A Miracle!!!!!

So Greg's been buggin' me to post about my recent mission trip to Kiev, Ukraine to minister to street kids at a camp (June 28-July 10). I've been super busy catching up on errands and office work since I got back. And honestly, yesterday I didn't really know what to write. But God's timing is perfect!Moments ago my eyes were filled with tears - happy ones. I've been praying for all the kids who have returned to living on the streets after camp, but there has been one kid, Misha, who has been especially on my heart. I got attached to him the most, and in everyone's opinion, he was the hardest, most hopeless case. He was addicted to sniffing glue and was having really bad withdrawal pains throughout camp. I wrote him a couple letters while I was there telling him how special he was, how much God loved him, how much I cared about him, and begged him not to go back to sniffing glue. I told him I'd be checking up on him to see how he was doing. Here's an update I received through an email today:"... Another boy is Misha who is 17. He sleeps under a railway platform. For the first few days he wouldn't change his clothes to go to sleep. 'I can't,' he explained to Pavel. 'Because under the platform when I sleep there are so many rats. I can't get used to there not being rats here.' He went on to explain how hard it was for him not to have glue or to smoke. He said it was like there were two people in him - one telling him to do what was right and the other drawing him away. Two days after the camp, Pavel and Vika couldn't sleep, and so went out for a walk near their house at about 11:00 pm. They happened across Maks and Misha walking around together, carrying their things from camp. Pavel said that it was good that they were together and that they weren't on glue. They spent more than an hour talking to them."Greg's going to post a picture of Misha for me. I don't want to make this first post too long or most of you may not have the time to read it all. So if you guys have any more questions about these kids, this ministry I helped out with, or what we did at camp, please post and I'll answer. Most of all, please pray if it's on your heart to do so. Thank you.

Well, uh, glad to see that I encouraged at least one person [laughs]. I told you that this wouldn't make for a very hot topic. But oh well.I did put a power point presentation together for my church this weekend and shared a bit about my personal experience with the kids. Many people were touched. It was awesome!If no one else has any other questions or comments though... well, I guess this is a dead topic.

Please tell us what you did in the Ukraine...Who were the people that you ministered to and how did they come to attend the camp?

Yes, do. I have some interest in the Ukraine, having visited a couple of times just before the breakup of the old Soviet Block.

[laughs] Matthew2323... your questions reminded me of what our pastor shared about missions yesterday. First you asked what I did in the Ukraine. But you redeemed yourself by then asking who I ministered to [laughs]. Our pastor said yesterday that America is such a task oriented culture. But the camp wasn't so much about what we did, but who we met. I already shared about one of those kids, and his name was Misha. I'll post what I shared with my congregation yesterday. It's one of my journal entries that I wrote on our last night of camp:FRIDAY, JULY 9TH, 2004... I guess I could sum up this camp in one word - relationships. I hope the time we've invested in these kids lasts a lifetime. I hope that one day we'll see that the good we've done for them was not in vain. I pray that we gave each kid the hope they maybe were lacking. That their eyes were open to the fact that they're each very special to God. I hope that each one of them will choose to live up to their God given potential...Thank God, he answered my desires just 2 days after camp with that good report about Misha not being back on glue. Another kid, Maks, who's 11, is an orphan, has lived on the streets all his life, and has never gone to school, decided after the winter camp in February that he was going to stop sniffing glue. I guess he was a different, better kid at our summer camp, and him and Misha are hanging out together now on the streets. I hope they will both be an encouragement to each other to keep making good choices. Maks would like to get into a Christian shelter.Okay, now to answer some more of your questions:1. Who were the people that I ministered to?There were only 2 young girls, Ivanka & Nastya, and hardly any young children at all. Nearly all the children were boys between the ages of 11 & 18, who were glue-users & had lived on the streets for a long time. They struggled with various addictions throughout the entire 2 weeks & eventually three, Costya, Losha, & Vitalik, did run away. We had 3 small Bible study groups, & I was signed up to work with the older teenage boys. The other leaders in my group were Rick from my church, Clare from the UK, Rachel from the UK (currently living in Kiev), & Andre & Julia from Belarus. I loved my group.2. How did they come to attend the camp?Well, there's this couple, Pavel & Vika, who have worked with these kids for about 5 years now. I guess they just walk the streets & visit these kids where they live. Currently, Pavel holds football (American soccer) tournaments for the kids. He hopes to have a Bible study that'll meet once a week for them too. So Pavel has established a relationship with a lot of these kids & he's one of the few adults they trust. When these camps come, he visits all the kids & tells them to get all their stuff together & meet at a certain place to get picked up for the camp. Everyone on the team helps to sponsor these kids to go to camp along with donations from churches all over the US & Europe.3. What did I do in the Ukraine?Well, we just did a lot of hanging out with the kids. The first thing I did when I got to the camp was pick up 2 rackets and looked for a kid who wanted to play bat mitten with me. Playing sports with the kids was a good way to learn their names & just build relationships over the 2 weeks. Some of the things we did together were large group worship, small group Bible studies, meal times, crafts, swimming, sports, watching all 3 Lord of the Rings in Russian, a special violin concert, a mini carnival, relay races, a group birthday party, a water balloon fight, & an awards ceremony & slide show the last night. We just invested a lot of time hanging out with the kids from morning 'til night. We also had a post system where throughout the day you'd write letters to different kids, & before they got ready for bed, we'd pass out all the letters. That was really special. I don't like to write super long posts because people don't tend to read them. I have plenty more to write, but I'll wait for more questions if anymore come.

Yolanda,It is so awsome to hear about your experiences with these kids. It's awsome for you to give of your time and effort and so much more. You are the only "Jesus" these kids might ever see. :-) Arielle is away for a few days doing her own kind of missionary work (with a wayward friend and her mother), but she will be excited to hear about your trip when she gets back.In Him, Chanin

You know, we were there to bless the kids, but in so many ways, they blessed me as well.Thanks for your guys' interest. I'm workin' on putting together a report letter about the camp in the Ukraine which will include my journal entries the 2 weeks I was there, a little update since camp, & pictures. If any of you would like a letter, please email me your mailing address to yolanda@ccesco.com. And you know, if any of you would personally like to be a part of the winter or summer camp teams, or would like to support this ministry in any other way, email Kelsey Hoppe at kelseyhoppe@hotmail.com.

How wonderful to hear of another ministry in the Ukraine...a sister of ours I've come to know through a Bible Study I attend here in Tallahassee, Beth, often travels to the Ukraine to encourage a few local churches there and minister and witness to the local peoples. She frequents I think about six cities/towns across the country...God must be moving there. :)

Yeah, it seems that quite a few other organizations go over there to work with street kids. And then like you mentioned, to do other ministries as well. Well, that's neat. I know that the Gideons helped us get Bibles into these kids' hands for the first time. Seeds have been planted, so let's hope and pray that the fruit starts and keeps coming.Thanks for your comments "Chosen7Stone".

So philologos, you said you had some interest in the Ukraine... what kind of interest would that be? Missions? Those couple times you visited, was that for vacation? Did I answer your questions?

Here's an update I received yesterday about the street kids in the Ukraine that I built relationships with this summer:"Good news!! I just got off the phone with Pavel and Vika and for the first time since I've been involved with the ministry, there wasn't anything going wrong! Praise the Lord!Some news about the kids:YURA was called into the militia yesterday but was released. Pavel said he was only arrested because the militia was hoping that he (Pavel) would bribe them. But when he came without money, they let Yura go. He still needs a permanent place to live.ANDRE & VANYA are both working. Pavel helped them get jobs in construction and hopefully they'll be able to continue there.ANTON decided to go back home and has been living there since the summer camp.MAKS is still on the streets but doing really well. Pavel is trying still to sort his complicated document situation so he can get into an orphanage.IVANKA & MAX still live with their alcholic grandparents. Pavel is in negotiations with the grandmother to get her to give up custody of them so that they can go live in a Christian orphanage we have connections with just outside of Kyiv. Social services is trying to take them into a different orphanage and we're trying to keep them out of their hands.This Saturday is a monumental one! Pavel is going to begin a weekly meeting with the kids every Saturday as a group. They'll play football (soccer) for awhile, then have Andre and Anton play worship and a time for a short sermon. Pavel said, 'We'll be just like a church.' Please pray that we can find and rent a spot for them to meet inside in the winter and for people to come alongside to help."Interested in more information about this ministry to the street kids in Kyiv, Ukraine? Contact me at yolandadiehl@yahoo.com or Kelsey at kelseyhoppe@hotmail.com.

Sister Diehl you posted;---"Good news!! I just got off the phone with Pavel and Vika and for the first time since I've been involved with the ministry, there wasn't anything going wrong! Praise the Lord! ---Praise God! ... for them and you ... Amen

That was written by Kelsey in an email. I didn't personally call Pavel and Vika. [laughs] I can't really speak Russian yet. I try to keep in contact with Kelsey to find out what's going on over there.God has been so good to keep having Ukrainians and Russian speakers cross my path. And it's only been happening since I went over there. Yeah... what a coincidence, huh? So that's been encouraging... just people to relate to and to help fuel my passion for that nation.Please keep me in your prayers as I start my Russian foreign language class at the end of this month. Keep praying for the kids and Pavel, the guy who's working with them, too. God's doing an awesome work over there!