Ministry of the month
This past month my team was in Lugansk, Ukraine staying with our host family and helping out at eyeglass clinics, doing ministry with their church and visiting English classes at the local school. For the most part, helping out with the eyeglass clinics was our main ministry. This consisted of us leaving home around 7am and traveling at least 2 hours (usually more than 3) to a church and helping set up the clinic. We then had tea (which consisted of tea, mini sandwiches, and cookies), made salvation bracelets to hand out to the people coming to the clinic, had tea, talked to people waiting to see the doctor and get their glasses, had tea, cleaned up the clinic, had tea (this one often consisted of a meal including mashed potatoes and pork too!), and then headed back the 3+ hours to our house. Our main goal was to help the local churches reach out to their community as people came to the clinics (as most like to say, we were just the bait).
Favorite memory
Camping. Our first weekend here, we went with the church for an overnight camping trip just outside of town. We arrived to our camp-site around 5pm and set up our tents (I still have yet to use my tent on the race because Riddle and I shared one—rumor has it we will be in tents next month in Africa, though!). Once everyone arrived we were encouraged to wander around and just relax and have fun. We were also informed that the bathroom was wherever we couldn’t be seen by others (as world racers, we could have guessed that!). As the men built a fire and began to start dinner, we joined the youth in card games including uno and mafia. Over three hours later (probably around 10pm), dinner was ready to eat. During dinner, we watched as a meteor flashed across the sky. There are no words to even begin to describe how amazing the streaking bright light against the dark sky looked as it fell to the Earth! We all climbed into bed after a few more hours of conversation around the fire. The next morning, other members of the church that did not want to spend the night in tents, arrived to fellowship together. There were people representing about 8 different countries that morning including Africans, Asians, Americans and Europeans, all coming together to praise and worship one God!
Biggest challenge
My biggest challenge this month was following through. I found myself agreeing to do something or wanting to read/study/grow in certain areas this month and instead spent times online or doing other things around our apartment. I realized this was something I was struggling with towards the end of the month and wrote the following in my journal:
I am sick of not following through! I am sick of others not following through, but in reality I can change them and when I think about it more, I am only frustrated with others because it is something that I, myself, am not doing. The truth is, I have not been following through. I am all talk and no game.
THAT ENDS NOW! I AM A PERSON THAT FOLLOWS THROUGH! I AM NOT JUST TALK; I HAVE GAME!
Church situation
This month we found ourselves at two different churches on various Sundays. The church that we attended with the MacDonald family was a small Baptist church that housed about 30 members each Sunday. Church started around 2pm (so nice for the girl that loves to sleep in!) and usually began with worship followed by a bible study and concluding with a message and praying in small groups. It was a small, close community of believers that felt comfortable interrupting the message to ask questions and participating in the discussions. After the service, tea cookies and chocolate (and lots of it!) was served and we found ourselves chatting with members in broken English or on the second floor playing table tennis with the youth.
We also attended the African church at which our medical student friends worship. Worship with a full band and choir began around 10am. A mixture of prayer, worship and message continued until around 1pm at the earliest. There was never a lull in the energy and passion flowing from the people around us. This church definitely got me excited for the worship we will experience in the next months in Africa!
Food
This month we bought and cooked our own food. We were, however, treated with many delicious meals from our neighbors, friends, and the churches that we were at for eyeglass clinics. A tomato based soup, called borsch, was often served at each place we went. Donut-like pastries covers in powdered sugar were a treat from our neighbors (think of funnel cake on steroids and you are on the right track). Crepes in the form of burritos filled with chicken, cheese and tomatoes or stuffed with strawberries and nutella were a treat on the way to church when there just wasn’t enough time for lunch before we left. Finally the best thing that we ate all month: Chocolate! If there is one thing that Ukraine does excellently, it is chocolate. There are so many different kinds and forms of chocolate here and none of them ever disappoint. I have no doubt that heaven imports the chocolate from Ukraine!
Random WR moment
Two words. Dance. Moms. Our family here in Ukraine is very involved in ballroom dancing and all members of the family go to dance lessons at least once a week. Meg and I had the privilege of attending our youngest family member, Mercy’s (a five year old going on 16, blond ball of spunk and attitude) dance lesson. It was as if we were straight out of one of the TV shows about the dance moms, sitting off to the side watching our little one dance her heart out. We also were able to go to the dance competition at the end of the month in which Mercy, Toby (9) and Kerianne (11) all participated and got medals. There is nothing quite as adorable as the young boys and girls dressed in their best ballroom dancing together. A smile was plastered on my face the entire day as I watched them dance!
Funniest moment
Most of the funny moments happened in learning from the knowledge of a five year old. I forgot what it was like to have “adult” conversations with young children. To see a glimpse of this, check out my teammate Emily’s blog which has a video of Mercy from when we went camping.
What I will miss
The lifestyle here is very laid back and slow. There was a day that I sat outside of our gate in new Russia and watch the countryside as chickens and ducks wandered aimlessly around and people rode bikes casually from one place to another, in no real hurry or with any concept of time. It was nice to have a relaxed schedule and not worry too much about time.
I will also miss the family and friends that we have made here. It was such a blessing to have not just a contact, but an actual family to be a part of this month. Each one of them challenged and encouraged me in their own way and it was nice to have a Papa that was looking out for all of his new daughters. All of the friends that we made this month will truly be missed! We laughed and talked as if we had known each other for years. It is a great thing that this is not goodbye but a see you later!
Spiritual lesson/revelation
I wrote a blog previously about love not always being easy. I concluded that blog with a prayer. A prayer that God answered in a way that I didn’t expect. I have been meaning to write a blog about it, and will eventually. So stay tuned.
Prayer requests
Pray for Julia and her family, our neighbors and friends who know who Jesus is but they are still on the fence about fully trusting in Him and having a relationship with Him. Pray also for Julia specifically as she struggles with having an alcoholic father and for her father, that he might find the One who can truly provide the things that alcohol is currently providing for him.
Pray for the country of Ukraine where alcoholism and struggles with body image run rampant.
Pray for the churches and people involved in the eyeglass clinics and the medical students that will be working with and learning from Bruce in order to start eyeglass clinics in their own countries when they return.
Pray for our squad as we all head to Africa and that we will seek the places that the Lord has already laid out for each of us, both as teams and individuals.
Pray for our team as we continue to seek depth and growth as a team and that it will expand even more in the months to come.
