I came to Ukraine with no expectations what-so-ever. I had no idea what the people would be like, what the landscape would look like, or what the food would taste like. I was clueless. And I certainly did not expect to fall in love with this place…but I did. It's certainly not the beauty of the country or local charm that draws you in. It's the people. The Ukrainian people have been overwhelming hospitable, loving, and accepting of us here. It has been such a blessing to see people truly putting others first.
This first week of ministry was really wonderful. We started it out on Sunday by going to two different church services (both spoken in Russian). It was so cool to see people worshipping the same God in a different language. I just sat through the service and smiled knowing that God's love and greatness is the same no matter where you are.
I had the pleasure of staying with a Ukrainian family this week (the pastor's house). It was so amazing to me how welcoming and hospitable they were to us!
And wow, do they like to feed their guests!! I have never eaten so much in one week before. We would wake up to a FULL breakfast (which is actually more like a dinner) , work for a while, have tea time (which we thought was lunch the first day), work for a bit more, eat a HUGE lunch, eat dinner the softball field, and then come home to a dinner prepared at around 11pm. Like I said, these people are SO hospitable! People weren't kidding when they said I would gain weight on the race! Eesh.
This week was crazy busy, but I loved every second of it (except for all those seconds that I was at home sick on Tuesday)! Each morning was different, and each afternoon/evening we would have the softball camp. One day we had a free eye glass clinic where we were able to speak with, pray with, and just love some babushkas (Russian for grandmothers). It was a truly touching experience that I will never forget.
Other days we helped with construction for the church's new youth center. I learned how to make cement the old fashioned way….aka smashing rocks with shovels for hours,haha. The softball camp was so much fun! It was so great to build relationships with the ukrainian youth! It is amazing how much you can communicate without speaking the same language. On Friday I shared the story of my faith journey for the first time publicly. It was a great experience, and if I was able to encourage one person through that…then it's totally worth it!
I am really looking forward to what God has planned for us here. I was speaking with Bruce (or Papa Bruce as we like to call him) the other day and I was so encouraged. He was saying that our group opened the doors for more ministry with the church we partnered with this week. He said that we were able to reach out to youth who were not with the church in a way that they couldn't. That is why we are here, and I am so excited that God is using us to further his kingdom!
ps-I am trying to add pictures for you guys, but I am having technical difficulties! I will try again soon!!
