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