Camp Letter #4

Things have been going well this week! By Wednesday or Thursday everyone finds their niche for what works best for their class and this really helps with students feeling more comfortable and being courageous to speak English!

Wednesday afternoon during our debriefing time many people shared about experiences they were having in their classrooms and activities they are doing with their kids. It was very encouraging to hear about all that is going on. Many teachers said that their students were coming to camp energized and ready to speak English. It takes many different types of people to make a mission trip successful. The Lord uses people in different ways and that is why we are so glad that we have a diverse group of people to serve with this summer in Ukraine.

Wednesday evening some of the team went to hand out flyers throughout the village to invite more kids to the second week of camp. American teacher and Ukrainian teacher paired up and went from house to house together.

Thursday evening we hosted an “American Night” for our Ukrainian translators. We showed them a little bit of how we celebrate the 4^th of July. We had a few games (three legged race, sun flower seed spitting contest, baseball and a few others). We made them a big meal that consisted of BBQ chicken, baked beans, corn, watermelon, butterscotch pudding, brownies, jello, lemonade and coca cola. At the end of the evening we put on a few short funny skits that showed how our country was formed and we raffled off some fun items we brought from America. It was a great evening!

Our last day of camp was a success! At the end of our last day we came together so that each class could present a drama about a specific part of the story of Joseph. The dramas were wonderful and the kids loved them! This part of the camp is a great way to get students speaking English on their own and in front of their peers! It was great to see so many kids speaking English and saying, “Goodbye” and other phrases as they left the school with smiles and excitement! We had many students who attended camp last year, come back this year and we hope the same for next year.

Friday evening we took a bus back into the city of Odessa where we will be staying for the weekend. We will have a little bit of time to relax and get our strength back before going back on Sunday to get ready for the second week of camp.

Working with these children is a wonderful experience! We are all excited for our camp next week and look forward to whatever the Lord may show us. We are so thankful for all of your prayers and support! Stay tuned for more e-mails this next week!

Please Pray For:

• The seeds that were planted in the heart of each child.
• That we would continue to build good relationships with our translators.
• Matthew Phillips. His ankle and foot are still swollen. He has seen a doctor and has medicine. The doctor said that he is not completely sure what happened but that he thinks it is some type of allergy to a bug bite.

Praise God For:

• 90 kids who came to camp this week.
• Team unity & flexibility!
• Overall good health for all of the team members.
  

by His grace,

John & Nichole