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Today (Sunday) was the first full day of camp. Our team is definitely tired due to the jet lag. We have late nights and early mornings. We started this morning out with devotions from Philippians chapters 1 and 2. Paul's writings to Philipi are a reminder that God will finish the work that He has begun, that we do not have to fear anything as we advance the gospel in Christ's name, that we have nothing to be ashamed of as believers, that we are to stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel! We do this by following Christ's example of humility. Paul writes to "do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
It was a heavy devotion for the first day of camp but seemed to have prepared the team well for the day ahead. Taking time to read God's word and be Biblically Formed is critical not only at home but especially when trying to reflect Christ to others. Before we get too far, let's set the stage for the camp...
This is not the standard orphanage we originally thought it was. To be honest, it is a very sad place. This is a camp that is located in the middle of nowhere that several orphanages send their kids to for the three month summer. The children range in age from 3-17 and the kids are so incredibly starved for attention it is unbelievable! Most of the younger children want to be held or hold someone's hand. They will literally punch and kick each other to compete for attention. They often fight and wrestle. Most of us have become human jungle gyms to them! The older kids are more challenging... Several are atheists and look down on Christians. They were pretty explicit yesterday in making sure we knew they did not believe in God. For some reason they wanted to make this known. This situation has been difficult for the team members working with these kids. The concept of a father who loves them is not received well, for obvious reasons. Please pray for the team members who are focused on these children. Our American team of 12 people has five Ukrainians who can talk with them in their language. We are thankful for them! And of course, there is the Hope for Orphans staff. They know the kids well and some even have some ongoing relationships from previous years.
As both teams interact with the children, one could not help but think of James 1:27, "religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit widows and orphans in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." This could sound like an arrogant verse to place in a blog, but the truth of the matter is we are blessed to be able to serve and love the children!
With that said, not that anyone is keeping score, the American team won the soccer game today 2-1. The competition is fierce, but having several strong athletes who can play the game well is actually a great bridge builder. They will play many more games in the days to come.
We are doing well collectively and in good spirits! God is good and we are here for a reason. Thank you for your prayers!
-The Ukraine Team