Catching up...

Well, I suppose I should catch up this blog since it's two weeks out of date. Sorry I haven't been keeping up, but I've been both busy and unwilling to blog. I'm just not much of a journaler. Anyways, the end of the first week of camp was great. We had an awesome time bonding with the students and, got close to several. One, named Max, we decided was not Ukrainian, but French because of all of his quirky mannerisms and the way he said his English word. Instead of saying "ruined" he said "urined", much merriment ensued that one.

The second week of camp was considerably harder. We had a couple of days off after the first week where we rested at the Tarr's, which is where we are staying now. The second week of camp was for kids ages 7-14 round about. We had over 30 kids (major change from the 9 from first week), and the helper number increased by about threefold. That meant a lot more names to memorize (most of the teens came back again because they liked us so much, or were helping as a helper somehow), and a lot more people speaking Russian. I think the main reason the second week was so hard was because I was just starting to get some major culture shock/home sickness. We had a translator, Igor, but he was Ukrainian as well. So with Matthew being the only other American besides me, I got to be a little lonely. I was tired of hearing Russian everyday, and particularly halfway through the week when I sat through an hour long meeting where no one translated anything for me. I was getting frustrated, and sort of angry at the Ukrainians. I didn't blame them, I knew that I was just feeling culture shock (that language barrier can really knock your socks off), but it was still hard. The days seemed to go by rather slowly, and I was ready to leave camp around the second day. I'm not entirely sure what all was bothering me that week, but it just didn't seem able to end fast enough for me. I was tired of not knowing what to do (we never knew what kids we would have for sports, which was three times a day now in extremely hot weather-90 degrees plus), and the language thing just started to get to me. But I prayed for patience and help throughout the week, which helped.

I know that last paragraph sounded rather negative, but it's how I felt. Towards the end of the week, though, I just let go. I was tired, mentally exhausted, and full (they fed us extremely well, and gave us huge portions). The camp was basically the same as the week before, just aimed at little kids instead of teens (love still being the theme, I think, but told through skits and stuff instead of head on lessons, which they did have). The last couple of days of camp, though, I fell in love with it again. The kids had finally warmed up to us (it took them a while), and wanted to play with us constantly. I felt the adults had some degree of respect for us, and they constantly looked out for our health and happiness. The Ukrainians are very considerate, and will do anything to help you if you need it. I think I finally let God use me, and it felt good. I may not have realized I was letting him, but I was resting better, and feeling better. I even learned a little more Russian.

But the one thing I struggled with the most that week was the one thing I had figured out the week before. I was so concerned that the kids didn't like me, or that the kids liked Matthew better (which I'm still not sure on). It was making me really sad, and I think it had an affect on how I viewed the camp and allowed culture shock to set in. But the last day of camp when we said goodbye to the kids and the workers, I just felt an overwhelming amount of love from them. It made it all feel so much more worth it, and I felt extremely loved and prayed over. Anya and Kristina (two of the helpers) were practically in tears (Anya was), and it was very hard to leave. Now that I think about it, it was totally God leading me, and showing his love for me through the kids and helpers.

This week has been a lot less stressful. We rested until Tuesday (going to the Peninsula, which is past the promenade and has more and better beaches). This week I have done a combination of things. We are gearing up for the opening of the youth center tomorrow (the 4th of July, not as important here, haha). I have weed whacked the center's yard (or at least most of it), sorted the center's games (spent an hour going through Dutch Blitz cards), organized the English library for the college (took 4 hours), and went with Bill Brower to buy games. The center looks good, especially with Matthew's new finished mural of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fire. It looks amazing, and he's a very talented artist, although he wouldn't say that. So we're pretty much waiting for tomorrow at 3 pm to open for the kids to come. I know it will be great, and it's something for them to do to keep them off of the streets getting drunk.

I love the Ukrainian kids. They are very loving, and as long as you try they appreciate it. The orphanage ministry is so much fun, because we get to love on those kids, and play games with them. Urkainian kids want the same stuff American kids want: safety, love, and acceptance. They may have slightly different customs and things, but all-in-all we're a lot more similar than different. Like teaching baseball at camp, it wasn't too difficult except for the translating of terms. I just pray I learn more from God this summer. I feel like I've been holding out a bit from him, and haven't done all I could have. But I have done a lot. I've just realized that I do have flaws, many of them. Usually I would sit and moan about them, but I've realized that what I need to do is work on those instead of complaining about them (which is one of the main ones I need to work on). Just now I realized that I need to let God do that for me. But that's hard for me. It's hard for me to trust what I can't see, can't feel. I can't trust my emotions, even the Bible says that. But I have this trust that just lingers in the corner of my heart. It may go unattended for a while, but it nags at me and keeps my attention as much as possible. I'm going to have to rely on that small modicum of faith for as long as is necessary. Please pray for me, and pray that God would just ransack my heart. I need a change in a big way, and I can't rely on myself to get me through it, but I know God can. Thank you so much for all your love and support, I appreciate it so much. You can't even know how much it means to me. I love you all, and can't wait to see you again.

David