Dear Calvary Church family:

As a first time mission team member I found great joy in the effectiveness of the summer camp as I witnessed the enthusiasm of over 100 children. There is a deep relationship between the children and the returning team members which manifest itself in love, respect, and admiration towards us. This Friday, June 26, we concluded the English courses for over 100 students. As Dave pointed out during the closing ceremony, the year to year progress of these kids is remarkable and noticeable! My greatest joy was the discovery that these children are ready and willing to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. I am convinced that the most effective way to the adult’s hearts, is to their children’s transformation. A transformation that results in obedience, kindness, patience and in general Christ-like behavior. I am truly blessed to be a part of this team.

In His name,

Kamill

Hello all –

First of all, as probably most of you don’t know me, I will give you a little introduction.

My name is Hikaru Aoki from Tokyo, a friend of Justin’s. We met at Tokyo Baptist Chrch and he kindly invited me to join the Ukraine Mission Trip.

It was a great pleasure to join this trip and to support Justin and Tanya’s intermediate ESL class and giving Bible lessons. Children in the class showed strong interest in Japanese culture and value. We gave chopsticks and posters of the Japanese football team as prizes to those who volunteered in the class and they appreciated them!

After English class, I had a lot of fun playing football with them! Their football skills miserably excelled mine, but it was great to build personal relationships with them through it! I hope I can improve my football skills while they study hard at English for the time when I come back! I would also add the Japanese lesson to the teaching curriculum (I wish!).

Lastly, I want to give thanks to Calvary mission team for supporting me to join the activities and to Dave and Ron for allowing me to join this mission trip. I look forward to joining the Ukraine mission next time!

Hikaru Aoki

Our final lunch before leaving Horodok. Two of the kids joined us for food – they also assisted us with buying the food

ESL is finished. We’ve played our last futball match. Jim has left for Lutz. Today, the team leaves Horodok for L’viv.

The photos are of our last goodbye with Vitally and Lubimir and as we leave the futball pitch.

Hi Everyone!

Challenges but victories also!  Many of us are saying “I will see you next year” as we wrap up our mission in Horodok.  New opportunities are presenting themselves to expand in this town.  Pray that the mayor will be broken by the Lord and that salvation will come to him.  Lesya continues to be a real champ as she leads school #3 activities and balances a load of activities with the camp and ESL programs.  Thanks for your prayers for the team and a productive completion of ESL.  Pray that many homes can be visited by us and our two missionaries in town and souls saved for the Kingdom.

Jim

I wish I was an artist or a poet so I could tell you about this place with the grace and beauty it deserves. But I am not so I will have to stick to a finite vocabulary and simple words to describe the indescribable. The best way I can do this is first to say, “Come and see for yourself. Come see what God is doing here. Come see how great this country is… how great these people are!” That is the only way for you to truly know what this is we are doing. For some of you with other callings and responsibilities this is not possible. Thank you for your prayers and support and know that you are as much a part of this team as any of us that are here. Without you these trips would not be possible.

This was my sixth trip to Ukraine and so for me and the other returning members a sort of return to friends and family, and a continuation of a five year mission. For some of the new people maybe this trip was an eye opener and a perspective changer, and I hope it will be for those of you reading about it, and looking at the pictures. But for all of us, this trip has changed us. It has made us better. It has furthered our relationship with God, and our understanding of His kingdom and how He operates. It has made us realize once again that we have to be thankful for and all the opportunities we have that others do not. And sadly, it has made us realize how much our country has changed, and how far from our Christian roots we have strayed. We come over here to Ukraine thinking we have the answers to their questions and the solutions to their problems, but really we should just sit, be quiet, and take notes. They live with so much less “things” than us but yet I see greater value in their everyday lives, as simple as they may be.  They don’t have to think twice about giving to us or helping us any way they can. They just do it and they do it gladly. Some of the children wear the same clothes just about every day but their smile is as big as can be. And they dream such big dreams of what they will be and know how hard they must work to get there.  And they love Americans and the English language so much, maybe because of these dreams. Maybe they know that learning English can get them places and give them a better future. They might see all we have and the opportunities that are in our reach and want a piece of it too. Maybe they want to be important, and wealthy, and famous like the Americans they see on the television. I wish I could tell them all that it’s not as great as it looks, and that those people that they see are rarely happy and usually farthest from it. I want them to know that the only real joy and truly meaningful happiness they will experience is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and so I and others return year after year. Even in telling them this we put our relationships here at risk because of the power of religion and the priests in this area. At the risk of being labeled as a religious sect or cult we teach the Bible to these people that we love so dearly, trying to stress that it is the Holy Bible that we are teaching and encouraging them to go home and pick up their own Bible to read for themselves what we have said.

And so we wait with perseverance and often heavy hearts for the Holy Spirit to move in the hearts of these religiously oppressed people. It is very sad to think that the one thing that should be reaching these people for Christ, the Church, is their biggest hindrance to knowing Him. And we should be careful at home to NEVER be a hindrance to the Kingdom of God, whether in our own church, in our own rituals and traditions, or in our daily lives. Let us be a light in the darkness, that others may see Christ through us and come to know Him. And I ask you for help. Help us reach this town for Christ through you prayers and support, or through your presence in the future that this town too may be a light in this region of the world. Once again thank you, all of you at home, for what you have done and sacrificed that we may be here spreading God’s love and the truth of His word.         See you soon.

- Joey Kader

Compared to this week, last week was a “day at the beach!”  We are loving every busy minute of each day teaching ESL, but we leave after 2hours 45 minutes of teaching exhausted.  The turnout for ESL was much more than we expected….over 105 before registration ended Monday morning and new students have continued to come all week. Joey Kader and I are teaching the beginners group, we have 38 students each day.  Thirty eight excited, smiling, noisy girls and boys, between the ages of 10-16, who are eager to learn whatever English they can come bounding through the door each afternoon.  Remember my blog about preparing for 48 and having 55 show up?  This is much the same, I prepared for 15 and have over twice as many!  God is so good…..He continually supplies!  We have two precious students from the school who have volunteered to help in our room each day. Yula and I have been friends since our first year in Horodok.  She was a sweet little girl of 11 then, now she is a beautiful young lady of 16 who is eager and willing to help however she can.  Her best friend “Kat” (Kathrin) came to camp for the first time last year.  She is a beautiful young lady of 15, and loves to help also.  They have been GREAT this week!   We also have a translator in our class each day. Her name is Leeleea, she is in her early twenties.  She rides a Marshuka to and from Lviv each day, about 70 minutes round trip.  She is a member of Grapevine church, loves the Lord and desires for these children to know Jesus as she does. She has helped our team in so many ways….always with a smile and willing attitude!  If I could, I’d pack her in my suitcase and bring her home.  I don’t think her church would be happy, I understand she is a great leader.

Ron was good to remind us that no matter how we may be feeling on the inside, the children see what’s on the outside, so smile and pretend all is going well!  I must admit by the end of class this is pretty much what I am doing…..but it is so worth all the time and energy!  As we walk around town, we are constantly running in to children who are calling out our names.  Each evening this week we have met at the soccer stadium, the boys play “futbol”.  The girls visit and listen to each others ipods.  Last night one of the boys brought a badminton set for Tanya to play while they boys were playing futbol.  How thoughtful was that!

Even though I’ve been rained on, eaten up by mosquitoes, (the back of my legs show how hungry they were) and sit at the stadium longing for bed, I wouldn’t change a minute of any day.  I know by this time next week my heart will be sad because I’m back in America missing my Ukrainian “family”.    But, my morning prayer time will be filled with thanking our Lord for the great 20 days we had in Ukraine and praying over next year’s trip.

How many more years can I come to Ukraine and work with the Ukrainians?  I ask the Lord for just one more……and after next year, just one more…..and just one more…..

Merrie Spencer

Today school 3 seniors graduated. The team watched the ceremony.

Morning devotion time was lead by Jim today.