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

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The Claycamps in Ukraine: Merry Christmas from the Claycamps!

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Last night as I was laying in bed I heard a crash of my neighbors fence. Its 12:30am so I awoke and looked out the window. I saw nothing. Partly because all street lights are shut off after midnight anyway. I did hear the yelling of a few voices, but saw nothing. A few moments later I heard our doorbell ring. I jumped out of bed trying to put my pants on and hurry to answer the door. Emily our dog was barking as well. She sleeps inside by the door and I could tell she was curious to see who was outside. I turned on the porch light and looked out the peep hole. There was a man standing there with his face covered in blood. I quickly opened the door, and he began to rattle off in Ukrainian. I caught a few of his words, but was more interested in getting him a wet towel for his face. I gave him the towel grabbed a flashlight and headed out the door. In the street I was met by 3 others. One was a babushka who came up to me and gave me a hug. The other was a dedushka who shook my hand and said thank you. The 3rd person was a lady who looked like she was his wife or girlfriend. They began to rattle off about what happened...but I really understood nothing. We parted ways, I said goodnight and went back to bed. Who were these people? Would I ever see them again? What happened?

The next morning I awoke and shared this story with some friends who were staying with us. I had no idea what happened but wish I had a translator with me at that moment. I also noticed our one of our cats was missing. I searched for her all day...but she was no where to be found. I thought maybe the situation last night had something to do with our cat but was not sure. On the way to youth group that night I saw our cat dead in our neighbor's yard. It was near the road and had probably been struck by a vehicle that night. I still wondered if the events were related but figured I would never know. Driving home from youth group I thought about all that happened, boggled but curious. As I drove down my street I just so happened to come across those same people I dealt with at night. They were walking somewhere but I had to stop and ask them. I quickly telephoned my friend and had her translate to me what happened. She said this guy got jumped by some guys last night and jumped our fence to get away. He came to my door seeking help but not wanting the police to be involved. Looking back, I was thankful that the Lord allowed me to know what happened. I am at rest now. Well,so is my cat...I just buried her. Such is life in Ukraine.

The Claycamps in Ukraine: A late knock on the door...

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  We celebrated another Elderly Outreach on Wednesday. It's a neat thing to watch the church function together in serving the needs of the elderly. Some cook, some clean, some drive, some entertain, but all love. We had a great night. We served a meal of chicken, potatoes and beet salad. Notice in the picture Danny is mixing the potatoes with a drill and mixer attachment. Hey, its Ukraine! It might not be grammas way of doin it, but it's not grammas kitchen and you gotta do what works. The entertainment for the night was musical. Mostly they sang songs and a few played instruments. My daughter Josie even played a song on the piano and sang with her friend Anya. Thanks for all your prayers and financial contributions to make this a monthly outreach a blessing to those who come.

The Claycamps in Ukraine: Golden Oldies Night

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Last week, my mom came to visit us in Ukraine! We were all so thrilled to spend time with her and have her see firsthand the place God has called us to. The trip was only 6 days, but it was so worth it! We had a great time showing her around town and Kiev and introducing her to the awesome people in our lives. She had plenty of play time with the grandkids and even climbed up into their treehouse one day! I enjoyed some great talks with my mom, just catching up on all that God is doing in our lives and in hers. Thank you, Mom, for making the trip out to see us! It meant so much to us! We love you!!!

The Claycamps in Ukraine: A Visit From My Mom!

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Last week, Micah and I got away to Kiev for a night. With NO KIDS! We did have a few errands to take care of, but after that, we took it easy and tried to enjoy the city. It seems that whenever we are in Kiev, we are either running lots of errands, stuck in traffic or trying to handle four hyper kids in the van. So, it was so nice to have no agenda and no distractions and be able to focus on each other. We ate at a wonderful Chinese restaurant, had lots of yummy coffee drinks, strolled the city streets and did a bit of shopping. We also visited the Lavra Monastery. It was such a nice get-away for us and we look forward to the next one!!!

We have enjoyed getting to know the Crowe family, who moved to Ukraine a few months ago. We traveled out to their place for dinner and fellowship. The kids were very excited to see their new friends and we were happy to catch up with Bruce, Deb and Cassie!

We had our annual fall church clean-up day. It mostly consists of raking the leaves into piles and hauling them away. The kids got in on the action and were actually very good helpers. The best part of raking is jumping into the leaves, but they were a bit too wet for that this time.

The Claycamps in Ukraine

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We were finally able to get out to Billa Tserkva to visit the Silva family. The weather was gorgeous and we all enjoyed walking through the park and basking in the beauty of fall here in Ukraine. Greg took much better pictures than us, but here are a few that we took...

After the time in the park, we were delighted to have undeniably the best hotdogs and buns we have tasted here in Ukraine! Thanks so much guys for treating us so well and for the great afternoon! You are such a blessing to us!

The Claycamps in Ukraine: A Fall Day with the Silva's

Check out this video presentation from the Claycamps in Ukraine.

The theme of the conference was "God's heart revealed in Scripture." Micah was able to hear Conor's session on Christ revealed in Scripture. I was happy to get to hear one session also...Jake's message on God's glory ministered to me. God showed me through the frustrating times this weekend how much He loves me and that He wants to show His glory through my life in every situation I am in. At 5 in the morning with a crying baby, when I was feeling so tired and cold and embarrassed, I was thinking, how can I find joy in this situation? Micah and I were talking about it and realized that it was not the right question to be asking. That is such a selfish way of thinking about it, how can I find joy? It should be, How can I glorify God in this situation? How can others see Christ in me when I am at my wits end and overwhelmed with life?

Another wonderful part of the conference was definitely the worship. Man, there was a lot of talented musicians there. But the worship sessions didn't seem to be focused on the talent, but focused on praising an awesome God! Micah and I agreed that hearing worship in Ukrainian and Russian is quite amazing. Our worship band was able to participate in leading one session. I got a nice surprise in seeing Micah singing acapella with the girls on one song.

Read the rest of the article here: The Claycamps in Ukraine: Chernihiv Conference

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