We are preparing for our fall youth conference here in Kaharlyk. The Lord has laid on my heart the verses in Romans 13:11-14. The theme...Wake Up! These verses have been on my heart for some time. They are an incredible motivation and encouragement to keep looking ahead...heaven will soon be here. In light of our salvation, let us continue to live it out daily as we look forward to His return. The date is scheduled for Nov. 21. The conference will include about 5 or 6 other youth groups from nearby villages. Our youth team is putting all the pieces together and serving with joy. Please pray the Lord will open hearts to Wake up...to a deeper understanding, and commitment to follow God.

M. Claycamp Missionary Page

http://claycampsinukraine.blogspot.com/2009/11/wake-up-youth-conference.html

We have not blogged in the last few weeks so here is look at some of the things that went on in our lives... We attended a youth conference in Zhovti Vodi (Yellow Waters). We piled into our van along with the Zschech family and drove 5 hours through pot-hole filled roads to meet the rest of our youth group at the conference. We enjoyed 2 days of worship, teaching, great fellowship and wonderful hospitality. I taught a 2 hr. workshop on design principles and how to apply it in photoshop. I shared about looking to creation for design inspiration created by the "great Designer".

Last year, I got to know the village veterinarian. Emily, our dog, was having some stomach issues, and someone directed us to Sergei. When my mom was here, we all went out to Sergei's home for an authentic Ukrainian meal. His wife, Lyena, laid out quite a spread and we enjoyed an amazing meal and fun conversation, thanks to our translator, Anya. We decided to return the favor and invited them over for an "American" meal at our home. We also invited Yura and Oksana. So, Christy actually went with the Italian dish, lasagna, complete with garlic bread, fruit salad and carrot cake for dessert. We think that they enjoyed the food or they were being very polite. Sergei and his son, Dima, tested out the Wii bowling and loved it. It was a fun evening and we pray that God would give us more opportunities to spend time with this family in the future and share with them the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

The men in our church decided to put on a special dinner for the ladies in our church. Yura was the head chef and other men helped cook, serve, or provide entertainment. The ladies had a nice time being served and just relaxing and chatting with each other. According to my wife, "I had a great time and loved the food Yura cooked for us. It was wonderful to be able to enjoy a quiet meal with friends and not having to lift a finger to help with cooking or dishes! So, when is the next one?"

The Lord has provided me with some little work projects to help some of the ladies in our church. I helped out with a remodel at Natasha Semenenko's place, plastering and patching up her ceiling. Another project that came my way was building a temporary outhouse for a babushka in our church. Baba Olya has a feuding neighbor who has been harassing her and tends to destroy her property. His last rage was against her outhouse. She lives alone and usually has many jobs that need to be done around her house.

The church had a work day to clean up the building and surrounding property. We showed up ready to work. Our cleaning arsenal consisted of rakes, shovels, brushes and a tractor complete with trailer for all the trash and rubble. The Lord gave us a beautiful day to serve him!

The Claycamps in Ukraine: The last few weeks...

Claycamp Missionary Page

In our graduate ministry we have always seen the need to build relationships with the older kids before they leave the orphanage. In the beginning of 2009 we began talking to a small group of Ukrainian Christians about joining us in our ministry these children. For the past 2 months, this group has joined the Open Arms team in Sumy to make once a month trips to run short programs for the oldest 2 classes at Pravda. Games, skits, contests and discussions have entertained the 30 kids and friendships between them and the Ukrainian team have already begun to form.

Our vision is that the individuals in this group can begin building relationships with these kids that will extend beyond their time in the orphanage. We hope that when these kids graduate and leave the orphanage and their world drastically changes, they have a strong, stable Christian friend that they can go to who can guild them with wisdom and share Christ's love.

Please join with us in praying for not only the children but also for the team. Pray that God will give us wisdom on how best to reach the kids' hearts.

Open Arms Ukraine: 8th & 9th Grade Orphanage Ministry

Open Arms Missionary Page

After months of preparations and awaiting the Samaritan's Purse shoebox gifts to arrive, our church put on a puppet show for the needy kids in town and from surrounding villages. We held two shows, one on Saturday and one on Sunday and over 150 kids came. The kids sang songs, watched a puppet show about the birth of Jesus, had cake and juice, and received a shoebox filled with gifts. It was a great time for all involved and we were blessed to be able to take part in this outreach. Here is a video we put together of the shows...

We had the blessed opportunity to have my mom out here again in Ukraine. Winter is probably not the best time to come to Ukraine. Its cold and dreary and things tend to slow down during this season. But the Lord opened a door for her to come and really blessed the time we have spent with her. She came out mostly to visit and not necessarily for ministry, but it looked as though God had other plans. He opened doors to be involved in some orphanage trips, women's bible studies, an elderly dinner night and a children's puppet show. Our kids have had a blast tubing with "mimi" and just enjoying her around the house. We have been blessed with the extra help. My mom has the gift of servanthood...and might I add cleaning. Our house has never looked so good. Thanks mom! Here are some pics, more info and details to come in our monthly newsletter.

The Claycamps in Ukraine: My mom visits Ukraine again

M. Claycamp Missionary Page

Graduation Dresses

For a kid in high school, prom is usually a highlight. For the children at the Pravda orphanage their graduation is their time to shine. The girls wear prom dresses, the boys in shirts and ties, and for that day, they are the stars. This year, economic crisis in Ukraine has escalated the prices of dresses even more than usual as orphanage support from the government has decreased. We have decided to see how we can help make this day special for the children at Pravda and are looking for your support. If you have a used prom dress, jewelry or dress shoes that you would like to donate, please contact us through e-mail (openarmsministry@gmail.com) or by phone [(510)435-3625)]. Monetary donations are also greatly appreciated as they can help us buy dresses here in Ukraine for these beautiful young ladies. Together we can share God’s love in this way and help make this graduation a day they never forget.

Aids Talks/Abortion

Ukraine ranks #1 in all of Europe, which includes 43 countries, for the prevalence of AIDs among adults. According to the UNAIDS report in late 2008, Ukraine and Russia are stated as the region with “the fastest growing HIV epidemic in the world with prevalence doubling since 2001” (avert.org as quoted from UNAIDS statistics). With this reality, we have seen an increasing need for awareness among the children we work with as many turn to sex at a very young age. On January 16^th, we held a two part lecture series for the oldest classes at the Pravda orphanage and we are set to do the same for the next classes in the coming weeks.

We have also received permission from the Sambir Juvenile Colony to hold the same lecture series for the young men there who are preparing for life outside those walls. Every day decisions are made, but we hope that with education some of those decisions may be altered for the better.

Alongside the AIDs lecture at Pravda, we will be holding an abortion program January 24^th with a young pregnant woman from a local Sumy church as the speaker. She will work with the oldest classes and share with them about the realities of pregnancy and what takes place with an abortion. Our goal is to inform these children of the truth behind the terminology used while shedding light on God’s truth in these subject areas.

Orphanage Ministry

Every year we are faced with a new class of graduates from the Pravda orphanage and therefore our relationships there are of the upmost importance. If trust is not built with the children before they are placed in the trade school system, it is hard, if ever, to build trust to bring them to help. With this reality we have been building a team of Ukrainian volunteers from the local church who will be traveling with us monthly to the Pravda orphanage. They will focus their time on creating programs and building relationships with the 2 oldest classes that will hopefully lead to continued relationships beyond the children’s time there. Our goal and vision is to see long-lasting relationships developed that will lead not only to tangible help and support when the children are released from the orphanage, but also to a personal understanding of salvation in their lives.

OpenArmsMinistry@gmail.com * PO Box 277, San Lorenzo, CA 94580-0277 * (510) 435 - 3625

Open Arms Ukraine: January 2009

Open Arms Missionary Page

Here are some pictures of Christy and Josie's trip to the States...

Thank you so much to all of you who helped participate in our watch drive for the boys in the Sambir Juvenile Prison! We were able to bring enough watches for every one of the boys for Christmas! Because of your willingness to support and give, this enables us to be able to continue to do ministry in Sambir and brings a little bit of joy to these lost boys in prison. Thank you!

Another Yeremenko
Ira Yeremenko, age 23.
Ira is the oldest and the only girl with six brothers. We have worked with three of her brothers, Roman, Losha and Ivan, but had only ever briefly met her once. Upon returning to Ukraine, our translator got a disturbing call from Ira. She had been kidnapped and held in a nearby city for the last three months. She had been forced to work and beaten daily by a man who had a personal vendetta against her mom. After three months, she was finally able to get a hold of a phone and found a piece of paper in her pocket that she didn't know what in there. Ira had washed her pants seven times, not knowing that this paper, with numbers for her brothers and Sasha, our translator, was in the pocket. She found the paper and was surprised to see that it still looked like new, having no water damage to the phone numbers written on it. She tried each number and the only one that worked was Sasha's. Thanks to the help of a friend who works for the police, we were able to get the man to put Ira on a bus to Sumy and we picked her up at the bus station the following day.

Since arriving back in Sumy, the people in the local church have warmly accepted and showered her with God's love. Ira has now professed to accepting the Lord and has been filled with joy and a peace we didn't see when we first met her. Right now she is staying with us and looking for a job in Sumy. Ira strongly has it on her heart that her brothers, and even her mom, need to know that Lord and has spoken to them boldly about it from the moment they were reunited.

Upcoming Events
We will be making a trip to Pravda on the 6th to celebrate Ukrainian Christmas with the kids there. We will be bringing home-made American sweets and small gifts for each of the children.
Ukraine is the number one country for AIDS in Europe. We have been approved by the orphanage and the prison in Sambir to bring a small group and give a presentation on AIDS. An international organization called ACET - AIDS Care Education and Training - has developed a curriculum that we will be using. Both of the presentations will be some time in January.

Prayer Needs
Ira - Pray that God would continue to give her boldness in her new faith. Pray that she would be able to find a job and begin a new life in Sumy.

AIDS Presentations - Please pray that we would be able to find a couple more volunteers to help with the presentation in Sambir. Pray for the effectiveness of our times in both locations.

Finiancial Support - Continue to pray that we would receive the nessecary financial support for our ministry in Ukraine.
Local Church - Pray for God to work in the hearts of Ukrainian Christians as we reach out to try find more volunteers for our ministry.

Graduates - Please continue to pray for our graduates salvation.

Open Arms Ukraine

Open Arms Missionary Page

After 3 months of Yura's van sitting in my driveway awaiting paint, I can happily say the project is completed. A lot of factors were involved that contributed to the length of this project...but I have learned living in Ukraine that waiting for a completed project is normal. Let me take you back to the beginning of the story...

Yura purchased Dan Gollan's old Ford Transit and had it towed from Rzhyshiv to Kaharlyk. It needed a lot of work as well as an engine overhaul. It had been 5 years at least since this vehicle was in use. When it quit running it was left to rot next to Dan's house. Yura got a great deal and we towed it home. He took it to a local repair shop for body work and primer. Then it came to my house and sat until I finished some other projects I was working on.

I told Yura that we could use my garage as a paint booth. I used a large gas heater to warm up my garage before I could paint. Paint doesn't dry too well when it is freezing outside. I alternated painting and turning on the heat so the paint could dry. Not a good idea to paint with the heater going...it's an explosion waiting to happen. After 5 coats of white and 3 coats of clear I finally finished...well that's all the paint I had.

Since I had never painted a vehicle before, there was a lot of trial and error involved. My compressor and spray gun gave me problems at first. But after some adjustments I was back in business. Yura wants me to airbrush a mural on his van later (my first time for that as well). I will keep you posted. Christy will be buying the airbrush paints in America...they are no where to be found here in Ukraine. I plan on starting this project in the spring. Thanks Yura for the opportunity to bless you and for the willingness to try new things!

The Claycamps in Ukraine: Yura's van finally painted

Claycamp Missionary Page

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Claycamps in Ukraine: Merry Christmas from the Claycamps!

Claycamp Missionary Page