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From August 3-15, 2010, journey through history on the magnificent Dnieper River in Ukraine.

Join Anita Deyneka, president of Russian Ministries, and Sergey Rakhuba, senior vice-president, for an unforgettable journey on the Black Sea and along the beautiful, peaceful Dnieper River.

During this 12-day educational and inspirational river trip, you will enjoy a full sight-seeing tour of the historic cities of Odessa (on the Black Sea), Yalta and Sevastopol (in the Crimea), as well as Kherson, Zaporozhye—Sergey Rakhuba’s hometown and the ancient cradle of the Cossacks and later the Mennonites), Kremenchug and Kiev.

You’ll not only explore these unique historic and cultural sites, but also see the work of Russian Ministries in action through a variety of ministry outreaches, visiting churches and meeting with evangelical workers and leaders.

As a native of Ukraine, Rakhuba will provide you with unique, personal insights about the places you’ll visit and introduce you to the strategic ministries that are done with the support of Russian Ministries. A special highlight of the trip will be a visit to Russian Ministries’ new training center and headquarters in Kiev, where you’ll meet with our national team and see firsthand what God is doing to expand His kingdom in Ukraine.

Accommodations are aboard an elegant ship built specifically for river travel. Staterooms are spacious and comfortable, each with an outside river view.

Anita Deyneka and Sergey Rakhuba would be delighted to have you and your family members join us for this first-ever Russian Ministries’ river journey in Ukraine that is sure to be an enjoyable and unforgettable experience. Please let us know of your interest at your earliest convenience, and we hope to see you next summer in Ukraine.

For more information, please call Sarah at Russian Ministries, 630-462-1739, or email her at: sarah@russian-ministries.org.

CLICK HERE TO GIVE TO OUR CAMP OUTREACH.

The summer of 2009, 8,283 campers attended 111 sessions of evangelistic summer camps*, organized by School Without Walls students, other young Next Generation Christian leaders and churches across the former Soviet Union.

At Russian Ministries’ evangelistic summer camps, children and teenagers . . .

…discover God’s love

In Moldova, cancer is one of the major causes of death. Tragically, early detection and treatment are rare, and children with cancer have a low survival rate.

Young Next Generation Christians in Moldova wanted their evangelistic summer camp to be a place of hope and joy for these children and their caregivers. The camp’s theme for the week was, “Searching for Great Discoveries,” and 15-year-old Sasha was about to make the greatest discovery of his life—God’s love.

Battling brain cancer, Sasha lived with his grandmother, and one by one, his friends and classmates stopped hanging out with him as they heard he had cancer.

Once friendly and outgoing, Sasha was now hardened to life and people. When he arrived at camp, he ignored everyone.

One of the camp leaders decided to do something about the barrier Sasha had erected, and asked the teenager for some help . . . and God’s love began to melt the heart of this hurting teenager.

The next day, Sasha talked with the other campers, and helped with activities and games for the parents. The last day of camp, Sasha confessed that he hadn’t planned on making friends at camp, but he did.

His grandmother added, “Thank you for inviting us here. At this camp, I learned that when things are very hard God is nearby and He hears us. We will definitely attend church when we return home.”

Learn from His Word

Sergey had been to enough camps to last him a lifetime, and hated every single one.

When Sergey was invited to one of Russian Ministries’ evangelistic camps in Moldova, his first reaction was to say, “No. I thought it would be just like all the other camps, but my mother convinced me to go.”

It only took a couple of days for Sergey to settle in, and realize that this camp was different from the other camps he had attended. “This camp had a warm, open atmosphere,” explained Sergey.

The fourth day of camp, Sergey picked up a Bible for the first time in his young life, and read the first six chapters of the gospel of Matthew. “I am so grateful to this camp for changing me, and I think for the better,” said Sergey. “I will keep coming to camp until they kick me out!”

Grow in Their Faith

Tanya and Valya are both seventeen years old. Both like to cook and both live at the same orphanage in the Rovno region.

The two girls also spend their summers at one of Russian Ministries’ evangelistic summer camps.

Each summer, Next Generation Christian leaders from Rovno have a summer camp for orphans all over the region. “We’ve known Tanya and Valya for a few years now,” explained one of the Next Generation leaders. “We have a ministry in their orphanage and they’ve been coming to camp.”

This summer, the girls helped out the camp staff with younger children from the orphanage. “They acted like leaders,” said one of the camp leaders.

Tanya and Valya remember when these Next Generation Christians first came to their orphanage and told the children that Jesus loved and cared for them.

This summer was Tanya and Valya’s last summer at camp.

They’re “graduating” from the orphanage and will head off to cooking school together. But the girls won’t forget the Next Generation Christians who came to the orphanage and told them about Jesus, and gave them opportunities to grow in their faith at summer camp.

Thank you for your part in helping to send these children and teenagers to our summer camps, and for giving them opportunities to discover God’s love, learn from His Word and grow in their faith.

*Number of children reached/total number of camps:

Russia: 2900 campers/39 camps

Ukraine: 2730 campers/31 camps

Belarus: 2188 campers/36 camps

Moldova: 465 campers/5 camps

Total number of campers: 8,283

Total number of camps: 111