise the rest of the money for the trip itself and the supplies and all that is involved with the trip. Unfortunately, it costs to stay in the places we stay, it costs to eat, and to travel once we are there. We gladly pay our translators for the many, many hours they sacrifice. They leave their families, and even their jobs sometimes, while we are there. They have a deep desire to serve Jesus and minister to these children. In order for them to do this with us, we must pay them for their time or they could not come with us every day, all day long. The first week we are in Ukraine, they stay away from home in a different village, which is about 2 1/2 hours away from their city. All this to say, we must raise the rest of our money, but this is nothing unexpected or new.
God's timing always tests our faith. Our fleshly desire is for the finances to be taken care of way in advanced so that we can rest in that and take a deep sigh. Whew! That would be nice. Then we could concentrate on planning the Bible stories, crafts, games, songs, and what to pack. God doesn't usually work that way; at least He hasn't chosen to work that way in our group in the past. Instead, we put our rest in Him and take our deep sigh in His arms, knowing He has everything in His control. We always say we trust Him. We always say His timing is perfect. We do believe this but that doesn't mean it's easy, does it.
SO, my friends, I write this to ask for your prayers. Our mission team needs a financial miracle. The tickets need to be paid for by Monday, April 25th (if I am incorrect about this I will correct it later but this is the way I understand it as of now). We can continue to raise the rest of our funds, but first, we have to be able to purchase those tickets! Thank you for your prayers! God is able.

Father Daughter Banquet 2011

2011-04-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

What a special night at our Father Daughter Banquet! The girls came all dressed up in their finest and their daddies didn't look too bad either. : ) The theme was like a Masquerade Ball and dads and their daughters had a lot fun with that. We talked about not hiding behind a mask and, instead, being all that God has for you to be. We gave away bookmarks with several verses about being complete in Christ. The girls played a game with their dads to see how well they knew each other. We have done this every year and it is a lot of fun to watch them interact with each other as they played. Some couples were up on stage and the rest of the families played the game at their tables. After the first question was asked (What is your daughter's favorite color?) a little girl near where I was standing exclaimed to her father, "We went over this in the car! How could you miss this?!?!" Apparently, Dad did not get the correct answer and obviously, they knew this game was coming. : ) We had a lot of special talent during the evening. "Justin Bieber" made a special appearance and "sang" (pretended to sing) "Pray", along with his band. One of the guys re-wrote and sang, "You Smile, I Smile", as a Daddy Daughter song and another one of our teenagers sang a song about daughters. This years' Ukraine mission team has a very talented group of musicians. I will be posting video of the songs as time permits. I am not posting many pictures; I do not want to post pictures of the little girls since this goes out to anyone. The girls loved taking pictures with "Justin". They thought it was pretty cool to surround him and take a million pictures! He was good sport to sit and smile for at least 30-45 minutes with a bunch of silly, giggly girls. He knew it was all about them that night so he didn't mind. The evening ended with a special dance. Those of us who were there to serve and make the night a success, just stood there in tears as we watched this precious time. These are memories that the daughter will cherish forever. Something tells me they are memories that the dads will never forget either. Thank you Jesus for making this night so special. You are so good to us. To see pictures of the banquet click on:

father daughter 2011

Battle of the Bands and Father Daughter Banquet

2011-03-25T08:34:00.001-07:00

The Ukraine Mission Team had a great night of rockin' it out last month at the high schools' annual Battle of the Bands contest. Several of the high school students came out to play their guitar, sing, or be part of a band that night. A large group of students and parents and teachers came out to show their support. (some wearing ear plugs) : )
All proceeds went to the mission team to help pay for the trip to Ukraine that is coming up this summer.
SA Christian school has a huge heart for these kids and continue to do anything they can to help to support this mission.
I hope to post pictures of this event.

Our favorite fund raiser does not even feel like a fund raiser. Our team is blessed so much when we serve at this event. For the last few years, we have held a Father Daughter Banquet; what a special evening it has been for these daddies and their "little" girls. Our upcoming banquet is on Saturday, April 2, 2011. If you would like to see the flyer (because it's so cool) with the information, you may go to www.sachristianschools.org click on "edline" then scroll down to click on Father Daughter Banquet.

All proceeds go towards the mission trip.

If God lays it on your heart to pray for this mission trip, please do. Please pray for God to prepare the hearts of the kids who are going to minister to the orphans. Please pray as we know God is already preparing the hearts of the children of Ukraine. We have confidence that the seeds that have been planted will continue to grow and we also have confidence in believing that more seeds will be planted. Pray with us that God will bring many to His Salvation this summer. Last June several of the 15 and 16 year olds accepted Him. These new believers were teens whom the SACS team has had a relationship with for the last 5 - 7 years and God's Word came alive in them that summer.

If God lays it on your heart to give financially, that would be a blessing as well. We believe, with all our hearts, that God multiplies each gift. He will use each gift for His glory. Although the fundraisers may raise between one or two thousand dollars, it doesn't go very far once it is split up between 20 people The airline tickets alone are $1900 each (actually, I think they may be more than this now). Every dollar counts though, because God blesses it. The mission team appreciates every amount that is given and they especially appreciate the prayers.

Any financial gift can be sent to

SA Christian School

19202 Redland Rd Building F

San Antonio, TX 78259

Checks may be written to SACS with Ukraine missions written in the subject.

May God bless you as you bless others.

A must read!

2011-02-11T13:58:00.001-08:00

This is a must read for those of you who have supported the Ukraine missions, whether with finances or in prayer. God is showing us some seeds that have been planted. What an amazing God He is that He allows us to see a glimp of what He is doing in the lives of His little lambs.
The Fumia's have posted some exciting updates that you will love reading about. Please take the time to go to http://fumia.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-could-we-not-give-it-away-so-freely.html and don't forget to continue praying for them and the Medley's as they go through this adoption process.

2 adoptions! : )

2011-01-26T08:11:00.000-08:00

While our mission team was in Ukraine this summer, we met and fell in love with two sweet little girls who are being adopted right now. We fell in love with all of them of course, but I am excited to report that these two girls are in the process of being adopted. One girl is Masha; her family just arrived in Ukraine a few days ago. Right now they are in Kiev waiting for one of their court dates but soon they will be in Odessa meeting their new daughter. Please join me in prayer as they go through this long process. Many things can make this process difficult, emotional, and long but God is in control and they are leaning on Him every step of the way. The Medley's web address is www.ComposingTheMedleys.com. Read along if you would like to keep up with how things are going and know more how to pray.
Another little girl, Natasha, is being adopted by the Fumia's. This is their second trip to Odessa to adopt. I first met the Fumias when they adopted Grisha a few summers ago. It was such an exciting thing to meet my American friends in person for the first time while we both happened to be in UKRAINE! We had been in contact with each other on the computer only and were happy about getting to meet in person. We met again in Florida this past summer when we attended a very special event for a very special missionary, 84 year old Babuska Lela, who has since gone to be with the Lord.
Although the Fumia's are still short several thousand dollars, they know, without a doubt, that God will supply their need. To see the Fumia's webpage, please go to WWW.Fumia.blogspot.com
A little side note.... go to this blog if you are interested in purchasing a truck. You can purchase a truck and help this family with their adoption all at the same time.

Personally, I love keeping up with the blogs of the families who go to adopt. The families take a huge step of faith into a very unknown world. They do not know what waits for them. The money they must come up with for the whole adoption process is too overwhelming to even think about it. The commitment to raise the pre-teen or teenager is unthinkable in the world's eyes (and a bit scary to the parents doing the adopting). The finances to add another child to their household is stressful to say the least. However, I read these blogs and see the faith that God gives them as they need it. I read about the grace God supplies through the rough times. I am blessed when I read how God uses others as they are blessed when they give. I witness the miracles He does to make things happen. It's always an amazing journey to walk through with them.

Getting ready for another trip!

2011-01-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

San Antonio Christian School has a new team preparing for their 8th mission trip to Ukraine. There are some who are returning for 2nd, 3rd, or 4th+ time back. Many are going for the very first time. Currently, there are approximately 20 on the team and they are all very excited as they anticipate what God is going to do.

Now is a time of planning, fund raising, and meetings. The team meets every week to get ready for this mission and to seek what God has planned for them. They will begin weekly Russian lessons soon as well. It's great to know a few words even though we have wonderful translators when we get to Odessa, Ukraine.

The team is working on raising funds for the trip. Each member must raise about $2,900 to cover the cost of airfare, travel in Ukraine and Austria, food, water, hotel, craft supplies, translator fees, and any need that the team feels they can meet while they are there.

One of the biggest struggles about going on such a trip is raising this huge about of money. However, there is no doubt about Who holds this money in His hands and Who is sending this team to do His will, therefore there is no worry about raising the funds needed.
Here are some things the team is already doing and will be doing in order to raise what is needed:
"Parent Night Out" nights are held at the school several times throughout the school year. Parents drop their children off for the evening and the Ukraine Mission Team takes care of the children .
In February, the school's annual "Battle of the Bands" takes place. Students get their bands together (all styles of music) and come to ROCK OUT all evening. This is the first time that proceeds will go to Ukraine missions ....... Our school has a heart for the orphans in Ukraine! Thank you Jesus!
Everyone on the team sends out letters to their loved ones asking for prayer and financial support. This is really the main way to raise support and of course, prayer is the most important support to receive.
The favorite fund raiser for the mission team, hands down, is the Father/Daughter Banquet. This banquet is as much of a blessing for those of us who participate in serving in it as it is for those fathers and daughters who come to the event. It is always a very special evening. Last year's theme was "Showers of Blessings". At the end of the evening the fathers had a special time of praying a blessing over their daughters and then completed the night with a precious father-daughter dance.

This blog post is just to let you know that another trip is in the making. Your prayers are very much appreciated. It is very important that no step is taken in the plans without God's hand guiding us.
If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to help this team go to Ukraine to minister to the orphans, please send your check to SACS @ 19202 Redland Road San Antonio TX 78259 and mark the check and the envelope Ukraine Missions. We believe that God will multiply each gift just as He did when he multiplied the loaves and fishes. He is in control.
As always,
THANK YOU for your prayers! God is the Creator of the universe and He cares for us so much. He cares for these orphans in Ukraine and He has put them forever in our hearts. We will continue to go for as long as He opens this door for us to go. So...thank you for your prayers and your support.
Check out the video to see what God did last year and see the awesome kids that are in Ukraine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h6gEi00QQo
Also, feel free to see the entries below to see more about last summer.

By the way.... Bill and Pam (Pam is the writer of this blog) may not be going on the trip this year. I have gone the last 6 years and have fallen so very in love with these kids. Bill has joined us the last 4 years and has also gotten all "messed up" in the heart. Because of this condition we find ourselves in, we feel God prompting us to adopt and we have started the process of adopting. We will not know the timing of our Ukraine court date any time soon, therefore we cannot make plans yet for the mission trip. It's hard to believe I won't be going with the team but maybe God's will make the timing all at the same time~

singing Worthy is The Lamb in both languages

2010-08-08T07:02:00.000-07:00

Singing "Worthy is The Lamb" in both lanquages in church. Worthy? DAH! Beautiful sound? DAH!

McDonalds with the kids

2010-08-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

The kids are just sitting, relaxing, and talking, while Mer takes everyone's order. What a relaxing time we had just hanging out with the kids that day.

Favorite day....taking the kids to church and McDonalds

2010-08-07T21:17:00.001-07:00

Favorite day in Odessa

2010-08-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

On this day, we were allowed to take 17 kids with us from Camp Viktoria to church. A few of our translators attend this church and told us about it. Their services are in English and Russian. The church was about 10 minutes away from camp, which made it possible for us to pick the kids up. Normally we go to church an hour away from camp because the church is near the place we stay. We visit 2 different churches that our translators go to. But these churches are far from camp, so we have never been able to even think about taking them with us before. This was an exciting day for the kids and it was a very exciting day for us too. It was also a huge door that God opened for us. We loved the music! Some of the verses were sung in English and some were sung in Russian. We enjoyed this service so much! Church was held inside an apartment building and we packed the room very full! After church we took the kids to McDonalds. We had a blast watching them eat and visit and play on the slide. They were so relaxed and full of smiles. We hated for the day to end. God did a mighty work that day. He opened doors and allowed us to take the kids to church and He opened the doors of many hearts. Many of these teenagers and preteens accepted Jesus by the end of the week. Our prayer is that someone will follow up with the kids who have no Christian church to go to. They have no way of getting there unless they ride the bus. Most are not allowed to do this but some are allowed to leave camp; especially if they have family outside the orphanage.

Nikolaevka pictures

2010-08-04T22:27:00.001-07:00

Pictures from our mission trip

2010-08-04T21:47:00.001-07:00

Adoption

2010-07-13T06:38:00.000-07:00

This is Alyosha and Eric. Sweet guys and full of love and kindness. I mention Alyosha later in this blog. He wrote me a precious letter and drew me beautiful pictures to remember him by. I will write the words of his letter at the end of this blog.

And this is Andrei, with my husband and daughter. I also mention in this blog. Andrei is in constant prayer for a family.

Our team has been back (the American half of our team anyway) a few weeks now and I think we have all recovered from jet lag. Jet lag is not the biggest thing we have to recover from though. The hardest part is the "grieving process" we go through. Part of our hearts are left in Ukraine and it takes a while to heal. Our thoughts are never far from the children we leave behind. Our love stays behind and our prayers are constantly being prayed for them.

As I have said so many times before, we fall instantly in love with these kids. That is one part that makes it so hard to leave them. But the reality is, we know what the future holds for them and that is the biggest reason we do not want to leave them there. If it were possible to take them with us, I know each of us would take the maximum number allowed and bring them home with us.

Some kids make it on their own when they graduate. My two friends, Vova, who just turned 20 last week, and Artyr, who is 21, are both doing pretty well. I think they are going to make it. And I pray they will begin going to the church that our translator, Ksusha, introduced us to while we were there. Surrounding themselves with Christian brothers and sisters will change their lives and give them the support they need.

I still need to add many many pictures from the trip to this blog, but before I do, I just wanted to talk a little about adoption. It is heavy on my heart.
One of "my boys", Marat, was just adopted. Praise God!!! : ) His sister, Alina, turned 18 just days after the papers were signed. If the papers were not signed in the courts before her birthday, she could not be adopted with Marat. Praise God for this family who is willing to take these two teenagers home with them and add them to the children they are already raising. They followed God's calling to adopt even though they have all the same reasons not to adopt as the rest of us.

Last summer a few other young teenage boys that I know were adopted as well. One family even adopted 4 siblings. These kids are doing great. They are learning English, they are loving their families, they are loving God, and they are adjusting so well. I know there are many adjustments that are being made and I know life is hard, but seriously, they are doing so awesome! In fact, two boys, Alex and Gisha (both in the same city) are on a mission trip to Nashville right now! Alex shared this with me on facebook right before he left and I was overwhelmed!! God brought these boys here to their new American families and now they are on a mission trip, serving Him! WOW!!! Did I mention they were just adopted LAST SUMMER!?!

All this being said, there are so many girls and boys who need a family. There are so many of the same kids year after year who tell us they are praying for a family. Those of you who know me know that I have a list of about 10 kids that I want to adopt and the list keeps growing every time I go over there. I think maybe I just need to move over there and build a huge house so that I can take care of them there. No....I'm not joking! : ) But, all in God's timing. He hasn't called us there full time... yet. YET.

I am adding some pictures of a few kids who would love a home. I am also going to write the words to a sweet letter that one of the boys wrote to me. I am not posting it to show the sweet things that he said about me, but I am posting it to show how sweet his heart is. His name is Alyosha. Another teenage boy I am posting a picture of is named Andrei. He is a boxer and he is one of the most kindest, gentlest kids there. I have seen him grow up all these years and I have always seen him treat kids with kindness. He is a Christian and he even goes to the church that we went to. He takes a bus and gets there himself. Every year he tells us that he is praying for a family. There are many girls too. Life for them after the orphanage is not good at all. A lot of them turn to prostitution to survive. Many end up on the streets if they don't make it in college. Life for the boys is not much better. Prison waits for a high percentage of these boys and so does life on the street.

As I post pictures from the trip in a later blog, you will see many faces of orphans who need a home. Some of these kids are not adoptable. Some have a mom who cannot take care of them or who chose to give them up. Some have grandparents that the child visits, which makes them unadoptable. In the village pictures, there are a mixture of kids in the pictures...pictures of kids from the village and pictures of kids from the orphanage. It is pretty easy to see the difference between the two, however. And as far as I know, the children in the orphanage in the village do not have family and are adoptable. My daughter, sons and I have added a village orphan to my growing list as well (he's on the "cover" of the blog).

If God is not calling you to adopt (and please do not assume He's not) please pray about how you can help these orphans. God does call us to help and love His orphans...actually, He commands it. If you can help someone adopt or help someone minister to the ophans, then please ask God to show you how to do that. Maybe He will call you to help those who have graduated from the orphanage (which is one of our passions but we have no great way of doing this yet) or maybe He will call you to help someone adopt a child. But maybe, just maybe, He is calling you to take one of these children in.
If you could make a childs life better, would you?

______Here is the letter that Alyosha wrote to me this summer:_______

Dear Pam,
I’m so glad to have spent with you these two years and got to know you better and you did the same about me. I saw your kind attention to people and wish them do the same to you (with love and kindness). You are so kind and pleasant to me.
You take care me with truth, gladness, and soul. Your smile helps me not to forget you. You’re the best friend in my life.
I’d like just one time to go to America and to get to know more about this country.
After spending a week with you my soul is full of joy.
I want to present you these three drawings to remind about me. I’ll pray about you every day and you’ll pray (please) about me.
I want you to stay here but it’s impossible. I want to say to you the kindest words, you’re so kind, beautiful, sweet, honest.
I wish you live for a long long time.
Love, Alyosha.

Last days in Ukraine

2010-06-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

We are heading home from Poland today and everyone is very much looking forward to seeing their families and sleeping in their own beds.
Here's a little update from the end of our time in Ukraine.
Our last day with the kids was Thursday and we were able to spend a lot of time with the kids. It was too cold for the Black Sea and the park, so the kids just stayed at camp. Because of this, we just went ahead and had our Bible School program in the morning. That was really cool because then we had our normal afternoon time with them as well. In the morning we talked about the Sword of the Spirit and did a summary of all the parts of armor that we had learned about all week. The kids used fabric markers to design their "Helmet of Salvation" hats (cute baseball caps). In the afternoon, we handed out New Testiment Bibles and the kids used the same markers to decorate their Bible covers. We also gave them all the booklet that we made which teaches all about the Armor of God. Thank you again, Tatiana, for translating that for us! It's full of Scripture and reminds of what the armor is all about. I think the kids will cherish these for years. Our hope is that they will read and re-read them and understand more and more about this gift that Jesus offers.

Due to the rain and very cold weather, we were not able to have our baptism. We were very disappointed, but again, knew that God was in control of all things.

While the kids ate their dinner, our team went to a restaurant that we had reserved a room in. We planned a special dinner and a special night to honor our translators and show them how much we loved and appreciated them. They are awesome. We love them dearly and could not do a thing without them. They are so great in filling in the gaps when we don't have the right words. When we are in a group or one on one, they are great at jumping in and letting us know who is saying what. They love these kids too and want them to know how much God loves them so they are great at helping us get the message across. When we can't explain something right, the kids never know it because our Ukrainian friends fix it all when they translate.
When we passed around small gifts to them that night at the restaurant, they surprised us with a very special gift of their own. One was a poster size calendar with a group picture of our team. An other was a DVD that Tolik made for us. It was complete with music and lots and lots of precious pictures from our time in the village. Of course I'll be posting it on here soon. For now, you can see it on my facebook page.
We left Friday morning for Poland and our translators met us at our hotel to say goodbye. That is always a sad time.....it's hard to leave the kids and it's hard to leave our friends. Igor came to the airport with us and Tolik ended up coming later because SOMEone forgot a certain important paper that was needed to get home (no....it wasn't me OR Carol). We were pretty early at the airport which gives us time to weigh luggage and make sure everything is ready. My sweet friend, Vova, was with us at the aiport too. He stayed with us (helped with luggage again) until we left to go through to the other sided of the airport. I hate saying goodbye to Vova but at least we can still stay in touch.
I will update about Poland later. I know noone wants to sit and read anything this long on the computer (expect maybe you parents who are dying to know how your kids are doing). But, will just say, Poland was AWESOME! It's beautiful and we were so relaxed and enjoyed our time so very much. Some friends of mine, Steve and Jen Lefever, spent the evening and the whole day with us Saturday and showed us all around. It was a wonderful time and a much needed rest. Thanks again guys!!!! We loved it!!!!!!
Heading to the airport in 2 hours!!!!!!

God is AWESOME!

2010-06-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at Camp Viktoria and at the park in the morning, we had some great one on one time with the kids and also were able to do our Bible story and singing/craft time with them. God has just opened that door so wide open for us. Fontanka door was closed but we know that because of that, we were able to spend twice as much time with the kids at camp. Spending time with them, playing with them, walking, talking, making necklaces, face painting, and everything else, helps us to bond closer together and helps the kids to really listen when we talk about having a personal relationship with God. There were so many individual stories shared last night of how God gave different people opportunities to share the Gospel and how the kids accepted Jesus in their little small groups or in their one on one times. So many kids and teenagers came to know Christ. Some of the teenagers are kids that SACS has had relationships with for 6 or 7 years so it is incredible to see the seeds that were planted years ago bloom and grow.
Today we are hoping that it is warm enough for the kids to be at the Black Sea. We are having a Baptism time. Some of our team members want to be Baptised (which was our sermon Sunday). We will open up this time to any of the orphans who have committed their lives to Jesus and also wish to be Baptised.
Also...Carol, Igor, and I are going to go to Fontanka today to give some gifts to the director. These are things that we had already planned on giving them and we are also giving them the crafts that they would have done if we were there.
Please pray for this time. I think it will go well and our prayer is that everything will be fine for next year when we come back. We pray that the door isn't closed to us forever.
Today is our last day with the kids. We want to continue to share the Good News and we want to be able to do our last lesson with them so that is another prayer request for today.
It will be a sad day of goodbyes and we will all be full of emotions. We will stay late at the camp so that we can spend as much time as possible. Saying goodbye to the kids is one of the hardest things we do on this trip. Our heart stays behind with them. We always let them know that God is still with them and that our love is with them. We remind them that they can pray to God anytime, anywhere, and He is there. He is their joy and reason for living and we want to leave them with that.
I never have time to re-read my blogs to check for spelling and grammar, so please excuse any mistakes. Everyone is downstairs at breakfast waiting for me and this is always done in a hurry but we want you to know how things are going so it is important to do even if it's in a hurry.
LOVE YOU ALL!

Wednesday...only 2 more days left

2010-06-22T21:42:00.000-07:00

There is so much to tell that I could never catch up in one short sitting but we have had some great times with the orphans.
We have spent a lot of time playing with them and also sharing the Gospel.

We went to see the kids at Camp Viktoria on Saturday and stayed late into the evening with them. We invited several kids to come to church with us for the next morning. One of our translators (19 year old Ksusha) goes to a church that speaks Russian and English and it is very close to the camp. The director gave us permission to take some kids with us. The next morning we had 17 very excited orphans with us and took them to church. We almost didn't even get to pull away from the camp though because there are strict laws about transporting kids on the bus and we were breaking all of them. Igor convinced our driver that we would pay the bribe that needed to be paid if we were stopped by police so he drove us to church. We were running a little late so they actually waited for us before they started their services. The church met in an apartment building inside one of the bigger rooms. It was packed. We had an awesome time of praise and worship and listened as they taught about baptism and the Lord's supper.
After church, we took the kids to McDonalds where they very happily chowed down on their hamburger, fries, and icecream. I can't wait to post those pictures!
Monday came and Satan attacked. We went to Fontanka (the boys detention orphanage) and had a great time teaching the boys and doing crafts. They were so excited to see us and even remembered the songs we taught them last year. Those of us who had been before were so excited to be reunited with some of the kids we have built a relationship with. I was extremely happy to see Viktor and he was just as happy to see me. He never left my side. The boy that Brian prayed with last year was with Brian every second as well.
After Fontanka we spent the afternoon at Camp Viktoria. We went to their program and then decided that since their program was over and they were free to do what ever they wanted, let's do OUR program! So....we did! It went great and the kids LOVED it...especially the crafts. Even the older teenagers and the summer teachers came and did the crafts.
On our way home Igor got a call from Fontanka. There was a huge misunderstanding that happened that morning that caused the director to have to tell us that we couldn't come back. They had several conversations through out the evening and we all prayed more that night than on the whole trip. Our hearts were sad and heavy and there was nothing else we could do to change the situation. That night, we decided we would have a praise and worship time because we know we are in a spiritual battle. We know satan doesn't want this message taught. We know he will continue to attack. BUT we know Who is in control. We know we are called. We know we are equipt through Him and we will praise Him because He is worthy.
Kim, one of the college students on the trip, lead us in song. Before she played the guitar she read Scripture and reminded us that Paul, who would have much rather have been preaching the Good News, was in jail. He didn't sit there wondering why God let this happen. He didn't sit there thinking "if only I did this different"...no, he sang praises to his God. So, we too will sing praises to our God just like Paul did.
Paul is the main character in all our stories with the Armor of God theme so it was a perfect reminder for us to praise Him.
Tuesday we went to see the kids at Camp Viktoria since we couldn't go to Fontanka. They were at the Memorial Park due to the cooler weather. While we were there, our teenagers did one of the skits that is set to music. It is a powerful skit that is very moving. That got in the middle of the park and turned on the music and we all sat there with the kids and watched them. This was a bit of a risk because they don't have the same freedom as we do. There is no freedom of speach or anything like that when you are out in a public place. You are not allowed to assemble and do a program in a public place. We took a risk and everything went great.
Later, at camp, we taught our story again and did our crafts. We never know from day to day if we will be able to teach so every time is so important. Today it is pouring down rain and we don't know if the kids will even be outside. As Bill and some of the others have been sharing Jesus with small groups around camp, they said they have never felt the spiritual battle so strongly. Satan doesn't like this but that only confirms to us that we are doing what God wants us to do. We are stepping out on faith, taking some big risks, and picking up our armor and going into battle.
Keep on praying! We know that without your prayers, there would even be more attacks.

Time in the Village

2010-06-17T05:04:00.000-07:00

Today is Thursday and our time in the village has been really fun.
Our kids have done a great job jumping in and spending time with the orphans. They have been playing soccer, volleyball, frisbee, drawing with sidewalk chalk, and making bracelets. After the first day, Carol and some of the translators and kids went around the village to invite the kids to come to the orphanage to have Bible school with us. Every day more and more kids have come. Last year we had about 100 kids all together. This year we have about half that but we are ok with that. We are being allowed to share God's love with the kids who come and we are having great small group times with them.
Without permission to have a program in a public place, we cannot have our "Bible school" atthe park in the center, so we are having in the orpanage. The orphanage director will allow us to have it there where she will be responsible for us. We were not able to get permission this year but since we made friends with the village kids last year, they heard we were back again and wanted to come to be with us even though we were at the orphanage.

The teenagers are sharing the story every day (with the help of the translators, or course). We are teaching about the Armor of God. Every day is a different story about how Paul put on a different piece of the armor. Today is the story about the Helmet of Salvation so we shared the message of salvation with the kids. There was a smaller group due to some rain we had this morning, but I think we'll have all the kids back this afternoon and we will repeat the message in our small group time.

One thing that has been really cool to see this year is that the village kids have been playing with the orphan kids. They have even helped them with their crafts or with the games we have played. They have seen the uncondional loved poured out from the team and they are follwing the example.

Those of you who have kids on this team would be proud to know how well your kids are doing. They are working non-stop. If they aren't playing with a child, they are preparing for a lesson or working on a skit or cleaning or just doing what ever needs to be done.
Tomorrow, we leave the village around 3:30 to head back to Odessa. Next week we will go to Fontanka (I CAN'T WAIT) and will teach our lessons every morning. We will spend time at Camp Viktoria in the afternoons.

I wish I could post pictures for you today but this will be a fast post. I am sitting at a little internet "cafe" in the middle of the center inbetween our sessions. I'll post pictures as soon as I can. Just know that everyone is doing great; no one is sick or too tired or homesick and all is well. Thank you for your prayers and please keep praying.

Safetly in Ukraine!

2010-06-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

We are in Ukraine safe and sound. Igor was waiting for us at the airport with two buses; one for us and one for our luggage. Well.....the luggage that made it. That's right...not all the luggage fit on our plane. Our plane was very comfortable and roomy but it was not big enough for all of our suitcases. Please pray that we will have all of our things by the time we leave for the village on Sunday. Most of the missing suitcases have our supplies for crafts and clothes for the orphans but some are also personal suitcases with our own clothes and medicines that are needed daily.

I had an awesome surprise at the airport. My sweet friend, who I met at the orphanage on my first trip, was the airport to meet us. Vova was there to greet us all with his smiling face. He helped us carry our things and helped load everything on the bus. Mike (who isn't going to be here until next week) met Vova on SACS very first trip to Ukraine 6 years ago. I think Vova was about 12 or 13 then. He is now 20 or 21 and works on a ship. We keep in touch on Facebook through out the year and we get to see each other every summer when we come back.

The rest of our evening will be spent back at the place we are staying. We will leave here in a few minutes (by here I mean McDonalds) and walk back to the "Kindergarden". We will eat dinner and then meet with the translators. It will be a wonderful reunion as always for those who have been before and we will also meet new members of the team (both American and Ukrainian). Oh, and how could I forget...Tolik also met us at the airport. He kept us very entertained while we waited for all the paperwork to be done for the delayed luggage.

We will keep you updated as often as we can. Thank you for your prayers.
OH...also forgot... We had to pay for 5 of the extra pieces of luggage in Chicago. They were none too happy about our extra luggage let me tell you. But, with Carol's sad eyes, explaining all about the orphans, and after they talked for over an HOUR about what to do about the extra luggage, they decided to charge us for 5 out of the 11. OK...we can handle that.
Thanks again for your prayers!!!
LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

We're off!!!!!!

2010-06-10T08:40:00.000-07:00

Our excited team is sitting at the airport right now "as we speak"!
This is, by far, our most stress free, problem free, airport morning ever. We met at the school, weighed our bags, loaded them on the bus, prayed, and headed off to the airport.
Carol talked to the people at the desk about our extra 50 pound bags and asked if they could wave the $50 charge since they were for orphans in Ukraine. Well....we should really never be surprised when God answers our prayers with a miracle, but WOW....They did NOT charge us extra!!!! NOW....they may charge us when we get there, but God has proven Himself over and over and we have faith that we will not be charged extra when we arrive in Odessa.
Thanks to Ben, Dan, and Mer for coming to help us this morning. We will miss you greatly!!!! Of course, we get to see Mer next week, along with Mike and Bill.
Thank you parents and grandparents too. We appreciate your prayers and encouraging words. Know that we will be taking very good care of your kids. We will care for them just as we care for our own; they are in good hands.

Last few days of planning

2010-06-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

Our team is leaving Thursday for Ukraine. We have been meeting together the last few days so that we can go over the lessons, skits, crafts, schedules, and all the details of the trips. We love our times of prayer and worship when we get together.

We have been packing our crafts and supplies and are almost completely ready to go. The international flights to Europe have changed their rules and now we have to pay for our 2nd 50 pound bags. This is an added cost, which is a real bummer, but God has provided the funds through His faithful servants, and we are able to take the extra luggage that we need to take all the things we need. We are also taking clothes that have been donated so we can leave them with the kids.

We have had another day of Russian lessons, animal balloon making, and packing. We have done all that we can do except what we need to do in our own homes (LAUNDRY AND PACK!!!).

Our hearts are ready and we pray their hearts are ready too.

Thursday morning, we will meet at the school and load everything into the school bus and head out to the airport. We will be in Ukraine on Friday. I already heard from my 20 year old friend Artyr that he will meet us at the airport just because he is excited to see us. He grew up in the orphanage and I have known him for 5 years. That seems impossible! I can't wait to see him!

We would like to thank those of you who have been keeping us in your prayers and thank those of you who supported our team financially. Without your support, this trip would not be possible.
May God pour His blessings on you in a special way for being faithful to His call.

awesome Mercy Me song

2010-05-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

I'm a huge Mercy Me fan and now I have another new favorite song. You know Mercy Me has a heart for missions when you hear them sing this song. They have many songs that show this heart but this song really captures exactly how we feel. Anyone who has ever stepped out and served in a way that can only be done through God being His hands and feet and voice and love through you will know exactly what this song is saying. It says it all. Please listen. Enjoy the video that my new YouTube friend has created.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKG3Pwr04A0

click on the link to watch.

Right around the corner

2010-05-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

The Ukraine mission trip is right around the corner. We leave on the 10th of June. Our tickets are bought so we are going! YEA!! First of all....may I just say WE CAN HARDLY WAIT! We are more and more excited the closer it gets. We are still short on funding despite the many fund raisers we have done through out the year. We are not panicked though, as we know God will provide. We are asking that you pray for us that we will do what ever God opens up for us to do to earn more. Also, if you can give, even a small amount, we know without a doubt, that God will multiply it and use it for His glory. He always does. The funds will pay for our lodging, food, payment for translators, craft items, supplies, and travel while we are in Ukraine. Our theme this year is "The Armor of God". We are purchasing NIV Russian Bibles. (another thing the funds go towards) The children are going to decorate their own Bible covers. Every day we will teach more about the armor of God and we will use Paul to show how he put on the different parts of the armor. An unexpectd cost we have this year is luggage. In the past we have been allowed to bring 2 50 pound suitcases. We use one for our personal items and one for crafts, supplies, and donations. This year, we can take one 50 pound suitcase only. This will really limit us, so instead of taking one only, we are still taking two, and will have to pay extra for the weight. If you can give financially, please write your check out to SACS and mark it for "Ukraine Missions" and mail it to: San Antonio Christian School @ 19202 Redland Rd Bld F San Antonio, TX 78259. Our deadline is June 1st for getting all our funds in. I forgot to mention that we each have to raise $2,800 and some of us are almost there and some of us are far from there. More than anything, we appreciate your prayers. Satan is attacking and does not want this trip to happen. Igor (In Ukraine) is working on his end on getting us in to the village and to the orphan camps and Fontanka so that we can teach the Bible stories and spend precious time with the kids. Please pray that we will be able to have this time (especially at Camp Viktoria).

Shower of Blessings

2010-05-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, our Ukraine mission team had our 3rd annual Father Daughter Banquet. It was a night full of blessings. Bill and Pam sang, "My Redeemer is Faithful and True", and a Sophomore, Alyssa Cavazos jammed as she sang, "I am Blessed." The theme of the night was "Shower of Blessings" so our speaker, Bert Neville (who has been a part of our team in the past)spoke to our fathers about blessing their daughters. There was a special time where the fathers read a blessing over their girls and prayed with them. They played a fun game and had a sweet time of dancing together at the end.
This is one of our favorite fund raisers we do during the year. We work very hard to make it a wonderful night and we are blessed as we serve and we pray that the fathers and daughters are blessed as they spend their evening together.

adopted orphans currently ministering in Ukraine

2010-01-20T21:25:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to share a blog with you. http://nasekos.blogspot.com/
Karina was adopted from Ukraine and is now there RIGHT NOW ministering on a short term mission trip. Another girl, Kristina (who was adopted and lives in Florida) joined Karina on this trip as well.
These two girls were best friends when they were in the orphanage and now they are together to share God's love to the orphans and tell the Good News of Jesus and His love for them.
I am praying for God to be glorified through this small team. I am so happy that they are there loving on these children. I wanted to share this with as many people as possible so that we could all be praying for them. I'm sure the girls are facing different emotions but I know God's will, will be done through them. I'm so proud of them for stepping out in faith and going where God called them to go. I pray great things happen through them. I pray the people they come in contact with (even the directors of the orphanages) will see the light of Jesus in them and that they, too, will want this gift of Salvation.
Someone told me last summer that what we do on our mission trips doesn't make a difference. Hmmm... I think they were wrong. Of course, I agree that what I do doesn't make a difference whether it's here or there. It's what the Father does through me. It's what God does through His children. I praise Him for this! Let's pray that God makes a difference through those who are there right now in His name.

YouTube video

2010-01-18T22:27:00.000-08:00

SA Christian School is busy preparing for this summer's trip. We are getting a new team together and working on getting plane tickets, translators, places to stay, and beginning to raise the necessary funds to get everything accomplished. Our major (and most fun) fund raiser is a Daddy Daughter banquet. We will be talking about how Daddy's can bless their daughters. We are planning to have this banquet in April. Just for fun, I'll probably post information and pictures about it as it gets closer to the day. It's precious to see the little girls and their daddy's walk in the room for their special night together.

Please pray for us while we begin to prepare the Bible stories that God wants us to teach, as well as the crafts, and activities. Pray for us as we raise money (the hardest thing to do of all). We want to be used by God and we want to be His hands and feet and show these children His love.
We feel led to wrap the stories and crafts around the Truths of the Armor of God. Our desire is for the kids to know they have God and His presence and His protection with them at all times. We want them to know they can guard themselves from the evil one. There is a LOT of work to be done to be completely ready.

I am trying to remember how to post a Youtube video on the blog page but it's after midnight and my brain is no longer working. So, I will copy/paste the address here. You can also go to Youtube and search "SACS Ukraine mission trip" and you should find last year's trip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqHb-PBZTnk

2009-07-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

Our mission team has been home for quite some time but thoughts of Ukraine and our kids are still with us at all times. The orphans are in our prayers constantly. We pray they know God is still with them even though we have gone home. We pray they understand that Jesus chose them to be on His "team" (one of the points we really tried to drive home). We wanted these children to know, without a doubt, that Jesus loves them, chose them, and will never leave them.

God answered our prayer about ministering at Fontanka. We were not real sure we were going to be able to go there. Igor made a few phone calls to the director and, because of their close relationship and because the director desires for these boys to hear the Word of God, we were allowed to go. The 2nd week our team was in Ukraine, we were able to go to Fontanka. We had only a few days to go there before we had to leave Odessa.

Time at Fontanka was precious. Last year there were 20 boys and this year there were 40. We made new friends and all of us who were together last year were very happy to see each other again. Every day we did relays, played games, taught our Bible story through skits or puppets and sang lots of songs. One of the boys, Viktor, even got up and led the group in "The wise man built his house upon a rock". I was so proud of him. These boys have been really learning and understand the Bible. Igor and Lela have been teaching these boys about God's love for the last few years. The director has even gone to the government and received permission to teach Christian principles at this detention center. He cares about these boys.

The kids love craft time and loved making balloon creations. They look us right in the eye and give us the biggest smile. They are full of love yet they are full of uncertainty and fear. Most of them have had a very hard start in life. Many were homeless and brought in off the streets. The streets are hard...they have to do what ever it takes to survive, so many have committed crimes and many had to have help with their drug and alcohol addictions. They are so young and still look very innocent. This life was not their choice. They need hope and they need help.

Our teenagers and adults saw them as the children of God that they are and were full of love for these boys. We loved hugging them and playing games with them. We gave them clothes that our friends, churches, and families donated. They couldn't say thank you enough.
We also left all our craft supplies with their art teacher. She was thrilled to receive this gift. She took us to their art room and showed us a huge display of things the boys have created. They are going to sell them in a craft show.
They also have a little orchestra now, which is new. They gave us a little concert before we left on our last day and we were so blessed. We bought a guitar to use while we were there so we gladly donated it as well.

We know God is moving in this this orphanage. He has plans for these boys and many of these boys have accepted Him as their savior and king. The one's who were saved last year still had His light shining in their eyes. Salvation is real and Jesus IS with them. They have His joy even in their circumstance. God loves them and we love sharing this love with them.

I will be posting some slide shows eventually. Until then, feel free to go to the Picasa web page where you'll see more pictures than you dare look at! As you look at them, allow God to speak to your heart about what He would like you to do for His children. He commands us to take care of them. Should we adopt? Should we give financially to missions? Should we go? Should we pray? I know God will speak to us. We just have to listen.
http://picasaweb.google.com/PamDeFrees

2009-06-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday. Happy Fathers Day to all you daddy's out there!
This morning in church our team sang "Mighty to Save" and "I Will Rise". Kimmi played the guitar and did an awesome job. Danny and Brian shared a testimony between songs and did an awesome job as well. One of our translators, Olga, sang a beautiful duet and also read a poem during the service. She did great!
After church we went home to eat lunch and rest. Alyona and the bus came to pick us up so that we could visit a farm. The farm is used to help support an orphanage and shelter. Tolik and his family go to this church and his family works hard on the farm. It was fun walking around looking at the pigs and the baby pigs and chickens. We ate fresh apricots and picked strawberries from the garden. We had a great time fellowshipping with Tolik and Slavik's parents. They are the sweetest people.

We're now at McDonalds (obviously since we're on the internet) and we'll leave soon to go play volley ball with the youth group at the church we went to this morning. After volley ball we will sing and worship together in the youth room. Most of the youth are college age and we had fun doing this with them last year.

Tomorrow we are hoping and praying that we can go to Fontanka to teach the boys who live there. We will sing, tell the Bible stories, do crafts, and play games. The director hasn't agreed to this yet but we are hoping he will. If all goes well, we will finish at Fontanka and go home for lunch. The team will head to Camp Viktoria for the evening. Most likely we will not get to have an organized teaching time. Our plan is to have small groups around the campus and talk and do crafts. I know God will bless this time with the kids and seeds will be planted.

God is good and we know His plans are perfect. We will go where He leads and He will be glorified. God is good....all the time.

the village

2009-06-19T12:27:00.000-07:00

What a week we had in the little village. It felt like we were back in the 1930's. It was quiet, slow paced, peaceful and beautiful. We stayed in an orphange but it was a different building than the orphans stayed in. If I understand correctly, there are usually orphans in the building we stayed in. They go to a family members home in the summer.
We walked everywhere we needed to go. The dining room was a 10 minute walk and we ate every meal there. The food was very different but it was good and filling. We thank God for providing. The park that we did our programs at was at least 15 minutes away.

The first night we arrived, we walked through the village with balloons and a tiger costume to invite all the village kids to the park. We arrived at the park Monday morning after breakfast and kids followed us down the road. There were school classes there already and they joined us in our groups until it was time for them to leave with their class.
Each American and translator teamed up and to have their own group of kids. We had 7 groups and lots of kids.
In the mornings we would teach the kids songs in Russian and in English. We played games and did activities. We left at 12:45 each day to walk back to our orphanage for lunch. Slavik would tell the kids what color to wear each day. Monday was red day. The kids were told that we would return at 5:00 and it was so very cool to walk to the park and see a sea of red in the park.
From 5:00 to 6:45 we did more of a VBS type program. We sang songs again and had our large group Bible story and then we broke up into our smaller groups to talk about the story and do a craft.
Each of us LOVED the kids in our group. I'm sure the families of the American team members will hear story after story about the kids they met. It is so neat to watch relationships form and to watch the kids pour themselves into the kids.
By the way. This team is incredible. We never have to ask them to do a thing. When something needs to be done, they jump in and do it. This is a hard working group of Ukrainians and Americans.
We've never been able to spend so much time with our translators in the past...we haven't stayed in the same place with them before and it was awesome spending so much time together. We had so much fellowship time together. Most nights we spent time worshipping together. One of my favorite sounds in the world is hearing English, Russian, and Ukrainian singing as we sang praises to the Lord together. We spent time singing and praying together.
There is so much more I can write but no one likes reading a long blog.
We returned safe and sound back "home" today and ate PIZZA as soon as we could (thanks Igor!!!). Then is was off to McDonalds (where we are right now) so we could e-mail family and update the blog. Oh, and of course, eat icecream and french fries.
Thank you for your continued prayers. Please keep them up. Brian was very sick one day and we need to pray that he wasn't contagious.
Families...your kids are great!!!!!! They are being used in a mighty way and giving every thing they have...physically and spiritually.

Time with our kids!

2009-06-13T12:38:00.000-07:00

We are having a great time with our kids. Yesterday we met the kids at the Black Sea. Many of them ran to the van to meet us and we had a sweet reunion. The kids led us to the water to watch them swim and dive and play in the water. Almost all the American teenagers jumped in from the high bridge. It is at least 15 feet high. The kids love jumping in from here and they love that the Americans do it too. I told Igor that if he would jump in, I would too. I'm safe.
Our new team members jumped right in (some from the bridge) but they jumped right in and made friends with the kids. They all already have a large group that have claimed them as "their own". It is awesome seeing our new kids and it is awesome watching the new team members fall instantly in love with the kids.
We spent the morning this morning pulling weeds at the House of Hope. I'll talk more about the house later...time is very short on the internet tonight.
The afternoon and evening was spent with the kids at Camp Viktoria. We brought supplies for bracelets and there were groups split up all over camp making bracelets.
Tomorrow we will go to church and head to the village to minister at the orphanage there. There are about 30 orphans. We will take the orphans to a park in the village and the kids in the village will join us. Pray that we will be able to lead many of the kids to Jesus. Maybe even the parents who will most likely be watching from the side lines.
I hope this little blog makes some sort of since. We have to go and I don't get to proof read.
Love ya'll. Thanks for your prayers! We feel them. Everyone is doing wonderfully!!!

The Team Has Arrived!!

2009-06-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

Latest word from the team, via a text message from son Ben with very little detail. But the main thing is they're all there and having the traditional first evening meeting with the translators.

For those of you who don't know about that, there is a "common room" on the second floor of the kindergarten at the top of the stairs. After arriving and getting settled in to the assigned rooms, catching a much-needed shower, and relaxing for a short time, the translators arrive and everyone meets in the common room. Reunions between team members who have made previous trips and translators who have served previously take place with much screaming and hugging....well, at least the girls scream, the boys are a little more reserved. Then everyone is introduced to everyone, and team members and translators seem to somehow decide who is going to be with whom for the rest of the trip. Any translator will translate for any team member when needed, but there seems to be an informal alliance formed that tends to perpetuate itself during the entire visit.

After that all takes place, there is prayer and maybe some singing. In deference to the semi-comatose condition of most of the team due to jet lag and exhaustion, the meeting doesn't go very late. Depending on what the next day's activities entail, necessary preparation is done and then everyone crashes. The beds (cots, really) are definitely sub par by American standards, and would be soundly denounced as injurious to normal humans by the Association For The Support of Healthy Backs, but nobody seems to have difficulty sleeping in them. Just as Benjamin Franklin said, "Hunger is the best sauce", I'd have to say, "Exhaustion makes a bad bed good."

Ben said the team will be going to Camp Victoria tomorrow morning. That's the summer camp (the Ukrainians are BIG on summer camps) where kids from a bunch of orphanages gather and have fun, so it's a conglomeration of kids from a conglomeration of different facilities. It's walking distance from a beach on the Black Sea where the kids, and inevitabily members of the team, go swimming. The kids are absolutely blown away that Americans will swim with them and play with them in the water, even though sometimes it's so cold they end up with blue lips.

I'm also told that Internet access, spotty at best, will be even more difficult during this trip. In the past the team was able to use the computer in the kindergarten in the evenings, but for some reason that isn't going to be easy this year....I do not know why. At any rate, as I receive email updates I will post them to this blog. Pam may also post, but if the connection is poor it is a very slow, difficult thing to do; much easier to send me emails and I'll post.

There are three photos included with this update. They were all taken during the trip two years ago (the last time I went) but they'll give you some idea of what the places look like. One is of the common area, and two are of the beach at the Black Sea.

That's all for now. Pray for the team.

Bert

They're Off!!

2009-06-10T08:34:00.001-07:00

Pam Defrees asked me to help her with the blog while she's on the trip since sometimes it is difficult to update from Odessa due to poor (slow) Internet connectivity. If that's the case, she'll email me and I'll then add whatever she emails to the blog, so one way or the other we should be able to keep it current.

This morning's send-off went very smooth. Baggage weigh-in in Mrs. McGilvray's classroom, some minor shuffling of stuff from one bag to another, then loading the bags onto the bus, prayer for the trip, quick trip to the airport, unloading, check-in, and that's that! All the months of planning, hard work, and prayer culminated in this beginning. What an exciting time! All those who came for the send-off who had been to Odessa on earlier trips were sad they weren't going, a testimony of how wonderful the experience is.

The team will covet our prayers.....let's just bathe this entire trip in it.

Later,

Bert Neville

It's time to go!!!

2009-06-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

Our team has been working hard, planning our trip to the Ukraine. We leave the day after tomorrow! We just can't believe it! We are so excited we can hardly stand it.

We know God is planning something huge this summer. We don't know what all He has planned but we know it's bigger than we can even imagine!

The way God supplied our finances has just blown us away. He has told us over and over again that He is our provider. Out of the 14 people we have on our team, four of them are in my family.

We knew that it would be impossible to raise enough money for the four of us to go but we asked God to do the impossible. My oldest son, Mike (known as Misha in the Ukraine) is not going on this trip. It will be very different with out him. He has gone since the very first trip....before any of the rest of us even thought about going! My husband will be joining us for 10 days, Dana, our 18 year old will be going on her 3rd trip, and our son, Brian, who is 16, will be going with us for the first time. Every check we recieved to help support our trip was so appreciated. As soon as we received a check, I would thank God for it and I would thank Him for using the person who sent it. With every gift, I asked God to multiply it just as He did when He fed the 5,000 men on the hillside. WOW...did He ever answer that prayer. We were only about 1/4 of the way there and we only had one month to raise the rest of the support we needed. We asked God to do the impossible. God arranged one of His cool "divine appointments" and sent a friend to me that I had not seen in a few years. She asked me if I was going back to the Ukraine this summer and I (very excitedly) told her yes. She told me to send her a support letter. A week or two later, she completely blew me away by calling me and telling me that she and her husband felt that God was leading them to financially support the FOUR OF US!!! WOW!!! God is incredible! This family is incredible! I was so excited that God answered our prayers in an even bigger way than we could have ever imagined!

We have 5 brand new people on our team this summer. They are ready to step out of their comfort zone and "drop their nets" and follow where Jesus leads them.

Let me share with you some details about our trip so that you can know what we'll be doing and how you can be praying.

We will arrive in Odessa, Ukraine on June 11th at 2:00 pm. We'll have dinner with our translators and discuss what the next few weeks will be like. We love our translators...they are part of our family so it is always a very big reunion when we get back together again.

The next two days, we'll go to the boys' orphanage that we went to last year, called Fontanka. There are 20-30 boys there. We will also go to Camp Vikotoria to see our sweet kids that we have known for several years now. We will see old friends and make new ones. We will even get to meet some Americans who are there adopting kids that we know and love! These families and I have been keeping touch for a year or two as they have been going through the long, hard (but so worth it) process of bringing their precious children home. Some of their kids are even in pictures from last years' pictures.

This summer will be different than any other. On Sunday, after church, we will head to a little village about 2 hours away from Odessa. There is an orphanage there that is very excited that we are coming. We will actually stay in the orphanage with the kids. The director is willing to give us every morning and evening with the kids to do our Bible stories, songs, crafts, activities, and games. We are looking forward to see what God will do in the orphanage as well as in the village.

On Friday, we will leave the village and head back to Odessa. Saturday we will see the kids at Camp Viktoria and go to the Black Sea with them. The rest of our time in Odessa will be at Fontanka and Camp Viktoria. Please pray that we will be able to have an organized program time at the Camp. We have been welcome to come the last few years and promised this teaching time, but have not been able to teach or do activities there. We still love going there and playing with the kids and spending time with them. God still works through us to show His unconditional love even with out the "planned program". Still, kids were led to the Salvation of Jesus.

We leave Thursday (or Wednesday?....sorry...I don't have the calendar in front of me) to go to Vienna, Austria, where we'll spend a few nights to recover a little and get ready to come back home.

Thank you for caring for orphans and thank you for your prayers.

Oh, and I can't leave with out talking about Lela. Lela is the 84 year old missionary who has served faithfully in the Ukraine since she was 69 years old. She fell a few months ago and broke her hip. She had to return to Florida for surgery and recovery. This trip will not be the same with out her. Everyone loves their Babushka Lela so much and she LOVES LOVES LOVES them with the love of Jesus every second of her life! We love you Babushka and we are praying for you!

another trip coming up!

2009-02-07T11:06:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let you know that we will be going on another trip to Odessa, Ukraine this summer. We are very excited as we make plans for this summer. We will leave San Antonio on June 10th and will return on the 27th. We will be going back to Fontanka (the boys orphanage) and back to Camp Viktoria. We pray that we will be able to teach Bible stories, sing, and do crafts at camp this year. There is a possibility that we will minister in a little village as well. We are praying for God's guidance as we make our plans.

On February 21st we are having our 2nd annual Father Daughter Banquet. That was so much fun last year!

A little side note....one of our translators, Tolik, is here in SA. He will be staying a few years attending college. We are so happy to have him here! Tolik is one of my "Ukrainian sons" so I am loving that he is right here in my own little town.

All I really want for Christmas is a family

2008-12-23T21:25:00.000-08:00

I can't help but think about the orphans all around the world when I hear this song. It always makes me cry and I think about "my kids" in the Ukraine. That's all these kids ask for. This is what they pray for.....a family. They desire the unconditional love of a mom and dad. They long to be loved and cared for. Are you called to adopt? Are you called to help those who want to adopt? Please allow God to speak to your heart on what part you are called to do. In God's Word, He tells us to care for the orphans. He loves them so much and desires for us to love them too. (watch the video with the little boy in the picture...they all have the same song but it's the official video)
Merry Christmas!

adoption

2008-10-20T07:19:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to find out that some of the older kids that I know in Odessa are in the process of being adopted! A few weeks ago we found out that our Anya was being adopted. Another teenage girl is also being adopted by this famiy. I am so thankful to God that these girls now have hope and now have a future. They are being adopted by a loving Christian couple who had not actually planned this for thier life. I am adding a little section of their blog (http://www.doctordavid.wordpress.com/) below. The family who is adopting Anya and Nastya first heard about Nastya from a lady who spoke at their church. Here is what he writes about what God did to his heart:
How did it come about that I went for Nastya? Because a young woman came to my church a year ago last July with a picture of little Nastya and told the story of what was happening to the children at Internot #4 in Odessa. After I knew what was happening there, I could not say no to what God wanted to say to me in my heart. There is something about orphans and God, I think. Orphans must be close to God’s heart. I think it would be hard for a Christian to turn their back on an orphan in need.
I could not say no to God, now that I knew what was needed. I held the card, the one with the picture of Nastya, in my hand. She was a child who was just a picture to me, a child who lived on the other side of the world. I held her card, looked at her and it was clear to me what needed to be done. There was no one coming for Nastya, unless I went, I knew it. It would be me, or she would be left alone. It was very simple, really, in my mind. I must go.
I was not looking for this or planning for this. My life took a definite different direction, but it was as clear and as obvious to me as it would be in helping someone up who just fell down on the ice in front of you. You don’t expect it, you don’t plan on it but when it happens you just do it as naturally as if you sneezed. You just do it because it is in front of you. That is what it was like, this choice to go for Nastya.

There are so many children who need to be adopted. Once they are 16, they cannot be adopted. They finish school and leave the orphanage to live in a "dorm" to
A few more updates about children you are praying for:
Please continue to pray for Vova D and a family to decide to adopt him before his 16th birthday on Oct 27th.
Please pray for the families who are still waiting to be invited to Ukraine to complete their adoptions and for the children who are waiting.
Vladik S has been sick a lot lately and does not look very good. Please pray for his health.

Vladik needs to be adopted as well. I may have posted pictures of him on the blog in the summer. He broke his elbow while we were there and we visited him in the hospital. I'll post them again just in case I didn't earlier.

Valik is found!

2008-09-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

Praise God and thank you for your prayers! I don't know any details at all yet, but Valik has been found. Artyr sent my Ukrainian son, Igor, a message on facebook telling him to tell me that he found Valik. I wish I knew more but I'm so thankful that he has been found. God is so good!!!
Sunday, in church, we were singing, "You are God Alone". God spoke to me so strongly during the song. He reminded me that He is on His throne and He is with Valik and that He would take care of him. He asked me to trust Him. I still prayed non-stop for Valik but I had the peace of knowing God was taking care of him. Of course, I knew that, but wasn't really believing it in my heart. It's hard when you are so very far away and can't be there to do anything. It's wonderful to know that God is everywhere and He cares about everything in our lives. I am also so thankful to all of you who were praying.

Valik

2008-09-05T17:31:00.001-07:00

Hello Prayer Warriors,
I am asking for some prayer for one of the boys I've grown very close to in Odessa, Ukraine. His name is Valik and he's 13 or 14 years old. I'll post some pictures of him so you can put a name to his face. His half brother, Artyr, and I were talking on Skype earlier this evening. [Skype is a free program which allows you to talk on the computer with a microphone and/or video camera. Very cool.]Artyr told me that Valik is missing. He had been visiting his grandmother and now is gone. He had left Camp Victoria ealier this summer to be with his grandmother. He visits her on the weekends I think. According to the director of the orphanage, Valik took clothes that did not belong to him. Artyr tried to get the clothes back but wasn't able to. Artyr's English isn't great and I have no Russian skills so I don't always understand all the details. What I understand is...Valik is missing. He's not at school, not at the orphanage, and not at his grandmother's. Artyr has looked at the police station and he looks for him on the streets and has not found him. Many of the boys are tough and street wise but Valik is sweet, gentle, and kind and I can't even imagine him out on the streets. Please pray for his safety and that he would return to the orphanage.
Artyr is one of the young men who may be coming to school here in San Antonio. He and Vova have already sent in their application for the International Student Program that we have at San Antonio College. If everything is approved and they receive their student visas, they will be able to come! That will be so awesome!
On another note:
This past Thursday our Ukraine mission team spoke at our chaple service at school. Several of the girls shared experiences that we had in the Ukraine. We had a time of praise and worship and then surprised everyone when Igor spoke to the group through Skype. His deep voice and Russian accent came booming through the speakers and everyone loved listening to him talk about Fontanka.
It was an awesome service!
One more thing:
I have a little article in the August and September issue of the Christian Beacon.
You can see it on line as well. http://www.christianbeacon.com/ and then go to "see on line". I just read the September issue and noticed some grammar problems but it's too late now. I had the hardest time proof reading this article for some reason. Actually, I wrote it with a very heavy heart (very late at night) because I had just met and had dinner with some friends of mine who are missionaries. As we talked about our hopes and dreams in this mission, I felt very discouraged and overwhelmed. The article was due the next morning and I went home and trashed what I already wrote and then wrote this one. No matter how hard or impossible things seem, God has a plan and God is in control. All that matters is that we give the orphans His hope and His promises and I plan to do that any way God leads me. No matter how hard it is or how overwhelmed I feel.
Thank you for you prayers. God loves the orphans and the widows; the sick and the lonely; the loveless and the abandoned. I'm so thankful we have a God who loves us so much!

pictures on line. click on links below:

2008-07-06T07:41:00.000-07:00

I guess there is a reason I taught only Elementary computer those 4 years...
I can't figure out how to put these web pages on the blog page so that they are on the side. I want them clicked on like a slide show. SO...I'm just putting the addresses here for now.
Eventually I will get all the team to put their pictures on a web page that can be clicked on from the blog as well. That way you see more of the team and less of the DeFrees family. These are the only pictures I have access to as of now. But I know you will enjoy them and you will see everyone on the team and practically every child from Fontanka and from Camp Viktoria.
Here are some albums you can click on and see. Again...there are hundreds! SO...if you are going to check them out, get your cup of coffee, get comfy, put your feet up, and be ready for the Spirit to move in your heart. If God prompts you to do something/anything to help these precious orphans, you just let us know! There is much to be done! : )
Here are three links to pictures: There is also a video of Sarah and Dana below.

http://picasaweb.google.com/PamDeFrees/Ukraine2008Mike
http://picasaweb.google.com/PamDeFrees/Ukraine2008
http://picasaweb.google.com/PamDeFrees/Ukraine20082Dana
http://picasaweb.google.com/PamDeFrees/Ukraine2008DanaSPictures

Good news about Dima!

2008-07-03T08:19:00.000-07:00

Some of you have been in prayer for Dima. Thank you so much! Valerie has confirmed that he had his disease as a child and is fine now.
Continue to pray for him. He is still struggling with becoming a Christian..he feels he will let God down. Living where he lives, he feels he will continue living his life the same way and that he will continue to make wrong choices.
Dima wants to come to America. He wants a family to love him and teach him and accept him. This is his dream so we will continue to pray for this for him.
If it is possible to bring him over on a student visa (which will be hard simply because he "belongs" to the State) we will strive for this at LEAST.
Pray for Dima!

Pictures coming soon!!!

2008-06-27T21:58:00.001-07:00

Our team is home and exhausted. I spent the entire day posting pictures on my facebook page and have 7 albums SO FAR. I'm not even done yet. For now, you can go to my facebook and look at the albums I have. Try clicking on this link, http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=504687746 to see if that will work for ya.If not, you can probably go to www.Facebook.com and look up Pam DeFrees and go to the albums on the profile page. Everything is pretty much blocked unless you are a facebook friend but the Ukraine albums are not blocked so HOPEFULLY you can see the pictures. Other team members have posted pictures too. I plan to steal their pictures and put them on a web page for you to go to.
We are all already missing our kids and translator friends so much. My sweet friend, Vova, came to the airport in the middle of the night to say good bye. I still see his face every time I close my eyes. I want to bring him home with me so badly. Quite a few of our sweet friends who translate for us came to see us off and help us with all our luggage. We love them so much!
Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Jet lag will stay with us for quite a while. On top of that, we are emotionally and physically drained and will go through a time of sadness as we adjust to leaving our kids. Facing every day life is an adjustment so families have to be patient. This is a time that the enemy will be attacking so please continue to lift us up in prayer. We appreciate you so much!

2008-06-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

As much as family members would love to see pictures, I know it will be a long process so I will at least get a blog in. It is almost 7 in the morning here (Thursday). No one is up because we are not eating breakfast until 9; a little later than usual. I started a blog last night (Wednesday) around 3:15 p.m. your time, 11:15 p.m. our time but the lady in charge came to tell me it was time to get off the computer so she could lock up and go to bed. I couldn't even save all that I wrote or even send the amount I had written. When a lady with a white rat on her shoulder tells you it's time to get off, you get off! : )

Our days are going by very quickly. It always amazes me how we instantly fall completely in love with the kids. It is an instant, deep love that God just pours through you. It's not something that can be explained and it's not something that can be totally understood by those who have not experienced it. In fact, my husband has mentioned that to me several times on this trip. He now sees why I'm all messed up and why I wear my dorky beaded braclets that "my kids" made me and why I can be so in love with these kids.

Our experiences at Fontanka have been sweet. The boys are willing to do anything we ask them to do whether it's listening to a Bible story, do relays, or crafts. Even the "too cool" boys who wouldn't make a craft at least watch the others. I was able to convince one boy to make one for Babushka Lela since he wouldn't make one for himself.

Igor told me that one of the oldest boys came and sat by him on the bench. He told him, "Thank you for not forgetting us." Igor said it meant so much to the boy that we come to see them. We look forward to spending the morning with them today as we will be sharing the Salvation message with them.

Gary is head over hills in love with a boy named Viktor. Two Viktor's are special to him but one has stollen his heart. He wants to pack him in a bag and bring him home. Of course, those of you reading this who have been there before know exactly how he's feeling.

Yesterday we spent the morning on the Black Sea with the Camp Viktoria kids. There wasn't much to do because the teachers no longer let them go over to the concrete wall to jump and swim. They have to stay in a roped area to swim where they can all be closely watched. We played catch and wrote with sidewalk chalk and just hung out. Most of the team swam with the kids for a while too. Gary just had to jump off the "bridge thing" that he had heard so much about. He didn't want to miss out on the opportunity just incase it was his only one. I'm fine with not experiencing that!

God answered my prayer that I would see my Vova while I was here. I mention him in my PassionForUkraine web page from last summer. I had to say good bye to him at McDonalds and thought I'd never see him again. He was finished with school and had plans to continue school and learn to cook so he could be a cook on the sea. Monday as we piled out of the van I heard commotion on the other side. Through the window I saw Mike hugging someone. When I saw that it was Vova I screamed and ran to him. He was so happy to be with us and I was never happier to see him in my life! Yesterday at camp the director made him leave, but as least I got to send some time with him and had already made him a bracelet and gave him a Russian CBC CD (thanks again Ray!!!) which he loved very much. He listened to it the night I gave it to him and he loved it. God is good! All the time!

We sat and watch relays all evening. As boring as this is, it's not bad because our kids sit with us and they can't get close enough or get hugged enough. We just sit and bond and love on them. I was on the top row of the bleachers last night and I scanned over the crowd. Everyone of our team members were surrounded with kids. Arms around each other, talking, smiling, rubbing backs, and just pouring out love. The kids soak up everything they receive. Ben was surrounded by his girls. Every time I looked over to where they were sitting he was looking at them and they were all smiles as he talked to them in his Russian accent. Emily and Sara have several kids who never leave their sides. They are being the hands and voice of Jesus. Merry, Chels, Danny (who keeps us very entertained at all times), Dana, and Misha are just wonderful with their kids. There is a deep respect and love that has been growing the last 1 to 5 years with their kids. Mike (who is Misha 'round these parts) has seen many of these kids grow up from age 10. Now they are 14 or 15 or 16 and they love and respect Mike so much. One of the little boys came up to him yesterday and hugged him and said "You are GOOD BOY!" : ) This is Vladik, Emily's boy who is now Ben's boy, who is really everyone's boy. He's a little stinker but he's full of love and joy.

This is long, I know, but God is doing so much and I know those of you at home want to know how your kids are doing and how the trip is going.

The relay time was almost over last night and one of the teenage boys started trying to take Bill's sunglasses. It became a little game which all the other teen agers thought was pretty funny. Bill just played a long for a while but then as more boys came to sit with the group they all began to talk. Bill had already shared his testimony with many of them earlier and even though they were way too cool to talk to the American at first, now they love him and stay with him all evening. Last night Bill began to share the Gospel and Igor joined right in to translate. Some were laughing and playing around at first but by the time they were done talking, it was very quiet and serious. They asked Igor a lot of questions and they were truely being moved by the Spirit. It was dinner time for the kids while this was going on, so all of us had to go to the gate while the men had this wonderful time with the boys.

Even though we have not had an organized teaching time at Viktoria, God is stirring in the hearts and opening doors for His Word to be taught.

Remember that we are 8 hours ahead so please be praying as we share the message of God's forgivness and Salvation today. Also, it's Gary's birthday today and he doesn't know we know (thanks Facebook) so we have a little breakfast surprise for him. Be in prayer for Bill and Misha as well. This is their last day with the kids. They leave at 5:20 Friday morning. They will be sad and torn to leave but they both have to return to their jobs. Plus my 3 boys at home will be happy to have their daddy home, no matter how messed up he is now. : )

We feel your prayers and God's presence and peace. We all love you and talk of home with each other often. Your kids are awesome!!!

We are here!

2008-06-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Today is Monday and we are having a wonderful time. God has been answering prayers and opening doors for us.
We had a good flight and were only an hour behind schedule when we landed in Odessa. It was very exciting seeing Lela, Viktor, and Valerie. Valerie is our translator who is helping us set up our schedules with the different places that we want to minister in.
We were taken to our "hotel/church/kindergarten" and unpacked a little and ate dinner.
Later in the evening we were reunited with our sweet translator friends, Tolik and Igor. We talked and laughed until late in the evening.
Saturday morning, our team left to go to visit the boys who live at a place called Fontanka. This is the institution that Igor and Lela visit every Sunday. These boys are homeless and most of them are orphans. Some have escaped from orphanages and some just have no one to take care of them for one reason or another. The director and his wife seem to really love these boys. They are giving them structure, love, food, and an education.
We enjoyed playing soccer, volleyball, and other games with the 19 boys who were there.
After Fontanka and lunch, we drove out to Camp Viktoria to talk with the director about us coming to teach in the late afternoons. We were told that he would probably say no because they will have activities already planned. We have all been praying for God to soften the director's heart and we have been praying for God's will to be done. We want to serve where ever He opens a door.
The meeting with the director went very well and he gave us permission to at least come to their activities and possibly teach. We were even invited to come to their "disco" for that evening. I can't even tell you how excited we were about that! We had to leave and come back when it was time.
This will be too long if I tell story after story of happy reunions, so I will just say the reunion was very sweet and we were all so happy to see each other. The newby's on the team quickly made new, life long friends of their own.
On Sunday we went to Tolik's church and then shopping later in the day.
TODAY:
WHEW....sorry...I know it's long. I know family members are all wondering how everyone is doing so I want to put some detail in this post.
Our team had a great time doing activities, a Bible story, and craft with the boys. They loved every minute of it. Some had the "I'm too cool" thing going for a while but that mask was removed by the time they had to go in for lunch.

Our afternoon with our kids at Camp Viktoria was very rewarding even though we did not get to do anything organized. We spent a lot of time just bonding with them and getting to know them. Bill was able to share his testimony with the older guys who are very harden. I think they were counselors there. Once they all started talking they had a lot of questions for Bill and were very interested in his answers.

Thank you so much for your prayers. I will try to up date every day that we can. It isn't always easy to get into the office to use the computer but we will always try.
The team is doing great and they are willing to do anything that is asked of them. There is a lot of team work as we work on preparing for each day. Everyone jumps in and does their part.

Planning night

2008-06-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

Most of the team got together last night at our leader's house and went through all the craft supplies, worked on a dance (we got an arobics work out), and learned sign language to a song. We had a great bonding time and we are getting more and more excited about leaving next week.

The picture of the man holding the puppet is my husband, Bill. This is his first trip to Ukraine and I know God is going to do amazing things through him and to him! The cute things you see on a few people's heads were supposed to be jump ropes. I ordered some things from Oriental Trading and I thought I was ordering jump ropes. They ended up being rope rings instead. The boys all decided that they made cool head gear, so we all wore them the whole evening. I don't think we'll wear them on the plane, as they suggested, however!

Oh, by the way, the puppet did not have braids when we got to the house. Now she is sporting beautiful braids, beads, and a bracelet....We found out Danny has many talents!

Please continue to pray for us as I know you will. Every thing is coming along nicely and God is already moving and preparing hearts.

We have been ministering to this orphan camp the last 5 years and we know that the harvest is here for many of the kids. We also know that we will be planting fresh seeds in others. We pray that the counselors would also be open to the Word.

Pray especially for the director of the camp. If HE received Jesus as his savior...WOW! I can only begin to imagine what God can do with this man.

Almost time to go!

2008-06-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

Our team is getting very excited as the date of the trip gets closer and closer. It is finally feeling like a reality! We are having a lock in this weekend so that we can get to some very serious planning time, sorting craft things, working on skits, having fun, getting to know each other better, and just tie up details for our trip. I have been having been talking with Alyona (Lela's right hand "man" and our dear friend) on e-mail and Igor (one of our favorite translators and friends) on facebook. They are praying along with us as we plan and as we follow God's direction.

Please keep us in prayer as we plan and prepare. I don't think we are fully funded yet, but God is providing as we are still receiving donations from those God has called to give. We are so very thankful for you who have given and for you who are praying. Please pray for us to be healthy, full of the Spirit, have safe travel, and for us to follow God's lead in all that we do and say. We also ask that you pray for the children and the directors and couselors so that their hearts will be ready and open for His Word. Many of the orphanage workers have seen us come every year. We want to minister to them and show God's love to them as well.

God is good! All the time! We praise and worship Him for all He is and for all He is doing and all He is going to do.

Father Daughter Banquet

2008-04-07T08:54:00.000-07:00

We are so excited about an upcoming fund raiser.

This Saturday (April 12, 2008) our mission team is having a Father Daughter Banquet. We are excited about how many people are coming. We are so thankful to God for all He is doing.

We pray that this will be a night full of memories and fun.

Please pray that we will be able to get everything done that we need to get done so that this is a great success. We have a lot of work to be done and will need prayer and God's super natural power to do all that we need to do.

Once I figure out how to do all the cool stuff on this blog, I will add pictures of the banquet.

Getting ready

2008-03-10T12:55:00.000-07:00

Our San Antonio Christian School mission team is getting ready for our 6th trip.
For some, it is their first trip. For others, it is the 2nd, 4th, or 5th trip. No matter how many times we have gone, we are all so excited about going to Odessa, Ukraine!

We are in the middle of making our plans, buying our tickets, raising our money, and planning fund raisers.

Our team will be going to a summer camp for orphans. The camp is called "Victoria". We will also be going back to a small orphanage that we have gone to the last 6 years. We have made some strong connections with the directors and the children and they look forward to our return visits almost as much as we look forward to going back. We also have strong relationships with our translators, who love the Lord and who love the children.

We'll get back to you with more information as we make our plans.
To see information and pictures from last year, see WWW.PassionForUkraine.com