Update from Kharkov, Ukraine

Hello Midtowners:

The team has arrived back in Nashville safely and have returned (or attempted to return) to our normal routines and lives. Encouraging news came to us today from the pastor of the local church in Kharkov we partnered with this year. We are extremely excited that this year there is now a community in the kids' own city ready to minister to them.

Here is what Pastor Slavic had to say:
Greetings to you by the grace and peace of Our God Jesus Christ from the church "Revival", Kharkov!

I want to thank you and all your team for the work you've done for the glory of the Lord at the camp for orphans. God bless you for your hearts loving orphans in Ukraine. I believe that your work was not in vain because in the first Sunday after the camp a group of children came to a service in our church.
I believe that all together we will be glad to see good fruit in Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:1-11).

Best regards,
pastor Slavic Khramov

And just minutes ago, the church's youth pastor Slava posted these photos with the following description:  These guys came to us on Sunday, they woke up at 5 and skipped breakfast to do this. Pray for church people to be ready to accept these kids

For those that have been traveling to see these kids since 2009, this news is better than anything we could have ever imagined. It was a dream one year ago for these kids to have a Christian community in their own city. To see this fruit is a gift from God. Pray pray pray pray for Revival church in Kharkov. Pray that their church members that were not at camp with us would be just as loving and accepting of these precious kids as their camp staff was. Pray for these kids to find community and a loving family in this church. Our God is so Good. 

Snapshots

Some photos of camp have already surfaced...

Headed west

Heather Harris made the obligatory Facebook check-in from the McDonald's in Poltava, Ukraine:

"The team is enjoying lunch on the way home from camp here in Poltava. Amazing experiences and many stories to tell upon our return. We love and miss you all. Thank you for all your prayers and support."

Angel Bachuss posted: "Camp is over :( Heading back to Kiev" But she also posted this picture of Prithvi:

So, the team has begun it's trip back to the US.

How to pray

• Pray for the children they've just left. Many of them have told us over the years that Radooga camp isn't just the highlight of their summer, it's the highlight of their year. Many tears were shed around the bus as the team left. Pray for the hearts of the children.
• Pray for the team as they'll take a little time in Kiev to decompress. This is an important time for them. Pray that they can relax, not be too ready to go home, and have some fun! Also that they would form even tighter relationships with each other, ones that will have an impact on our community back home.
• Pray of course, for traveling mercies.

Thanks everyone,

Russ

A must-read post from Kharkiv

This comes from the Radooga blog yesterday. There's no byline, but I'm pretty sure this one is from Heather Harris:

"Our days here are filled with evidence of the Lord’s work. The Ukrainian and American teams are unified and none of us can believe tomorrow is our last full day of camp. There are many amazing things happening here, but we want to share one specific story from today. 

In 2010, after two summers spent here at camp, people at Midtown Fellowship were invited to take a picture of a specific orphan and commit to pray for them. Prithvi Muddana picked a random picture of a boy named Dima and has been praying for him for the past two years. Prithvi had the opportunity to join our team this year in Ukraine. All week, Prithvi has wanted to meet Dima but it just hadn’t happened yet. Tonight, after our evening discussion time with the kids, Dima struck up a conversation with a couple team members. Prithvi was nearby and decided to go introduce himself. The conversation, though, was an important one. Dima made the decision tonight to follow Christ. He prayed for the Lord to enter his life as his Savior. After Dima finished praying, Prithvi approached him and told him he had been praying for him for the last two years and that he was very excited to finally meet him. It was a beautiful moment that felt so incredibly perfect and holy. We almost can’t believe that Prithvi, after faithfully praying for this child, would then be able to witness the divine moment where Dima made this life-changing decison. But we serve a God that can do the things we believe to be impossible. We serve a God that loves us so much He would orchestrate these glimpses for us of the work He is doing. We serve a Great God indeed. 

Please pray for our last full day of camp tomorrow. Pray for strength and energy. Pray that we would be willing to submit to the Lord’s authority and His perfect plans. Camp AICT is a special place. The Lord has done and continues to do great things here."

Updates from Kharkiv

Team leader Heather Harris posted the following picture Monday to her instagram with a caption saying they made it to Kiev with ALL their luggage:

Then, later on that day, Sergey of Radooga staff posted this photo of the team with the translators and other Americans on the road to Kharkiv.

Then late yesterday, Angel Bachuss posted an update on Radooga's blog. Here's an excerpt:

"The highlight of the day was getting our first introductions to the Kharkov church that we will be working with. This year for the first time there will be local Christians leading camp with us. Our prayer is that this church will continue ministering to these children even when camp is over. Also we want the kids to have a church they can connect with when they leave camp. Today we met a few of the Ukrainian team members. They seem to really have hearts to serve these orphans. It is so encouraging!"

I'll keep digesting as much as I can from all the different social media outlets here, but I would suggest keeping an eye on Radooga's blog if you can, and joining our facebook group if you'd like.

-Russ

And they're off!

Terribly blurry picture of the Ukraine team this morning

Got a text message from Heather just a few minutes ago. The team has boarded their flight to Paris on their way to Ukraine!

How to pray for them

• Please pray that they would find a way to rest on the flight. When they land in Kiev, they'll have a 6 hour wait at the airport until the team of Americans from Pennsylvania will join them. After that, they'll immediately take a bus to Kharkiv (about a 9 hour trip). There's the potential for some seriously jet-lagged people. So please pray that they would all sleep on the flight and bus ride.
• Please continue to pray for the Ukrainian Church partner that will be joining them this summer. This is the first time we've ever been partnered with a specific church to work with the orphans at this camp. Pray that cross-cultural communications would be smooth, and that all involved would be humble servants of Christ.
• Pray for their cohesion with the other team of Americans coming from Pennsylvania (led by John McCants, who was the leader of the team that joined us in 2010). Pray that in the time before camp begins that the two teams could gel, and really become friends before the hard work starts.
• Of course pray for the children! I know they're getting very excited. They've been at this camp a long time with nothing to do.

Updates to follow as I get them...

-Russ Anderson, from the comfort of his desk in Nashville, TN

Meet the Team: Jan Richey

Our team member Jan Richey has already left for Ukraine! He is spending some time visiting orphanages before he joins us at camp. This is Jan's 4th trip to Ukraine.

Pray for Jan's safe travels in and around Kharkov over the next few days.

Meet the Team: Aaron Long

# of Visits to Ukraine: This will be my first

Favorite place you've ever visited: It's a tie between London, Switzerland and Mexico City.

Music of choice for our upcoming 9 hour flight: Various artists or maybe a nine hour symphony...I'll look into it.

Food you will miss most while in Ukraine: Food.  I kid.  I'm not sure I will miss any type of food.  Looking forward to trying the Ukrainian quisine I've been hearing so much about.

Favorite word you've learned in Russian so far: peKAW peKAW

Why you're going this summer: I've felt the pull to go for the past couple of years now.  Instead of getting all Jonah about it, I decided this year is the year I should go.  God has provided so it must be so. 

Meet the Team: Angel Bachuss

Name: Angel Bachuss

# of Visits to Ukraine: 4th visit to Ukraine

Favorite place you've ever visited: Cinque Terre, Italy - Beautful little Italian towns along the Meditteranean cost that you can hike between

Music of choice for our upcoming 9 hour flight: My ipod is dead, so no music this trip.  I'm currently reading 3 different books:  The China Study, The Historian, and Eat and Run (I have a short attention span )

Food you will miss most while in Ukraine: Watermelon and strawberries!!!

Favorite word you've learned in Russian so far: Moledietz (Way to go!)

Why you're going this summer: I'm going this summer to Ukraine because God really loves the people and orphans of Ukraine.  And God has called me to love and serve them.  Also, I'm going because I never feel as joyful, peaceful, and close to God as I do when I'm running around at camp with a bunch of sweaty people yelling in Russian. :)