It actually blows my mind that I have been on the World Race for almost a month. I have fallen deeply in love with the country and the people that I have gotten the opportunity to come into contact with. Ukraine is full of some of the most genuine hospitality that I have ever experienced, in all honesty, they might have the South beat! We have been welcomed and accepted as brothers and sisters in Christ by our translators, students, and fellow Church members. It has been the biggest blessing, especially when ministry becomes exhausting.
Ministry this month has looked different each week. The first week we were teaching English to middle/junior high schoolers at 24 School, right next to our house. Here are my awesome students:
The first week of ministry was hard. We didn’t exactly know what we were getting into or doing for that matter. Yet, God showed up. I was plagued by feelings of inadequacy because I felt like I wasn’t teaching my students well enough. I felt like I was unprepared and that no amount of preparation would ever help me be a proficient teacher. God used small signs from my students, teammates, and scripture to show me that all I truly needed to do was to love my students. It didn’t matter if they walked out of the classroom at the end of each day having learned the difference between there, their, and they’re. All that mattered was that they felt the love of the Lord and that I showed them just how much He loves them. That became my goal for the month. I felt much more at ease once I focused on loving people instead of being perfect. The week then became SO MUCH FUN! Here are a couple of other pictures from teaching the week:
Week two of ministry looked very different than week one. SOLDOD was able to work closer together instead of each having our own classroom. We worked at a Kid’s Camp that was offered through our ministry host’s church. Immediately, we all fell in love with the kids. I mean how could you not love them?
Even though they were the most precious things on the planet, there were still many struggles. The language barrier was HARD! It isn’t easy to explain new games to the kids when they have absolutely no idea what you are saying, but just like the week before, I knew my job was to just love them. So, that is what we all did. We played lots of games, sang songs, let them play with our hair, played “Double Double” way too many times, and just showed them God’s love while trying to teach them a little about the Lord.
The weekend between ministry, we were able to go on what we call an “Adventure Day.” We were given the opportunity to do something that I had wanted to do since high school, but I never imagined that it would impact me the way that it did. We got the opportunity to go to Poland and tour Auschwitz. While there, I was flooded with emotions and questions, and I think that the experience deserves its own blog post. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from the day:
This upcoming week, we will be teaching at Hope English School. It is a yearly school that is taught at the church we have been attending. We will be splitting the students into four different levels to better serve and teach them. I will be teaching with one of our squad leaders, Danny, and we will be teaching the lowest level. I am anxious and excited to begin teaching again. However, this time I am walking in the light that God has got this covered, what they need to learn will be taught, and I just need to love them. My prayer for this week is:
I pray Lord, that you will let me be just what they need. If they need someone to trust, let me be trustworthy. If they need sympathy, let me sympathize. If they need love, and they do need love, let me love in full measure. Let me not anger easily, Lord, but let me be just. Permit my justice to be tempered in your mercy. When I stand before them, Lord let me look strong and good and honest and loving. And let me be as strong and good and honest and loving as I look. Let the lessons they learn make their lives fruitful and happy, and Lord, let me bring them to you. Teach them through me to love you. Finally, permit me to learn the lessons they teach.
After this week, on September 2nd, we will be leaving Ukraine to travel to Romania for our first debrief, then moving into our All-Squad month. This means that all 29 of us will be in the same city, working with the same ministry hosts. I am extremely excited to be reunited with the rest of my squad, but I am not ready to say goodbye to Ukraine. I have been stretched in ways that I didn’t think were possible, and I can truly say that I have experienced the Lord move in ways that I never thought were possible. Here are some of my favorite moments from this past month:
To the wonderful, hospitable, and inspiring people of Ukraine, I say see you later because I will be back!
Also, here is the video from Week 3!
