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Reaching an Urban Neighborhood with the Gospel

For most of the team, this was their first attempt at a daycamp in an urban setting.

Dnipropetrovsk, with a population of over 1.2 million people is the third largest city in Ukraine. The “Left-bank” is the area that is north and east of the river – the proverbial “other side of the tracks” for this city. It is a densely populated region, which is often called the poorer half (or third) of the city.

It was to a neighborhood here that the Lord led Dima Lepin, a Ukrainian church planter, to start a new Bible Study. He found an open door to start a group in a “Jek” office. Jek is the Ukrainian Public Utilities maintenance service, responsible for everything from electrical service to trash disposal. This Bible study now meets weekly at a local office and all who attend are Jek employees.

As a next step to starting a church in this neighborhood, Dima chose to invite a combined team of Ukrainians and Americans to lead a day camp in the central yard of a large apartment complex near the Jek office.

Hannah and Tim lead a silly rendition of "Singing in the Rain.

Before the camp had begun, flyers & announcements were posted on doorways, and other areas where people frequently pass by. When the team arrived Tuesday to set up for the first day of camp, every one of the flyers posted had been taken down, presumably by those who consider non-Orthodox Christian groups to be cults.

We can be very thankful that about 200 invitations had been given to children in-hand, allowing 40 kids to come for the first day of the 3-hour afternoon camp.

The kids were led in 4 afternoons of Bible stories, games & relays, a playful music time, and crafts to run home and show Mom!

The feel of this camp was different than those held in the small towns. It took a little more effort to keep them interested. These children need to be reached, and so we ask

Heather, who is serving on Team Dnipr for the summer, loves working with kids - despite the language barrier.

that you pray with us. Pray that the seeds sown this week would not fall just onto the rocky areas, but that they would sink deeply into the hearts of those children, that God would grow them in His own time.

A smaller team of Ukrainians will be returning on Tuesday evenings to the area where this camp was held. They will be conducting a similar time of Bible stories and fun activities for the kids. Please pray that those times will be blessed by God, so that many children would return and hear. Pray also that the children will invite their parents to meet those bringing the message about how to know God. Pray ultimately that God would raise up a church in this area; one which will radiate his love to this community for generations to come.

Feature: Day in the Life of a Volunteer Team - Day camp 2002

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