Monkeys, Rain and Shashlik
Thursday started bright and sunny, like our countenances. In my group, (the 8 and 9 yr old kids) the leader of our team asked if I would do the lesson for the day, which was about sharing! After a rough beginning of the kids not listening very well, Misha told the kids that I flew all the way from America, and that they were being very disrespectful and would they like it if I went home? That quieted them down. =) I went on to talk about how we should share our toys, and physical things. Using as an example how God shared with us by giving His only Son to die for us and giving something very precious to people who sometimes don't care.
Something that was pretty cool to me on that day was being in a skit with Jay. Just the two of us. Bros. I got to act like a man. Jay acted like himself too. A Monkey. =) He was very good at it. The story was about a man who tried to catch a monkey. He chased him, tried to call him, tried to catch him in a snare, and with a fishing line, and FINALLY he found his weakness. The monkey was selfish. When he had something in his hand, he wouldn't let it go. So the WISE hunter put a shiny object in a box and when the monkey grabbed the object he wouldn't let go to get his hand out. And he got caught! This illustrated to the kids the danger of being selfish with their things.
Towards the end of the day we were playing the all camp game, a camp favorite... capture the flag. We were 5 minutes into the game and I felt a drip. And another drip. Three drips in I realized it was a downpour. But who cares! With face paint now dripping off all the faces, we ran all the more. Misha and I thought we were superman running through the rain. And then I was hit with a thought. I'm going to be terribly sick. I think Joel thought the same thing, because he called all the kids out of the rain. So with lightning and thunder crashing over head we all huddled on the small porch of the church. It rained until it was time for the children to go home. BUT, our day wasn't over yet!
One of the nice families at the church invited us to their Dacha, (summer house) for dinner and fun and fellowship. So we left the church on foot and walked through a Ukrainian forest to a small house on a hill surrounded by fruit trees. We played volleyball, ate all kinds of fruit, had donuts from a tree, sang songs and shared until it was dark. Problem. We still hadn't eaten the 15 lbs of meat, or Shashlik, that was being grilled for our dinner. Keep in mind we still have to walk back to the church, through a Ukrainian forest, with no street lights... only the lights from our cell phones and 2 small 
flashlights to light the way for 30 people! With lightning overhead and Misha and Jay running around trying to scare people, (only succeeding once!) we finally made it to the church. And it was actually fun! For me anyway. =) It took 4 taxis to get us back to the Sobies at 11:30 where our beds were awaiting.Laying in bed I was thinking about all that had happened during the day. It was neat to think about our fellow Ukrainian Christians and the sweet time of fellowship we had with them. Even though we couldn't talk to most of them, there was something about eating giant hunks of meat in the dark, and drinking warm sprite, that made it really memorable.
Before I go, I want to say Hi to my mom. I love you and miss you, and can't wait to sit on you lap!So finally signing off for the team,Seth Michael MatchakSike! I'm still here!Ok, now for reals. Bye!