Leaving Ireland, I was convinced that every country that followed it would be pale in comparison. I had been enchanted by the people, the food, the countryside. I had had to pinch myself on many occasions, just to remind myself that this was actually my life. That I was truly doing ministry and enjoying everyday life in the country of my dreams. I couldn’t imagine any country being able to live up to that feeling. Especially not Ukraine.
All that I had heard about Ukraine before the Race was that it was still a heavily oppressed country after having been under Soviet control for so many years. I had also heard that I would probably get lice. Sounds pretty appealing, right?
When we received our ministry contact information at the end of our time in Ireland, we still weren’t feeling very hopeful. There was a large variety of ministry activities listed, which included tending to the family’s garden and… PAINTING! After having spent most of our time doing painting ministry in Ireland, this was pretty humorous for our team, but not exactly something that we were looking forward to. So, with heavy hearts, we said goodbye to our Irish friends, and headed off to the Ukrainian unknown.
Arriving in Kiev, Ukraine, I was pretty sure my fears were being confirmed. While Kiev was a beautiful city, the enchantment of Ireland was definitely gone. Many of us experienced feelings of heaviness and darkness almost immediately. We were also far from accustomed to people not speaking our language, and those people being frustrated because we didn’t speak theirs. After several trials and tribulations, we left our packs in lockers at the Kiev train station, and spent the day sightseeing in the city and biding our time until we could board our overnight train to L’Viv that evening.
The train ride experience could only be defined as: interesting. Mary and I shared a train car with a man and woman who spoke only Russian. They bought us KitKat bars and behaved in questionable ways. There was no air conditioning, and the windows were sealed shut. It was through God’s grace that we were able to fall asleep, only to be roughly awoken early the next morning by the train conductor and told to quickly grab our belongings because we had (finally) arrived.
We were picked up at the train station by our ministry contacts, the Blessing family (Yes, that’s actually their last name), and taken back to their home. Stepping into the Blessing home was like coming up for air. The heaviness and darkness that many of us had felt evaporated as this family greeted us warmly and explained their ministry and the part that we would be playing. It didn’t take long before we fell in love. The story that this family told us of God calling them from their home in Texas to ministry in Ukraine, as well as His continued provision as they were obedient, erased any doubts or fears we had about ministry in Ukraine. I will save that story for another blog, though, and simply tell you this: These people are not named Blessing without reason. They unendingly served and encouraged the 14 World Racers that they so eagerly welcomed into their home. (They were so wonderful that for our last 6 days in Ukraine, they welcomed yet another team into their home, which made 21 World Racers, and 26 people total, living under one roof. Crazy!) They did ministry alongside us, invested in us individually, and did their best to make sure that we were comfortable and happy every day. God used them to bless us to no end, and we can only hope that our presence blessed them, as well.
Alright, I’m going to stop there. The next blog will be more focused on the story behind the home that we lived in and our ministry in Ukraine.
Until then… Much love, my friends. Thank you for being faithful in your prayers, encouraging words, and the little things that you do to let me know you care. I am ridiculously blessed.
