Ukraine Mission Trip w/ Street Kids (Help Support)

Ukraine 2005Summer Camp for Street KidsДорогие друзья (Dear friends),Plan: Привет! (Hi!)  Four of us from Calvary Chapel of Escondido (Rick and Kelly Kierstead, Yolanda Diehl, and Greg Gordon), plan on attending a 2 week summer camp for street kids the weeks of Saturday, June 18th to Friday, July 1st.  Rick and Kelly have previously gone to the 2004 winter and summer camp.  Yolanda went to the 2004 summer camp with Rick and Kelly, and this will be Greg’s first time to minister to these Ukrainian kids.  Building relationships with these kids is one of the biggest parts of the camp, and it means a lot to them to see the same team members return to spend time with them.  There’s also a big need for men to have an interest in being a part of this camp and being able to go, as most of the kids who attend the camp are boys.  Our hope and prayer is that God would provide for all of us to be able to go to this summer’s camp.  We strongly believe that where God guides, He provides. Purpose: What we’ll be doing at the camp is spending lots of time with the kids at meals, during music and Bible story times, playing indoor and outdoor games, including their favorite game, football (soccer), making crafts, and other activities.  Really, the purpose of this camp is to get these street kids away from their bad environments and living situations to a loving, Christian environment where they have a chance to be cared for and treated like normal children.  A lot of these kids struggle with drug and alcohol addiction (glue and Vodka) or suffer from developmental and emotional issues due to broken families, dangerous living situations, or poor care from their “guardians”.  These kids look forward to these camps all year and it allows them an opportunity to give their lives to Christ so God can deliver them from their destructive and dangerous lifestyles, and for them to be encouraged to live up to their God given potential.Preparation: Rick and Kelly already know how to speak a bit of Russian which really helps in getting to know the kids, building relationships with them during the 2 weeks, and in sharing God with them.  Yolanda took a semester of Russian in the fall after the summer camp and has continued learning on her own through different resources.  Greg has also started studying Russian to hopefully be able to speak to the kids a little bit.  Greg and Yolanda really have a heart to be able to share the Scriptures in Russian to the kids and possibly even provide them with their own Russian Bibles.  Yolanda was able to provide all the kids with Russian New Testaments from the Gideons last summer, which was the first time they were given Bibles at these camps, and hopes to be able to bring another supply this time.  We all trust that God will prepare our hearts to answer the calling to minister to these kids and to be used by God in each one of their lives.Provision: What we need to raise financial support for mainly is the cost for airfare, which is expensive this year, the cheapest costing about $1,500 per person.  Other costs include camp and various application fees.  If you feel led to send a donation in support of this camp to these street children, don’t feel like you alone have to help cover the entire cost for our trip!  Every little bit counts and would be greatly appreciated!  If you feel led to send financial support, simply mail money or check to Calvary Chapel of Escondido, 1675 Seven Oakes Road, Escondido, CA  92026 (make check payable to: Calvary Chapel of Escondido, memo: Rick, Kelly, Yolanda, Greg or Ukraine).  We also covet your prayers, however the Holy Spirit would lead you.  Большое спасибо!  (Thank you very much!)Рик, Келли, Ёланда и ГрегRick, Kelly, Yolanda and Greg Matthew 9:37-38: "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

Oh my goodness! I'm about to cry with tears of joy! GREG - you did such a good job with this! If the kids only knew they were up on a website for the whole world to see! Man... this is awesome! :-) I am glad that we can do this and get people praying for these kids. I am going to get some pictures of individual kids with backgrounds on the site so people can download them and pray for kids individually as the Spirit leads while we are ministering to them. I know God is going to do amazing things through us, letting these children feel the touch of Jesus Christ through us! I hope to get more pictures of the kids last year and also get an 3 page brochere of the information in the first post. Please start praying for us now.. I would love for people to also Commit to praying for Me, Yolanda, and others on the team daily while we are in the Ukraine.Please ask any questions you have and I am sure me or Yolanda can help answer them. I am learning much and excited about getting to know their culture and language more before I go.

Thank you very much. Kelly will be looking for confirmation from the Lord within the week. I trust God will make it clear.Thank you for posting this Yolanda. I have been praying about this and will continue to do so. I was speaking to kelly for abit also and who knows what the Lord will do, this could be the Lord opening doors for some and closing doors for others. Also this could be the Lord saying be faithful and wait for another opportunity to serve in Ukranian or Russian country. I am praying in that regard and am open to go seperately to an Calvary Chapel in Belarussa or Ukraine to serve and intern for a few weeks. Also another possible opportunity would be to go to Scotland to minister with a brother who might be going to open air preach. Please keep these things in prayer and let the Lord guide the plans. I do believe its great to plan and expect but at the same time only the Lord knows what is ultimately going to work out.

Here is a prayer request that Yolanda sent out to abunch of contacts she has,.. I am going to post it on this site here also so you can pray appropriately:Subject: Ukraine Trip Prayer RequestDate: April 7, 2005 11:33:08 PDTAs you all probably know, I was really looking forward to returning to Kiev, Ukraine this summer for a mission trip to a 2 week summer camp for street kids.  I felt I got confirmation about returning while being in Ukraine last year.  I started learning Russian and did other things to prepare to return.  But due to high costs in airfare, our Mission Coordinator, Kelly, is seriously considering canceling the trip for those interested in going on the trip from America.  She feels it would be a better use of funds to pay for the Byelorussians and Ukrainians to go to the camp, instead of having us Americans pay almost $2,000 to fly over there and pay for other camp costs.  I guess it doesn’t matter who ministers to the kids, as long as they get ministered to, but once again, I feel very strongly that I’m supposed to go there those two weeks.  My friend, Greg, has also felt that he has gotten confirmation and has gone forward in applying for the trip and raising support through his website www.sermonindex.net.  So either we’re really not supposed to go, and we need to pray for God’s peace about it and confirmation, or we need to have faith that God would provide reasonable airfare for those of us from our church planning on going (myself, Greg, Kelly and possibly Rick), and anyone else from the US.  I have faith.  I doubted God’s provision last year, and He totally amazed me with His faithfulness.  So why should this year be any different?  Shouldn’t I remember His ability to work miracles and provide and trust Him with more faith than I had last year?So please pray for Kelly, that God would give her the faith, confirmation, discernment and wisdom she needs to make the right decision and be a good steward of the support that comes in or we have for this trip.  If the Lord wills, please pray for God to perform a miracle concerning the airfare (preferably $1,000 or less).  And Greg and I need confirmation as well since we’re excited about going and have felt that God was leading us to go this summer.  If our minds need to change, then pray that God would faithfully do that.  But I’m sending this email with hope and faith that we will still be able to go this summer.Thank you for your time and I would covet your prayers in this matter.  God bless.Yolanda  

So God really spoke to me and ministered to me yesterday in prayer. I'm glad He led me to consider those things. And still I came out of that time confident and encouraged about going. That God would take care of the situation and provide. However things work out, God's encouragement and direction is right there.Do keep in prayer about this brothers and sisters. I do know God has called Yolanda to go there so as God leads I might try and even support her and myself not go if it comes down to that. It is going to be exciting to see what the Lord confirms. I am still open to what the Lord is doing. I have a few other possibilities one being scotland inwhich the Lord would definetly need to confirm. Also there might be an interesting 1 or 2 week road trip to Utah to witness to the mormons in Salt Lake city and other locations. Thanks for the prayers and support, may the Lamb that was slain recieve the glory due to His name.

This is fantastic! I will pray that God will meet ALL needs for this trip and lift it up in prayer in our church. I will also e-mail a copy of the prayer to my pastor and see if he would forward it to his contacts.My pastors (my in laws) have a orphanage in Africa which i would one day love to go to and support. My husband and i feel we are being called into the ministry particularly with the youth, so this mission feels close to my heart.I pray GOD will make all grace, every favor and earthly blessing, come to you all in abundance, so that you are always and under all circumstances possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation.In His love, Geraldine

It was very encouraging to me that you wanted to come and be a part of this ministry. I hope, if God was indeed leading you to go to this camp, that your excitement wouldn't be robbed due to circumstances. Hold on to the faith, hope and love that's from God above.Yolanda I am still excited about this opportunity and do want to go. I know God will work it out if its His will. There are lots of great things that are going to come out of all of this. I have been praying much about this and really have a peace about it. If we are being like Jesus and find our purpose in glorifying God in our surrender daily it does not matter our circumstances or even where God calls us. We can glorify Him in our situation just as well and I do want to be able to do this. All the support that anyone sends for the mission trip will be either used for me to go or for me to support another person like Yolanda to go to Ukraine. I also want to try and get bibles for the children to have, they don't have as many bibles as we do in North America, what a precious thing the scripture would be to them.

I have revised the front page post with the help of Yolanda for reference here is the old first post:Ukraine 2005Summer Camp Mission Trip for Street KidsJune 17th - July 1st / Kiev, UkraineOverviewMyself and 3 others (Yolanda, Rick, Kelly) from Calvary Chapel of Escondido are planning to go on a mission trip to Kiev, Ukraine from June 17th to July 1st, 2005 (2 weeks). We will be God-willing going to assist with a summer camp for street kids. This summer camp will take some kids out of their dangerous and depressing environments and give all of us involved the opportunity to show them God's love and give them some sort of hope. We will be spending lots of time with them at meals, during music and Bible story times, playing indoor and outdoor games, including their favorite game, football (soccer), and making crafts.I believe God has confirmed it to me to go and I am quite excited at ministering in another country, particularly in an european slavic country. There will be many opportunities to be a part of this, including praying for an individual child in which a photo and information about their background will be supplied.The need financially for each person will be $1,800 that covers room, board, airfare, transportation in Ukraine, visa and application fees. It would be great to have support raised for myself and any excess would go towards the rest of the team to be able to go.Why There Are Street Children• Parents abandon the child when they are no longer able to feed and provide for them.• Parents temporarily give their children to an orphanage when they can't take care of them, which the children run away from due to poor care or abuse.• One, or both, parents are in prison.• Both parents are alcoholics.• The child flees from life at home due to emotional, physical, sexual or substance abuse.?The Life of Street Children They're not hard to find, begging, playing, drinking or loitering in the main squares, subways, or other visible places. The ages of street children living independently can range from 4 to 18. Once they become homeless they have to find ways to survive, which often means illegal employment such as searching for bottles, cleaning kiosks, carrying cargo, running drugs, and becoming involved in prostitution or pornography. The ages of young women being sold into prostitution is 15-20. They tend to live in stairwells, under buildings and bridges, and in the sewers. Sometimes they will crowd in abandoned flats or ones used by prostitutes and drug dealers. They often live in small gangs or groups which provide some protection against some crime and other gangs, but even within these groups, life can be brutal.Chemical dependency and abuse is widespread. These children will inhale household supplies that they can buy cheaply or steal, including shoe polish, glue, and paint thinner. Given the widespread problem of alcoholism and how easy it is to get it, they quickly learn to abuse alcohol and cigarettes to cope with the harshness of the streets. Not only are they frequently addicted to substances, they become addicted to street life. These children are very vulnerable and often emotionally damaged. If they've been on the street for more then a year, it's hard to rehabilitate them back to society. At age 16 or 17, they become very fatalistic about their future. Yet when asked, most children - even those who have been on the street for a long time- will respond that they would like to live a "normal" life which they view as being with their own parents (if they have stopped being abusive) or in a foster home. Unfortunately, if they remain on the streets, life is short-lived for these children. Many become seriously ill and die. Some freeze to death in the winter, are beaten to death, or die from drug misuse and overdose. Sexually-transmitted diseases also kill children as well as prostitution crime and accidents. Thank you for your consideration and time to be involved prayerfully and financially.In Him,Greg Gordon\tJames 1:28 - Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.If you want to help cover part of the cost of $1,800 then simply send in an financial contribution send a cheque made out to: Calvary Chapel Escondido with an memo labeled: Greg Ukraine to the following mailing address: SermonIndex306-N West El Norte Pkwy #137Escondido, CA 92026, USAGod has been doing some great things in the last week. I know He is going to show Himself faithful. I do encourage you to pray about supporting this mission and I will be posting some prayer cards and other things to help people to pray for us and these children. I have also gotten an pdf brochere for the missiontrip which you can download on the first post of this thread. If there are any ukranians or belarussians that read this thread please reply also, I would love to correspond and hear what God is doing in your country.

That would be great if she can find that kind of fare, but I have never seen flights to Ukraine in the summer under $1,100.00, and that was years ago when I got that fare. The $1000.00 and under airfare is usually only in the low season. You guys are coming at the peak season.It's wonderful to see you on this forum brother. Thanks for the note and encouragement. I am very exciting about meeting you and others at CC mUkraine. Keep praying that God will supply and provide. Do check out the pdf mission brochere here: General Support

Brothers and Sisters please keep in prayer about this mission trip, I am sure there will be more details soon about the plane fares etc pretty soon. Me or Yolanda will keep you posted, please keep in prayer.1 Thessalonians 5:17: Pray without ceasing.

PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!Im really excited for you and looking forward to see how God will use you all on this mission trip. This is such an exciting time as i can see God is really moving in such an amazing way all over the world. see thread on religion in England.We will continue to pray for you all. I can't wait to share this now with my pastor and prayer group!!!Thank you Lord!

She just met with some missionaries this morning who live in Kiev, Ukraine and help out at a Calvary Chapel in that country and we're probably going to visit them. We're also, more than likely, going to fellowship with some brothers and sisters at a Calvary Chapel in Minsk, Belarus, which is the country above Ukraine, for a few day after the camp. God is good!Ephesians 6:18-19: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make know the mystery of the gospel.Thank you for all that prayed! I am very excited about this thanks for keeping us updated Yolanda. DA!! Praise God, I am very excited in my Spirit about this opportunity to serve and co-labour with these sisters from Calvary Chapel Escondido.here is the email that Yolanda sent out to people that are interested in being updated with the mission trip:Date:Thu Apr 14, 2005 11:56:02 AM PDTSubject:Ukraine Trip Follow UpWe’re going to Ukraine!  J  Kelly bought the tickets today for her, Greg and I to go!  God has been so good through all this, encouraging us with faith, hope and trust.  I thank you guys for your encouraging words and prayer support.  The plan is that we’ll go to the 2 week summer camp for the street kids in Kiev, Ukraine, possible visit the Tuckers, missionaries in Kiev, and then visit our brothers and sisters at the Calvary Chapel for a few days in Minsk, Belarus after the camp.  God has great plans!  Thank the Lord for His confirmation!Yolanda

The plan is that we’ll go to the 2 week summer camp for the street kids in Kiev, Ukraine, possible visit the Tuckers, missionaries in Kiev, and then visit our brothers and sisters at the Calvary Chapel for a few days in Minsk, Belarus after the camp. God has great plans! Thank the Lord for His confirmation!I thank you for the brother that just sent an donation towards this mission trip, every little bit helps. I am praying that the Lord will provide the necessary amount to go and serve across seas. I am really looking forward to this opportunity and praying it could open up my eyes and calling as an missionary even full-time. God have your way. If you are praying about it or wanting to help support me and others on this trip simply mail money or check to Calvary Chapel of Escondido, 1675 Seven Oakes Road, Escondido, CA 92026 (make check payable to: Calvary Chapel of Escondido, memo: Rick, Kelly, Yolanda, Greg or Ukraine).Or you can give online with your credit card on this page:DonationsI covet your prayers for this brothers and sisters at SI, thanks for wanting to be a part of this :-)

And I know Greg will share too about his experiences. So once again, it's a blessing to us to allow you guys to be a part of this work God is doing.Amen, I am very much looking forward to what God is going to do! and truly He is already doing much. I am personally looking forward to sharing things with the body at SI and what the Lord is doing in Ukraine and Belarus. Me and Yolanda will definetly give you many opportunities to get prayerfully behind us as we go out in faith to minister across the world in Europe. There are individual prayer cards for each child that I will be getting up God willing that you can print and post in your home so you can tangibly pray and remember these hurting children before God. I believe the prayers of Gods people going before us will make the difference. If anyone has any questions or encouragements please post them.

I have been very blessed by the preperations for this trip mentally and spiritually. God has provided some awesome russian software for me and Yolanda to learn Russian phrases and words so we can be a blessing to these children. Do continue to pray saints at SI that we would be fueled by God to prepare and be ready for this trip. Please do post and ask any questions or post any comments you feel about this mission trip. I do hope more of SermonIndex can get behind this in every way. ;-)

If anyone is interesting Yolanda sent me a link that has alot of pictures of Minsk, Belarus thats the place we will be going also on this mission trip. We will be first going for 2 weeks to Kyiv, Ukraine to work with the homeless children and then visiting an calvary Chapel work in Kyiv. Then taking a train into the other country: Belarus and going to its capital Minsk where we will be visiting at least one Calvary Chapel work there which is a sister church that was planted by Calvary Chapel Escondido (the church me, Yolanda and Kelly are being sent from).Here is the link with the images:http://foto.rambler.ru/users/sashaanya/?

I have been very encouraged in how God is answering my prayers in allowing me to have the desire and motivation to learn some russian so that I can better minister to these children and also at the churches. Please continue to pray for me, Yolanda and Kelly that we can prepare spiritually for this mission trip. I know this is going to be a life-changing experience and how thankful I am to the God we serve that He is giving me these chances to serve and see different parts of the body of Christ all across the world. There still is a large need for financial support.. If you feel led to send financial support, simply mail money or check to Calvary Chapel of Escondido, 1675 Seven Oakes Road, Escondido, CA  92026 (make check payable to: Calvary Chapel of Escondido, memo: Rick, Kelly, Yolanda, Greg or Ukraine).or you can use the online donation payment here: Donate

Greg and I got our Ukrainian visas last week! Now we just have to send our passports in again for a Belarussian visa. God is faithfully providing support as well. I am confident in God's provision financially and spiritually.YES! This is great news and definetly an answer to prayer. I am very excited to be ministering to these kids and being in Ukraine to serve. Continue to pray about supporting us in prayer and financially. Pray about the passport and visa application to belarus that we are sending off probably this week.

YolandaHmmm... I just said a quick prayer, entrusting this situation to God because He's aware of the situation... but it was just discovered that I only got a single entry visa to Ukraine, which is a bit strange because my visa application was filled out for a mulit-entry visa.I will be definetly praying about this fervently that the Lord will work it out according to His will. Either way it works mabye God would have you spend more time in Ukraine to minister and maybe even me with you. I will try and talk to Kelly also and see what God will do about all of this. It's just exciting to be involved and seeing what opportunites God will open up! keep us all updated.

YolandaThanks for posting this [smile]. It's great to see the other team members so I can and others begin to lift them up in prayer. This is so exciting as the mission trip draws closer and closer. OlegThats great to hear your heart to help out please email Yolanda and ask her for the information or she might be able to snag your email and send you all the information and applications. If it doesn't work out for this year it could be definetly something you could look into and prepare for next year. I am glad to hear you have a heart for the kids please keep updated

YolandaConcerning My Visa I have a Ukrainian friend in the states who emailed the Ukrainian embassy in San Francisco yesterday concerning my single entry visa situation.I am definetly praying about this situation and I encourage others on SI to do the same! I know God has a great plan in this all we just have to do what is best and rely on God's faithfulness and the guidance of His Holy Spirit.

YolandaThank you for this comprehensive update, I hope people can read it and stay updated on what is happening and how they can get involved.ZekeGreat to hear your encouragement. Please continue to read updates and pray as the Spirit leads. It's wonderful to see response from the SI community.

Thank you everyone at SI for the continued prayer support. Hopefully this week me and Yolanda will be getting up prayer cards for alot of the children and ourselves (staff) so you can pray for us and take ownership of this mission trip. Also support is still quite needed for myself so pray about that also.If you have any questions about the trip please post them and either me or Yolanda can try and answer them. Praise God for what He is doing.

Im not the most intelligent person on the planet but what exactly are prayer cards? :-? If it has anything to do with the prayers needs of individuals then great!! Have the children individual and specific prayer needs that maybe an individual in our church could commit to pray for? I know one lady in our church who is a very commited prayer warrior who would be interested in praying for the children and staff before and after you leave.

GeraldineThanks for keeping in touch and wanting to be a part of this mission trip. I am looking forward to when we can get up the prayer cards on the site so all of the people at SI can get involved in praying for the kids in ukraine. Here are some pictures I got up from the last 2004 mission trip to ukraine:

Thanks for putting up these fantastic photos, i always feel photos bring things that your praying for alive! Yolanda, Last night i rang a few friends from church and told them about the prayer cards and i have a list of people willing to pray for both children and staff. A couple of these sisters are real prayer warriors!Keep us updated,In His Love Geraldine

Thanks for keeping everyone updated Yolanda! God is proving faithful for providing the resources to go on this trip. I am still praying that He will use more brothers and sisters from SI that will share a vision of sharing Jesus with these young kids in Ukraine. Please pray that God will continue to provide for me. I have possibly 2 website ministry jobs I can do for a church and a radio station that will help cover alot of the costs. It was definetly God that provided these :-) Yolanda should have a link to the prayer cards up pretty soon in this thread so you can download them and start praying for these wonderful kids that God loves. Please continue to ask questions and also post to show your interest and support.

YolandaYou have done a great job with these! I am amazed at how you are allowing God to use you for ministry and for spreading God's kingdom. I made a new thread just for the prayer cards so people can download them and also comment and let us know they are praying for these children!! what a blessing :)Praying for kids in Ukrainehttps://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=5703&forum=16*I am encouraging people to commit to praying for these kids even just 1 child! see that thread and post a reply to commit to praying.

Thanks Yolanda, its great to have all of this information to be able to pray better for the staff. God has been preparing mine and Yolanda's heart for this trip and I am praying that it will be an outflow of my daily walk with the Lord. But also I am praying for an extra amount of God's grace to be able to minister to these children. I know God has many good plans and that fruit will be borne to Him. Please pray about supporting and also praying for the team that is going to Ukraine. For Gods glory :-)

WOW how time is flying by. I will be going on the missions trip with Yolanda and Kelly quite soon, in just over 1 week. Please do pray for me and this team that all the last minute things would be under control and worked out. Pray it would not be stressful or burdensome to prepare for the trip but rather the peace of God being over the situation.I personally am excited to just be open and available for God to use me to bless and minister to these children. There is still a need financially for myself to raise funds for the trip so if God does put that on your heart do help out. Me and Yolanda I am sure will be sharing much of what God did in the trip.

You are all in our prayers here in Manchester!God Bless you all and we wait eagerly for many praise reports. :-) In His Love, Geraldine

Thats a great list of prayer items Yolanda :-) I do hope everyone does take this seriously and prays for us. There will be many opportunities for ministry on the plane, airports, etc.. I went with Yolanda to a cheap clothing store and got a few shirts for some of the leaders of the camp in ukraine to bless them with a gift (its a cultral thing to give gifts to friends). Me and Yolanda also got an tetinus shot last week and are praying and really getting in the mindset to serve and be used by God in Ukraine. There are some last minute items that need to be gotten and also packing of bags etc. Thanks everyone for the interest and prayers. For myself there still is a financial need that I am putting in God's hands, so if anyone feels led to donate towards the mission trip you can either do it:onlinehttps://www.sermonindex.net/support.htmlor..mailmoney or check to Calvary Chapel of Escondido, 1675 Seven Oakes Road, Escondido, CA 92026 (make check payable to: Calvary Chapel of Escondido, memo: Greg, Ukraine).

Great image Yolanda. Here is details for the prayer sheet that is found on the church website:http://calvarychapel.com/escondido/htm/events.htmDownloadable word document:http://www.calvarychapel.com/escondido/Ukraine.docand afterwards we are having an: Missions Prayer & PotluckSunday, July 17 at 6:00 pm in the Youth Center. Join us for a double blessing as we greet the Crawleys, our missionaries to Tennessee, and hear the report from our Ukraine Missions Team to the street kids in Kyiv.I will try and upload the powerpoint presentation on the web so people at SI can view it.

Great NewsI just recieved this email from the mission co-ordinator here is a clip of it:"It is BEAUTIFUL. It's about 30km outside Kyiv so it's quite a hike from anything but the site itself sits in the gorgeous Ukrainian countryside. There aren't any other groups there with us and we'll have an entire dorm to ourselves with (get this!) sitting toilets AND showers in our building with hot water TWICE a day! (Of course, there was no water at all when we visited so do keep your fingers crossed). Accordingly, I give permission to those who have been to previous camps to use the phrase, "well, back when we didn't have toilets..." as often as they'd like... On all the beds there are sheets, blanket, and pillows...however, depending on how cleanliness oriented you are you might still want to bring your own sleeping bag or pillow. The weather is wonderful. It generally rains in a brief shower once a day which keeps the humidity at bay. It's between 70-80 during the day and down in the 50s at night. Would like to warn anyone with allergies that they'll want to come prepared as there is tons of 'fluff' in the air from these trees all over Kyiv."This is very much an answer to prayer that a good facility would be procured and that it would work out. Praise God for what He is doing. Keep praying saints that these children would feel and sense the love of Jesus.

Yolanda posted this on her blog:Fun Facts About Ukraine- Independence day celebrated August 24th- Ukraine is NOT Russia!- Communal living is common (a bunch of people cramped in one apartment)- It's believed that garlic has magical and medicinal values- A rule of etiquitte is always offering to share snacks and cigarettes with others, including strangers- It's believed if a woman sits at the corner of a table, she won't get married for 7 years- It's believed that knocking on wood is good luck- Standing with your hands in your pockets when meeting someone is rude because you're supposed to shake hands- It's believed if a knife falls on the floor, a male will visit; a spoon, a female- Chewing gum in public is not considered polite- It's believed if you leave something behind unintentionally, it means you will come back- Don't put your thumb between your index and middle fingers; it's a particularly rude gesture- An unwed mother is considered a disgrace, but a divorced woman raising children is expected- Pets are popular with Ukrainians, especially dogs; cats are less visible- Jokes about excessive alcohol intake, bureaucratic inefficiencies and corruption, the New Rich/New Russians, and the mafia are the most popularMy TripAs most of you know, I'm going on this trip to Ukraine to help out at a camp for street kids for 2 weeks. I just got an email today saying that the camp is about 25 miles outside of Kyiv, in the beautiful countryside of Ukraine. So I should have some nice pictures when I get back! A lot of these kids (mostly boys) are addicted to using glue as a narcotic. Some are involved in crime, and probably most have been a witness to one. Probably most of them beg or steal to survive. Some live at home with a poor family, some have guardians that are abusive and don't take care of them at all, some live in a flat (apartment) with several other street kids, and others live in orphanages. The purpose of this camp is to love these kids, encourage them to make positive life changes, and most of all, to find hope and purpose in a life lived for God. Please keep me and the rest of us going in your prayers. And don't forget to pray for these kids! Thank you!---read the whole blog here with images of ukraine:http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=flame_of_fire

I would ask SermonIndex to keep us in prayer. I packed last night and got a few things I needed. Like a traveling back for $15 what a deal! :) I think I am pretty much ready as the Lord goes with me to minister and I am sure show me many things about myself also. Please pray for the unity of the group that is ministering.Me, Yolanda and Kelly are leaving tommorow morning early for the whole day flight to Ansterdam and then to Ukraine.I won't be able to post I don't think much in the next 3 weeks so please keep us in prayer and this ministry also. The moderators will be active on the site for immediate crucial questions. ie (Mike).

Just getting off the phone with brother Mike (crsschk) and Jesse (larazus1719), I am very blessed to know so many great brothers and sisters that interlink on SI!! thanks for all the prayers for this mission trip! I am amazed and staggared at how many people are lifting me and this team up in prayer to be fruitful for this mission.I look forward to what the Lord will be doing.

This may well come too late for viewing, but Godspeed to all. Will be praying, for the kids, for you guys, for everything the Lord would have you to do, just to be there for them and share your hearts is a great ministry. May they all see in tangible things the Lord shining through.Thanks Mike and others for your prayers for this mission trip. I am writing this from Kyiv, Ukraine in an internet cafe. The 2 weeks of the summer camp is over and was a great success, it ran very smoothly and the Lord was definetly working. I will share more in detail of all the happenings, pictures and many other great things that I was able to experience. Please do continue to pray for me, yolanda and kelly, for our saftey here in Kyiv and our safe journey back on this upcoming week. I am looking forward to getting back to america and to share what the Lord is doing here with the street children.

Well, it has been almost 3 weeks being away and I am very glad and thankful for being back. The airplane flights were quite long there and back. There was one intial flight from San Diego across the entire states that takes about 5 hours, then there is another flight from the states across the entire ocean to ansterdam, Holand that takes about 7-8 hours. Then from Holand there is another connecting flight that takes about 4 hours to get to Kyiv, Ukraine. In total its about 12-16 hours of flight time and also all the time in the airports checking in, going through security, waiting for flights to board and take off, walking around airports. So its almost an entire 24 hours in airports!! [sigh] But its not all toturous even though I am 6 foot 6 so I barely fit into the airplane seats. But seeing some of the sights in the airports was tremendous and also seeing out the window and the fact that we are traveling across the ocean, england, etc was a really cool feeling. I really enjoyed the Ansterdam Airport.. it really gave me a neat feeling at first being in a different culture, I liked the way that everything seemed so perfect and organized in that airport and also the city seemed like that from the sky. I would really love to go back to Holand for a vacation to visit and see around that beautiful country. Once we got into the Ukrainian airport the reality hit that we are not in America anymore. Everything was different except that there were cokes :P The airport had one little food place that only had ukrainian food which seemed peculair to me at first. All the signs were Russian so there was barely any english at all. Driving from the Airport to the camp was an unique experience also, the roads and the signs were all different and even the way the cars were.. most people drive manual in Ukraine.The poverty and difference from America in Ukraine was very noticible. It is a beautiful country but you can notice quite easily that there are many poor people or not as well off people as in America or other countries. The camp grounds when I first saw them seemed very ghettoish to me and I couldn't believe that we would be having kids stay here to call it a camp. But I got quite used to it quickly and it did become a great camp for the street kids.It is amazing trying to work with kids that don't speak your language, they so want to try and talk to you but you not understanding them is so hard. These kids we were ministering to were not usual kids, they have been quite hardened and toughened up physically, mentally, emotionally. All the kids seemed very physically strong and were VERY rough for just being kids. There were quite a few older kids ages 14-19 there also, I worked mostly with these kids with Yolanda, Kelly and others. The camp was 2 weeks and very long days, God definetly gave me and the other team members strength. There were many times for me to spiritually encourage other staff members and at times the kids. I had opportunities to spend some good time in the word of God each day so I had great devotional times. During the time in Ukraine I went through the entire book of Romans (verse by verse) and also the first 7 chapters of 1 Corinthians (verse by verse). It is amazing how many great truths God showed me while at the camp. So it was a very rich time not just in working with the kids but being blessed from the Scriptures.I was able to meet some great people and friends on staff. There was one fellow named Joel who was 25 years old from Liverpool, England. He was a professional football (soccer) player, and was now retired and getting his phd in football. He was a very interesting man and we had great talks and times together. The kids mostly play football and its there one great love so having a professional to train and coach them was very special. I was blessed to see Joel teach and coach the kids for the first week. It really seemed that the first entire week just revolved around football (soccer). Joel left after the first week and gave medals to every child! It was a great time.I also met Sergei who is an Calvary Chapel pastor from Minsk, Belarus which is the country ontop of Ukraine. He was a great individual with a very good sense of humor, he spoke russian and pretty good english so we had lots of time to talk and fellowship. I really left feeling he was a good friend and I would love to go meet him and see his fellowship one day. After the 2 weeks of camp the opportunity because of visa's to go to belarus didn't work out. So we stayed in Kyiv for 4 days in peoples small flats. It was an iteresting time and there was time to go around Kyiv and sight see some great things. During this time we had the opportunity to go to were some of the kids of the camp lived, it was in the worst part of Kyiv. It was quite saddening to think that they lived in these conditions. But it was great to see a few of the kids again and have another official good-bye.There is much more to share and talk about but I will relent for now. I am going to be working on a slideshow of pictures and video to present to the church and get online hopefully. Also I want to start getting some pictures to put up onto SermonIndex. If anyone has any questions please let me know in the meanwhile.Thank you for your support and prayers !!! they were definetly needed and it was amazing how at times I felt the prayers of Gods people. If you still feel led to help support there is a need for some of the costs still to be covered. And another side note is that I feel compelled to help support this street kids ministry in Kyiv Ukraine. There are over 45,000 street kids in Kyiv right now.. I will post more about that later also. But if you would like to help give to that even a few dollars a month let me know. It would be great to have $50-100 going monthly from SermonIndex to this great ministry. (I will tell more about who runs this ministry also when I post more).

Great letter and pictures, I am going to refrain from posting photos on SI and have people just refer to those 2 links that Yolanda posted.