Jym Shorts

Jym Shorts - August 1, 2019

by Mary Veal on August 02, 2019

On June 6th, ten people from LifePoint went to serve for eight days at a Christian children's camp called "Crossroads" in Ukraine.  The camp was established by Almaz, a local church where Sasha Skrypak serves as a pastor.  You might recall meeting Sasha, his wife Olga, and two of their four children a few months ago when they visited LifePoint.  Becky Gluff, a LifePoint member, spent eight and a half years in Ukraine as a missionary and helped start two churches, Almaz being one of them.  Sasha was in his late twenties when the church started and consisted mostly of people of or in that same age.  As the members began to get married and have children, Sasha tried to provide ministries that would be applicable to those life stages which is why the Christian camp started.  2019 was the church's tenth year to host this camp. Because the camp has such an outstanding reputation in the community, many people who do not attend Almaz Church (or any church for that matter) want their children to go.  Every year they have a portion of the camp in English, but this year was the first time to have native speakers teach the English lessons.  
There were 120 campers ranging in ages from six-twelve.  Their day consisted of morning exercises, Bible teaching, singing, small group discussions, recreation, English classes and of course meals.  Think VBS on steroids!  You can watch a highlight video that Chad Veal made to get a better idea https://youtu.be/U2RH4fyGUVc.  The campers were divided by age and gender and each of us LifePoint people were assigned to a group.  We did virtually everything with them.  
 
After people return from a mission's trip, you often hear them say that they ended up receiving more of a blessing than they were able to give.  That was definitely the case with me.  I was so encouraged by:
 
            My translator Maria- All of us were assigned our own translator.  Within the first five minutes of meeting Maria, I knew we were going to become great friends.  She is in her early 30's, single and the only Christian in her family.  Every adult I met was a first generation Christian.  They are learning from each other what it means to live like a believer in an atheistic culture.  Maria and I had several opportunities to discuss our faith. 
 
            The boys in my group- When you think of 11 year old boys, words that might pop in your head could be smelly, dirty, squirrely and full of energy.  While the boys I were with did fit the mold of smelly and dirty, they were also serious about studying the Bible and very respectful during the 50 minutes plus of teaching and hour of discussion time.  Their questions and insights were more like a high school level than grade school. Even the boys who were hearing the Gospel for the first time, were focused and engaged.  The Christian boys in the group attend schools where they are almost the only Christians in the entire building.  They learn quickly how difficult it is to be a light in a dark place.  This camp is easily the highlight of their year because they get to spend almost two weeks 24/7 with other believers which is extremely rare.  
            
            The Ukrainian volunteersAll of them were from Almaz Church and had to take vacation time to attend plus pay the entire cost of the camp.  Without exception they were happy to be there, cared deeply about the kids, and had an overwhelming desire to see them grow in their relationship with Christ.  The reason this stood out to me was because they have never had anybody model this for them.  Their motivation was purely from the love they have for the Lord.  
            
            The LifePoint volunteersThere were five older adults (Randy and Becky Gluff, Mike and Mary Monfreda, myself-Mary Veal) and five younger adults (Chloe Crocket, Avery Huffman, Nathan Simon, Katie O'Malley, Chad Veal) who didn't even know each other before the trip.  We met several times to plan our lessons and to get acquainted.  It became evident very quickly that everyone's unique gifts were needed at this camp.  We actually didn't spend a lot of time together because we were mostly with the kids, but we had a common goal of ministering to the Ukrainian people and loving them.  
 
I am so thankful that God allowed me to serve at this camp.  Even though I got at best five hours of sleep each night, skipped meals to get everything done, and had virtually zero free time for eight days, I was so energized the entire time because of the relationships I was forming with the kids and all the volunteers.  I felt an immediate bond because of our shared love for Christ.  If the Lord allows it, I would love to lead a team to the camp again summer of 2021.  As the Lord brings the Ukrainian believers to your mind, please pray that God would encourage them in their faith, be bold in sharing the Gospel and that God would reveal himself to their family and friends. 

Previous Page