It is hard to believe how swiftly a month can pass by when you are enjoying the blessings of God.

On August 9 we landed in L’vov, Western Ukraine and were met at the airport by Pastor Valentin Shevchuk. He immediately took us to the Barvinok Sanatorium which is located an hour from the city of L’vov.

We were delighted with the accommodations. The rooms were tastefully decorated and we had the privilege of having our own private bathroom and shower. This is a first for us in the Ukraine.

A number of years ago, the Conference was able to purchase a defunct Communist children’s camp. There are four large buildings on this site, which are being renovated as they receive funds. The workmanship on the buildings is superb and it will be interesting to see it all completed. There is a smaller building which will serve as a treatment centre with saunas, hot tubs, and rooms for massage. Presently, they have two pastors working to put things in order and getting things ready for their first session.

The Conference is working hard to establish this Sanatorium because they believe that our health message is the right arm of the Gospel. They are planning a health session this September and are excited as to what the Lord will do through this ministry. They have a couple coming from Wildwood Health Centre to help them with setting up their program. There is also a young man, Uri, who has taken the Wildwood course and is willing to help as well.

We had approximately 170 guests at our campmeeting. Most of these were non-members invited by members to come as guests to the camp. Here they were all lodged and fed free of charge. There were a good number of young people that came, as well as a dozen or more people who.

The camp has a volleyball court and a soccer field. It was really great to see the young people getting out and playing in between sessions. We brought our grandson, Taylor Gill, with us. He enjoyed the whole camp atmosphere and also being with the youth. They accepted him and tried to communicate with him with the little English that they knew and taught him some Russian phrases.

Guests were encouraged to go for walks and to come to early morning exercise sessions. There are wonderful trails all around the acreage, and the forest surrounding the property is so beautiful. There are two lakes within short walking distance, as well as a cave that youth loved exploring.

Pastor Gill held two sessions each day, one in the morning and another one in the evening. The morning session began at 9:00 a.m. with a Family Life session or a health talk. The Family Life sessions were conducted by the Conference Evangelist, Angela Polishuk, and were very well attended. After this was the evangelistic series. Usually the first session ended at 11:30 a.m. Lunch was served at 1 p.m. and then in the afternoon the Ukrainian pastors held breakout sessions, where everyone divided into groups and discuss the morning sessions.

Supper was at 6 p.m. and the evening session was held at 7 p.m. Each evening the people were encouraged to bring their prayer requests to the front and Pastor Gill held a season of prayer.

The requests were very interesting—many of them for victory over smoking and drinking. We had one couple who were considering a divorce because of a husband’s drinking and abusiveness. We praise God that this couple went home baptized and together again. We know that there will be battles with the Enemy in their home, but we are praying constantly for them that the Lord will give them total victory. Many prayer requests were for family members that were not Christian and also for healing.

There was one Pentecostal lady who had the gift of tongues and was rather upset with Pastor Gill and his explanation of tongues in the Bible. Pastor Gill had a number of talks with her and encouraged her to pray to God and ask Him to take the tongues experience away from her if it was not from Him. She was unwilling to do so. However, she continued to come and listen.

Another lady who came from an Orthodox background was really interested in our message. She was saving all the sermon outlines and said that there is a group in her church that want to study the Bible together. She said she would take the outlines and reproduce them and have this group go over the lessons together. Although she did not make a decision, she was certainly interested and was really thinking.

We had several people who came to us and told us they had been to our campmeetings a couple of years ago. That they hadn’t taken their stand then, but now they were baptized and had brought their friends to hear the message as well. Two years ago a young university student (a new Adventist) brought three of her University friends with her. One of them was baptized at that session and she and her two friends came to hear it again. She told me that being an Adventist was the best way of life for her. She said that she has never been so happy as she is now.

A number of people testified to the fact that their prayer requests had been answered and they were so thrilled. One lady came to the meeting one evening, very sick. She asked for special prayer after the service was over. We gathered around her and prayed and asked the Lord to heal her if it was His divine will. She went back to her room and the next morning you wouldn’t have known that it was the same person. She looked so good. All through the week we would see her encouraging others and doing what she could to be a blessing.

One woman brought her husband who was not a member. This session helped him to make his decision to go all the way with the Lord. His face was radiant when he was baptized. He was so happy. His wife was also very pleased that now they were members together.

By the end of the session, 28 people made decisions to be baptized. The Friday before the baptism, the pastors took the young people out and they cleaned up all the garbage that the community people had left by the lake so that the area would be clean for the baptism. Two tents were set up for changing clothing and two of the pastors did the baptizing. A band from a nearby Adventist church came to play special music for the final Sabbath. They also played at the baptismal site.

This was the third campmeeting that was held at the Sanatorium. The first one produced 20 baptisms, and the second one 10. Ours was the third one. The Conference was very happy with the results. The field is not as fruitful as it used to be, so they have thought of new ways to bring people to the knowledge of the truth.

We have been invited to come again next year. Although we have not made any promises, we would like to see Amazing Discoveries involved again.

The brethren are really working hard to complete the renovations as they will be able to use the site for ongoing meetings and projects. It would be wonderful if we would be able to be involved in helping them financially with this work. Perhaps someone reading this small report would be interested in helping with this. I know that whatever could be done would be greatly appreciated by the brethren and also all the guests that will come in the future.

The accommodations for the guests weren’t nearly as nice as ours were. Their showers were outdoors–with water coming from tanks that were filled each day. The sun warmed the water somewhat. The toilet facilities were crude as well. But all that could change with a little help.

In spite of the accommodations, I heard more than one person say that the time spent at Barvinok Sanatorium was a little taste of heaven on Earth. How thankful they were to be able to come and listen to the messages of the Three Angels and form new friendships!

When I think of our campmeetings in Canada and all the expensive RVs our people come in, I have decided that I would rather have campmeeting like the Ukrainians. I believe they come in the right spirit and for the right reasons. Let us not forget our brethren and sisters in other parts of the world that do not have the same advantages that we have.

God bless you all!