Ben and Kristy Blog

Wheaton Christian Grammar Visit

First, thanks for the prayers for me (Kristy) and my wisdom teeth removal on Monday morning. I just hate anything related to surgery, but it was something I had to do before the decay got bad. Our biggest prayer was for a quick healing so that we’d be able to speak at the Wheaton Christian Grammar School chapel and teacher’s meeting at 8am on Wed., less than 48 hrs. after the extraction. I was in pain several days after my 1st extraction in ‘06, but I really didn’t want to miss this chance to speak at the school I attended for 9 foundational years. So I asked people to pray for a fast healing, and God was so faithful to answer. I guess He didn’t want me to miss this chance, either.
To the teachers, we were asked to speak on Spiritual Formation of young people, related to our experience on the mission field, and my experience after 9 yrs. at the Grammar school.  To the 6-8 graders, we were interviewed about our missionary work and how we experience the peace of God through it all.

WCGS Jr. High Chapel

In front of the WCGS Alumni Map

Hometown Chicago

Coo Coo Ben

It has been great to spend time with my nephews. I am known as uncle Ben or coo coo Ben. I don’t know where they get the idea that I am crazy. I think my sister has been starting rumors. I have been babysitting a little bit. It has been such a blessing to spend thanksgiving with family and get to know these young guys. They are so fun.

Logan

Braedan

South Jersey Friends in Wheaton

Last night was a really great mixing of a few worlds for us. There are 4 Wheaton College students who were former members of our New Jersey youth group when we were leaders there. Mike was even in Ben’s small group Bible study for a few years. We thought it would be fun to show them some things in our IL world. So they all came up to my parents’ house for dinner. The fun things is that they are all connected to Josiah Venture through some means, whether they donate or went to Czech or Ukraine, for a few weeks, or even for a few summers! So we have IL, NJ, and Eastern Europe in common. And most of all, in them is a heart to serve Christ. It is awesome.

Top Ten from the First Few Days Here

Karly, Ben, Kristy, Luke

1. A young woman simply smiled at me at a coffee shop. For no reason.
2. I can wear sweatpants to run errands.
3. I am not stared at wearing sweatpants, or anything for that matter.
4. Driving! Not stick yet, unfortunately, but at least I was behind the wheel. Pray for this.
5. Choices! Where do I want to eat today? Chipotle, Wendys, Quiznos, Portillos
6. Seeing our siblings (see pic above w/ Kristy’s; not pic.: Sara, Ben, Michael, Margie)
7. Coffee to go! In big cups!
8. Playing with Braedan and Logan, our nephews
9. Christian Radio! I heard Dr. Tony Evans and saw James. McDonald. I love it.
10. Our Family, in general. They are sooo good to us.

Providing More for Campers

Our youth group is well underway after a long break after our July summer camp. A month ago we had our kick-off and camp reunion party. It sure was a party!  I love how free our church is to just let youth be youth! (We deal with a lot of rigid legalism in the Protestant churches in Ukraine, esp. regarding physical appearance and what is forbidden in terms of having fun.) We had over 50 people, and about 40 of those were from our JV summer camp! It truly was a reunion. I was shocked at the turnout. As Ben was speaking, he told all our campers there that our youth group is their group, too. They are not just visitors. They can be a part of our church group every week. We are always there and they are always welcome. It was a great time. (Ben & Syava were dressed for the Ukrainian 1970’s theme…) And then the following week we had a very low number of former campers at youth group, but there were some new people, which is great. We will rejoice and reach out to whomever God brings in our path, but what happened to all those campers not connected to our church? We will continue to pursue relationships with them, even if they do not want to attend our church. Our desire is that they are taking steps closer to life w/ Christ. It’s ok if they don’t even attend our church, as long as they are growing in their faith somehow. Join us in praying for these young people, these lost sheep. Pray that God will find them and that they will put their full faith in Jesus.

We are rejoicing that some of our youth have recently begun our ELEMENTS Bible study curriculum, where new students can learn more about following Jesus and deeply studying the Bible; where others can grow deeper in their walk with Jesus and get serious about studying the Bible. It is hard to be gone while this is going on. We trust that our prayers will be more powerful than our presence as our leaders obediently follow God and grow in leadership. We are very proud of them.

Video of Ben and Syava Teaching at the New Life English Camp Reunion

Wisdom or Foolishness?

In August of ‘06 I went to 3 different dentists in NJ and get the recommendation to take out one wisdom tooth that could be problematic. I was trying to be wise and proactive before moving to Ukraine. Their medical system is something we’ve chosen not to deal with, so we scheduled drs. and dentist appts. for the week that we returned to the States. We knew that being away for 2 years may or may not provide us with the clean bill of health we were hoping for, but it is worth the wait for us.
Well, Ben’s appt. was just that - a clean set of teeth and just a filling to redo. Mine was more of the worst-case scenario: I must remove my other 3 wisdom teeth as soon as I can, and definitely before going back. Great. Let me just schedule that one in. Welcome Home!

Cyclical Camp Ministry

Just when one year of English camp ends, another begins. There is very little rest between seasons, as we are always thinking ahead to “next year.” Ben, Brit (our JV teammate), and I attended some camp strategy seminars w/ all the JV countries represented in late Sept. The 3 of us also went to Lutsk and Rivne on Wed. to meet w/ 2 Ukr. teams to discuss Summer ‘09. Our vision for next summer is very foggy right now. We want to ask for prayer for the following things:

1. Hiring a part-time national worker to help with things like material translation, church contacts, and facility logistics.
2. Finding more Ukr. youth groups who are interested in evangelistic summer camps. The key is that these youth groups must have leaders capable of leading discussion groups; their church also needs to provide an atmosphere where non-Christians are loved and accepted.

3. Lastly, pray for our American recruiting efforts for Interns and NA Youth Groups. Very few groups, both US and UKR have committed to next summer. We are trusting God to provide leadership and direction so that we can have the right partnerships and camps for ‘09. It is really hard for us to be in this in-between time of great uncertainty.

Don’t You Forget About Me, JV Ukraine

Here is our Josiah Venture Ukraine’s latest full team picture! We love themes. (We did Senior Photos in 2007.) This year we chose Country Club and Breakfast Club. We have a really fun team. Keep praying for us to add more people to this tiny team! Ask the Lord of the Harvest to send workers!

Carpathians

Carpathian Mountains

Ben, Yura, Syava

Syava eating breakfast (buckwheat, duck, corn, carrots)

Yura

Carpathian Mountains and Clouds

Yura climbing through the clouds

Ben, Syava, Yura

I just got back from a 4 day trip with my good friends Syava and Yura. They planned the whole trip and I was just along for the ride. I am always learning more about the Ukrainian culture.

Here are some of their choices.

• Leave on a 11:30 pm train
• Don’t pay the extra $3 to have a bed
• Sleep 1 hour
• Hike for 12 hours
• Climb 5,500 ft mountain
• Make our own trail through the dense forest
• Wait until the last week of October when it is below freezing
• Bring a ton of Ukrainian “mountain food” and make sure I eat it
• Climb 2 more 5,500 ft mountains
• Hike 14 hours (6 hours though the night)
• Total hike was about 35 miles
• Sleep in the train station
• Train departs 5 am
• Arrive in Lviv 10 am

We spent time laughing, talking about youth group, talking about God and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation. I also had the chance to spend time praying and listening to God in the quiet of nature. It is amazing how little time I spend in solitude, in the quiet, just listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. It was good, I am thankful to God for this time and for good friends.