Summer in the life of Lori: Part 2 (an overview)

I have decided to give you the basics now and add some more specific stories later in the week.

When we left off I had spent one camp at Camp Friendship in Lugansk and then come back to Poltava for an orphan camp with Radooga. I said sad goodbyes to my Radooga friends and was really unsure of my decision/commitment to return to Camp Friendship; Radooga, though full of its own problems turned out to still be my comfort zone—I know what is needed and how to make it happen there. I spent one night at home and then got on a train back to Lugansk…

…I can’t really break the summer up, there’s just too much to tell. But to give you an overview, there were two more kids (ages 7-15) camps (each 15 days with a 5 day break between the two). Then the day after the last kids camp began youth (ages 15-25) camp (5 days).

All camps, I worked in the camp store. For kid’s camp 3 I was able to teach the older girls’ Bible Study as well. We talked a lot about the journey that is life. How long is a lifetime? What makes life count? When does life start? When does life end? What will Heaven be like? What is hell like? It was really awesome to use the Bible to help find the answers to some of these questions. Since camp ended I’ve been able to keep in contact with several of the girls from our class and hope to see them again in the future :o)

After camp 3 it was time for Allison to return home; we took a train to Kiev and spent the night with the Magdych’s. I was able to meet up with several friends and Allison did some souvenir shopping. The next day, I took her to the airport and then met up with some other American’s who had been with us at camps in Lugansk and had just arrived in Kiev that morning. We did the Kiev Tour and then I headed to the airport to fly back to Lugansk. It was my first “in county” flight. I told Magdych that I felt weird not taking the train, but I didn’t want to be away from camp any longer than necessary :o)

When I arrived back for youth camp, it was weird because the campers were already there and it was late at night and they were all out in the court yard hanging out and playing games. I went straight to bed and decided adjustment would happen best at the beginning of a new day and with a little sleep. It was a good decision.

I again worked the store and served as a ‘floating interpreter’ for youth camp. My Russian skills are not that good, but we had a lot of Americans and not so many interpreters and people were getting sick all camp, so everyone was helping everyone else out. As it should be :o) Youth camp was awesome and a lot of the boys who had been around for kids camp really started paying attention during youth camp and there were a lot of kids who asked for prayer, several who gave their lives to Christ and others who committed their lives to ministry in the future. God did things that only He can do and I love watching Him change lives. I am so blessed to be here; so blessed to get to see what He is doing.

After Youth Camp, I spent another week in Lugansk region hanging out, going with Shane and Terry to churches and visiting in villages and helping clean up from our camps and helping with logistical issues of other people renting the camp grounds.

Then I traveled with Shane and Terry and Alec and Yura to Kiev where I spent a week with the Magdychs—yay! I got to be with Magdych on his birthday; Emily flew in from 3 months in the states, so I got to pick her up from the airport and spend some time with her, took Yan to his first day of school, had coffee with Michelle, hung out with Yura before he started Bible College, met some Lviv-ians, and bought a new Russian text book, among other miscellaneous things :o)

Thursday I arrived back in Poltava and life here is already in full swing: I’ve been to the orphanage twice (and go back on Monday), I’ve had two English lessons with a sweet girl who wants to go to the states in December, am working on unpacking and doing laundry and getting my apartment back in order. Life is good. God is awesome. And I am looking forward to continuing with Him on this journey He has set before me :o)