Team Trip to Dnepro!

This last weekend we enjoyed a week away with our team and stayed with E-Free missionaries the Bellamy's.  We had a great time getting to know their family better and also were able to introduce the rest of our team to them.  On Saturday morning with met with pastor Vova (Word of Life) and Andre (Morning Star) and we were able to tell them about the ministry in Krivoy Rog!  We had a great meeting and the pastors and they had many encouraging words for our team and we are looking at ways that we might be able to work together and find ways to possibly support each other. 

Later that evening we went to a Thanksgiving celebration that was held the Alpha & Omega which is a christian center in Dnepropetrovsk.  So we all got dressed up and had some fun taking pictures and only got a little bit lost trying to find the place!

On Sunday we attended the Word of Life Church and Luba and I were able to do a presentation about the orphanage ministry and the congregation prayed for the ministry and told us that they were happy to hear that the ministry is going so well.  Also by talking with the pastor I found out that there might be another guy that would like to join us working with the kids so we will meet him this next week so please be in prayer because we need more guys to help in the ministry.  For lunch on Sunday we were able to meet up with the Verhoog family and spend a great time seeing them again.  And we are looking forward to coming back to Dnepro in December when the missionaries from the EFCCM in Ukraine are going to try and get together! 

 

Our Team!

We have now been working in the orphanages in Krivoy Rog (Ukraine) full time for the last 3 years.  We have 4 Ukrainians and 2 Canadians.  Vika and Tanya have been working with the ministry full time for the last 3 years, Sveta (a grad from one of the orphanages) has been with our team for the last year helping us out.  Luba my wife teaches kids English 2 days a week at one of the orphanages and also works at a local collage the rest of the week.  Last of all is Curtis and I, we have been here in Ukraine for the last 3 years working full time in the ministry. 

For those of you that don't really know what we do ill let you know!! We are basically friends to the orphanages that we do our bible programs in.  Our team is working doing a smaller day camp program at each of the 3 orphanages during the week.  Three out of the six days we do our bible lessons, crafts and games.  The other 3 days we hang out with the kids playing soccer, watching movies and just getting to know the kids better.  Two mornings out of the week we also do a program with the little kids that don't go to school and just have a blast hanging with these little guys.

This last year Curtis, Luba and I joined the Evangelical Free Church of Canada Missions organization which has been a great transition.  This last summer we had a EFCCM conference in western Ukraine and it was great to meet all the other missionaries in our area and we are excited about where God is leading us!

Early Christmas!

Well Santa came early this year and left us with a queen size bed!!!

Kids With Cars!

Today was a beautiful day to be able to play outside with the little kids at Zarechney orphanage! The weather is getting colder but with the sun shining it doesn't seem to matter much.  For those of you that don't know 2 days out of the week we go to the orphanages and hang out with the kids who do not go to school.  We either play games outside or when they are inside we tell bible stories and do crafts.  We have a blast with these little guys and just want to take them all home!
Also we handed out toy cars to the kids today that were passed to us from Daryl and Molly Porter and the kids just loved them! Thanks again.

Shura with her new car

Nazar

Yana

Hanging out outside!

Tanya and Dima

A teaching moment with uncle Curtis

Vika