If you would like a prayer/summary update about the trip, give me your email and I will email it to you as an attachment. God has answered prayers in many ways. Thanks for your support!
This is a picture of my team at camp- the Red Bulls!
miércoles, 15 de agosto de 2012
Back Home
Thank-you for all your prayers during my time in Hungary and Ukraine! I have been home for 2 weeks now, adjusting to living in Ft Wayne again, connecting with people, and trying to find a job. Please pray that I would find a social work job soon!
If you would like a prayer/summary update about the trip, give me your email and I will email it to you as an attachment. God has answered prayers in many ways. Thanks for your support!
If you would like a prayer/summary update about the trip, give me your email and I will email it to you as an attachment. God has answered prayers in many ways. Thanks for your support!
jueves, 19 de julio de 2012
Hungary English Camp
I made it safely to Hungary a couple of days ago. I had been in Belgium for a few days and stayed with a missionary family there. It was refreshing for me to be able to relax in their home as I was getting sick. Thankfully, I'm better now, but that was my time to recuperate from the craziness of Ukraine. As I left, they had just started their annual Summer League, a ministry to reach people through basketball. They started the FormaSport nonprofit about 20 years ago as a way of establishing relationships and witnessing to Belgians. You can be praying for this ministry and all the other Christian camps that go on in Europe during this time. On Monday night, they had the first round of tournaments. It was fun to watch since those guys can really play basketball!
-'Conveyed': When a buyer purchases a house, the deed conveys ownership to the buyer's name. In other words, God officially owns us since we were bought with a price.
-'Translated': We used to live in the ways of this world and spoke the language of this world. Now that we are part of God's kingdom, we should no longer speak the words of the world. The new birth calls for a new language!
This stuck out to me after reading this passage: Since God owns me as His child, He has the right to send me anywhere and ask anything of me. I must respond in obedience no matter what the circumstance. There is a reason I'm in Hungary at this time, so I must serve Him and glory Him in everything (1 Co 6:20).
Other translations use the verbs 'brought us', 'put us', or 'transferred us'. These different verbs brought an image into my head of a dad carrying a child who is kicking and screaming from one place to another to protect the child from a bad place. Many times, we want to return to our old ways of sin and sometimes respond with rebellion when God draws us back to Him. But He is a loving Father who has bought us with the biggest price of all- Jesus Christ! Praise God!
Thanks for all of your prayers! I may not be able to post again until after the camp which ends on July 28th.
in downtown Brussels with Chelsea
Belgian waffles and CHOCOLATE!
So, I'm now in Vecses, a small town where FEC missionaries Attila and Tamara live. I stayed in their apartment on Tuesday night and awoke early the next morning to their adorable kids Levi and Lily who are 4 and 2 years old. They have a lot of energy! We spent the morning in the park with the kids and then bought camp supplies later in the afternoon. Today the rest of the camp staff are supposed to arrive and settle in.
Please pray for:
-Good communication and flexibility among staff members
-Strength for staff members who have jetlag
-Newly converted campers to increase in their faith and to be a good witness for other campers
-the Gospel and staff testimonies to be presented clearly to campers (through conversations, actions, and the Gospel Night on Thursday)
-New believers as a result of this camp!!
I learned something very interesting in my devotions today in reading Colossians 1:13.
"[The Father] who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love".From my devotional book: Some versions of Col 1:13 say 'translated' and others say 'conveyed' even though both are correct.
-'Conveyed': When a buyer purchases a house, the deed conveys ownership to the buyer's name. In other words, God officially owns us since we were bought with a price.
-'Translated': We used to live in the ways of this world and spoke the language of this world. Now that we are part of God's kingdom, we should no longer speak the words of the world. The new birth calls for a new language!
This stuck out to me after reading this passage: Since God owns me as His child, He has the right to send me anywhere and ask anything of me. I must respond in obedience no matter what the circumstance. There is a reason I'm in Hungary at this time, so I must serve Him and glory Him in everything (1 Co 6:20).
Other translations use the verbs 'brought us', 'put us', or 'transferred us'. These different verbs brought an image into my head of a dad carrying a child who is kicking and screaming from one place to another to protect the child from a bad place. Many times, we want to return to our old ways of sin and sometimes respond with rebellion when God draws us back to Him. But He is a loving Father who has bought us with the biggest price of all- Jesus Christ! Praise God!
Thanks for all of your prayers! I may not be able to post again until after the camp which ends on July 28th.
viernes, 6 de julio de 2012
I hope I did a Super Pooper job!
You heard right- a Super Pooper job! This is what Ukrainians say instead of 'super-duper'. Apparently, the word duper is a bad word in Ukrainian so they say 'pooper' instead. Tell me how this is any better? I could not stop laughing when my friend told me this the other day!
Yesterday was the last day of classes with the students. We had a closing ceremony where all students were presented with their certificates and outstanding students were recognized. Each group of students was in charge of making a skit/song/dance together. Each act was interesting. All the teachers sang a farewell song accompanied by Linda playing the flute. We each prepared a short farewell speech for the students. It was sad to say goodbye to the students but they promised to keep in touch. Even after only 2 weeks with them, I felt attached to them. I'm excited because some of them will enroll in LCC in the coming year.
Today the teachers will take a bus to Kiev and some of us will spend the day there. Then I will be meeting up with friends in nearby towns to stay with them for a few days. Then I'll be visiting a friend in Belgium for a couple of days. I won't be in Hungary until the 17th when I will meet the rest of the team. Pray for safe travels!
Yesterday was the last day of classes with the students. We had a closing ceremony where all students were presented with their certificates and outstanding students were recognized. Each group of students was in charge of making a skit/song/dance together. Each act was interesting. All the teachers sang a farewell song accompanied by Linda playing the flute. We each prepared a short farewell speech for the students. It was sad to say goodbye to the students but they promised to keep in touch. Even after only 2 weeks with them, I felt attached to them. I'm excited because some of them will enroll in LCC in the coming year.
Today the teachers will take a bus to Kiev and some of us will spend the day there. Then I will be meeting up with friends in nearby towns to stay with them for a few days. Then I'll be visiting a friend in Belgium for a couple of days. I won't be in Hungary until the 17th when I will meet the rest of the team. Pray for safe travels!
Potluck with students
We let off a lantern in the city's Valley of Roses. There were 2000 that were lit that night. It was beautiful!
Boatride on the Niepr
miércoles, 4 de julio de 2012
Psalm 118
"Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord. These gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there. I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory...He is for me; What can man do to me?...This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalms 118: 19-20, 6, 24
Psalm 118 has really stuck with me during the past week. I was challenged to genuinely desire the Lord and to be intentional about seeking His presence. It was also an encouraging reminder to live with an eternal purpose and a hope that we will one day enter His gates and be with Him forever!
I've also been burdened to pray for people at home too from things people post on Facebook or prayer requests from church. For one, Pastor Jim, my pastor from church, is battling an unexpected cancer and he was just put on hospice. This was hard news to hear, but I also read that there would be a prayer vigil at 7pm at my church. After reading Psalm 118, I asked God to wake me up at 2am if he wanted me to pray with my fellow church members at the same time (with the time difference). Anyways, I went to bed that night only to suddenly wake up to my roommate yelling in Russian. By the way, she also started slapping me! When I looked at my clock it said 2:11. Oh my, God works in funny ways! :)
There are so many people suffering and hurting, but we can trust in the Lord's might strength and provision. One of my students mentioned that he didn't see how the Bible related to his life now thousands of years later. This was sad to hear, but I'm praying for him. He has been coming to all of the evening activities, including the discussion of the book of John. There is a small group of students who are Christians; they came to church with us on Sunday.
Thanks for your prayers and let me know how I can pray for you as well!
Psalms 118: 19-20, 6, 24
Psalm 118 has really stuck with me during the past week. I was challenged to genuinely desire the Lord and to be intentional about seeking His presence. It was also an encouraging reminder to live with an eternal purpose and a hope that we will one day enter His gates and be with Him forever!
I've also been burdened to pray for people at home too from things people post on Facebook or prayer requests from church. For one, Pastor Jim, my pastor from church, is battling an unexpected cancer and he was just put on hospice. This was hard news to hear, but I also read that there would be a prayer vigil at 7pm at my church. After reading Psalm 118, I asked God to wake me up at 2am if he wanted me to pray with my fellow church members at the same time (with the time difference). Anyways, I went to bed that night only to suddenly wake up to my roommate yelling in Russian. By the way, she also started slapping me! When I looked at my clock it said 2:11. Oh my, God works in funny ways! :)
There are so many people suffering and hurting, but we can trust in the Lord's might strength and provision. One of my students mentioned that he didn't see how the Bible related to his life now thousands of years later. This was sad to hear, but I'm praying for him. He has been coming to all of the evening activities, including the discussion of the book of John. There is a small group of students who are Christians; they came to church with us on Sunday.
Thanks for your prayers and let me know how I can pray for you as well!
Group A students in class
Out to lunch with Group B students
Singing and Dancing was the afternoon event on Monday. Here we are learning how to line dance Canadian style. I taught them the Cha Cha slide as well and some of the girls taught some Ukrainian moves. It was very hard and involved leaping into the air!
sábado, 30 de junio de 2012
Have you ever hugged a bear?
We had a very busy week with English classes every day! We also planned activities with the students:
Tuesday: 'Facing the Giants' movie night- In this movie a football coach faces many difficulties in his life yet chooses to give glory to God in all areas of his life. It has a strong Christian message about trusting God despite the wins/losses in our life. In small groups we discussed our own fears and challenges, what we learned from the movie, and what it means to live for a higher purpose.
Wednesday- We had a book discussion on the book of Ruth. We discussed the cultural background as well as the themes of obedience, losses in life, perserverance, etc. It tied in well with the theme from the movie the night before.
Thursday- 'Why do Americans smile and eat McDonalds and Ukrainians dance and eat salo?' This was the title of the event. We began by playing a funny Thai game in which a person passes an orange without using their hands. Then Tanya and I acted out interesting greetings from other cultures. The students then had to guess the country after we acted it out. For instance, for the country of Moldova I had to kiss her hand and say 'I kiss your hand'. It was all we could to to keep from laughing. Then we had a panel of the teachers share funny stories about culture, misunderstandings, and stereotypes.
Friday- We had a pizza party with games and water volleyball. I taught the kids how to play Big Booty and Ninja. It was quite hilarious!
Saturday- We had an international potluck at the apartment of Linda and Cerelina. I made Lithuanian kepta duona, Tanya made squash pancakes, and other teachers brought potato salad, asian noodles and chocolate chip cookies. Students brought salo (the famous Ukrainian pig fat), cake, Vareniki (dumplings), ice cream, and salad. Later we played the game Mafia. It was very funny! We then went for a walk in the park near the Niepr River.
I've enjoyed getting to know the students as they are very friendly and eager to practice their English. We only have one week left to go. Pray that teachers can continue to be intentional in caring for students and building relationships.
So...
Have you ever hugged a bear?
Have you ever travelled to another country?
Have you ever jumped off of a plane?
Have you ever broken both legs?
I was constantly hearing questions like these because we have been working on the present perfect tense in class! That reminds me...Yes, I have hugged a bear recently! It was at the circus here in Cherkassy. Don't be fooled by the depressed and unamused look on his face! He is probably only sad because he can't hug me back!
Tuesday: 'Facing the Giants' movie night- In this movie a football coach faces many difficulties in his life yet chooses to give glory to God in all areas of his life. It has a strong Christian message about trusting God despite the wins/losses in our life. In small groups we discussed our own fears and challenges, what we learned from the movie, and what it means to live for a higher purpose.
Wednesday- We had a book discussion on the book of Ruth. We discussed the cultural background as well as the themes of obedience, losses in life, perserverance, etc. It tied in well with the theme from the movie the night before.
Thursday- 'Why do Americans smile and eat McDonalds and Ukrainians dance and eat salo?' This was the title of the event. We began by playing a funny Thai game in which a person passes an orange without using their hands. Then Tanya and I acted out interesting greetings from other cultures. The students then had to guess the country after we acted it out. For instance, for the country of Moldova I had to kiss her hand and say 'I kiss your hand'. It was all we could to to keep from laughing. Then we had a panel of the teachers share funny stories about culture, misunderstandings, and stereotypes.
Friday- We had a pizza party with games and water volleyball. I taught the kids how to play Big Booty and Ninja. It was quite hilarious!
Saturday- We had an international potluck at the apartment of Linda and Cerelina. I made Lithuanian kepta duona, Tanya made squash pancakes, and other teachers brought potato salad, asian noodles and chocolate chip cookies. Students brought salo (the famous Ukrainian pig fat), cake, Vareniki (dumplings), ice cream, and salad. Later we played the game Mafia. It was very funny! We then went for a walk in the park near the Niepr River.
I've enjoyed getting to know the students as they are very friendly and eager to practice their English. We only have one week left to go. Pray that teachers can continue to be intentional in caring for students and building relationships.
So...
Have you ever hugged a bear?
Have you ever travelled to another country?
Have you ever jumped off of a plane?
Have you ever broken both legs?
I was constantly hearing questions like these because we have been working on the present perfect tense in class! That reminds me...Yes, I have hugged a bear recently! It was at the circus here in Cherkassy. Don't be fooled by the depressed and unamused look on his face! He is probably only sad because he can't hug me back!
Have a great week!
lunes, 25 de junio de 2012
Patriotism
Today was the opening day where we had registration, played interactive games with the students and proctored their placement tests. There was an air of nervousness and excitement. We then spent time as teachers placing the students into three different groups based on their test scores. Some students came from cities as far away as 16 hours by bus. That is dedication.
One thing I like about Ukraine is that I blend in much better than I do in other countries such as in Latin American or Asian countries. In Mexico, they whistle at you and call you 'güerita' meaning blonde girl and in Korea they stare unabashedly at you. That drove me crazy even though I had good experiences there overall! Maybe I blend in too much, since today one student thought I was another fellow student! Oops, I think they were more embarrassed than I was!
This is me pretending to be a Ukrainian girl, haha. We went and got our hair done at a festival for Euro2012. They are still patriotic even if they didn't make it to the finals! They made traditional braids in a bun with the colors of the Ukrainian flag which are yellow and blue. Now I really blend in :) Except for one thing- can you tell from the picture? Ukrainians and probably most Europeans don't smile in pictures. Oops, I gave myself away!
Yesterday we had the privilege of attending a church service at Nina's church. She is a friend from LCC who lives in Cherkassy and has been helping us here. It was very uplifting and prayerful. Thankfully Nina translated for us as it was all in Russian. Afterwards, we spent time together at the local zoo and had lunch together. In the evening we strolled through the downtown area. One thing I love about Europe is being able to walk everywhere.
Tomorrow is the first full day of classes!
One thing I like about Ukraine is that I blend in much better than I do in other countries such as in Latin American or Asian countries. In Mexico, they whistle at you and call you 'güerita' meaning blonde girl and in Korea they stare unabashedly at you. That drove me crazy even though I had good experiences there overall! Maybe I blend in too much, since today one student thought I was another fellow student! Oops, I think they were more embarrassed than I was!
This is me pretending to be a Ukrainian girl, haha. We went and got our hair done at a festival for Euro2012. They are still patriotic even if they didn't make it to the finals! They made traditional braids in a bun with the colors of the Ukrainian flag which are yellow and blue. Now I really blend in :) Except for one thing- can you tell from the picture? Ukrainians and probably most Europeans don't smile in pictures. Oops, I gave myself away!
Yesterday we had the privilege of attending a church service at Nina's church. She is a friend from LCC who lives in Cherkassy and has been helping us here. It was very uplifting and prayerful. Thankfully Nina translated for us as it was all in Russian. Afterwards, we spent time together at the local zoo and had lunch together. In the evening we strolled through the downtown area. One thing I love about Europe is being able to walk everywhere.
Tomorrow is the first full day of classes!
miércoles, 20 de junio de 2012
Слава Україні -'Slava Ukraini!
After a long day of traveling on Monday, I finally made it to Kiev, Ukraine the following day! Tania was there to meet me and the other 3 teachers who also arrived that day- Scott is an American missionary in Indonesia, Cerelina is a Filipino woman teaching in Canada, and Linda is a Canadian nurse who also teaches English. It is a diverse group! After meeting them, we took a bus for about 3 hours to Cherkassy. We were exhausted by the time we arrived, but were greeted by some friendly Ukrainian friends who welcomed us with borscht soup and crepes with cottage cheese. We all slept very well last night despite the time change.
Today Tania (another Tania since it's a popular name) joined us; she is another teacher who lives in a nearby city. It was great to see her again! We were student teachers together at a kids club 2 years ago in Lithuania as part of our practicum. We all spent the day becoming familiar with the city by walking to the center, buying maps, and locating the stores near our apartments. Tomorrow we will spend part of the day lesson planning and organizing aspects of the camp such as assessing the students' levels and preparing extra events such as Bible studies.
Thanks for your prayers!
*Right now the biggest concern is the number of students enrolled in the program. There are only 25 high school students registered whereas last year there were 39 students who enrolled in the program. There is still time to register, so please pray for more!
*Praise: All of my support was raised! Praise God!
Title of post: 'Slava Urkaini' means 'long live Ukraine'. It is kind of an inside joke with my Ukrainian roommates I had at LCC. They made me learn the phrase for when I visited Ukraine so that I could say it to people. So I'm sure Tania was proud of me when I said it to her last night! haha
Today Tania (another Tania since it's a popular name) joined us; she is another teacher who lives in a nearby city. It was great to see her again! We were student teachers together at a kids club 2 years ago in Lithuania as part of our practicum. We all spent the day becoming familiar with the city by walking to the center, buying maps, and locating the stores near our apartments. Tomorrow we will spend part of the day lesson planning and organizing aspects of the camp such as assessing the students' levels and preparing extra events such as Bible studies.
Thanks for your prayers!
*Right now the biggest concern is the number of students enrolled in the program. There are only 25 high school students registered whereas last year there were 39 students who enrolled in the program. There is still time to register, so please pray for more!
*Praise: All of my support was raised! Praise God!
Title of post: 'Slava Urkaini' means 'long live Ukraine'. It is kind of an inside joke with my Ukrainian roommates I had at LCC. They made me learn the phrase for when I visited Ukraine so that I could say it to people. So I'm sure Tania was proud of me when I said it to her last night! haha
Suscribirse a:
Comentarios (Atom)
