This past Sunday started with a
trip to the church where our contact, Igor, is head pastor. There are about 60
or so members of the church and they follow a similar theme to a “traditional”
American service. We arrived to church a few hours early followed by a two hour
church service in the native Russian language. After church we ate at our first
restaurant since arriving to town… chosen by the girls because it was “cute”,
had pizza, and would be a nice change of pace from the Ukrainian bread and soup
lunches we’ve been accustomed to eating.
The
leaders of the children’s camp that past week had asked if we would like to see
their mission field (a 40 kilometer stretch from the nearby city of Buchesaraj
to the Black Sea). We had thoroughly enjoyed working with this group for a week
and felt so fortunate to be a part of their vision that they live out year
round. Out of the three groups we’ve encountered they have been the most
joyful, organized, and fun so we jumped at the opportunity.
After lunch the guys piled into his
car, a small four door Daewoo, and headed to their ‘mission field’. We started
the trip by heading to a nearby village where some of the children we knew from
camp live (we even saw one of the girls that we knew, and judging by the
permanent smile on her face she loved that we were visting). It was interesting
to know a little more about some of the kid’s background through seeing their
homes, roads, shops, and touring the community center. The community center is
used for various activities with the Muslim church, it acts as a disco (not a
Christian disco…I asked), and a place for these Christian missionaries to
mentor children and share the Gospel. They were initially drawn here to speak
with the adults about Jesus as there are no Christians living in this
particular area. But this village, like many others, is plagued with alcoholism
and they felt called to interact and impact the lives of the children (living
under this alcoholism). We were told that this was a very poor area and the
sights and sounds brought one word to mind. Poverty.
After leaving this village we
headed further down the road they drive so often throughout the year as
missionaries. We ended at a resort along the black sea, complete with tourists,
Mercedes Benz, games, restaurants, and jetskis. When they can squeeze it into
the budget, they love to take the children to the beach, sharing in God’s love
and good fun. This is something that they aren’t typically able to do, not due
to proximity, but because of their poverty.
It was encouraging to see the
sacrifice that these missionaries make throughout the year to further God’s
kingdom. These guys take time away from work, wife, and kids to further the
calling that God has for them in their lives. They have a big vision for what
they feel they can accomplish for the children in the area that has grown
organically to impact 40 kilometers of Ukraine and growing. Mark 4:26
