Meet the Team: Heather Harris

Name: Heather Harris

# of Visits to Ukraine: This will be my 6th time in Ukraine

Favorite place you've ever visited: International: Independence Square in Kiev at Christmas// US: Zuma Beach, CA with my bro  

Music of choice for our upcoming 9 hour flight: Always on shuffle so mostly Coldplay, John Mayer, and Andrew Peterson 

Food you will miss most while in Ukraine: I'm definitely with Robb on this one. I would kill for some chips and salsa at camp. And fresh veggies. 

Favorite word you've learned in Russian so far: "тапочки" - pronounced "tapochkee" -it means slippers

Why you're going this summer: There is definitely a sense that going on these trips is my "normal" now. I'm so thankful for the relationships the Lord has given me through my trips to Ukraine with the sweet kids and Radooga friends. My hope this summer is for those relationships to grow deeper in the truth of what the Lord has done and is doing in all our lives. Hoping the Lord will remind me of his Goodness and fill our team's hearts with Grace and Peace. 

Meet the Team: Robb Pring

Name: Robb Pring

# of Visits to Ukraine: 2nd time to the U!

Favorite place you've ever visited: Favorite place visited would be Ukraine,Kiev of course. Puerto Penasco,mexico also has some good memories. Locally anything with some falls or a swimming hole off a good trail is always fun!

Music of choice for our upcoming 9 hour flight: Music of choice for the flight and bus trip...... My good friend,teammate and coworker mike mcdonald just gave me his old ipod with all new music to me, so I'll def. be rocking out to that. Rap,rock,country,screamo, and a little comedy is whats up.

Food you will miss most while in Ukraine: Food I will most miss in Ukraine will probably be mexican its just so hard to find some good chips and salsa in Ukraine. Although its equally as difficult to find really good chicken kiev in the states although I heard Russ/Lindsay Anderson can make a mean blini. 

Favorite word you've learned in Russian so far: Favorite word in russian right now would probably have to be privyet ya'll.... translation hello i believe thats of a southern dialect

Why you're going this summer: my reason for going to camp...Long story short if I can somehow have an impact on these kids as they,the camp, our translators, radooga, and their culture has had on my life then i know its all good. The redemptive power of God is overwhelming to say the least. I am so grateful for my awesome family,great friends, and supporters alike. Everyone who gives  whether it be time, money, or prayer is a part of this so thank you everyone. I know that this is bigger than us, so excited to be a part of this with you    

Meet the Team: Ashley Spilker

Name: Ashley Spilker

# of Visits to Ukraine: This is my first visit to Ukraine. 

Favorite place you've ever visited: The breath-taking beaches of Punta Islita, Costa Rica

Music of choice for our upcoming 9 hour flight: The Head and The Heart, Madi Diaz, Ray LaMontagne

Food you will miss most while in Ukraine: Fresh fruit! :-)

Favorite word you've learned in Russian so far: Spukoynee Nochi (sleep well...it sounds almost like "nighty-night")

Why you're going this summer: I want others to know of the powerful, endless Love of God given to us through the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross. If I believe Christ is who He says He is, then there is no other choice. God says go, so let's go. 

Meet the Team: Lori Martin

Name: Lori Martin

# of Visits to Ukraine: This will be my 4th trip!

Favorite place you've ever visited: Oh, man.  In real life?  I'd have to say Ukraine.  I love Europe, but from a distance.  Sigh.

Music of choice for our upcoming 9 hour flight: I'll be jamming out to some Otis Redding and other soul (and resisting the urge to break it DOWN), Radiohead, some Don Williams for the homesickness, and some good old Russian rap to get me in the mood for camp!

Food you will miss most while in Ukraine: Italian EVERYTHING>olive oil, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil.  And, red wine.  And, ice cream.

Favorite word you've learned in Russian so far: It's a tie between zdratsvootye and spokoyne noche.  They both roll off the tongue so well.

Why you're going this summer: I have had this supernatural love for these specific kids ever since I met them in 2010. Their faces cross my mind often.  When I'm staring at a full moon on a cloudless night, when I'm riding my bike on a busy street, when I'm walking to my car after work...when I say my prayers. Some days, it feels like the only thing I really believe in...that God loves them so much and predestined for our paths to cross so they can experience a sliver of what it's like to be loved and treated well.  I feel a deep understanding of their self loathing, their need for attention, and also their love of life and adventure.  I hope and pray that these small moments of personal connection break into some crack in their souls and impact them as their lives continue however empty and unsatisfying that life may seem.  And, honestly?  I wish I could do more.  But, that's up to God; not me.

Meet the Team: Prithvi Muddana

                                       Name: Prithvi Muddana

# of Visits to Ukraine: This will be my first

Favorite place you've ever visited: The sunrise over the Andes Mountains in Peru

Music of choice for our upcoming 9 hour flight: Worship music, a good, healthy dose of country, and some Mumford and Needtobreathe on the side

Food you will miss most while in Ukraine: Chick Fil-A (chicken sandwich with waffle fries and a cookies and cream milkshake)

Favorite word you've learned in Russian so far: Paka paka

Why you're going this summer: I've noticed one thing my life: that I have made very few, if any, decisions on what I would do each step of the way. God has always led me along the right path for my life. This is one of those examples. I picked up a picture of Dima Pelepenko when Midtown did the pray for child board. I prayed for him, went to a few meetings, and God put it on my heart to go. After being unable to go on previous trips, the timing finally worked out for this trip. I love working with kids and have been on a few service trips, but I am excited to be a part of something that's bigger than my daily worries and to see what God has in store for my first mission trip.

Movie Night Fundraiser

Hi guys-
Our summer 2012 team is raising money for our upcoming trip at Midtown Downtown's movie night on July 12th. We will be there selling baked goods and ice cream to enjoy during the movie! Come by and see us!

How to Pray: Surprises

As most of you know, when teams from Midtown head over to Ukraine, we are going for the purpose of working with groups of orphaned children and teenagers. Our teams, during preparation, often talk about expectations of these trips. Over and over again in the time leading up to trips, we remind each other to simply allow things to happen and let God show up.

Obviously, our sole purpose is to share the Gospel with these kids. We want them to understand what this life is all about and share with them God's extravagant love for them. We spend hours talking about ways to reach out to them and how to keep them engaged and interested. Our focus is definitely on the kids as we head to camp.

But this summer, God was working in ways we never would have guessed. While we're at camp, we have an amazing group of translators that work alongside us and provide the American team with a voice to speak the Gospel and love on the kids. These translators are usually young Ukrainian adults who have studied English and have connected with the Radooga ministry to work with them for the summer at camps. One of our translators this year was Dima (center). He grew up in the tradition of the Orthodox church in Ukraine and simply came to camp this summer with a couple of his good friends that have worked with Radooga. During Dima's time at camp, he became our voice to the kids and spent his week translating countless conversations about Jesus, sin, the Gospel, and the struggles of life. The Lord was doing powerful things in Dima and at times translating conversations became a very overwhelming experience for him. After our week at orphan camp, Dima was invited to attend a youth camp the following week as a camper and as he says, "the seeds you planted grew that week." Dima became a Christian at that camp and began his new life in Christ. He now begins the difficult struggle he shares not only with the orphans, but with many in Ukraine, of living as a Christian in a society and culture that is anything but accepting. Dima enters this journey with amazing perspective, an ever positive attitude, and a clear understanding of his hope in Christ. He is currently studying law in Kiev and has the amazing opportunity to make a difference in his country through his passion for helping people, now equipped with the Love of Christ.

Dima's experience opened our eyes to the countless ways the Lord is working in Ukraine and not only with the orphans. It is obvious God is so much bigger than the expectations and plans we have for this ministry. As Dima will tell you, the Lord is all over his past, his decisions, and led him right where he needed to be this summer. His life is such an amazing picture of the beautiful story the Lord is telling in all of our lives and how He is working everything for good.

Pray this week for Dima and all the other young Christians living in Ukraine. Our team is incredibly grateful for their service to us during our time there as well as their friendships. We are all thankful the Lord has woven Midtown and Ukraine together so that we are blessed with the opportunity to have these amazing people in our lives.