Our Stories
Seeing the World Through Spiritual Eyes
By Barbara Armstrong | posted 08/06/2009
"Ears to hear and eyes to see--both are gifts from the Lord." (Proverbs 20:12, NLT)
Mike McAllister and I were sent from Creekside to the Ukraine for two weeks (July 11-25). The purpose of our trip was to encourage Jen and Andrew Kelly, missionaries in Ukraine, and assist with the summer camp for 26 orphans. We were joined by two others from the Pacific Northwest: Heather Callaway (from Seattle) and Marina Gomdysey (from Bellingham) and three college student interns from Texas who were working with the Kellys for eight weeks this summer (they were on their 7th week when we arrived). Our team of seven helped with all meal preparation and clean-up, morning programming, daily Bible lesson/spiritual encouragement and small discussion group, daily craft activities, sports/activities, and evening fun.
The camp facility is located approximately one and a half hours by car northwest of Kiev. It is approximately 30 miles from Chernobyl. A small village of about 200 people surrounds the campground. The camp facility is still under development and five structures were constructed during 2008 and 2009. There was electricity (most of the time) and running water (most days). The soil is very, very sandy and the most common foot attire consisted of bare feet. The bugs were biting and the sun was very warm on most days...although two storms brought relief from the heat in the middle of the week.
The need in the Ukraine is great as it is a nation in transition. Alcoholism is rampant and the effect on individuals and families is evident and tragic. There is significant poverty in the country and many in the rural areas are subsistence farmers. The divide between the "haves" and the "have nots" is large and the middle class is seemingly quite small.
The orphans who joined us at camp were from transitional homes in two cities that were approximately 10-13 hours away by train. Jen and Andrew began the homes a number of years ago and still serve on their Boards. The ages of the campers ranged from 10-21 but most were between the ages of 15-18. As with many missionary activities some "additional" folks were often added to the mix (a 6-year-old who was taken from her alcoholic mother as a protective measure who was staying with the missionaries for several weeks, a 12-year-old whose father is a friend and part time worker for the Kellys, the 7-year-old child of the "house mom" who accompanied the orphans on the 13-hour train ride, the four men who were working on the campsite, etc.). The meal count varied from 36 to 46 during the week! Most of the campers spoke very little English and translators were hired to assist with communication. Charades was often a form of communication for the non-Russian/Ukrainian speakers!
The theme of the camp was "Seeing the World Through Spiritual Eyes". Each day the campers had an hour-long Bible study/spiritual encouragement session which included group discussions. (The session was offered twice each day allowing for the group size to be a maximum of 14.) As relationships were built and trust developed, the conversations deepened. Dreams, hopes, fears and failures were shared and God’s presence was felt and community was built. We spent time playing, doing crafts and just hanging out with the kids - the team brought along four full suitcases of craft and activity materials - what was not used was left at the camp. (You can view pictures from the camp here.)
A few of the highlights of the trip include witnessing the baptism of one of the young men, Sergey. The 20-minute walk to the river to celebrate his confession of faith and baptism was a pleasure. We also were able to attend a nearby church service. Although it was extremely HOT and the service was in Ukrainian it was good to be in corporate worship with other believers. Most of all, I enjoyed the relationships with the campers, interns, workers in the ministry in the Ukraine, and the team from the Pacific Northwest. There was lots of laughter. It was a pleasure to represent Creekside and to witness the work God is doing in the Ukraine.
Barbara can be reached via email.
