Dreams for Odessa

A list of some of the projects I would like to do while in Odessa

Dreams #1
English Church (all services and songs in English)
Primary Target: Foreign Workers and Students
Secondary Target: Educated Nationals with resources to do other ministry
Third target: Retention of summer camp campers.
Fourth target: In port sailors (All sailors speak English some)
Vision: As many congregations in Atlanta run special services for Hispanics and we would mimic this process here. We would have “Church” in English at a time other than Sunday Morning. Possibly Sunday night or Saturday Night. As we are not in “competition” with Russian speaking churches we would not translate from the pulpit or stage.
Advantage My family and children would develop relationships with other who speak English. The children who come to English club would have an opportunity to come to church and even bring their parents who speak English and our refusal to translate from the stage would have an appeal of smooth flowing messages and an attraction unlike others. It would become more like an exclusive club rather than a soup kitchen.

Dream #2
Hot and ready American Kitchen (most Ukrainian restaurants are either not served hot or not ready to go)
Primary Target: Orphan Graduates
Secondary Target: Business People of Odessa
Third Target: Sailors and General Population
Vision: To open and operate a Breakfast lunch business in a high traffic area. Also have curb service/ bellhop to mimic drive through. McDonalds drive through are successful here. Serve breakfast sandwiches as well as Sandwiches and crock pot style lunches. There is no Subway or other sandwich shop open here. Soups, chili, spaghetti and other items that can be warmed for long periods of time would be the focus. The primary employee will be orphan graduates who will learn successful business skills and have a place full of grace in which to transition from the Orphanage to live at large. The fact of taking our employees at the recommendation of Michelle and Laura would also bolster their ministry causing the orphan graduates to seek relationships with Laura and Michelle allowing them and opportunity to spread the gospel of hope to this forgotten class of underage citizens. Also with the success of the business we would look to began / revive Christian business association. As successful business are made better to American and western proven business models The Christian Business association would become a relevant group able to provide resources and clout for further ministry and reward honest government officials. Also the Business would be closed in the evening to providing a place of gathering and worship for ministry as well as Sunday services. We would also provide free advertising to all evangelical churches allowing them to post their location service times and contact info so the general Public could see all the opportunities to attend evangelical services. Also we could provide all the sailors with a coupon for a free meal and they could also be told about our evening services reaching out to them providing a family for them to be part of while in port.
Advantage: Any profits could be used as tent making profits or funds to be used on further ministry. Also if successful could be a model that could be launched into Russia helping Missionaries with visa’s even if not we could use Ukrainians to staff and rotate through to build it into self supporting.

Dream #3
Half-way home for Orphan graduates
Primary Target: Graduated orphans (13-17 year olds)
Secondary Target: Discipleship opportunities for Church
Vision: To operate a Second Apartment for the housing and training or Orphan Graduate Males. This program already exists for females. The guys would be under a set of rules and be required to perform certain task. They would be taught certain life skills like laundry, basic cooking, cleaning, and they would be placed into schools as well as learn the value of work through part time positions. They also would receive coaching on money management.
No perceived advantage at this time

Dream #4
Joshua Men groups
Primary Target: Men within the evangelical churches around Odessa.
Vision to lead a group of Men through J-men leadership/discipleship programs to create leaders who develop other leaders. To spend 12 months with one book per month, one project per month, One full group meeting per month, Pairing up for weekly meetings for prayer and accountability. Two retreats beginning and closing
End result, Christian leaders leading at home at church and in business building other leaders.

Life in Odessa pics

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Emily at the tram stop Good friends enjoying conversation after dinner “English Table” Wednesday night Prayer meeting   Protest in Kiev     Strike Ball Ministry Family bowling with the “Youth/singles” My friend Vlad introduced me at the Range, Now … Continue reading →

“Odessa without Orphans” ministry and support

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Time to go, This is at the end of the day. They live here, this is their home. kind of sinks in as you drive out, they will leave this compound maybe once per year, then between 13-17 placed on … Continue reading →

Fall In Odessa

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Thanksgiving 2013 Svet Miru

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For this Thanksgiving we were blessed to have the chance to host Th anksgiving for our Church here in Odessa Svet Miru.

End of the Year report….

End of the year report……why is it early?

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we want to say how thankful we are for all the support and prayers we continue to receive from so many of you. Each month we pray over our donor list and give thanks to God through prayer and tithe on the support we receive. I feel towards you like Paul did towards the Philippians, proud to see God working in you and through you, completing the work he began in you.

From last year to now…

While we had learned a lot in Montana, God was not done breaking me yet. As many of you know we spent a year looking for and seeking funds so we could participate in the mission before us.  Last year feeling broke emotionally and financially, I went to work where I could participate in ministry and provide some funds for my family. I went to work at Chateau Élan, a golf and winery resort, as a part time conference services and banquet waiter.

It was funny as I looked at the verse “those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength” I was now officially a “waiter”, waiting on God, serving God, making the least amount of money in my adult life. However, I got to work with 11 interns in my department from all over the world. It was a joyous time in which I spent as much time in ministry away from work as I spent at work. I got to share with them the stories of the Bible and share the Gospel during meals and outings, sometimes just enjoying a 6 hour cup of coffee at their apartment. Then I was given the opportunity to go to work again with my old company for a period of 10 weeks as a driver. I was able to earn enough money that when combined with our monthly support would be able to go to Odessa for 6 months. I learned how to be the worker and not be the boss and learned even more how to submit to others. This time period was key in how I was to show up in Odessa. Mission priority #1 is to first submit to and support the local native Pastor.

The next to last day of my commitment there I found all the money I had earned; had been lost to cover an old debt we thought had been retired. Plane tickets had been bought for Jacob and I, but no tickets had been bought for the girls at this time. Our home church had planned a going away service for us as we were planning on leaving. I went before the congregation and told them I was grateful for their support and all that I had learned over the past two years. I shared with them that I would do it all over again if I had the chance and encouraged others to do as I had. There were tears of sadness yet relief as we stepped back into the crowd. That very day we received all the money we had lost. A week later we received a gift “covering” the kid’s school. We were now sure; we could survive a year in country.

Upon arriving in Odessa we have had our successes and struggles. Some of the struggles led us to the point where we were cave dwellers. We did not go out and interact with others. The children did not want to learn the language and suffered from withdrawal from America. We routinely turned down ministry opportunities because I was attempting to be budget conscious. We could survive for a year at this level but was that the only reason we came here? I let loose my grasp on the funds and let the children participate in activities and they began to venture outside engage the culture and. You would think we would be seen as the rich Americans but we saw we appeared in need.  Rather than us blessing the congregation they began to bless us.  Once school began, the children and ministry blossomed. Hopefully you read our last message about doing what mattered.  Our expenses for school tuition were misinterpreted by me and it the cost is double what we expected.  We also found Emily lacking in interaction with other children and felt we had to enroll her in local Kindergarten.

The final situation? We will not make it through June at our current level of support. We want to be able to call a place “home” as our family has moved four times in two years. We love the work we do here. While life here is not always easy and fun, it is good to see the fruit of your work and investment. It is wonderful for the children to see us live out our faith. Here are some of the things we have been involved in since our arrival.

*Supporting the local Pastor and encouraging him to lead the church without foreign involvement

*Demonstrating and leading Children’s Ministry

*Encouraging the native church to survive and thrive without a missionary presence.

*Women’s individual ministry , as there are many single women and few single men in the church working with the women to hold true and not compromising themselves in order to obtain a man.

*Young mothers encouragement as the local church has three mothers with newborns reaching out and encouraging them to continue to walk with God and wisely deciphering between culture and Godly behavior.

*Encouraging the local church to reach men. English Evangelism Camps where young women outnumber the men almost 3 to 1 we have maintained relationships with five young men and continue to pour into them and encourage them to become men of God.

*Strike Ball Ministry – entering Platoon and Squad sized infantry battles brandishing weapons similar to air soft rifles and using those times to disciple and teach Godly lessons about being a man of God.

*Gun Range ministry – going in to the local gun range and teaching how the word of God is like firing a weapon. It is only effective if used properly.

*Encouraged the church to give back through Orphan Programs making a physical and spiritual investment with some of Odessa’s 5,200 orphans.

* Mormon outreach – reaching out to the Mormon missionaries in Odessa showing a love they are not used too.

*Participate and demonstrate and Biblical restoration and church discipline.

What do we hope to do in the future?

We hope to continue these actions and ministries. We hope to learn the Russian language so we can reach out to the rough men of Odessa. We hope that our children enjoy being able to call a place home and not worry about whether or not all their belongings can fit into a 50lb duffle bag that can go on the plane. We hope to leave the church Свет мира (Light to the World) independent of US support and personnel. I hope to utilize my past and knowledge of “rough” places to reach the orphan graduates who are between the ages 13 and 18 hitting the stress with no education no job and no hope. Of these 10% commit suicide, 60% of the males are incarcerated and 40-50% of the females enter into prostitution. Maybe God might use me to build leaders out of the church and out from them that inspire hope to these lost and desperate souls.  There is great work to be done here in this city. Will we be the ones to do it?

We leave that in your hands.

We hope to stay and continue the work God has began at least until June 2015.

If you are willing to help us in this mission please let us know. Our plan is to make a decision to continue in our work or go to a secular job somewhere in the US based upon our finances January 2^nd.

Current situation

Current levels $2800 per month in contributions

Cash on hand $4800

Monthly expenses $3900

Tuition needed By Feb 1 $3000

 

Needs = eleven (11)people to help

We need $1100 more per month (eleven contributors at $100 per month), to last six months we need minimum $4800

 

Please pray for Gods provision for us to stay. If we had to leave Odessa we would arrive jobless, homeless, and nothing but suitcases to restart a life in the States. Either way we need Gods hand to in this situation.

What Matters?

What matters?

Here we are 5 months into the great experiment of the Price-Williams in Odessa Ukraine and we began to evaluate where we are. I wonder if you ever take time to just grab a hot cup of coffee, sit down in the living room and wonder, how is my life going right now? Am I where I need to be? Am I doing things that matter? It was a question like that that got us here in the first place. It is still common practice for Teniece and I to grill each other on what really matters.

This past month I was expecting to come to the U.S. and be the primary witness in a civil suit. If you know anything about civil suits you know no one “wins”.  It’s just a question of how much. Realistically it was not about anything less than my integrity. It stressed me out and I poured hours into this process. I had nothing to lose in this case but my perceived integrity. I prayed for God to remove this “cup” from me so I would not have to drink it. He did. Right as I was getting on the plane I was messaged to stay in Odessa. So I did. I wondered if my time and effort in the project mattered? Had my integrity before mattered?  Had it all been wasted?

This event has caused me to see that what we think matters, doesn’t. And things we think are nothing; are actually huge things. I often feel like my time is wasted. I get upset that I am not progressing as fast as I would like in the language and the main reason is because I don’t like studying Russian. I miss having a job because what mattered was much easier to quantify.

But now I see things that matter. Being available to make friends with the Mormon missionary guys here in town, I believe matters. I choose to come here but it is a requirement for them. Being available to lead a prayer meetings  every week and finding a way to teach on prayer to 12 others, I think matters. Supporting the church through setting up the coffee bar and leading the Children’s Ministry each week, it matters. Being there to support the Odessa church in developing a burden for the orphans, that matters. Being able to participate each week in the leaders prayer meeting for a new start up church here in Odessa, that matters.  Spending three to four times a week with the Pastor or leader of that team, it matters. It also matters that we have engaged the men of Odessa by reaching them with events like watching futbol together and other sporting events building relationships. We have turned squad and platoon sized war games like air soft (called strike ball here) into ministry opportunities. We have used our witness at the firing ranges. We have developed relationships with people at Megan’s horse lessons. We have reached out to college guys here in the universities close to our apartment. We have developed a relationship with our landlord and her son as well. Teniece meets with numerous women, most single, helping guide them along a path of life that is centered in faith in Jesus. Most of all, our first responsibility is our children, and that matters. We have had the chance to be more involved in their lives than ever before and they have been able to observe firsthand what it means to believe in Jesus Christ. We have been able to give them the best gift of all.

I guess in the past I felt  “no pain, no gain”, but now it seems the things that matter are the things we enjoy. We enjoy spending our lives doing things that matter. Yes, it is tough getting used to a new culture. I don’t know if I will ever be able to say I enjoy life here more than at “home” in America, but for right now, I know I am where God wants me and that’s all that matters.

This month we celebrated Jacobs 12^th birthday. He and Megan displayed good financial responsibility by saving for months and using birthday cash presents to split the cost of a Nexus 7 tablet. As a father I am very happy with their decisiveness, fiscal responsibility and determination to come together to achieve this as a team.

As I am about to send this off we have maxed out our Strike ball resources. I will be buying 4 additional guns from a shop in the city. We have the guys from our English Evangelism Camps coming out. And the team we play brings out graduated orphans. The ages are from 16 to 46. This is a great time of manly ministry. And guess what? The old guys usually win! If you would like to support this ministry please do so. Also if you would like to take part or lead a Military evangelistic camp please let me know. If you went looking for the mighty men of David where would you look? See you on the battlefield!

 

Prayer needs:

#1 Pray as we continue to practice and learn the Russian language.

#2 Please pray for our decisions involving finances. Our monthly donations are not enough to cover our monthly expenses.

#3 Please pray for us to properly utilize the time the Lord has provided for us.

Now I can See……Sept. 2013

Now I can see!

I am a man of plans. I have always had a plan. Not just one but often I had two or three, four , and more. Often when I daydream, I am creating possibilities in my head. I have never been one to say “I don’t know what I would do.”  However the years waiting to get to Odessa has reduced my vision and dreams to be limited to just one goal…. to get here. Beyond that, dreams became foggy and irrelevant as I thought I may never see the land I was called to. I cried to God in my despair. I learned a lot during this time.  The number one thing I learned was I was so busy making plans I never saw his plan.

By now most know of the story of how we got here to Odessa. I was happy but without a plan. I couldn’t see a vision of what I was to do. I did not have a goal to strive to meet.  I was glad to be here but ….now what?

Over three months we were here and we were still blind. Then something happened. I found out there was a possibility that we would not be allowed to stay in Odessa. My brain fired off like an old lawn mower that had been in the garage all winter. Huffing and puffing like a 1978 Briggs and Stratton 2 cycle motor, my brain got to churning, “time to make plans!” I was heartbroken that my dreams and aspirations for ministry in the port city and transportation hub of Odessa would end so quickly BUT I was excited I got to make plans and develop a vision for what “MIGHT” be up ahead.  I evaluated whether to go back to Atlanta or to move to another country. I had all sorts of variables as I contemplated and researched the possibilities. I am not going to lie to you, it was fun for me! I was excited! Not only was it time to develop a back-up plan, but it was time to put together an exit strategy. I began to think, “I’ve got 8 or 9 days left, what is important to accomplish before we leave?” The time was busy and packed. Some might have even thought “wow, he is excited to leave?”  However, I noticed many things when anticipating I might have to leave.

I saw the blessing of having a school for my children to attend. I saw the blessing of having friends in ministry. I saw the blessing of the different strengths of my team members. I saw the blessing of seeing the completeness of the church rather than the incompleteness. I saw the blessing of what a beautiful city Odessa is. I saw the blessing of so many other things that had been an answer to prayer along the way.

We began to identify our core values and look into our purpose as missionaries. We evaluated who we were and what we were doing as we prepared for the impending change. As they say in football, “It was time to focus on the basics” of why we were here and use that to develop a plan for what was up ahead.

We developed vision.  Now we can see who we are. Now we can see what we want to do and now we can see how to do it. Our visa registration was approved. We are now allowed to stay in the country for 12 months (pending new law changes). I am so happy I get to live out one of the dreams I had for Odessa Ukraine and we are looking forward to our stay here. The list is too long to post here on how this “scare” of having to leave blessed us. We are so happy God brought us through it the way he did, and we are also happy we do not need to go to Kutaisi Georgia and not Atlanta, Georgia. If we had been denied in Odessa than on Friday night at 11:00 pm we would have set sail on The UKR Ferry from Illichevsk Ukraine to Poti Georgia (not the state but the country).

This month we also celebrated another birthday. Emily turned six on September 9 and we celebrated at a local place similar to Chuck E. Cheese but quieter and not so packed. She loved it. Thankful that the Lord even provides for our children places to have fun and be kids.

Thank you to all of those who have been praying for us in this time and to those of you who continue to support us.

Prayers

Please pray for our needs to be met, at our current rate we are slowly using our reserves.

Please pray as we continue to chase the campers from the summer evangelism camp. Some made professions of faith and have since fallen away. The discipleship process is continuing for some while others that remained quiet have continued to learn about the Lord and have embraced the church family. Specifically pray for those whose families have become barriers between these young adults and the Gospel.

Please pray for our language abilities. Our #1 goal for the first year was to learn to communicate. Staying true to this goal and not becoming buried by circumstances and ministry has proved tough.

Please pray for the missionaries of Odessa to work harmoniously together and helps us to support and challenge one another on a continual basis.

Nobody wants to disappoint Mama….Aug 2013

Nobody wants to disappoint MAMA…..

In this past month we have done a lot. First I want to highlight some of the campers from our Evangelistic English Camp. At the second camp, David was honored with the privilege of delivering his testimony. It was the first time that Megan and Jacob got to hear David’s unbridled testimony and I am sure they were quite shocked about who their father used to be. Teniece shared her testimony at the first camp and it was a story of salvation not sealed with a baby baptism or a confirmation certificate but through believing in the Almighty God and his love for us through the sacrifice of his Son. David’s testimony was based with the statement, “No one wants to disappoint Mama”. His testimony was a reminder of how we must come to our own faith in Jesus and not attempt to claim a faith based upon our heritage or culture.  The camps end result was 11 people pledging their life to God. Eleven people acknowledged that Christ died so they might live after this life.  One of these people was a young man of 21 named Ilya (Eli or Elijah in English). He actually raised his hand and asked a question during David’s testimony. Ilya connected with one of the short termers from Minnesota (Eric) and through this relationship by the end of the week Ilya asked for God to forgive him and for Jesus’ blood to wash away his sin and he repented of living life for himself. Another one was Tanya who was quiet and reserved through her time at camp but with the gentle love of the ladies (Cheryl and Karen) from Illinois she saw she was missing the peace that these ladies demonstrated and was actually the first of the second camp to seek out a believer and ask “I want to be a believer in Christ, how do I do this?” Another was the young Vlad who saw the Christian team work together, working towards the same goal.  The team being made of people from different parts of the United States working together. Vlad comes from a broken home and was touched by the family feel. Vlad is a “futbolist”.  One who plays futbol (soccer) all the time.  In fact the only shoes he brought were cleats. He saw team work like he had never seen before and felt the love of Ron and Charlene from Arizona and wanted to be part of that. These are just few of the many stories of those whose willingness to come join us for a week changed not only the life of these precious few, but God used them to change eternity through their actions. I ask you, do you want God to use you? Maybe this is how you can see actual change in the world; change in the Kingdom, God could use you to change eternity.  Are you willing to be used? Join us in presence and come out for our January Discipleship Camps or start planning to spend next summer’s vacation with us at Evangelistic English Camp. If you can’t come maybe you could send someone or support us directly.

So now what about us…..

The children have seemed to withdraw from the outside world a lot lately. A large part of this is an inability to communicate, not wanting to impose on friends they do know, and lack of schedule. In our full budget we had an amount for kids extracurricular activities in order for them to mix among the Russian speaking population and learn to speak and relate to others and not becoming cave dwellers addicted to Mine Craft, My Little Pony, or just reading book after book on the Nook.  We have been living at partial budget since we got here so we decided it was hurting the children so we have enrolled Megan in horse riding lessons to the tune of $16 per week.  It is the highlight of her week and she is excited not only to see the horses but Julia, her riding partner and her coach, Nastia. Jacob is scoping out the gymnastics facilities and will hopefully join one soon.

August 10^th was Megan’s 14th birthday and she wanted to go eat Thai food. In the states this is unheard of but here in the land of no spicy food it is sweet like Chinese food. She went horse riding in the afternoon and finished with chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, and corn for dinner and of course cake and ice cream, although the cake was store bought and quite interesting.

Moldova?  What’s that? That is the poorest European nation which is right next door to Odessa. Teniece and David had to go there to apply for visas. It is the closest Ukrainian Embassy to Odessa. It was a 27 hour trip full of long, hot, overnight bus rides as well as a gracious host from CA serving in Moldova. Christian provided us with a comfy bed and a guide that took us by the hand, bus by bus, to get us to the places we needed. We completed one more step in our annual residency. We now have 45 days to complete the process.  In a time when David seems to grow weary and irritated by Odessa, one of our colleagues was over zealous to return back to Odessa. David asked “Why do you want to rush back there?”  And he said “I miss home.” David felt like saying “One day I hope to feel the same”. God seems to be at work in our lives teaching us continually.

School – By the time you read this another school year will have started for the kids. This comes as a financial challenge for us as we misunderstood the cost and so it will cost us double what we anticipated. David thought we were the cheaper of the categories but we are not so the school tuition is now $6000k and this not in the budget and will use up a large portion of our reserves. Thankfully God knew ahead of time we would need this and provided these reserves for a time like this. Teniece will be homeschooling Emily this year and that will be a challenge in its own.

At a time when it is not all fun and giggles living in a different world/culture, some have said “You look so happy there”. We are happy serving the Lord and that is where our joy comes from. Living in another culture is hard and exhausting. We are grateful that even when the days seem long and we lovingly talk about what all we are missing by being here, at the end of the day we are thankful to be here serving our God and those he loves.

Thank you all for your support and prayers and we look forward to you partnering with us in many ways over the years to come.

 

Praise – 11 professions of faith from the camps plus three more who did not come forward but have joined in outreach and come to church in Odessa while contemplating their walk in life. Also, praises that we have not run into issues with our visa’s thus far.

Prayer- Please pray for us as we continue to adjust to a foreign culture, language and people.

Prayer – Funds, we need your help again (I wonder if George Mueller ever felt like he did not need to pray for funds?)

Prayer – David is still due to testify in a civil matter in October. While the outcome of this doesn’t concern us it is quite stressful as David is the key witness and is stressed about making sure he represents God and the truth.

Prayer – Also be in prayer for David’s old work site in Nashville Tennessee. They have experienced some hardships here in the past few weeks that could troublesome for the new and undiscipled believers there.

And now for our feature presentation….July 2013

“And now for our feature presentation”

 

Two months now we have been in Odessa, and oh how it seems to be flying by. We have learned a little Russian. Started engaging the culture deciding what is good to accept as becoming Ukrainian/Russian and what might be a stumbling block to unbelievers coming to know Christ. We have also met many of the missionaries here in the region and enjoyed hearing the tales and experiences. I often look at the situation and think about the movie “Invictus” with Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman. I wonder what might bring a fractured city of missionaries and people together for the common good of the Kingdom of God? What is the thing that will unite this crew of God lovers and city of lost people.

One of the things we have seen working is English Evangelism Camps.  This is currently the pinnacle event for our team here in Odessa. This is often how we reach unbelievers and help bring them into the church for discipleship. Without short term missionaries, this event would not be possible and it is your help in these events I ask for now.  I write this letter we are in the midst of one of the camps right now. The first camp is over and was a wonderful experience and we see God moving in the midst of these camps. In the first camp we had six American short term members join us. Two from Iowa, three from Arizona and one from California. In the second camp the two from Iowa returned being replaced by two ladies from Illinois, a family of five from Minnesota and another lady from Minnesota. The three from Arizona and one from California remained for the second camp. In the first camp the two ladies from Iowa were so awesome to have. One is a stay at home mom who was a math teacher in the past and the other was a grant writer turned English teacher in a college. The SAHM was one who really exhibited strength and control in the camp. I would have to say the experience of raising three children definitely was put to use. Her testimony was awesome for the teen girls and she really was a like Doberman watch dog. The grant writer was probably one of the happiest people I have ever met in my life. She said she smiled and laughed when she was nervous and I said I hoped she never felt comfortable because just her joy was a testimony that lit up every room she walked in. It was a joy to work with them.  The guy from California has done this trip like 9 years now and he loves it. It is an awesome time for him to detach from life back home and dive into God and God’s word and seek God and his direction not only for his life, but for the campers around him. He has learned a large part of his Christian walk from his camp experiences. He came to study at Libby Montana while we were there for two weeks and it was pleasure to work along side of him. He is one who is called to stay rather than go for if he followed his heart he would be here permanently. The couple from Arizona has led these two camps for many years and in fact, their daughter is married to the son of the man who first started these camps. They have done it so many times they are a great comfort and assurance to those of us who might be “new” at the game. Also a Navajo Indian joined us this camp really making it interesting to have a “true” American on the team.

The first Camp was great and we had the chance to really make some solid connections and a few of the guys from the camp were excited to know that we live in Odessa and are already planning to get together with us in the future and get to know each other better. In the second camp, we were joined by two ladies from one of my colleagues home church. While he has had many friends and family join him over his seven years here, this was the first time people his home church came and it quite exciting for him to finally show them what he has been talking about! These two ladies also are excited to be here and seem to look for the opportunities to build the kingdom while they are here. I hope we do not have to wait seven years for our first visit but we also understand God is control and just completing our own first camp is our focus for now. We are also joined by a family of five from Minnesota, the father has managed concrete plants in the past and his wife is a SAHM for the three kids aged 14, 11, 5 hmmmmm sounds familiar doesn’t it?  Teniece and I joked they are our twin family. Their kids were instant friends with ours. They also brought their Aunt along with them. It is great for our children to have children the same ages to interact with.  We have a full camp this second time around with about 64 total attendees and I enjoyed being the first one to give their testimony at this second camp. Teniece was the first to give her testimony at the first camp. Hopefully God will use my wreck of a life to save others. Maybe you can think about joining us next year at a camp. We would love to have you serve with us and as you can see any one can contribute, even a 5 year old.

We also were brainstorming for ideas for camps. If we can get at least three Americans to commit to coming we can do almost any kind of camp from baseball to firearms, our need is for willing Americans to come, not finding campers. One of the camps brainstormed was a rifle and range camp to reach Ukrainian men with the Gospel. If you can actually commit to any type of camp let me know and if we can get three people to commit we will do it.

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers,

 

Praises – David’s Grandmother’s house sold. This is something we have been praying for and waiting for since November.

Praise – We have had an awesome time at camp and seen God work in the unbelievers heart and draw them closer. Also God has used this time to improve our Russian and bond us together with the team.

Prayer- Please pray for our visa’s. We have until Aug 20 for David and Jacob’s and they have not been approved yet.

Prayer- Please pray that we our family and adapts to our new home, language, and culture.

If you feel led in any way to support us financially while we are in Ukraine, please mark all donations account “MDP”.  Thank you to all those who make it possible for us to serve here in Odessa!