Well we
are officially in Eastern Ukraine. We found
out that many of the missionaries that come to Ukraine typically stay in the
western part of the country so we were entering unchartered waters…or at least
a place where Christians are not common. We were told that the region we were
going to was full of hardened hearts and just a miserable place to be so we had
no idea what to expect.
Our
first experience with this side of Ukraine was when Bruce, the father
of our host family, met us at the airport. We immediately clicked with this
awesome man of God whose family was called to leave their lives in America and move to Ukraine 5 years ago this July 4. He
has a wonderful wife who continues to cook us delicious meals and has a
servant’s heart that I envy so much. They have 12 children but only 5 of them
are currently in the house. Their children are actually teaching me more
lessons than I’m probably teaching them and it’s been so much fun to play and
pour out love all over these kids.
Bruce
is involved in a really fun ministry for me personally because we are able to
share the gospel through softball camps. He uses softball because it is
practically unheard of in Ukraine
so the kids just crave every word you say because they enjoy the game and
constantly want to play, understand and get better…so we always have a captive
audience. Our first week of softball camp was 2 hours away so instead of
travelling back and forth we were able to stay at another house in that city.
Maxim is the owner of the house and lives there along with his wife and 4
children. Maxim is one of the head surgeons for the region but believe it or
not surgeons only make about $250 a month here!!! It’s a very interesting
dynamic and most Americans would wonder why go through all that to make such a
meager salary but he truly LOVES his job and his country and it’s been so
rewarding to listen to his mindset.
Maxim’s
family is a beacon of light for his community. They are some of the only
Christians around and I know they must feel burdened to be some of the only
people bringing the kingdom in the area but they never complain and constantly
seek God. His house was such a refuge for us and you could literally feel God’s
presence every time you walk through the gates to their house. His wife prepared
HUGE authentic Ukrainian feasts every night and they were sooooo good. Matt and
I discovered that men can become fans of hot tea…don’t judge. On a side note
they always had fresh juice from berries grown in their garden but it’s so cool
because everywhere you walk here there are cherry, blackberry, red berry, etc.
trees. You can literally get your fill on food just from walking down the
street and picking from the trees. Just to give you a glance of this family’s
heart, Maxim took off a week from work just to host us and one morning when the
girls woke up early for a run they found Maxim outside of the house scrubbing
all of our shoes down! The family was such an amazing blessing and we pray that
God just continues to pour out love and blessings over them. We were only there
for four days but we grew so close and even though they spoke no English there
was a bond built that only God could have done in such a short time. They
actually cried when we left which was absolutely heart breaking…we will never
forget this incredible family.
