WHBC Mission Trip Blog

Stan Hicks Touring with The CenturyMen

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:37:00 +0000

Our own Stan Hicks will be touring with The CenturyMen Chorus for the first two weeks of July. Do you know anything about this Grammy Award-winning group? They are made up of Baptist ministers of music and musicians who give their time to sing to the glory of God. You can learn more about them by going to their website.

http://thecenturymen.com

Stan and Carrie need your prayers for health, safety and good voices as they travel. Pray especially for the Baptist Churches where they will be singing. Pray for encouragement of the congregation so they can use these concerts as a means of evangelism.

Here is a brief outline of their tour schedule:

Baptist Heritage Mission Tour, England, Scotland, & Wales, July 3-15, 2008 featuringThe CenturyMen

July 6, 2008
Concert - All Souls Church Langham Place, London, England 9:30 & 11:00 AM

July 7, 2008
Concert 8:00 PM Coventry, England

July 8, 2008
Concert - Parish Church of St.Peter and St. Paul 7:00 PM Olney, England

July 9, 2008
Concert - Fuller Baptist Church 7:00 PM Kettering, England

July 10, 2008
Concert - Outdoors in front of the castle at statue of Lloyd George 4:00 PM Caernarfon, Wales

July 11, 2008
Concerts in various schools during the day Concert - Joint Concert with Caernarfon Male Chorus 7:00 PM Pritchard Hall, University of Bangor, Caernarfon, Wales

July 12, 2008
Morning Concert - Yorkminster Cathedral York, England Concert - Tabernacle Baptist
Church 7:00 PM Stockton-On-Tees, England

July 13, 2008
Concert - St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland) 6:00 PM Edinburgh, Scotland

July 14, 2008
Mini-Concert - St. Margarets Chapel, Edinburgh Castle Morning Edinburgh, Scotland

15th Anniversary of Grace Baptist Church

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:20:00 +0000

This is a view of the congregation spilling out of the front of Grace Baptist Church, Odessa, Ukraine on June 22, 2008 after the celebration of their 15th anniversary. The congregation also included members of the 5 mission churches planted by Grace and other digntaries from sister Baptist Churches in the Odessa Oblast as well as the President of the Baptist Convention from Kiev.

The congregation and guests actually posed on the front steps while a photographer on a very high ladder took a picture of the group. It was quite an impressive view! The building on the left is the Children's Shelter. The children and this ministry is in clear view of the front door of the church so that all who come can know that these children are loved by the entire church body.

Can you imagine preparing dinner on the grounds for close to 500 people without the help of a caterer! That is exactly what the kitchen staff of Grace Baptist did along with the help of volunteers. You can see the picnic lunches on the table as Victoria prepares to hand them out to people. In each container were boiled potatoes, a chicken cutlet (think chicken fingers) as well as a half tomato and cumcumber slices. We also were given a bottle of water and the ladies of the church supplied the desserts. We ate under the trees and around picnic tables.

Over the next few weeks you will see picture albums around the church, on the WMU table and circulating through Sunday School classes. Please take time to look through this picture diary of the work that is taking place at Grace. Also, please pray for the Joshua Team preparing to leave on September 23 to go and meet with the leadership of Grace to determine how we can learn from each other to further the Kingdom of God.

Blessings to you all,

KJ and John Proctor

Odessa June 23, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:12:00 +0000

We apologize for not posting for a few days. The Internet provider went out after a big storm on June 21 and did not come back online until the 23rd. There will be more pictures uploaded as soon as possbile. We want to share with you the sights of the 15th Anniversary of the founding of Grace Baptist Church and to let you see the crowds as they left the service that morning.

Sunday night we went to a concert of the joint choirs of Second Baptist Church and Calvary Baptist Church as they did the Oratoria by Edward Sheve (1908). It was held in an inner city church and was open to the public. This music score is about the last three days of the life of Jesus Christ and then the resurrection.

We are on our way back to Williamsburg now but will continue to post pictures and stories for some time. Please continue to check back, especially after the 27th for more postings and pictures.

KJ and John Proctor

Grace Baptist Church and its Ministers

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 08:04:00 +0000

GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH, ODESSA, UKRAINE

The banner says: "Grace to you and peace."

Grace celebrates it's 15th Anniversary this Sunday.

Interior of Grace foyer

Grace Children's Shelter

Peter Vladimiravitch and his wife, Lydia the first set of house parents

at the Grace Children's Shelter when it was founded 8 years ago. This p;icture with John Proctoir was taken in the sanctuary of Grace.

Vasili Efmavitch Logvinenko, Pastor Emeritus of Grace Baptist Church (age 83)

Pastor Benjamin, age 86, on June 15

Odessa Government Hosptial where pastors and members of Grace Baptist hold weekly prayer meetings each Wednesday. They provide music, scripture and a short evangelistic service to the patients, nurses and administrators of the hospital.

More Black Sea Camp Construction

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 07:45:00 +0000

One view of the Black Sea from the older section of the "lower camp", meaning the part of the camp that is on the sea level of the property owned by Grace Baptist Church. The camp extends upward to the top of a high hill overlooking the sea. There is space for people on the lower level and on the upper level as well.

Andrew, the Ukrainian electrician stringing the wire is on the left. John Proctor is center in the red jacket and Tom, from outside Wilmington, NC, is on the right. He, his wife Linda andWalt Rumminger from South Carolina put up the studs and particle board walls and ceilings (with wood screws) in both of these 8 room cabins. The men are standing in the hallway that will be partitioned into baths in the nexty phase of construction.

Walt Rumminger, front, and Grace Senior Pastor Igor Bandura inspecting the work on the cabins. Below, shot of the interior wall work with electrical wiring.

This is a view of the older cabins in the lower camp. You can see the wash hanging on the line. This is camp life for the construction workers. The camp cook prepares all meals in the new kitchen/dining room. There are western style shower houses and outdoor pull showers for coming off the beach. These buildings have been restored on the interior but still need much finish work on the exterior porches.

This is a view of the completely restored cabins at the lower camp. They are duplexes with one room sleeping 4 and one room sleeping 2-3 so families can stay in one cabin with some privacy. These and the older cabins do not have private bathrooms, but offer spectacular views of the Black Sea and the breezes from the water.

The camp is also in dire need of upgrading their playground equipment for the children. Right now the slide and the swings are old metal, rusted and dangerous in my opinion. Igor saw the new playground at the WHBC Learning Center and was quite impressed. He is now researching to see if there is anything like this in the Odessa region.

KJP

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 07:33:00 +0000

Attention Construction Team: Here are some pictures from the upper level of the Grace Baptist Black Sea Camp. A team of three from North and South Carolina have been here for three weeks working with some of the older boys from the Grace Shelter. In that length of time they have completed the studding out (see below) and the particle board on one 8 unit cabin and are starting on the second one. As you can see these will have exterior entrances into the bedrooms with individual baths at the back of the bedroom. The men also strung all of the interior wiring with the help of one Ukrainian man, Andrew.

Here is a shot of some of the power tools that are on hand. They are purchased in Odessa or Uzhiney by teams and left for the next group to use. While there is still construction needed on the upper camp, there is much finish work and maintenance to be done on the older lower camp and the area that fronts the Black Sea.

More pictures to come in the next installment of the Missions Blog!

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:19:00 +0000

This is Valla. She is the wonderful lady who cooks our breakfast every morning. She is a wonderful Christian woman who also cooks for teams and groups coming to Grace to serve during the summer. She has been doing this for us for the past 8 years. She and John are standing in the dining hall just in front of the window to the kitchen.

Senior Pastor Igor Bandura reading a letter from WHBC Minister of Music John Thompson to Daniel Terenko, Minister of Music, Grace Baptist Church, Odessa. Rev. Thompson sent several copies of music, contatas and hymn arrangements to Rev. Terenko. The music is not only greatly appreciated by the choirs at Grace, but also at the Baptist Theological Seminary where Rev. Terenko is the Director of Music Studies.

Pictures of Transition House

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:45:00 +0000

The exterior of the Grace Church Transition House on June 16, 2008. The exterior plaster must still be put on and the front of the house/steps finished. Work now begins on the interior walls, ceilings and floors. Pastor Igor Bandura and John Proctor are seen in the picture. The Transition House is being built for the children who are living in the Grace Baptist Children's Shelter. On becoming 18 they must leave the Shelter located next to the church, but have no safe place to go. This building will house older children for another three years to allow them to learn to become self-sufficient. The rooms are being built as efficiency apartments for 2 to 3 persons, with a common dining room, house parents quarters and space for meetings, conferences and visiting youth groups.

This is a picture of the interior construction of the Transition House. The limestone blocks will be covered with plaster and a railing will be placed along the stairways. These blocks were recycled from the old buildings torn down at the Black Sea Camp, put onto trucks and hauled into Fontanka for this project. The core of the building (basement and three upper floors) are made from this material.

June 16 in Odessa

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:44:00 +0000

The day is clear and beautiful with weather in the upper 70's. Being close to the Black Sea we have the same type of skies as in Williamsburg. One difference we have noticed is the Moon. At night it seems to descend instead of ascend over the course of the night. Makes it quite interesting when you are out walking!

Today we went out to see the progress on the Transition House construction. When the children at the Grace Shelter become 18 they must leave under Ukrainian law. The Transition House is being built to provide them a place to live until they are emotionally and financially able to care for themselves. It is amazing to us each time we come and see the work that has been done. The concrete has been poured (by hand) for the first floor, the walls have been reinforced and plastered and the ceilings have been put in place. When you consider the rudimentary way they have to do this work and the fact that the finished 4 story building will have approximately 60,000 square feet of living space, this is quite an accomplishment. However, it can't be finished quickly enough. We already have young men and women who need the safety of the home and the house parents who will live there with them. I will try to upload some pictures so you can see the "house". I must also share with you the miracle of God in providing an abandoned project that is now, even in its unfinished state, worth 3 to 4 times what was paid at purchase.

The night service at Grace was a continuation of the Trinity Sunday services. Along with wonderful choral music, three pastors shared the answers to questions asked about the Holy Spirit. Although we did not understand every word, it was a great experience to hear the interchange between the people and the pastors as they taught the Word.

It has been a good day with Christian friends. May God bless each of you and keep you safe until we see each other again.

Trinity Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 13:59:00 +0000

Greetings from Grace Baptist Church on Trinity Sunday. Today the morning services were dedicated to telling of the Holy Spirit and how the indwelling of the Spirit of God enables us to do ministry. Brochures were given to each person this morning outlining the Biblical teachings about the Holy Spirit and giving each person a chance to write out any questions they had about the teachings or the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The questions were then gathered at the end of the service.

It is very interesting that in a former Soviet, communist controlled country, tomorrow (Monday) is a state holiday - the holiday of the Spirit - with everyone off of work for the day. Grace Church will take advantage of this and have a service Monday evening. A portion of this service will be at time of dialogue between the pastors and the congregation in answering the questions written on Sunday morning. It should be very interesting.

We arrived here on Friday afternoon and after an early dinner, collapsed and slept. On Saturday morning at 9:00 am we took 40 children to the new outdoor Aqua Park for the morning. (Think Water Country). After two hours of general mayhem and fun, we drove about 15 minutes to the church's camp on the Black Sea for a picnic and more time on the sand. (Ask John later what he did during this time!) Getting back very late to the church apartment we discovered that the key we had to the computer room didn't quite work, so we have been delayed in posting to the Blog.

The weather here is very pleasant; a big change from last year with the drought and the heat. Everything is blue and green, much like the early spring weather in Williamsburg.

We shared this morning's worship with a youth group from Houston who were coming through Odessa on the way to some villages further to the North, and a group of Baptists from North and South Carolina who are here for 4 weeks working on the cabins on the upper level of the Black Sea Camp. It is always great to meet other Christians from home who are about the Father's work.

We meet this week with Pastor Igor Bandura and the leaders of the church to plan out the September trip. They are preparing for us to come and visit with them already!

More news later!

June 2008 Mission Ministry to Grace Baptist Church, Odessa, Ukraine

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 22:12:00 +0000

On June 11, 2008 John and K. J. Proctor will leave for Grace Baptist Church, Odessa, Ukraine. This ministry trip will help to prepare for the upcoming Walnut Hills Joshua Team trip in September.

Taken from the story of Moses sending scouts to the "promised land" to bring back reports, a Joshua Team goes out to listen, learn, discover and bring back to the church their reports of the ministries of Grace Baptist, the possibilities for our two churches to work together, and things that touched their hearts about the people there. The September 23 - October 2 Team members are: Gail Jenner, Terri Bolt, Tina Crawford, Pat and Allan Wright, Danner & Dr. Tony Neal and John and K. J. Proctor.

We ask for your prayers for good health, safe travel and understanding of God's will in this matter. Stay tuned to the Missions Blog and see what is happening in Odessa this year!

Harvest Sunday - Customs in Ukrainian Church

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:13:00 +0000

Good Morning! It is 9:17 am on Monday morning as I type this message. For you it is 2:17am. The weather here has turned colder since a welcome rain. There was no rain here for more than 4 months and most of the wheat crop is ruined, much like our crops on the East Coast.

However, as is tradition, some of the village churches have held their "Harvest Sunday" services. Grace will hold it's service on the last Sunday of September. On this day the church front is decorated with fruits, vegetables and baked goods as they come together to thank God for the harvest of crops and foods that He has given them. It is a time of thanksgiving and preparation for the cold winters because the food that is brought is then destributed to the elderly and home bound after the service by the Deacons and young men of the church. Then the younger women will go over and help to can the fruit and vegetables for the winter. It is a picture of the early Church sharing what they had with others who did not. I will try to find some of my picturs from former years and post them so you can see what it is like at the churches with the abundance of food and color spread around the front tables.

Yesterday we had a wedding at Grace Church. It is traditional that the weddings are at the end of the Sunday morning service since most of the congregation is there and they didn't have to make extra trips from the farms to come (in the older days). The bride was the daughter of the Administrator of the Odessa Baptist Theological Seminary. The wedding takes place on the pulpit level and included both sets of parents as well as a "best man" and a "maid of honor." The groom walks the bride down the aisle. Another interesting point is that the choir provides the music with short, beautiful songs while the couple is kneeling before prayer and as they exchange rings. Here the couple is pronounced husband and wife before the exchange of rings, since in times past, there was no money for a ring. After the wedding is concluded, the wedding party and their parents stand together for a receiving line. If a reception is held, it is in another location. In this example, it was at the Seminary.

In the Christian community here, couples do not date alone until after their engagement is announced (usually by the pastor at the end of a Sunday service when he calls them forward and makes the announcement that they are to be married.) Up until that time they are always in a group of students or church friends. Engagements are usually 3 to 4 months, but can be longer if the couple is finishing university or other studies. In the days before the fall of the Soviet Union, if a Christian girl married a young man who was not a Christian or a member of a Christian church, she was basically "excommunicated" until the time that he made a profession of faith or came to join the church. This may seem very harsh to us, but it was a matter of preservation during the time of persecution, especially if this young man was not known to the "underground" churches. Things have changed now, and much of that suspicion is gone. Praise God.

This will be the last blog from Odessa. We fly to Vienna, Austria this afternoon. The remainder of my postings will be pictures as we arrive home.

May God bless you richly. Please pray for the members of Grace Baptist Church here in Odessa and for the small village church in Ilyinka. Pray for the Transition House to be glassed in with the rest of the windows and doors so that work can continue during the winter. This house is much needed for the homeless and family-less young men and women as they have to leave the Shelter at age 18.

Camp for Ilyinka Village Children

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 10:30:00 +0000

Here is a report from the Children's Camp Director about the camp for the children in the little village of Ilyinka. (You can see a picture of the small mission church on this Blog.) These children are from homes where there is heavy drinking and drug use. They are not Christian children. This is the first summer of "free camp" on the Black Sea for most of them. Read now the report and pray for these children andtheir families:

"From June, 20 till June, 30th this year God has given us an opportunity to lead a children's camp at the Black Sea Camp for twenty three children who visit church in Illyinka. From the very beginning of the organization and preparations for the camp God plentifully blessed us. Sincerely believing Christian teachers have offered time to organize for children not only rest on seacoast, but also the interesting program with fascinating Bible lessons. The goal of the program, called "Traces to the Source", was to help each child learn the main Biblical truth about the way of salvation through accepting Jesus Christ as personal Savior.

Every morning children did exercises and attended a general meeting where they sang, told verses from the Bible and got acquainted with the program for day. We had two levels for Bible lessons - younger and older children. During lessons of needlework each child showed the imagination and creativity. Often their hand-made articles corresponded to a theme of a Bible lesson. Many children made beautiful Bible verses and hung up them above the beds to see the Word of God constantly. During day the children studied new songs, verses, dramas and presented these in the evening worship with enthusiasm.

It was difficult to work with these children at the camp as all of them are from faithless families and their parents do not visit church. But our Christian Brothers and Sisters prayed for us and our Lord has helped us to overcome all difficulties and to find the approach to each child. We thank God for those minutes when we could talk to each child alone, listen to them, pray and tell how God loves them. Children changed every day and we observed with pleasure as they learned to speak kind words, to help each other and to get new friends instead of quarreling.

Nine days slipped by. The final day of camp came. It was a special day since we were going to call children to make a decisive step and repent on evening service. On evening service after singing there came the moment when there was full silence in a hall. Children attentively listened to the story about the prodigal son. After the sermon the children were invited to repent and many children came to a front of a hall and prayed to God. The joy filled our hearts when we saw as children come to the God. After the evening service we had farewell campfire where children again heard an invitation to receive Jesus in their hearts. And again we saw how new children come to Christ and receive Him as their Savior. Most of the children from our camp have repented that day. We are grateful to God that He has allowed us to work with these children and allowed to be witnesses of how the Holy Spirit led children's hearts to understand who He is and what He has come to do in their lives."

Sunday in Odessa

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:30:00 +0000

Sunday was beautiful in Odessa. We attended the morning service at Grace where we met 4 men from York, PA who came over to help lay tile in the kitchen of the Black Sea Camp. This should sound familiar to the Team to Gulfport! These men had the advantage of being contractor and this being their second or third trip over to work on this large construction project of rehabilitating an old camp ground. They will be here until next Friday when they will return from their 2 week mission trip.
On Sunday evening we attended the 6pm worship service, which is mostly older members. It is also a time when visiting ministers and/or seminary students have a chance to share the Gospel and preach. There are usually three sermons per worship service; usually 10 to 15 minutes long, interspersed with choir anthems, solos, readings, prayers and, of course, an offering. Headsets and translators are available; however, we prefer to listen to the services in Russian or Ukrainian. It is interesting when there is a Ukrainian speaker, for most of the older population were forced to speak only Russian and therefore do not completely understand the sermons given in Ukrainian. For us it would be like someone preaching in Elizabethan English. We would understand most of it, but there would be words that would have a different meaning or context. Makes translating to John a real challenge!

Arrival in Odessa, Ukraine

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 14:32:00 +0000

Greetings! We have arived in Odessa safely and have moved all of the wonderful gifts you sent to Grace Baptist Church. It is taking some time to catch up to the time change. We are 8 hours ahead of you here! We are visiting with American missionaries tonight and preparing for the two hour church service tomorrow morning. We look forward to seeing friends again and worshipping together. This afternoon we drove out to the small town of Fontanka to see the Transition House where the older children will live (after they reach 18) in prepartion for college, trade school or life in general. Some of the windows have been installed before we arrived. It is such a thrill to see this building take shape knowing what an impact it will have on some many lives. Thank you for your prayers of safety for out travel. We felt the calm and peace that only comes from the grace of God through the Holy Spirit. Peace to you!

Black Sea Camp of Grace Baptist Church

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:31:00 +0000

Pictured here are some of the Grace Shelter children who have worked at the church's camp /retreat site on the Black Sea. If you could see straight across the water, you would be looking at Istanbul, Turkey. Note the 2 young girls in the white skull caps. They are sisters in a family of 5 found locked in an apartment last winter. The mother, an Armenian gypsy, was arrested for being drunk in public and didn't tell anyone about her children. When finally found weeks later, the 2 month old was dead and the other four children were near death. They are thriving at the Shelter!

Bogdan

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:26:00 +0000

Many of you have heard our story about Bogdan. His name, in Ukrainian, means "of God". His mother tried to sell him for drugs to some men from Spain. He was rescued by a Christian neighbor who was a member at Grace Baptist Church. He has problems with ADHD and craves love and affection. What would have happened to him, had this ministry not been in place? Where would he be now if his Mother had been successful? A child of the street, he has asked to give his heart to Jesus. Please pray for Bogdan.

Odessa, Ukraine Children's Shetler

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:19:00 +0000

Pictured here are some of the children we work with at the Grace Baptist Church "Shelter". Theyare pictured in front of the sanctuary doors. The signs on the church say: Grace Church and the banner basically says "Grace to You and the World". These are our older children ranging in age from 11 to 17. They are not adoptable. They are shelterd, loved, clothed, educated and taught the love of God by their House Parents, the pastors and the congregation of Grace Baptist Church. They depend on outside help to provide for the children.

Odessa, Ukraine Mission Trip

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 18:58:00 +0000

This picture shows the gantrys on the container ships in the Port of Odessa, Ukraine. Each arm represents cargo being loaded or unloaded at this busy port. Notice some of the signs are in English. A port city attracts commerce, but also attracts the homeless and refugees seeking a better life. This is one of the ways your love, prayers and gifts reach around the world and promote Kingdom business.

Odessa, Ukraine Mission Trip

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 18:55:00 +0000

This lady at the Ilyinka Mission in the Ukraine is smiling as she receives one of the wooden cars carved by Frank Hall and the Woodcarvers of Walnut Hills Baptist Church. She is taking it to her great-grandson. Also pictured is Andrew Bandura, the pastor at the Ilyinka Mission Church.

Pictures from Odessa

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 18:51:00 +0000

This is the small mission Church in the village of Ilyinka, about 45 minutes outside of the city of Odessa. It is a miniature of the sanctuary building at Grace Baptist Church. It serves a community of approximately 150 people, none of whom were believers when the church was built 2 years ago. Most of the villagers are alcholics and suffer from TB and other illnesses. Grace Baptist Church, Odessa, established this mission in order to reach the children of the village and share the Gospel of hope, truth and redemption.

Proctor's Head for Ukraine

noreply@blogger.com (K. J. Proctor) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:23:00 +0000

K. J. and John Proctor head to Odessa, Ukraine on Wednesday, September 12 to work with Grace Baptist Church and the Children's Shelter there. The 40 children there are wards of the church and are not adoptable. Most have some family still living who are not able to care for the children. They come as young as 2 and stay until they are 18. They are a delight to the hearts of the congregation and those who go to work with them. The Proctor's will be working with Pastor Igor Bandura and the staff at Grace. Watch this sight for more news. They'll be there through September 24, 2007!

Playing and Packing

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Bolt) — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 03:13:00 +0000

Today was a day to rest up from the work of the week. Most of us slept in to catch up from the week spent in Brooklyn. We spent quite a bit of time shopping today in Macy's and nearby stores. We also went shopping on Canal street and in Times Square.

Tonight a couple of our folks went to catch another Broadway show, we had dinner of leftovers at Metro Baptist or dinner out on the town. We also got to ride the bus to Secaucus, NJ to pick up the church vans. We are going to get an early start to try to beat the traffic (we imagine that we won't). We'll call parents when we get into Virginia and past the Washington DC metro area (somewhere around Dumfries, Va).

Thanks for all your prayers and for checking the blog site this week.

The team

Graham, Lulu, Terri, Carrie, William (aka Billy), Dave, Briana, Oriana, Casey, Emily, Grace, Jordan, Lindsey and Kenley

Coney Island and Balloon Peace Signs

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Bolt) — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 03:45:00 +0000

The subway system for the most part is back to normal after a day that was best described as "Chaotic" by one of the dailies handed out to commuters. We arrived at GRBC around 9 am and played games with the kids until 10:00 AM when we left for Coney Island. We got to Coney Island with no problem. Some of the group ate at the original Nathan's hot dog shop and others ate at some other local restaurants

Our wristbands became active after 12:00 and we entered Astroland which is the home of the world famous Cyclone roller coaster. Most of us got a chance to ride the coaster if we wanted to do so. We also road the log flume, played carnival games and spent lots of time in the kiddie ride section. One word of advice, watch out for the bumper car ride. They are much faster than you have in VA.

Here is the post-Coney Island photo.

Here is a photo of the team after our final day at GRBC in front of the church. Most of team headed back to Manhattan while I stayed to make a few balloons for those who remained. It was around 5:00 o'clock.

Here is a photo of the peace sign balloon sculpture that Dave made for the camp before he left for today.

Tonight we had dinner in Little Italy at a place called Amici II. The food was really good. We then spent some time walking thorough Little Italy and visiting part of Chinatown. Tomorrow is a day of fun seeing the city. Check the site late in the day for photos and updates.

Photos from the last two days

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Bolt) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 11:30:00 +0000

Here is the park when the festival began setting up. It got much more crowded than this picture shows.

Craft time on Wednesday

The ceremonial first pitch at Shea stadium. The Braves won.

Thursday morning required a lot of time waiting in line. Here is William by a sculpture in the Port Authority bus terminal

More photos this afternoon!