Here I am sitting in the middle of month 11 of the World Race in the country of Ukraine! I can’t even believe it. I go home to the United States in two weeks. Time has really flown by. Well, I wanted to use this blog to describe my ministry and life here in Lviv, Ukraine.
Ukraine is a country that declared its independence at the fall of the USSR back in 1991. It is a beautiful and rich country full of architectural masterpieces and lush green landscapes. My team and I are working with a missionary couple from the United States whose ministry aims to bless the Jewish population of this region in the western part of the country. Lviv is a city that was very famous during World War II. The city’s Jewish population was imprisoned in a ghetto that was made to fit 10,000 people, but they forced 150,000 people to live in it. It was a horrifying part of history here. When the USSR fell, this area was devastated yet again. Two years later in 1993 was when our missionary contacts moved here to reach out and help the Ukrainian people.
As a team, we have been doing many types of ministry this month. We have helped weed and plant in the garden that will help feed future people blessed by the ministry. We have also done a bunch of projects around their ministry house including painting, hanging blinds, and cleaning. We have prayed over the country in various places. We even took a day and blessed the Jewish community by weeding and cleaning their two holocaust memorials that are sadly not maintained. We are also planning a Vacation Bible School camp for kids of the church next week and a camp for village kids to learn English as well. I can’t wait to put on the camps and play with all the adorable Ukrainian children! Overall, our work really has been a hodge-podge of various things.
The first Sunday we were here I was able to speak to the ministry’s church about what it means to truly depend on God. And since Ukraine is in the middle of a devastating war with Russia, it is so important that they look to Jesus now and place their trust in Him. Today, a couple of us went to the famous cemetery called Lychakiv Cementery in the middle of Lviv. It is packed with very old graves, and new graves are very difficult to come by in this prestigious location. Yet in the back, we saw about thirty new graves. They belong to the young men (some as young as 18) who have died in this tragic war in the east this past year (who come from Lviv). It was heart breaking to see. We prayed over them and their families and then took some time to pray specifically for Ukraine as a whole, the soldiers, for peace and protection, and even for Russia.
It is so easy as Americans so far away who are not impacted by this war to be apathetic. But we as Christians NEED to be in prayer for this country. This war is destroying lives on both sides over land that rightly belongs to Ukraine. We have even heard of stories of Ukrainian pastors and innocent civilians being murdered. This is horrific! Please take a minute and intercede for these people, for the soldiers, for the country, for peace, and above all for God’s good will to be accomplished.
“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” Psalm 33: 20-22
Thank you all for following my journey. This is my last month of the World Race and thus my last month of ministry. I have been blessed in so many ways. And it was thanks to you all for your prayers and support. God bless y’all! See you in 2 weeks!!
