Teen training

Like in previous years, we plan to lead the camp G-Force with local leadership, and with us mission members as support rather than necessary staff. 

To do this, we focus on equipping the local teens and House of Mercy older kids with biblical leadership, so that they are prepared to serve in their community. 

In addition to assigning roles, we spoke to them about the qualities of leadership and how leaders are servants. 

We also washed the feet of the teens. The activity surprised the teens, and allowed us to talk about how Jesus served the disciples, and how Peter reacted to being served in this manner.

Settling In Before Camp

Dinner with Vasya and Valery

Going to the market to buy additional supplies before camp.

Watching local soccer teams play, and cheering for members from the House of Mercy

A final group picture after being assigned rooms. Time to start unpacking and organizing!

Church Service in Ukraine

We were invited to Sunday church service after we arrived.

I really liked the service closure; the pastor and the congregation were comfortable enough that at the end the pastor asked the congregation for their prayer requests. Until now this was something I had only seen in small group fellowship. 

As well, after praying for the prayer requests, the pastor also lead the congregation in the Lord's Prayer. This reminded me of our own church's call to worship at the beginning of service. 

This Is Like a Dream

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8af4mGPKlQ4&w=560&h=315]

The (Physical) Road to Ukraine

Leaving the chapel after an emotional prayer and farewell

Waiting for the first leg of the flight to Frankfurt.

Taking the bus to the Frankfurt terminals after a soft landing

What a walk...

Checkers seems excited about being in Germany!

Don't forget to say goodbye to Lufthansa for bringing us from Frankfurt, Germany to Budapest, Hungary!

...Why did they put the welcome sign next to the washrooms?

Almost there! It's the final leg of the journey with a Norwegian mission team over the Ukraine-Hungary border via bus!

G-Force came to pray for us and see us off!

  Our church's VBS camp: G-Force came to the airport to sent us off! We are bless to have all these children pray for us before we depart!

All the team members - Crystal, Daniel, Calvin, Colin, Uncle Tomson, and I - got a package. Crystal and Daniel even got signed G-Force t-shirts to wear to the House of Mercy. We were so happy and surprised by everyone's support!

Thank you! 

Come pray with us on our departure!

We will be leaving for Ukraine on Friday, July 17, 2015, shortly after 2 PM local time! We encourage you if you are available to come to the Calgary Airport's public chapel from 12:30 PM to 1:15 PM. We would love to pray with all of you as we begin our journey! 

Materials Board Deadline & Commissioning Prayer

Our deadline has come and gone!

To all the congregations of SCCEFC, to all the visitors who saw and participated, and to you, dear reader: we couldn't have done it without you.

Due to your generous contributions, we have completely met and exceeded sixteen unique material needs important to the mission with the House of Mercy, and partially 

fulfilled another seven material needs. Piles of craft paper, glue, tape, coloring markers and pencil crayons, ziplock bags, shirts, scissors, and even traffic cones and 

disposable chopsticks stand testimony to your outpouring.

Acceptance of public material donations is now closed. If you still have outstanding or late pledges that you wish to fulfill, please get in contact immediately with or 

deliver in person the donations to any member of the Ukraine Short Term Mission. That's Crystal, Calvin, Colin, Tomson, Dan, or me, Andrew.

Finally, the Mandarin Congregation will be having their commissioning prayer for the Ukraine Short Term Mission in this week's service on July 5. The Cantonese Congregation 

and the Chinese Congregation will be having their comissioing prayers on the July 12 services.

We encourage you to attend a service on one of the above dates, to come in fellowship and offer these efforts to God together.

Materials Board Update

Thank you so much guys!

We've received dozens of donations and pledges over the past few weeks for the materials we will need to run G-Force with the House of Mercy. Thank you!

We are currently taking stock of what has been received, but we are well aware that a majority of our material needs have still not yet been met.

Accordingly, we will be extending our original deadline (June 14) to a new one, JUNE 30.

Finally, we also want to extend our gratitude to the families and individuals who have picked up a prayer card and "adopted" a House of Mercy family, child, or community group to pray for.

In the coming days there will be many spiritual battles waged, and praying will be the most important thing we can do to prepare for them. God will not let down the people who have been praying for us and for the House of Mercy. Please continue to pray for us.

Learning Ukranian, Slowly But Surely

добрий день!

As part of our weekly meetings, the Ukraine team is also going through a refresher on speaking Ukrainian!

Colin has been doing a great job of passing on the many words we will use. Each meeting, we review the previous words we learned, and also add a few more that Colin prepares from past material collected in previous mission trips to Ukraine.

Take, for instance, "Good day" - doh-breh-dan. добрий день. Cool, huh?

The rest of the team is doing great with the refresher; I am still working on my the pronunciation, though. On my last time over in Ukraine, I remember making kids smile or giggle just by talking in broken Ukranian. I like making people laugh, but I like impressing them even more. Wish me luck!

Calling All Prayer Warriors!

5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:5-7

Though we have been given an opportunity to glorify God through this short term mission, we cannot take for granted everything going exactly as planned, or pretend that our great enemy is not interested in us. Most importantly, we can't let our busy mindset stop us from talking with the Lord, who called us to this mission in the first place.

Please pray for us.

• Pray for our team, which consists of only six people, that we will have the power and the strength to go the distance for God

• Pray for clarity of purpose and communication, that the team would be attentive to God's voice, and that our Heavenly Father will make His will known to us as we take part in this mission.

• Pray for Ukraine; pray that Christ will bring peace and prosperity to a troubled realm, beset by violence and turbulence on one side, and material poverty on the other. Pray that this nation would come to trust more and more in the Lord.

• Pray for the House of Mercy, who will be hosting us for the short term mission. Pray that we will cooperate well with the House of Mercy during the mission, and that the hearts and minds of the children and the staff will be prepared for God's work.

• Pray for the Roma people. Ask that God continue to meet the needs of the Roma in all matters, and that they be abundant in all things, being first abundant in faith in Jesus.

• Pray for all the people supporting us. Praise God that He has raised up servants who would work in the harvest! Request that in all preparations for the short term mission, that all actions taken will bring respect and dignity to the name of Jesus Christ.

Sneak Peek: VBS Main Theme

With thanks to Cokesbury, we would like to present to you a sneak peek of the main theme in the VBS camp we plan to run in Uzhhorod!

[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ8vNidSr7s&w=854&h=480]

Welcome to this year's Ukraine Short Term Mission for 2015!

This year, Crystal, Calvin, Colin, Tomson, Daniel, and I, Andrew, make up the team.

God has called us from South Calgary Chinese Evangelical Free Church to fly to Ukraine, and to the House of Mercy in Uzhhorod, in Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast province. 

There, in cooperation with the House of Mercy, we will host vacation bible school camps open to the people of Uzhhorod and of the House of Mercy itself; these camps will also be open to other individuals whom we hope to make a spiritual impact on. This includes the Roma people and refugees currently displaced by the East Ukrainian conflict. 

In addition, we will work within the House of Mercy itself as assistants, to deepen relationships within the House of Mercy and provide a time of physical, mental, and spiritual retreat for staff members.

God willing, we hope to begin our mission in Ukraine by July 17, and conclude by August 3. 

Planning has already begun for the many programs and activities we have in mind. In particular, we hope to release to the congregations of SCCEFC our material needs and more information regarding the House of Mercy and it's mission by May 10. Please look forward to our sharing in the coming days!

What can you do?

Pray

Please pray for the STM team, for the House of Mercy, and for Ukraine. 

Praise and thank our heavenly Father that we have a team this year to go to Ukraine, and that God has given this opportunity to serve and minister to our fellow brothers and sisters in Ukraine. 

Ask that the Lord protect, grow and help nourish each team member's health, mind, and spirit.

Ask that the Holy Spirit bring God glory through the good work that is to come, and that the suffering  - material and spiritual - of the orphaned, the abandoned, and the improverished in Uzhhorod be eased.

Stay in touch

Our work with the House of Mercy has been continous to date, and we expect our cooperation to last for much more than one more short term mission.

Check back on GoMercy on a regular schedule! Email the team with your questions, and leave comments on the blog and the posts if you're interested!

Not only will this give us your valuable feedback, and help us keep you informed about our needs, our praise items and God's work in the mission, but it will also help communicate the ongoing nature of our cooperation with the House of Mercy!

Donate

Has Christ moved you to contribute more than just prayer and sharing? Out of generosity, do you believe you have something to give? 

You can also help by donating; make your donations out to the South Calgary Chinese Evangelical Free Church, and specify it for the Ukraine Short Term Mission fund.

And the material needs of the mission is not just monetary either; as mentioned earlier, we will also be releasing information on materials we will need to host the vacation bible school camp and to provide as assistants for the House of Mercy! You may have such new and unused items in your home - is God calling you to sanctify these things, and give them up for his service?

Share

Spread the word, as easy as a click of the button below! Let other brothers and sisters in Christ know about what's happening with the Ukraine STM! By informing others about GoMercy, we enable the Holy Spirit to create the interest and inquiry into what Jesus is doing in Ukraine, and allow God to speak to his sons and daughters about His will.

Let the meetings begin...

The team's intensive planning sessions have begun and we are excited to be heading back to Ukraine this year. Along with VBS and Roma day camps we are looking forward to evolving our discipleship / leadership trainings for the youths. Here are some updates and prayer requests:

1. Our flight tickets are booked! We will be leaving on the afternoon of July 17th and will be returning on Aug. 3rd. Thank God for providing an efficient and cost-effective itinerary!!
2. Look for our Supplies Board in the chapel foyer starting on May 10th!! Be part of a child's camp experience by purchasing one of the many supplies we need!! 
3. Our team will be sharing in the Joint Cantonese / Mandarin service this coming Sunday (May 3rd.)!! Pray for words of wisdom and prayer support from the congregations.
4. Continue to pray for the planning and direction of this STM. We want to make the most of our times in Ukraine, not just with programs but in relationships. Pray that God will give us discernment in using His time wisely. 

2015 is a GO!

Our team is super excited this year as we begin our planning for the short term mission. We had our first meeting last night so look forward to more updates from Andrew Y. this coming months!