Month 8: We can now call Uzhhorod, Ukraine our home and Missions field! It has been a shock to our systems moving to Ukraine and Europe in general. Going from the hot eternal summer we have experienced over the last eleven months to the FREEZING 50-degree weather of Europe was quite the awakening! We constantly look at each other and say, “I am LITERALLY freezing right now…. IT’S GREAT!!!” In comparison to winter in Charlotte, it’s not that cold, but after not having been in cold weather for 11-ish months (starting last May) it seems amazing and a novelty!
It has also been a shocking transition because suddenly, we are back in the westernized world. Asia and Africa are not like Europe and North America. I have been trying to wrap my brain around a way to communicate what the difference is but can’t come up with a way. We no longer look different, so no one treats us any different. We no longer have to fight for or barter for things because we don’t look any different and that is not how they do things here. Supermarkets are a thing here whereas they haven’t been for the past seven months. The people here dress like we do and strive for the same things most Americans do. Bus systems that have actual stops. Religion and culture is a Christian-based form rather than Hindu, Buddhism, Muslim, or something else. Yet at times, the Christians here seem far more dead than the ones in the other countries. We kind of melt into this culture instead of making a blaring statement. It’s odd.
I’ll be honest and say that all of these things make it hard to focus on ministry. It is hard to concentrate on building Kingdom when things we haven’t seen in 8 months, like grocery stores and people who speak English well, are everywhere. It’s been fun to see all of these things but also distracting.
Our Ministry this month is a little loose/nebulous, so it doesn’t help with the staying focused thing, either. Our Ministry this month is mostly about making relationships and pouring into people. We regularly help hold orphans at a children’s hospital, go to an orphanage, teach children English, and hang out with local students, but that hasn’t been what I see as our main branch of Ministry.
I see our main branch of Ministry as pouring into out host, Clinton, and the rest of the Christians that are here. Being able to help them physically, pour into them spiritually, and brainstorm new ways of doing Ministry has been our primary role. Honestly, I think that pouring into these long-term missionaries is at times far more beneficial to the countries. The resident missionaries can actually help these people long-term and bring people to Christ in a way we can’t. We at times feel like just a passing balm or Band-Aid when we come in, but these people have the longevity to do something larger than we do.
There is no doubt about it. Ministry is odd this month, but I love hearing people’s stories, fighting for them in prayer, helping their physical needs as well as spiritual needs, and bringing life. I would say I am a creator, meaning I love to create things like notebooks, crafts, anything, and maybe that is why I enjoy pouring into people so much. I get to come alongside God and be the spout that God uses to pour into people to create new Life.
This month will be a month of creating new Life. I want desperately to bring the healings and the Lord’s voice that we have been seeing and hearing over the past months and share it with the people in Ukraine. We may not see 100 people come to Christ, but the people we are pouring into might, which is worth it. We might just change Ukraine one person at a time!
