2021 UKRAINE MISSIONS BLOG

July 20, 2021

SPECIAL BLESSINGS

“The Lord has been mindful of us. He will bless us.” -Psalm 115: 12

DMC, Pastor Scott & Lena with help from some campers during opening with the daily theme and lots of music!

June 6 to June 12 –  We left Dubai for Ukraine. Quite a culture change, but one we were really looking forward to. We began our first camp week in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine (near Kiev). This was our first camp with new SON residential missionaries, Pastor Scott & Lena Yount and we can only say WOW! God is doing incredible things through this dynamic young couple.

Pastor Scott, Anna-Mariia, DMC, Angela & David at Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

We were joined by SON residential missionary to Latvia, Pastor David Michael Carrillo, and recent Free Lutheran Bible College graduate and daughter of Pastor Alexander Gross (long time SON ministry partner), Anna Mariia Gross. We were ALL blessed to be a part of a camp at the local home for boys (orphanage).

DMC & Anna-Mariia telling and singing the daily story.
Pastor Scott changing the chords, while a camper delights in strumming the guitar.

Scott and Lena have a heart for these young men, all of whom have special needs. Their love for these precious boys was apparent from the moment we walked through the gates. It is always difficult to say “goodbye”, but leaving this time was especially heart wrenching. Please pray for this ministry and future opportunities for SON to serve in this incredible setting.

GOD’S PLANS ALWAYS PREVAIL

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” -Romans 12:21

On the drive from Bila Tserkva to Odesa, this beautiful field of poppies beckoned we stop for photos!
The combined U.S.-Ukrainian camp team

June 12 to June 18 –  Our “team” consisting of Pastor Alexander Gross, Anna Mariia Gross, Pastor Scott Yount, Pastor David Michael Carrillo, Pastor David Breidenbach and Angela Breidenbach traveled by car from Bila Tserkva to Novogradovka, Ukraine (near Odesa) for our second week of English Bible Camp. Over the course of the week, we read the story of King David and how his life shows us that our Hope is in God. We also had a lot of fun together doing crafts, sports and of course music! Even the rain, wind, power and water outages couldn’t keep us from singing!

Pastor Scott played Goliath, while Pastor Gross helped young “David” defeat the giant

This was especially meaningful because our last camp in this region was in July of 2018, just prior to the illegal seizure of the church property by impostor Bishop, Sergei Maschewski. Three years and many, many hours of compiling and submitting legal paperwork finally paid off. On May 25th, the Ukrainian courts ruled in favor of rightful DELKU (German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine) Bishop, Pavlo Shvarts and all seized property was returned to congregations throughout Ukraine! At the time we were there, the property at Petrodolina was still undergoing repairs (partially funded by SON). We are overjoyed at this turn of events and look forward to hosting camps in Petrodolina in 2022.