“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is
in your power to act.�
Proverbs 3:27
This month our team was able to live out this verse with an amazing
Ukrainian couple- Sergei and Svieta.
These newlyweds live across the road in an old log house that only
recently had electricity and running water hooked up. The house isn’t theirs, it’s for sale, and they could lose
it at any time. They work for this
ministry, Jeremiah’s Hope, helping to keep up the grounds and supporting Andrew
and Jenny in different ways as needs arise. Sergei spends a lot of time working on the property and
Svieta is pregnant, so they don’t always have as much time as they’d like to
attend to their own property. This
month we have gotten the opportunity to bless them by doing some work over at
their house- weeding their garden, sorting cedar planks for new buildings, and
helping to build those buildings (a summer dining room, a firewood storage
room, and a summer shower). In the
span of one week I had developed high respect for this couple that I can hardly
communicate with (if only I knew Russian!)
I have seen Sergei interact with Jenny and Andrew’s
five-month-old son, Noah, and it melts my heart. He is so careful with Noah, so joyful when he is around him,
and so gentle and loving with this small child. In an area where alcoholism is rampant and good father
figures are hard to come by, I have even more respect for this man that has
refused to conform to the status quo.
This entire month we did a lot of behind-the scenes work for
Jeremiah’s Hope, but my favorite activities were the projects that we did for
Sergei and Svieta. It felt so good
to be part of giving back to a couple that does so much for this ministry. The day that our teams finished placing
the waterline to their home, I saw Sergei from the window of the lodge looking
at his yard. Everyone else had
gone inside from working, and he just took a few steps and put his hands on his
hips. He looked around his
property at the freshly replaced dirt with such a look of satisfaction and
gratitude on his face, it humbled me how this patient man was so happy that he
finally had running water in his home.
Besides working on the buildings, our team worked with the
mission team from Texas to throw a baby shower for them, which doesn’t really
happen in Ukraine. It was so fun
to watch Svieta’s face light up as she opened toys, clothes, and baby
accessories for her first child. Sergei was also given a “shower� present- the actual tank
and nozzle that went to his new shower!
The day before the Texas team left, they had amazing news
for Sergei and Svieta. The team
decided to commit to raising the $25,000 it would cost to buy Sergei and Svieta’s
property for them to live on permanently.
This is amazing news for their family- they no longer have to worry
about getting kicked out of their home if it sells. They can really invest in a property that they know will be
theirs. And to top it all off,
Andrew knows that he is going to be able to depend on his right-hand man for a
long time.
This month, it was within our power to act. We don’t have miraculous stories of
healing or new Christians, but we were able to help a brother and sister in
Christ who definitely deserved it.
