Here is the video that I put together from the Ukraine Mission Trip.
The songs used are:
First Song
Title: Leaving on a Jetplane
Album: Leaving on a Jetplane
Artist: Die Blumenkinder
Second Song
Title: Ukraine is Still Alive
Album: National Anthems of the World
Artists: Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra
Third Song
Title: Top Gun Anthem
Album: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack "Top Gun"
Artists: Steve Stevens / Harold Faltermeyer
Fourth Song
Title: Forever Reign
Album: A Beautiful Exchange
Artists: Hillsong
All photos and videos were taken by members of our team.
-Rob Wiser
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Day 7 - The End is Near
The last day......the kids were fired up as we headed into the last day of the camp. We added a
couple of more in the morning session and quite a few in the afternoon. The great part was that today is the day to pass out the Upward star bracelets, provided by Upward, and Ukrainian Bibles which were provided by the Methodist church.
The star bracelets are similar to the stars handed out at the end of an Upward game, having different color stars to represent different aspects of the value the child provded to the game (i.e. white star-most Christlikeness, blue start-best effort and so on). 
Each star also represents how our faith is to be displayed in our life. The night before, we tabbed the Bibles so that the campers could easily read along with the verses in their Bible that corresponded to each star. There was a great response from the campers and you could tell that there were several seeds planted. Please pray that the seed planted in the kids will continue to grow and mature into a Christian faith. It is amazing the overall response the camp as individual relationships with the participants were established and new friendships were made. At the end of each camp, scrimages or games tooks place to give the kids a chance to hang out and and we could all "play" together. 
That evening, there were some of the team members that had a chance to attend the Ukrainian Ballet which the show was entitled " In the Beginning."....how fitting. It was beautiful and what a great way to wrap up the week, than to emmerse yourself in the culture. Check out the picture of the beautiful opera house. After, we all met for dinner and got a chance to fellowship with David and Shannon. I still cannot express what wonderful people they are. Please continue to pray for the work here in Ukraine. When reflecting on the pa
st week, nothing was perfect, but the power of the Lord and the purpose as to why the campers attended a sports camp....it was all the Lord's work. At the end of the day we had about 65 registered particpants and 65 planted seeds to show the love of Christ.
couple of more in the morning session and quite a few in the afternoon. The great part was that today is the day to pass out the Upward star bracelets, provided by Upward, and Ukrainian Bibles which were provided by the Methodist church.
The star bracelets are similar to the stars handed out at the end of an Upward game, having different color stars to represent different aspects of the value the child provded to the game (i.e. white star-most Christlikeness, blue start-best effort and so on). Each star also represents how our faith is to be displayed in our life. The night before, we tabbed the Bibles so that the campers could easily read along with the verses in their Bible that corresponded to each star. There was a great response from the campers and you could tell that there were several seeds planted. Please pray that the seed planted in the kids will continue to grow and mature into a Christian faith. It is amazing the overall response the camp as individual relationships with the participants were established and new friendships were made. At the end of each camp, scrimages or games tooks place to give the kids a chance to hang out and and we could all "play" together. 
That evening, there were some of the team members that had a chance to attend the Ukrainian Ballet which the show was entitled " In the Beginning."....how fitting. It was beautiful and what a great way to wrap up the week, than to emmerse yourself in the culture. Check out the picture of the beautiful opera house. After, we all met for dinner and got a chance to fellowship with David and Shannon. I still cannot express what wonderful people they are. Please continue to pray for the work here in Ukraine. When reflecting on the pa
st week, nothing was perfect, but the power of the Lord and the purpose as to why the campers attended a sports camp....it was all the Lord's work. At the end of the day we had about 65 registered particpants and 65 planted seeds to show the love of Christ.Thursday, July 22, 2010
Day 6 -Pilgrim
The word of the day: WOW......the morning started off with a bang, adding some more participants and our team was on fire for the Lord. Knowing that the energy level could dip down from sleep deprevation, heat, and physical activity, we managed, actually with the campers enthuasim, a successful day. 
Today we handed out salvation bracelets, each bead representing an important aspect of one's faith walk. 
Some were purchased ahead of time from fellow church members, which they wrote their names on it, and they were distributed 
to the campers. We had a couple of moments to gather some great photos 
of the team.....ideal....andand in our natural habitat................This evening, we had Pilgrim which is a worhsip and sermon for the collge group at the Student Activity Center. We had the wonderful blessing of having Rob (a member of our own team) preach the sermon focusing on Ephesians 6: 10-17. Emmie, David, and Jacob helped lead worship and to hear the music lifted up to the Lord in serveral languages, was probably the most beautiful sound in the world. We are so thankful for your prayers and love. Enjoy the pictures.
Today we handed out salvation bracelets, each bead representing an important aspect of one's faith walk. 
Some were purchased ahead of time from fellow church members, which they wrote their names on it, and they were distributed 
to the campers. We had a couple of moments to gather some great photos of the team.....ideal....andand in our natural habitat................This evening, we had Pilgrim which is a worhsip and sermon for the collge group at the Student Activity Center. We had the wonderful blessing of having Rob (a member of our own team) preach the sermon focusing on Ephesians 6: 10-17. Emmie, David, and Jacob helped lead worship and to hear the music lifted up to the Lord in serveral languages, was probably the most beautiful sound in the world. We are so thankful for your prayers and love. Enjoy the pictures.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Day 5 - Camp...camp...camp
We had a great turn out today, adding about 10 more kids today to the camp. Lubymire spoke a fantasic devotional today, captivating the camper and plant a seed to grow. 
Below are some pictures that were taken at both camps. We had a great little competition during warmup today that got the campers up and motivated....thanks to Sasha for keeping us on our toes. 
The video is the game played boys against girls at the afternoon session, pay close attention to the celebration when a scoring basket is made. Please continue to pray fpr us, especially for the energy level of our team members, with the hot weather, we don't want to let anything stand in our way of sharing the gospel through sports.
Below are some pictures that were taken at both camps. We had a great little competition during warmup today that got the campers up and motivated....thanks to Sasha for keeping us on our toes. 
The video is the game played boys against girls at the afternoon session, pay close attention to the celebration when a scoring basket is made. Please continue to pray fpr us, especially for the energy level of our team members, with the hot weather, we don't want to let anything stand in our way of sharing the gospel through sports.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Day 4 - Let's get this thing going
It was the second day of the camp....unbelievable how much these kids have learned and how much they have taught each of us. 
Their hearts are so open, willing to learn a new sport, all the while having a fantastic time. This morning we had a camp from 9-12 at a different site than the first day, at an outdoor sport complex. What great placement the Lord had in store for the camp, as there were serveral football (soccer) players that came to practice and instead particpated in the camp. For the afternoon session, we headed back to the school where we added a couple of more participants and continued skill development. We had a delicious dinner and then got ready for English Club. English club is an organization Shannon heads up 
to teach Ukrainians how to develop their English. Each team member worked individually with a native Ukrainian discussing our state as well as learning nursery rhymes and defining what they meant. Shannon put a Texas twist on it, with the Mother Goose Texas book, giving the us Texans a chance to share the Texas pride we hold. They also shared the pride they have for Ukraine. What an amazing opportunity. We cannot thank David and Shannon Goran for all their help and making the camp successful. They are such servants of the Lord, always keeping positive attitudes and loving on others. Their selflessness and love for the Lord is evident in all they do and who they come in contact with. Thank you Lord for them. The following video is a quick scrimage game-the campers learned so fast! The next video is Steve and Justin demonstrating a defensive exercise that is quite entertaining.......enjoy!
Look at the defensive ability of the campers (that's Emmie being tackled!!).
Monday, July 19, 2010
Day 3 - In the beginning
Today was the beginning of the camp...starting at an early 6:15 am 
to get up and at up for the morning meeting and heading to the school to set up. We registered 25 in the morning and 11 in the afternoon. 
We worked on dribbling, passing, shooting, and defense. They rotated through the stations including a devotional station where a verse was shared and explained to the kids. We had lots of fun today and focused on why we were here, not allowing temptation to interfere with what God's purpose is for the camp and reaching the children of the community. It was truly extraordinary to see the team members teach the students the basketball skills and yet learn the culture and integrity from the campers. They are fantastic people with a zest and thirst to learn something new. The camp proved successful and we continue to ask for your prayers. We were treated for dinner at a cafe thanks to David and Shannon (we had the entire cafe to ourselves)...then we climbed to high castle hill to over look the city. What a beautiful view and what gorgeous town of Lviv. You can completely can see God's hand in everything. Enjoy the pictures....
Just made a basket!!
View from the top of the hill....
to get up and at up for the morning meeting and heading to the school to set up. We registered 25 in the morning and 11 in the afternoon. 
We worked on dribbling, passing, shooting, and defense. They rotated through the stations including a devotional station where a verse was shared and explained to the kids. We had lots of fun today and focused on why we were here, not allowing temptation to interfere with what God's purpose is for the camp and reaching the children of the community. It was truly extraordinary to see the team members teach the students the basketball skills and yet learn the culture and integrity from the campers. They are fantastic people with a zest and thirst to learn something new. The camp proved successful and we continue to ask for your prayers. We were treated for dinner at a cafe thanks to David and Shannon (we had the entire cafe to ourselves)...then we climbed to high castle hill to over look the city. What a beautiful view and what gorgeous town of Lviv. You can completely can see God's hand in everything. Enjoy the pictures....
Just made a basket!!
We teach many skill....Gig Em.
View from the top of the hill....
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Day 2 - The Sabbath
So after some much needed catch-up sleep, we were up and at up for a meeting setting up the stations for the camp and then set out to the streets of L'viv to pass out flyers for the camp.
We stopped by playgrounds and parks as well as town squares. 
After all the flyers were handed out, we grabbed some lunch, hung out and prepared for church. To describe the passion and the ambiance at the L'viv United Methodist Church was unreal. The Lord's presence was all over, just filtering through worship in song, the sermon and communion. The worship itself was intense and beautiful all at the same time.....to hear the mixture of language all worshiping one God exploded in the room. The sermon preached by Lyubomir discussed how the impossible was possible through God, love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself. Colossians 1: 12-28. The quotes that rang true: "If anything is possible than what is worth our efforts?" (thanks Emmie) and "To love your neighbor is to have unconditional love which is shown when competition is replaced with sacrificial behavior." So true and what a complimentary statement to enforce what is being said by the Word of God. We had church with several cultures, mixed in all shapes and sizes:
What a beautiful thing....and the after, an intense game of ping pong and dinner. What a great day. Please continue to pray for the Lord's work to perserve, that there is a fantastic attendance to the camp as well as that each child is impacted through this camp and that our energy level continues to increase. Thank you for all your love and support. Stay tuned....the camp starts tomorrow.
The school sites for one of the camps......
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)