The first month of the World Race has come to an end! So much happened this past month and I cannot wait to see what is still in store. I am sure most of you reading this are wondering what this past month has looked like. So my goal of this post is to simply give a glimpse of what my team and I have been experiencing. Here we go!
Team SOLDOD (which stands for Sons Of Light Daughters Of Day), on the last day of launch, in Atlanta, Georgia. We were super excited to head to the airport!!
Our team next to the beautiful lake on the day we first arrived in Ternopil, Ukraine.
When we arrived in Ternopil we had a couple free days before our ministry started, so we hit the road for a day trip to Kamianets-Podilskyi Fortress, Ukraine. This is a selfie taken in front of the beautiful historic castle.
Part of my team being goofs in Kamianets-Podilskyi Fortress, Ukraine.
First day of teaching English to middle school age children in a public school in Ternopil, Ukraine. This was orientation, right before we broke up into our separate classes. Going into it I had the Michael Scott mindset, “I knew exactly what to do, but in a much more real sense, I had no idea what to do.”
In the first week of teaching English we also had the privilege to paint the school’s gym floor. Surprisingly, this normally has to be done by the teachers before each school year, so it was great knowing we were able to take something like that off their plate. Before we actually started painting we of course goofed around as you can see some of my teammates and I “hanging out”.
I had no idea what to expect from teaching English to middle school students. Thankfully, they already knew a decent amount of English and it actually ended up being a lot of fun. At the end of the week we received thank you notes from the students and then from the school lots of chocolate and even a watermelon! It was humbling to know how much it meant for us to be there. One of my students named Roma even told me I was cooler than his normal teacher!
Right down the street from our apartment there were a few soccer (or if you are the rest of the world, football) fields. So we decided to make the most of it by inviting the students from our English class to play! It was a blast and we were able to get together and play a few times throughout the month.
This past month our team shared experiences of a lifetime: some were a blast, some humbling, and, yet, others were heartbreaking. The weekend after teaching English we had the opportunity to visit two of Auschwitz concentration camps. This was the view that thousands of Jews had as they came out of train carts, in which they were packed in like animals, entering the second Auschwitz concentration camp.
Thousands of people took their last breath lined up in front of this wall (that was later restored) before being murdered in the streets of the first Auschwitz concentration camp.
This is also located in the first Auschwitz concentration camp and it is one of the only gas chambers that was not destroyed by the Nazis (in an attempt to hide their crimes once it became obvious they were losing the war). Thousands and thousands of men, women, and children were murdered in this room. Visiting Auschwitz was an extremely sad experience. It served as a reminder of how dark the human heart can be and how much need we have for a redeemer.
Following a long day, our team was able to enjoy an evening in the beautiful city of Krakow, Poland.
This was a couple we were able to talk with along the edges of the lake in Ternopil. They were extremely friendly and thankfully for us spoke great English!
It did not take long for our team to discover what would become our go to restaurant in Ternopil, Ukraine. Unlike in America, Ukraine has restaurants that serve pizza, burgers, and sushi all in one place! This particular place was not only delicious, but also super cheap! One night I ate an entire pizza, one sushi roll, and a chocolate peanut butter with marshmallow crepe! With tip included it was less than nine USD! I already miss it!
The apartment we stayed at was a blessing. It belonged to an elder lady who attended the church we were working with. It was nice and even had a washer machine in the bathroom! (A luxury that two of the other teams on my squad did not have). With that being said splitting a single laundry/bathroom between nine people took a little getting used to along with a lot of patience!
Along with growing spiritually my team is striving to get and stay in physical shape. So we decided to have a push up challenge where we each did as many push ups as possible until we collapsed! This is a photo taken after my collapse! If you can’t tell I had nothing left in the tank!
But why work out if you can’t enjoy ice cream team bonding time!! Am I right? I quickly learned my team shares a love for ice cream which is delightful!
Seriously though, I love me some ice cream. Can you believe our God let us discover something so wonderful? Next time you are enjoying a creamy scoop (or scoops, no one is judging) of ice cream, please take a moment to remember how great our God is!
The second week of ministry we helped with a children’s camp at the church we had partnered with. In this picture Regan, Danny, Joe, and me were doing our best to sing in front of the kids. Thankfully for us, the kids don’t judge based on talent!
Here we were playing a game with the kids. The game included four safe zones in which were set up with popcorn and coke. Then a few of us were chosen to be the chased with the task of reaching the safe zones while avoiding having our flag ripped off by all of the kids. Once we reached a safe zone we had 20 seconds to eat and drink as much of the popcorn and coke as possible before having to sprint to another safe zone. I think I had just as much fun as the kids!
The aftermath of the game left Andy, Danny, and me exhausted! Being chased by 60 or so kids for awhile sure is tiring!
During the week our dinner was usually provided to us by someone from the church who volunteered to either bring us food to our apartment or have us over in their home. This is my team after eating dinner at Tolik and his wife’s apartment. They were extremely nice and hospitable.
The last weekend in Ternopile, Ukraine, I had the privilege to share a short message with the church we were partnered with. The title of my message was ‘Saved By Faith Alone and How This Empowers Us To Love Others and The Effects of This’ (I know, I know, it’s a bit wordy, but the message wasn’t near as long).
Following dinner one night we had to all pack into a small van to get home. The van was designed to carry four passengers and a driver but here we were with eight of us packed in (Matt is unfortunately not pictured as he was directly behind me) plus the driver!
God is moving in the city of Ternopil, Ukraine and I am so thankful that I was able to be even the slightest bit a part of it! Continue to pray for God to awaken hearts in this city!
WE LOVE TERNOPIL!!! The people of this city will forever have an impact on me!!
Also not pictured, was our third week of ministry. We taught English classes again, but this time it was for adults. I was the most nervous out of the entire month going into this week, however, by the end it turned out to be my favorite week. All month we had been struggling to connect with the adults in the community. They are much more reserved and quiet than people in America. With this being said, the English classes let us spend some quality time getting to know some of the adults. I am sure my teaching wasn’t the greatest but it seemed to go well! Along with English we also had the opportunity to share with our classes each of our testimonies and the true reason why we were in Ukraine teaching.
The end of the week was an incredible humbling experience. The students blew me away with their kindness and their appreciation for us being there. They gave us many gifts as a thank you. I was given candies, at least seven Ukrainian magnets, and my personal favorite, a jar of peanut butter! One of my students I guess caught on to me loving peanut butter. Probably because of the number of times I mentioned it! People we had only known for less than a week were getting emotional seeing us leave. It was such a great feeling to know how much us being there and serving them through something as simple as English (although teaching it has made me realize their is nothing simple about it) impacted them. Overall the last week was an awesome way to wrap up such an epic month.
So many other amazing things happened this past month, but I hope this gave you a solid glimpse!
I will never forget Ukraine, and know I am looking forward to what God has in store for Romania!
