GOODBYES IN A BORDERLAND

Why is saying goodbye both hard and easy when you leave family members and little ones half way around the world? Nancy and I did that two days ago as we said our final goodbyes in the borderland of Ukraine to our daughter Rachel's family and four of our grandchildren.  It was both hard and easy. Why?

It is obviously hard knowing you might not see them again for a long time with such great distances involved. It was a touching farewell since the little one, Susanna, had just gotten to know us. Note her waving goodbye here just after I had put up a sandbox in their back yard before we left.

Goodbyes are also easy if you know they are in God's will. It was over twenty years ago when the Lord first impressed me about our church doing major ministry in Ukraine. That resulted in God laying on Rachel's heart a call to devote her life to serve Christ here also. She sensed that call on the exact week, unknown to her, that her great grandparents arrived in America from Ukraine a century earlier. Coincidence? Don't think so.

So the story goes that when she finally arrived in Ukraine to begin her service, it was also on that first day she met her husband to be. God had a plan. When our children are serving Christ it makes no difference how far away they are....the goodbyes are a little bit easier. They are "good" byes. We wouldn't want them anywhere else but in God's will. I am sure when Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees it was not easy leaving friends behind (Gen. 12).  But it was God's will and look at the blessings we have from it.

This Sunday Nancy and I will be giving a complete update on what God did during our time away.  This was primarily a family time trip but the Lord gave us perhaps more ministry than we have ever had in that land.  See you Sunday at 10:30...or watch on our Livestream if you can't make it. Don't forget to pray for your children and their children.

Let me know what you think with a comment below.

SYMBOL OF A BORDERLAND

If an eagle symbolizes America, then what symbolizes Ukraine? It is the trident seen on my shirt here. But, what is it?

It is not an anchor but a stylized falcon from the time of Prince Vladimir the Great (980-1015) who first ruled in Kiev (Kievan Rus). Falcons are quick and alert much like our eagle.

The golden wheat and blue sky are the national colors.  Clearly the rich soil and good growing seasons have made the Ukraine the bread basket of this part of the world.  No wonder others want this productive land. My shirt is a gift from our associates here, the Sagadeyevs. They are also co-grandparents of our grandkids here. 

Our weekend in Odessa was productive too.  Sunday Caleb and I were at the Skinniya Church in the downtown. Their building, a store front, is smaller than our barn but packed full of people. During the week the building is productive also as a Bible book store. I spoke here on the resurrection.  Some Tatar believers from South Ukraine testified also about the first Bible in the Tatar language just produced. The director of education for all South Ukraine was also visiting and had lengthy discussion with Pastor Oleg afterwards.  Pray!

In the afternoon we visited an old Soviet resort where now about 500 war refugees are housed. The sun came out so we had the first outdoor service of the season.  Vladimir Sagadeyev organizes this regular outreach and provided portable sound and music which brought residents down from the old hotels nearby to see what we were doing.  What an opportunity for the gospel to such needy people.

Monday we relaxed until noon and then met our long time ministry associate, Velodia Motovilian and his family from the village of Makarovo. They came to have lunch and talk.  Our Ukraine Fund will assist them in doing a VBS this summer. They also have invited us to a special 25th anniversary celebration in October.

Minutes later we also met with Vasiliy and Olga Kaletnik to talk ministry for a few more hours.  Fortunately we were able to help sort out some financial matters and discuss future ministry.  We feel humbled that the Lord has put together such an amazing ministry team in this place that needs the gospel so much.   

We bid our missionary son Caleb's family goodbye in Odessa as we boarded our overnight train to Kiev. We'll spend a few days with our missionary daughter Rachel's family and then fly home. All in all I have gone boarder to boarder in all four directions and spent four nights and a day (53 hrs.) on trains doing it. Thanks again for praying for us during this amazing time of ministry and family fellowship in this amazing borderland of Ukraine.

BLACK SEA BORDERLAND

How do you cook for 100 people in Eastern Ukraine?  You do it outside with a four foot wooden spoon!

Pastor Fyodor’s church did a wonderful job of hosting those who came to learn how to help those suffering from the stress or war in this area. Some unbelievers even came. The church ladies cooked in a huge kettle over an open fire since their kitchen was too small to make cook enough potatoes. That made the final meal even more delicious. 

We said goodbyes in Druzhkiva and walked across the tracks to catch the old Soviet style overnight train to Odessa on the Black Sea in the south.  Our team of 8 got situated in our rather warm compartments.  Questions soon came my way about ministry; these were "teachable" moments. The topic of military ministry came up also because of my earlier testimony at the frontline army base two days before. 

Suddenly Anatoli called me to come to a different compartment and he introduced me to two army officers in fatigues, and armed, who were on their way home from the front for some R & R. I thanked them for their service and asked about them. They were very professional and invited me to have a seat. God had brought another teachable moment so I shared about my own military service and about my son-in-law being killed in action in 2006 (gabrielderoo.us). Then the senior officer peeled off his unit ID patch and gave it to me. I was overwhelmed with the gesture. I quickly gave them a large bar of chocolate and a tract I had about Sgt. De Roo. We promised we would pray for them and their families, which we did right then. They were thankful.

A change we saw this trip was the large number of soldiers traveling. Before the war the army was very small so it was rare to see the military. But war required a desperate defense buildup. Now some trains are nearly 40% full of troops, When we stopped in Zaporiz’ke we watched one of our new friends be reunited with wife and family on the platform. Pray for peace, the military and the families of the nearly 10,000 who have died.   

We arrived Wednesday morning in Odessa and were glad to see our families again. Later that day we took a good walk along the stormy Black Sea with our grandkids and enjoyed eating out and looking at sea and monuments there.

There were reminders of the past when we had dinner with the Rodoslavovs this week. Vadim showed me where his father once hid under the floor from the KGB during the time of persecution.

Peter, his father, spent three hours crouched in a space the size of a washing machine as agents searched his home. They didn't find him and he continued to become a major church leader in the country until he passed away. Now his son, Vadim, continues to serve in ministry in his fathers foot steps.

Do you know what it is like to walk up nine floors when you are hungry?  We experienced this when we visited Pastor Yakim's family. They walked those steps for two years while their apartment building was being finished. We didn't take the elevator because the lift lady was on break; it become operational recently. The only problem is that one side is dangerously open all the time so a professional elevator person has to operate it. When we arrived we had a delicious rabbit dinner and talked about ministry questions. How blessed it is to see God raising up another generation of preachers of the Word in this needy land.  Pray for the next generation here with their unique challenges.