The Ukrainian countryside in early September is beautiful. Kompas Park, with its smart new driveway leading from the gate, and coloured pennants in the trees, was at its best, as we arrived for the 2nd Widows and Widowers’ Camp. Autumn leaves on the ground completed the picture. At mid-day the sun was pleasantly warm, while the mornings and evenings were chilly and we were grateful for the newly-completed all-weather hall.
As we were due to study Paul’s letter to Titus in our morning Bible studies, Kompas Park became “the Island of Crete” for the duration of the camp. On arrival, the ladies and gentlemen were met by a team of white-coated “doctors and nurses” who approached them with enormous cardboard thermometers and proceeded to carry out various “examinations” in order to pronounce them all unfit and in need of 5 days “quarantine” on the island!
Hugs and sign language are universal and there were plenty of both during our stay, as well as tears and laughter. We were heavily dependant on the skills of our ever-present translators to enable two-way communication.
It was an action-packed week, beginning each day with physical exercises ably led by Bern and Katya, whose agility amazed us.
A brightly-coloured “parrot” welcomed us to breakfast each day, after laying a numbered “egg” to indicate the group responsible for grace. Spoken grace at each meal was preceded by singing, which continued on and off throughout the day. We got used to the rhythms and harmonies of their songs and the lovely voices of some of the men.
Each person had had their photograph taken on arrival. This was later framed and decorated under the guidance of our American team member, Val, who also showed people how to make silk flowers during the afternoon craft sessions. Other craft activities included painting, model-making, sewing, knitting, collage, card-making, blow-painting and making bead necklaces.
Phoebe’s “Prayer Cycle” each day was a popular item as a number of people took advantage of the opportunity for a one-to-one chat and prayer for particular concerns.
There were some interesting team activities including making a birthday cake while hands were tied together in a circle, and winding someone up with toilet paper - to resemble an Egyptian mummy!
The evenings were spent listening to some amazing testimonies, poetry and singing.
One evening the English/US team taught the Ukrainians some western style games including how to open and eat a bar of chocolate with a knife and fork, while dressed in a hat, scarves and gloves.
Where would we have been without the help of Frank and Lin who did their best to keep a watchful eye on us, coordinate our contribution to the programme, wash up after our endless cups of coffee and generally look after us? Their contribution to the teams who go out each week is invaluable as they provide support from early morning till late evening.
So how do we reflect on this, our second visit to Kompas Park?
It was good to renew old friendships and make new ones, and what touched us most this time was the way the Ukrainians valued our being there. Behind all the shared activities was the realisation that for them it is the fact that people care enough to go and be with them that matters. Our Church was very supportive of our trip and contributed much in terms of craft materials and financial gifts, as well as prayer before and during our time there. We were able to tell some of the widows that we were simply the messengers and behind us many others in the west care about them. This means so much to them.
For ourselves it was a rich and humbling experience to be part of God’s work at Kompas Park, and to experience the gratitude of the Ukrainians for the simple things we did. Their faith, developed over years of hardship and difficulty, is a challenge to us whose lives have been so much easier.
Who can say whether it was they or we who gained the most from the experience?
01.05.2012 Pray for the music group Zozulenka, and their teacher Natalya, as they busily practice for their return tour here in November
02.05.2012 Pray for preparations that are being made for the cycle tour this summer, and for opportunities for the participants to share their faith as they cycle around the villages
03.05.2012 Pray for Brenda and Ksenya as they speak today at the meeting of the Oasis Group at Locks Heath Church
04.05.2012 Pray for Jon and Ali as they attend the Baptist Assembly annual meeting in London until 7th
05.05.2012 Pray for our students at Universities and Colleges as they complete their studies for this semester and take their end of year exams
06.05.2012 Pray for all those who receive food packages through the feeding programme, that no needy person/family is overlooked
07.05.2012 Pray for David John as he completes his preparations for the teaching sessions at the Pastor’s Conference next week
08.05.2012 Pray that we will have full teams of volunteers for all the camps that will take place this summer at Kompas Park
09.05.2012 Pray for the young people from Rainbow House in South Africa, and for Margaret Ferguson as she supports them in their studies
10.05.2012 Pray for the work of the mobile medical unit, and for Dr Doreshenko to fully recover following his recent illnesses
11.05.2012 Pray for the ongoing support of the Mission Fund, which undergirds all the various projects that we have, that adequate funds will be received each month
12.05.2012 Pray for Larisa and the work she does with the family support group, which encourages mutual sharing and prayer
13.05.2012 Pray that the Humanitarian Aid system that we use to send money to Ukraine becomes quicker and more efficient
14.05.2012 Pray for Anastasia Vovk as she plans camps in various villages around Cherkassy, and pray she finds a team of helpers to assist her
15.05.2012 Pray for safety in travel for Jon, David Reddaway and David John as they travel to Ukraine for the Bible School Graduation and for Ksenya as she returns to Ukraine to help Alla at Kompas Park
16.05.2012 Pray for the ongoing work of Cherkassy’s first sheltered accommodation, especially now plans to renovate the house have been drawn up and the costing received
17.05.2012 Pray for the Church twinning programme, that more UK Churches will offer to twin with a Ukrainian Church for mutual support and encouragement
18.05.2012 Remember before God all our children in cottage homes, thanking God for the security and love they receive from their foster parents as they grow up in these Christian families
19.05.2012 Pray for the work party travelling to Ukraine today, to prepare Kompas Park for the summer season
20.05.2012 As Jon, David and David return to the UK, pray for the newly graduated students as they take up their responsibilities back in their churches
21.05.2012 Pray for the children in the orphanages we support, and for Larisa and Misha as they oversee our work in them
22.05.2012 Give thanks for all our volunteers who come in and help with the monthly mail out, and do other jobs so willingly, often without being asked
23.05.2012 Pray for Jon and Ali to be refreshed as they take some time off together and have a break
24.05.2012 Pray for ex-prisoners who are now leading churches and serving in their communities that they will be faithful to what God has called them to do
25.05.2012 Pray for the young people in our pre-independence homes, that they grow in confidence as they study and plan for their future
26.05.2012 Pray for Vika Lavrenko and Stanislav Dyachenko, sponsored children who celebrate their birthdays today, also for the quiz at Ashley BC this evening in support of our work
27.05.2012 Thank God for our Board of Directors, whose support of the work of Hope is so encouraging; pray especially for the two new Directors to become more familiar with Board matters.
28.05.2012 Pray for Alla Kostyunina and her team as they prepare in detail for the planned camp activities at Kompas Park during the summer
29.05.2012 Pray for Misha in
all the work he does at Alpha House and in the Ukrainian Office of Hope Now; pray also for the plans he and Lena have in using Alpha House as a summer day camp in August
30.05.2012 Pray for Vlad Serdyuk, one of
our sponsored children, as he celebrates his birthday today
31.05.2012 Pray for Cyndee and Darrel Knight and the Hope Now supporters in America, especially in their plans to visit Kompas Park this summer
