Denis was new this year to the orphanage. He is 15 and had come from another orphanage that was closed so he was upended once again. Denis was in my room at the camp and when he came in, he didn't smile and didn't want to engage in any kind of conversation. When I saw him I prayed and asked the Lord to show me how we could reach out to Denis.

The camp was great, right from the start. The older kids acted like little kids right away (sometimes they can try to be tough guys and girls) and they hugged us and laughed and were so happy to be there. The leaders were all Ukrainian and me so that was great for communication. As many of you know, we did not even have permission to do the camp until the day before it was supposed to start. And here we were with 45 kids, the assistant director (who grew up in the orphanage and who is wonderful) and us. And the Lord.

Oxana, who grew up in the orphanage and who is now a strong Christian, came with us and she taught the girls how to do make-up. Oxa taught gave them new hairstyles. Both are professionals and it made the girls feel special. Since I can do nothing like that, I taught the guys how to play American Football and they loved it! We kept he rules as basic as possible and even with two hand touch, they still liked to tackle each other. Their smiles and laughter were contagious. If only our kids could be allowed to play a sport like that and still have fun and not have to be future Tom Bradys...but I digress.

On the last night of the camp, we did our traditional smors and fire and the kids loved it. I had the younger kids in my group and as I was giving them marshmellos they kept asking me if I wanted them to make me a smor. I wanted them to have them all, but they insisted. They loved making me the smors and I had to tell them that I couldn't eat any more. Kids with nothing wanting to give something. I love that.

After the fire, we went back and had small groups. In Roma's room, the older boys asked how their faith could come alive. Roma told them that Jesus loves them and wants to have a relationship, a friendship with them. They understood and five of the boys repented. In my room, we talked about fear and all of the kids said that they were afraid to die. Vova said that he was afraid to be alone and they all agreed. When we talked about Jesus promise to be with us and to never leave us, several of the guys said that they believed that. Denis said that he did not believe in God, but he wants to. That they were all so open was amazing.

Denis' smile-a blessing to see!

The next day as we were leaving, we had several hugs, many tears and many smiles. One of the last kids to get on the bus was Denis. As we got to the bus door, he hugged Gala and then me and said, "Please come with us." When I told him that we would be there in a couple of weeks, Denis smiled. I think that the Lord did too.