2015 GBC Ukriane Missions Trip--Day 3, The PARTY!

Well, remember how yesterday we mentioned that Conrad's suitcase aka clothing had not arrived!? Well, this morning we received a message that his suitcase had arrived!  This was something that was not expected, maybe not even expected before we returned home as there is usually only 1 flight from Moscow to Odessa weekly.  So, yay for clean clothes, our coffee (perhaps a double yay here!) and for more comfy shoes!


Today was a fairly low-key day, with a chance to sleep in and get some much needed rest, a quick trip to the airport to retrieve Conrad's suitcase, and what the Ukrianian Campus Team calls, a 'Social.' Basically this social was a good opportunity to mix up the English Clubs a bit; play some games, have some fun, share about the Ukraine Campus Crusade ministry, and for our team to share a testimony.  We also managed to make fun of ourselves quite a bit...you might get a kick out of our American Mash-up!

The social was an incredibly fun time, allowing us to be more 'normal' and less teacher-ish.  We were able to laugh and converse with the students through a game of Simon Says, crossword puzzle, Honey if you love me please smile, and a karoeke contest!  Shawn also had the opportunity to share her testimony, which was a perfect way to end our time together.  Some response was already recieved from
tonight, and we are hoping to set up some one-on-one times to talk more in depth. And, if you can be the first to correctly guess what Conrad is doing in this picture to the right, we will bring home a bag of Ukrainian candy just for you! :-) (Post it in the comment section)

In addition to those one-on-one conversations we hope for, each member on the team will have a student that 'won a date' with us, so we will take them for coffee one-on-one, and spend some time answering any questions that they have and hopefully going deeper about our relationship with Christ with those students.  Please keep this in your prayers.  This is a great opporunity for more in-depth and personal conversations than we can hope for in our English clubs, and could really be a unique way for sharing about Christ.

And, as promised....here is the link to a delightfully embarrassing video of your American team doing a mashup of some iconic American songs for the Party!  No judging...we had about an hour or so to put this together!  (And, as you'll clearly see, some of us were not born to dance!)

https://vimeo.com/123257546

2015 GBC Ukraine Missions Trip ---Day 2 of English Clubs

A couple other things that occurred on Monday that are worth mentioning....though Shawn is the only one of our group that is capable of actually getting the cantankerous stove lit, Andrew, the youngest on our team, treated all of us to a breakfast of tasty omelettes. His mom would be proud; he not only cooks for us but cleans up after all well!

The other treat our team experienced on Monday was a trip to the Lviv handmade chocolate shop. We ate drinkable chocolate, melted chocolate straight out of little cups, fruit with chocolate, Black tea with Chocolate, and Latte's with chocolate.  Needless to say, we had more than our fill of sugar for the day! (although I'm sure most of us would not mind another trip if able!) 

Tuesday was full of different and unique experiences.  We managed to get here with all our luggage, except Conrad's suitcase with all his clothes.  Our host Alina took us shopping at Odessa's finest second-hand clothing store.  We found all kinds of "interesting' clothing there, including a Mizzou t-shirt.  We did find a few things for him there and, needless to say, Conrad now looks like a "local," and if we run into trouble, could maybe score a job at McDonalds! (We are also very happy he can stop wearing the same outfit every day.)

The Odessa Campus team then brought a traditional Ukrainian meal to share with us at our apartment.  We all got to try borscht, a beet soup, along with sallo (raw pig fat) (yes, I said raw pig fat) spread on rye bread.  We then enjoyed some tea with delicious pinwheel cookies that Tanya, Dima's wife, made for us.

English Clubs though were the best part of the day, with most all of the students returning for Day 2. Sometimes students don't return because they are uncomfortable with the Bible discussions, but this year the vast majority of students returned, and actually were very engaged in the discussion part. Today's lesson included the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000, and some of the students had in depth questions about the legitimacy of miracles, whether or not Jesus actually performed miracles, and many wondered if Jesus actually did miracles in modern day.  This quickly progressed into a rather intense discussion about Jesus' capability to meet our spiritual and physical needs.  

All four groups had really good discussion times.  Please continue to pray that hearts would be open and receptive to the stories and discussion about Jesus and His Word.   There seems to be alot of interest yet skepticsm, a lot of hurt yet fear of the unknown.  

2015 GBC Ukraine Missions Trip---First Day of English Clubs

Sorry for the delay in updating;  following the intense and super long days of traveling to Odessa we hit the ground running and really haven't had much time to stop and update!

So, here is your quick synopsis of the 2015 Ukraine Missions Trip so far! Our team, Shawn Knauts, Conrad & Debi Hake, and Andrew Noble, left Columbia at 9:30 am Friday morning.  After arriving in St Louis, we realized our flight out of St Louis was delayed, thus causing us to miss the next connecting flights.  After working hard to find alternate flights, the best option (to arrive in Odessa by Sunday) included flying from St Louis to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emerites) to Moscow, then on to Odessa.  With flight times and 4-5 hour layovers at each airport, we ended up living on planes or in airports for almost 48 hours. Needless to say, we were excited to actually walk out of an airport!

Sunday evening was the night the Ukraine Campus Crusade team had planned for us to all go to see the Swan Lake ballet at the "third most beautiful opera and ballet house in the world."  It was indeed beautiful, and a great experience!  Unfortunately most of us were so exhausted after not sleeping in the plane that we had a difficult time staying awake.

The following day, Monday, began the English Clubs.  Clubs are from 6:00-9:00 pm, and this year there were 140 students that signed up as interested in attending the clubs, with 110 accepted after the interview process. We began Monday with 28-32 students in each class; Conrad teaching the beginner class, with quite a bit of tranlsation involved.  Andrew is teaching the advanced class, and although there is a CRU helper, there is no interpretation at all occuring.  Shawn is teaching the Intermediate 1 class, requiring some interpretation, but not all the time.  And Debi is teaching the Intermediate 2 class, requiring no interpretation.

It was great to see how some of the students had VERY good English, and communicating was quite easy.  Most understand and and very well, and the responding or verbalizing is the hard part.  But even so, the level communication was awesome!

English Clubs are structured in a 2-part format, with the first 1.5 hours consisting of introductions, an ice-breaker game, vocabularly sections, explanation of idioms, pronunciation or usage of words, with 1 or 2 extra activities as needed.

We Made It!

After some eventful re-routing through Abu Dhabi and Moscow, we arrived in Odessa very travel weary around noon on Sunday. We got settled into our living quarters for the week, an apartment near Transfiguration Square in heart of downtown Odessa, and were treated to a performance of Swan Lake at the Odessa Operahouse, said to be the third most beautiful in the world, on par with Paris and Vienna. 

Monday we began preparation for our first night of English Clubs. Three clubs expanded to four as 110 students were interviewed and placed into beginner, intermediate 1, intermediate 2, and advanced classes.

We'll share more soon, but please be praying for a few requests:

1. We will stay healthy and rested

2. Conrad's suitcase shows up before he runs out of clothes from his carry-on (the only casualty from our rerouting)

3. The gospel will continue to be presented clearly and in a way that connects with Ukrainian students

4. The Ukraine for Christ staff will be effective in forming new discipleship relationships with students.

Ukraine 2015

Our Ukraine team leaves today for Odessa! We'll post more as the trip unfolds, but here's a great article on the current state of refugees from eastern Ukraine and opportunities for the gospel. Odessa has been a city of refuge for many who have fled their homes because of the conflict in the east and are looking for hope and stability. Our team will have a unique opening to share the gospel among university students looking for hope and answers in the midst of national instability.

Please pray for the ongoing work of Ukraine for Christ in Odessa and throughout the country. Pray especially today for interviews with students that will be joining the English Clubs and for safety and smooth travel as our team prepares to depart!

"The future is uncertain, but in these seemingly hopeless times, missionaries and national believers have been given a unique opportunity to share the source of their hope. Perhaps refugee Daniel German said it best, 'When things are normal, we expect safety, bread, and salaries to always be there tomorrow. When things fall apart, we realize that every minute is God’s gift.'"

http://www.abwe.org/news/missions-on-the-frontline#.VQtG7_nF98E

The time has come...the end is here...and all those other final words...

The end of Brasil 2014 has come. Well, almost.  We have landed safely in Chicago, chowed down on an amazing breakfast and are currently on the road, headed to Columbia.  But, to recap the end of our time in Brasil, here are some of the highlights….

Sunday marked the end of the older youth English camp, with over 40 students in attendance this year.  Instead of the usual 20-30 aged campers, this year the majority of the campers were considerably younger, but still a great group of participants to have around!

For the first time in the years we've been in Brasil, we were able to witness 4 participants come to Christ during the weekend!  What an exciting and encouraging thing to be part of!  Continue to keep these 4 (and the other campers) in your prayers, for continued growth, passion, encouragement; as well as Pastor Denis & Pastor Leondro as they now invest in helping these students grow in Christ. 

Conversation clubs went very well, with campers quickly opening up and not only talking in English, but asking questions that showed a deeper interest than just the text we were studying.  So awesome to see thoughts provoked, questions arise, and hearts stirred.

Another American pancake breakfast + French toast (yes, the irony was not lost on us) was enjoyed by all, this time leaving no leftovers!  Needless to say, those of us cooking are hoping there will not be another event soon requiring 400+ pancakes!!

Campers left, albeit reluctantly, Sunday afternoon around 2:00 pm, leaving our team a bit disappointed and yearning for more.  We cleaned up camp, took down decorations and got ready to head to church.  The entire team, except for Pastor Conrad went to preach at the church in Mogi, where the team had the opportunity to present a very powerful skit, and we sang one of our vocal pieces, and Pastor Denis closed out the service preaching. 

Though the week was a great week of ministry, full of excitement and encouraging things happening, we were all pretty worn out and ready for a bit of rest, and thoroughly enjoyed crashing at the beach in Bertioga Monday.  It happened to be one of the best days of our time in Brasil temperature wise, which was an added bonus.

Tuesday was another low-key sight seeing opportunity, heading to Campos de Jordao, after enjoying yet another great lunch in the Panziera's home.  Their family even headed to Campos de Jordao with us as a farewell send off!

Wednesday including packing up, cleaning up, and an hour or two of  last minute shopping for families and friends back home.  Erika (Pastor Denis' wife) treated us to a delicious Brasilian favorite, Pao de Quiejo in their home before heading to the airport.

We did all manage to make the flight, and at this point have landed safely and are currently on the road back to COMO, but of course, not without a little excitement!   Because of some communication errors, and traffic accidents leading to substantial time lost on the road, and then even more complications at the check-in desk, we heard the 'loading now, closing doors now, final call now' comments for our flight, and were "those" people racing through the airport in hopes of making it on the flight.  We did all make it thankfully!!

More pictures later, but for now, please plan to join us at Grace Bible Church THIS Sunday, August 10th, in both the 8:00 and 11:00 am services to see part of the program we presented in Brasil,  hear testimonies and enjoy Pastor Conrad share the message.  

Busy Beavers...Brasil, Thursday-Saturday

The last day of School Programs was Thursday. We greatly enjoyed (and were amazed!) at the ability to even get in the schools to present the program.  Some were private schools, some were public, but none were Christian, so the opportunity to present the Gospel was even greater.  In every school, the students and staff were all very gracious, kind, and extremely welcoming, and at the very least, the contact person we had for getting in the schools was very aware that our program was strictly Evangelical / Christian. 

Thursday evening our group was able to experience more fellowship and interaction in the homes of some dear Brasilian friends! A small group of us attended a 'Carnival,' or party announcing the beginning of another English class, for a very sweet and supportive family from the church in Mogi who own an English school.   They experienced Brasilians of all ages who were more advanced English speakers, and were even placed on a panel where they fielded all sorts of questions about USA, English, and why we were in Brasil!

The remainder of our group were invited to an dinner / BBQ Brasilian style in the home of another active member in the church here in Mogi. Meeting their lovely family, hearing their story, and spending time getting to know them in the context of their home was a great opportunity for our team to experience family life at home….Not to mention some AMAZING BBQ!  Poor Pastor Conrad was disappointed he was not with this group! They graciously sent leftovers home for him to taste though!

ENGLISH CAMP ROUND #2!!!

Friday marked the beginning of another crazy, tiring, but very awesome weekend of English Camp, this time for the older youth, ages 13-30.  This year the schedule included an American dinner as well as an American breakfast, so we began our day by running quickly to the grocery store.  And by quickly, I mean within 3 hours we had the items we needed and we were headed back to camp!   Shopping in another country, with another language, AND a different measurement system is always fun!

We took a few minutes to regroup and fine-tune the weekend plans then we began the cooking adventures.  The American dinner menu included a Soup Bar, with toppings, cornbread and garlic cheese bread on the side.  Traditional Vegetable Beef Stew, Broccoli Cheese Soup, Potato Soup, and Pastor Conrad's famous chili completed the soup bar.  When asked which soup was their favorite, EVERY student member on the GBC team said Broccoli Cheese, MacKenzie said Vegetable Stew, and Josiah & Pastor Conrad of course said Chili!! A few of the Brasilians were brave enough to try the chili, most refused because they assumed it would be very hot (it wasn't at all!) but by far, the Broccoli Cheese Soup was the camp favorite! 

Needless to say, though the meal seemed simple enough, something was lost in figuring out measurements and we WAY overcooked, leaving the Brasilian kitchen staff laughing at us (politely of course!) while scrambling to find a way to store the leftovers. We probably should have realized we had too much when we could barely fit 4 VERY large stockpots on the stove, but dinner was a hit and we're just thankful for leftovers instead of running out of food!

Friday night camp festivities included worship, games to get to know one another and the dinner.  Many of the participants at this weekend camp know at least a little English, while others actually know quite a bit. 

SATURDAY….Following breakfast, the campers enjoyed a time of worship in which a couple of our group were able to jump in and sing in English, and our entire team performed a drama that tied in well, accentuating the testimony portion of one of our members. 

English conversation groups are the highlight of the weekend for our team and for the majority of the participants here.  We use English as the bridge and reason for having the conversation groups, but they are based on the reading and further study of a passage in the Bible. Most are shy about their English at first, but quickly warm up and participate by reading and answering the questions about the passage.  All the passages are aimed at showing who God is, demonstrating His vast love, and act as a springboard for further sharing the Gospel. We will have 2, maybe 3, of these throughout the weekend.

Saturday included several hours of games and free-time in the afternoon, where we played our annual game of whiffle baseball, followed by an intense game of soccer while others cheered on! This year the Brasilian staff is hosting what they call a "Fantasy Dinner," or what we would call a Costume Dinner on Saturday night, just to add extra fun to the weekend! We are all looking forward to see how this plays out!

Tomorrow will be another bright and early morning, with our team cooking the annual American breakfast of Pancakes, always a hit!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

*That the conversation groups would be an opportunity to talk further about the Gospel

*That the testimonies we give, the songs we sing, the dances and dramas we present, would be glorifying to the Lord, and would speak of His goodness, grace and mercy in our lives

*Health…the weather has almost been as drastic as Missouri's, with our trip beginning very wet and cold, and today ending up so hot some of us were considering swimming!