Being a missionary looks different in every country. Being a World Race missionary really, really looks different in every country. I’m not sure what I expected or what others expected, but being a missionary doesn’t mean you are always preaching or evangelizing. In fact, up to this point, I have done very little of this. In Guatemala, we were your typical missionaries. We did a ton of ministry every day and spent most of our nights at church. It was great and actually stretched us in so many ways. El Salvador was some evangelism, but mainly church. Church that I was not that involved with. Month two turned out to be a ministry to me. Yes God did let me see some amazing fruit with Hector’s family, but it was mainly a month where God opened and exposed some of my deepest wounds. Honduras was my idea of missions. I got to work hard. I did a ton of manual labor and I felt useful and like I was making a difference because I could see progress with what I was doing. I may not have been spreading the gospel in words, but I was blessing a ministry that was and improving their property so they could impact even more people. Romania was a month of discipleship. I learned from an amazing church family and was used by God to pour into a fellow teammate more than I thought. Ukraine was completely different.
We arrived in Kiev after a 24 hour long bus ride. After another 4 hours, we finally arrived at Jeremiah’s Hope Christian Camp. In the last inhabited village before you get to Chernobyl, nestled in between pine trees and sand dunes, is your average, ordinary Christian church camp. It’s not what we expected. We were in a small village in Ukraine, but if you looked around inside the camp, you would have thought you were in America. It was awesome, just not what we expected.
Andrew and Jenny Kelly were our contacts for the month. They had both been in the Ukraine for years. Jenny came to the Ukraine about 14 years ago and started working with at risk youth. In the Ukraine as well as in Romania, poverty is prevalent and drinking seems to be the only affordable way of escape. Children being abused and neglected is sadly the norm, not the exception. Over the years, Andrew came to the Ukraine as well and started a similar ministry. Eventually, they met and married and now run Jeremiah’s Hope. It is a Christian camp for at risk children and also for American children living in the Ukraine. Most of the US children are children of missionaries or diplomats who didn’t choose to live away from the states. This is a time when for two weeks during the summer, they can come and be reminded of home. For the at risk children, it is a place where they can come and experience the love of Christ. Here, no one will beat them, yell at them, or forget about them. Here they have a bed and running water. Here they get 3 meals a day and are allowed to play and be loud. They learn about Christ and the love the Father has for them. It is hard to let them go home, but the Kelly’s trust that God loves them more than they do, and that He knows what He is doing. A new addition to the ministry is the rescue house. This is a place where children will be brought to stay when the Ukraine version of DSF pulls a child out of a home. They will stay here until a suitable home is found for them or until the parents have changed. The duration of the stay will vary between all the children from a few days to a few months. It’s an amazing opportunity for the Kelly’s and a true answer to prayer.
This month, we did not get to be with children or Ukrainians at all. We were there to work to get the camp in shape for the summer. Organizing, cleaning and doing laundry were our main duties. We were blessed to have an amazing group of 30 US missionaries come in from Texas for the first part of our time there. The group was from Hillcrest Church of Christ in Abilene, TX. Most of the students were from Abilene Christian College. It was so amazing to spend almost 2 weeks with them speaking English and getting to know them. We labored alongside them building a new dorm, finishing some bathrooms, painting, digging a water line, and building some out buildings. It was hard work and we were exhausted by the end of every day, but working with their eager, smiling faces made the work enjoyable. They treated us every evening with some beautiful praise and worship filled with love and amazing harmonies. Though we were from different theological backgrounds, we were bonded together as the body of Christ and were truly able to serve and worship the same God in truth and kinship. They poured love onto a team that was in desperate need of reviving.
Before we left, we were privileged enough to get to spend almost a week with the 6 beautiful interns that came to work at the camp for the summer. These beautiful ladies reminded me a lot of my days working at summer camps. They were amazing young women who truly loved the Lord and it was such a treat to get to spend more time with people from the states. For a short break, God allowed this tired missionary to be revived with memories of home. This month was truly something I needed.
The month ended with another team change. Julie, who I have been on the Race since the beginning, and Amanda who joined us at the beginning of Romania have been moved to a new team. In their place, we were blessed to get Sammie Jo Marks. She is an amazing woman of God and brings joy and life into every room she enters. Please be in prayer for us as we become a new team and head off to Africa.
