Youth Camp Update

We three women went to visit the youth camp again yesterday (Thursday) and we have some new photos to share with you all. Your family members and friends are all doing well. They have adjusted to the bathroom situation admirably and we did our best to give them all hugs and check in with them. We were able to stay there for dinner and for the evening worship time. Jared preached about Freedom and Truth and Haylee say the song "Finally Free". As you may have guessed the youth camp theme is Freedom. I realize that my blog posting does not look fancy or cute, but I figure that all you really want is information and pictures. Please also check on Smug Mug for more photos as well. As you can see, our students are making new friends and are also enjoying being with each other.




I am pleased to inform (and show) you that your family members and friends are really doing a wonderful job of being serious and respectable when necessary.






There are so many things to share about youth camp that even we don't know about, but the general feeling is that it has been a great experience for our team. They have spent time worshipping together, praying together, and learning together.





The team returns to Kremenchug tomorrow morning. Please pray that their last night at the camp goes well, that they remain healthy, and that their last amount of time with their new friends is blessed. They will be tired when they return, and then we need to start getting prepared for the church service on Sunday and the day camps that start Monday.

Thank you to those of you who have posted comments. PLEASE know that we are sharing them with the team (and particularly with your family members). Please feel free to make comments for us to share. We love you and are so very grateful for your support of us. What a blessing it is to be a part of this experience. Another huge blessing we have received is cool weather this last week. It was an unexpected gift for us! The forecast for the coming days looks hot, so we'd appreciate your prayers about that, too.

Check out some more photos of our time here on http://siedlecki.smugmug.com/

Shut In Visits

On Wednesday morning, Becky, Terri, and Annie went with Vera (church member and leader of shut in ministry) and Anna (translator) to visit three women who are shut ins and members of Spring of Life Church. Their names are Tamara, Galina, and Anna. We had a wonderful time with all of them and were deeply touched and blessed by the words they shared with us about them, their families, and their lives. To hear the faith stories and the ability to hold onto that faith in the midst of some difficult circumstances was a great encouragement to us. We will visit some more "sisters" tomorrow before we head out the the youth camp.

Orphanage Visit

On Tuesday morning, Becky, Terri, and Annie went with Jayne (a SEND missionary) and Emily (a SEND intern) to an orphanage/foster home to spend some time with the children there. We did some different crafts with them, gave them some candy, brought them some bananas, and spent time getting to know them a little bit. This facility is not long a long term place, but is somewhere that children can have a stable place to be for a while. It was interesting getting to know these children, even a little bit.

Youth Camp

On Monday morning, we all went to the youth camp. It is a 20 minute drive from Kremenchug. The camp is peaceful, very safe (security people, locked gate, security lights at night), and full of energetic youth. When we arrived they greeted us with loud cheers and made us feel very welcome. Our team is staying busy with games, swimming, small group devotions, large group worship, dramas, and many attempts at communication between two cultures. On Monday night at the large group worship time, our team performed the "Everything" drama, took part in a skit, helped with some of the singing, and Jared preached. Terri, Becky and Annie came back to Kremenchug Monday night and will go to the camp again tomorrow (Thursday) to see how things are going.

We Are All Together in Ukraine!

We are SO happy to inform you that the entire team is now in Kremenchug! Amy and Annie rode to Kiev this morning with Alex and Oksana to meet the group. We met most of them just as they were coming out of the airport. We then went on a small tour of Kiev and to lunch at McDonald's. After that we returned to the airport to pick up Terri and Haylee who had come from Amsterdam. Praise God that customs was very easy for all of us. Thank You for your faithful prayers for that! We then had a four hour drive in the bus back to Kremenchug. Most of the team was very tired on that ride, but we are all doing well. We had supper at the church that was made by Pastor Alex's wife Tanya. Then Alex (and Oksana) shared some information with us regarding the youth camp that begins tomorrow. The team is settled in the dorm rooms here at the college. We will leave for the youth camp tomorrow morning at 9:00. It looks to be a full week with many activities that are planned. Please pray for safety, for health, and especially that God will be glorified by what we are a part of.

Hello From Kremenchug!

Amy and Annie are in Kremenchug now. We spent part of this day walking around town with Lucia and Vanya (and their boys David and Alexander) putting up signs that advertise the day camps that will begin our second week (August 3). Tomorrow, we go to Kharkiv to see Vika, and we'll return to Kremenchug on Saturday. We are looking forward to the arrival of the rest of our team on Sunday. Here are some pictures of how we spent some of our time today.