Well, I guess it’s about time I post a blog pertaining to our actual ministry this month! Seeing as it’s almost over again…Gosh, where has time gone?!
We are working with the MacDonald family this month. They’re an American family with 12 kids…yes, that’s not a typo…who work in Ukraine. There are still 5 kids who live here while the other 7 have grown up and moved back to the states. We’ve spent so much of our time just ministering to and living life with this family. It’s, in a way, almost felt like we’re back in the states with a missionary family.
On our ministry days, we help out at eye glass clinics. God opened up opportunities for Bruce, the dad, to purchase hundreds of glasses, travel around the country and work with churches to evangelize in their communities. We go to these eye glass clinics and help to evangelize.
The fact that 99.9% of the people here speak absolutely NO English has added a nice amount of difficulty to our job, but we find ways around it.
So, people in the surrounding communities come for free eye exams and a pair of glasses. In the process, either we or the church members, meet with the people coming and share the gospel message. Our jobs differ with each clinic and we tend to find the humor and fun in it each day.
At our first eye glass clinic, I was in charge of making tea for my team and pouring water for those coming in to receive glasses. We were tasked with taking pictures with the Ukrainians when they came out with their spiffy new glasses. Here’s a picture of us modeling with one of the women.
Most of them were super excited to take pictures with the Americans. The church agreed to print the pictures off that night and have them available for church the next morning. It was this amazing way to get the people back for a service so that they could have their picture with us. So many people couldn’t wait for the next morning and to come back to get their picture. Who knows how many of these will be hanging up around this country?!
At another clinic, Ashley and I sang back up for Bruce on the guitar…in a semi-Amish-sounding manner…it was slightly funny but everyone really enjoyed the music. I also had the chance to give my testimony and we spoke to the group about God’s love and stories of His faithfulness that He’s given us over the past year.
At another clinic, we took more pictures with the people, AND Ashley learned to play the accordion. The church was situated in the middle of hundreds of rose bushes and I spent a lot of my time taking pictures of the area surrounding the church.
So, life has been pretty laid back here. Ministry has been like a breath of fresh air. No more preaching or door to door ministry. Just simply talking to people, taking pictures and making them laugh.
It’s good to know that just by living life with people, you can be a testament to the love of God!
