Week 1 Kompas Park Praise Report

Thank you all for your prayers for my first week of service with the kids at Kompas Park. God really did show up and do great things! There was so much to experience and so many memories made which I don't have room to communicate here, but i will share some highlights.

One of the best parts of the week for me was Wednesday, when we offered the children a chance to pray the prayer, and accept Jesus into their heart. In small group devotions on Monday and Tuesday we laid the groundwork, and discussed the importance of hiding God's word in your heart. We talked about how the Bible is so much better than any other book. In my group there were 2 girls and 3 boys. 2 of the boys made the decision to ask Jesus into their heart!!! Their names are Sergey and Andrew. Both of them consciously and independently made the choice. I would really appreciate it, though, if you joined me in keeping them in your prayers. The both need to make some changes in their behavior and language choices, especially Andrew. Please pray that they would really understand the significant changes that they need to make in their lifestyle, and that they would realize how important their decision is. Also pray for all the children in the camp who accepted Christ, that they would share with their families so God's word spreads throughout the village. I have been praying for so long for these children, and it was so amazing how God answered my prayers above and beyond!!

That was a huge praise for me, and now a little bit about our routine and my involvement:

Kompas Park has seen much change over the past year. Through donations they have built an addition, and also purchased several new amenities for the river.

The day started with a meeting between the Ukrainian leaders and the British/American helping team. We would have devotions and prayer together, and discuss the day ahead. Breakfast followed. We greeted the kids and had a general assembly with the kids, involving singing, drama, and an introduction of the days theme. Then we broke off into 5 age group teams where we had our devotions. There were 2 Ukrainian leaders in each team and usually 2 "foreigners" as well. Two of the Ukrainians then led the sports and excercizes. Let me just say that Ukrainians are very resourceful! I am constantly amazed at how they take the little they have and make it into an interactive activity. I was in charge of one of the 4 craft stations. My designated craft was to make small plaster molds and paint them with the children. It seems so amazing that a simple craft like this that takes 20 minutes in America was stretched into an hour event because the children are so interested. They are so grateful for such small things as crafts, and their attention span is forever. After crafts the children rotated in their teams through different stations: river, sports, music, and drama. The general theme of the camp was travel, and your spiritual journey. Each team was a different country; Japan, U.S.A, England, or Ukraine. After another assembly and snack the kids were supposed to leave at 4. Then the leader team would meet and prepare for the. next day. Because the camp was for children from the local village, they would usually reappear after dinner and play games with us.

Over all this camp was a great success. Many people showed up and met Jesus! Thank you all for praying, we are grateful for the great turnout, for the fun and fellowship we had, for safety, but most of all that children were saved. Please continue to pray for God to strengthen these children in their relationship with HIM!