This morning I spent time on the Black Sea beaches in a wonderful time
with the Lord and just poured my heart to Him about life after the Race, my struggles and His faithfulness. And this verse stuck to
me and a theme for me all the Race and would love to share it
with you….
Well after a long 24 hours of four train rides, the last being a crowded overnight train across the border from Hungary we have made it to Odesa, Ukraine and it’s been great. The train station was huge and we all carried our massive bags to a nearby McD’s and there we met our contact Mark who is originally from Minnesota. As soon as we got there we found out that we’ll only be in Odessa until Thursday until we’re going to far Eastern Ukraine to a village (which I left the super long name back at the place we stay) to help start a church with two ladies; but apparently it’s another overnight train ride. Mark is a really great guy, one that I wish our team could get to know more as a person and one who I’ve noticed truly has a heart for the Gospel and it reaching the people of Ukraine. The moment he picked us up he was open to sharing about the spiritual needs of Odessa, Ukraine and his life.
Monday we had a day off of rest which we took the opportunity to sight see the city. In the morning we visited an Orthodox monastery which was interesting, then a place where a World War 2 battle actually happened; there you can still see the original trenches dug in the ground, original command centers where Russians and Ukraines commanders would be underground from the German troops; it’s very interesting to get a perspective from the other side of the world on the war. Then that afternoon we went to see the famous optical illusion steps, a massive church, the beautiful architectural buildings of Europe and the sea port when tons of massive ships lay at bay and a lighthouse in the distance. Odessa is only 120 years old, but the whole place used to be a Greek settlement and port city against the Black Sea.
Tuesday in the morning our team walked to the beach, only five minutes from where we are staying. I couldn’t believe the beaches of the Black Sea were so close and there we went out to see the beautiful blue green water that was clear and Tash and I had no problem diving into it, and it was freezing, but when’s the next time I know I’ll see the Black Sea? In the afternoon we went with Mark to help him teach English in two classes where I got to go over Bible Stories and do vocabulary with college students and share the gospel openly in a former Communists country with the students; it was really awesome.
In the two years that Mark has been here I have been just blown away for what he and his family have done here. It started back in 2002 when he came for a couple of weeks to help start a church, and then came a couple of summers following for a brief time and they just fell in love with the people and felt called to come here as missionaries through International Messengers organization. Since being here he has started a church now almost two years old, helped start a mission organization where students from places like Poland and Romania come who want to be missionaries across the world. On Tuesday night we also took part in a bible study worship service that he started in the university itself. He has also helped start a Christian school, which is a bold move considering the government doesn’t really support it.
(the lighthouse at the port…………….Mark in the middle)
Odessa is a sea port city right along the coast of the beautiful Black Sea, but unfortunately the spiritual needs are great and may shock you. It’s still feeling the effect of a rough economy from Communism transition. Mark says that Odessa is known for two things to tourists: the beaches and the women. He says that prostitution is a skyrocketing high rate here and that AIDS is among the highest in the world, maybe the second highest next to Africa in all the world, pornography is all over the streets. Atheism is a real issue here, though people will say they may be religious and define it as Orthodox Atheism, meaning that they will say they are Orthodox and may even do the “religious things” but they really don’t believe in anything at all; a result of tradition and deadness. These are serious issues and common among Eastern Europe. The city is beautiful but deep down in it there is a spiritual hunger. Mark says that people are quite hungry for the Gospel and are completely open to talking about Jesus.
Unfortunately we leave tomorrow for another long place but we’ve quickly made friendships and encouraged people and I ask you to pray for Mark and his family. He has a great heart for these people, one of sacrifice and love.
Tomorrow we leave for Eastern Ukraine, so we’re making our way around the country. We’ll be there until the 15th when we will leave for Kiev, the capital, for our final debrief. It’s said that where we are going will be mainly Russian language and influence.
