Some pics

So, here are some pictures of camp and my apartment. The camp went well, over all. There were lots of little hang-ups, but nothing so big that it would spoil it all or something. The weather cooperated wonderfully with no rain during the days, it was actually unseasonably warm.

Well, or maybe no pics. I can't upload any pictures from here and won't be able to until I get the problem resolved with our web administrator who is out of office this week.
Sigh. Sorry about that. I'm bummed. I have so many things to show you!

Camp and Prayer Requests

Hey all, just wanted to confirm that we did indeed arrive back from camp safe and sound. The evangelistic English camp in the Carpathian mountains went very well. A number of people indicated interest in a relationship with Christ and many others would like to join English Bible studies during this year.
It was a beautiful week with incredible weather. I'll be posting a couple of pictures soon I hope. Right now I am on dial-up internet which is not conducive to posting pictures. Hopefully I'll get in to the office tomorrow and can post more from there.

Otherwise, I've been moving into my apartment this week. It was painted and cleaned last week while I was at the camp and this week I a guy coming most days to help with odd jobs like fixing the lock and the leaky faucet and putting up curtain rods and making sure all the windows shut properly. I've been learning all about where in the market they sell extension cords and faucets and pipes and curtain rods and linoleum and brooms, etc. Things that I hadn't really given much thought to before, I guess...

Anyway, I would appreciate your prayers for safety and security in my apartment. Just that God would make it a place of peace and rest and joy for me. A place that I can really feel at ease in . Thanks.

Prayer Answers!!!

I've arrived! I am safe and sound in Ukraine. I've been here almost a week now and so much has happened!
My trip went well. Everything was very smooth. My flights were on time and my luggage all made it through safe and sound. There were no hassles about anything in my luggage (I had a couple of concerns). My flight was slightly delayed arriving, but my sister was there to meet me with her family and we were able to head out straight away to Rivne (the city where I live). They came to spend a week of vacation with me and my parents (who also live in Rivne).
The same day that I arrived (Monday) my bags that I had shipped also all arrived. As far as I can tell (without unpacking everything) they are all intact. The vitamins and medicine that I was worried about definitely arrived, which is a huge blessing!
The third blessing is that I found an apartment!!! It is an incredible blessing. It is unfurnished which is very unusual here; it has parket (wood) floors; two good sized balconies (it is a two-bedroom apartment); it's on the second floor and has bars over the windows already (this is a VERY good thing, even though I am in a relatively good neighborhood). Oh and it has a nice sized kitchen as well, not large, but certainly big enough for me. And a couple of built-in closets, which is virtually unheard of in Ukraine! Overall, I just couldn't imagine a better apartment for myself. I had hoped to find something closer in town, this is a little on the outskirts, but this is definitely the place the Lord led me to. To top that all off the price is quite reasonable for a two-bedroom here! So I am very excited. This week we have some people cleaning and painting it and I should be able to move in in a week.

I do have a couple of prayer requests:
I have a brutal cold and have almost lost my voice, so I would appreciate prayer for that particularly as it relates to the next request.
My parents and I are teaching English at a camp this week. We leave tomorrow morning early and return Saturday afternoon. We will be camping in tents in the mountains. This is an evangelistic camp with the goal of making friends with unbelievers and then bringing them into English Bible studies during the year and from there into the church. Please cover us in prayer, esp. my father as he'll be giving the morning devotional thought and the evening message as well as teaching English for two hours every morning. We are expecting about 120 people, half of which are unbelievers.
Please continue to pray for arrangements with my apartment as I get set up there and find my way around my neighborhood. There are minor repairs to be done there and I need to get internet set up as well. I was already able to set up my cell phone and I have a land line in my apartment as well. While work goes on in my apartment I am staying at my parents' place.

PS. The parket floors are important to me because of my allergies. It is much better for me not to have carpet.

Airports

I am sitting on the floor in JFK (New York) airport. The only outlets are not close to any seating, so the floor is my best option. Actually I was hooked up in a good spot, but my internet connection was lousy there, so I moved. Thankfully this gate is rather empty so I don't have a lot of competition.
I have five hours here so I am going to hang out and play some World of Warcraft. :D My brother introduced me to it and now I am sooooo hooked! I think one of the reasons I like it a lot though is that I can meet up with my bros online and we can all play together. I don't know how that'll work in Ukraine, but hopefully we'll be able to work something out there too.
Back to traveling. I flew out of Minneapolis this morning (thank you Steve and Sue for dropping me off!) at 7am. I was able to check my bags without a problem even though they were both just over their top limits. It probably helped that the lady was hopping busy! :)
I leave JFK for Kyiv this afternoon at 4:30ish (NY time) and will get in to Kyiv tomorrow morning at 9am Kyiv time. From there my sister and brother-in-law are picking me up and we'll all drive out to my parents in Rivne (4-5 hour drive).
Please continue to pray for the rest of my journey, for safety and no hassles. Also for the reminder of the bags that I shipped to arrive without any problems and for me to find a good apt.

Packing Up

Well, here I am three days away from flying out. I have one bag fully packed (it's amazing that you can fit 50 lbs. into a carry-on size bag--don't worry, I am checking it) and I'll be taking care of the other two over the next two days so that on Saturday I can just rest a little before I travel.
This week, I've been having a wonderful time catching up with a few friends. Thankfully I have most of the last minute stuff taken care of so I don't have a lot of running around to do. Most of the stress of packing and getting ready to move is already over.
I would appreciate your prayers for me for these last few days that I'll rest well and feel good while traveling and that God would watch over and protect me. For some reason I am a little more nervous about this trip than usual (usual for me means no nerves whatsoever :) ).
Please also pray that my ministry support will all come in. I have over two-thirds pledged, but that is not yet reflected by what is actually coming in to the mission.
Thanks to all of you who are praying and thinking of me and who have made special efforts on my behalf. May God bless you!

Finished!

I finished the quilt!
I've been so wrapped up in it the last few days that I didn't even really realize that it was August until I saw the date on here just a minute ago. Amazing. I leave to go back to MN today, hard to believe that I just finished that quilt in time!
And I am relieved to say that Sare and Bill love it!
Here's a pic to prove that it is finished:

Boxes

Hey, just a quick update, my mom said that two of my boxes came in which is wonderful! However, please keep praying that my other seven boxes will arrive safely. I would certainly appreciate that.