Heroes of faith hidden in the village

Last weekend we went on a truly Ukrainian adventure. Imagine travelling back in time about 100, maybe 200 years....to rural life. To water that comes directly from a well. To food that has been grown and stored in all the old fashioned ways. To dishes being done by heating water on the big stove and without soap. To a toilet called an outhouse. To a village of 280 homes and families, mostly babushkas and dadushkas living the same way that they have for all their lives.

Here in this little village we were hosted by a hero of the faith. Baba Tania is her name. She is 85 years old, hunched over and can hardly hear. To have a conversation with her you have to YELL VERY LOUDLY. She is not inhibited from talking to everyone, however. She loves to talk of Jesus, she delights in sharing stories of faith and preaching the word of God.

Baba Tania was very disappointed when we told her that we were only able to stay for one night. We had come to her to lead the house church that meets in her home every Sunday. She also has run a children's ministry in her home for years and years and is still the host. She told us, "I want you to stay longer with me.., but my daughter tells me that I need to stop trying to tell people what to do!"

It was delightful to be with them. "Them" being the neighbours who came over to eat and talk with us all. These dear people, who are bonded because their share their lives together, are also a family in Christ because of the live and endurance of this "Baba" who has held the word of God and love of Jesus high in her small secluded village in rural Ternopil region. The service on Sunday was unique indeed. We all shared from our hearts and were delighted to partake in the Word of God and singing praise to Him in a very Ukrainian way (singing in that special melody and tone that is sung in Ukrainian cultural songs!!)

Unfortunately all of our photos somehow got erased....I wanted to be able to show you the face of a hero....but you will simply have to take my word that she is :)

Again, I was reminded of how vital our relationships are in life. And I was burdened to see the great need for encouragement in the rural communities all over the world, especially in nations where technology has not reached the villages. The young people were so thankful that we were there too - simply to talk to others and to hear our stories.

It is certainly NOT a waste of time to go to the undesirable rural places for the love and sake of Christ. He is there too...and there are precious people there waiting to receive His love, encouragement and relationship!

God - raise up rural missionaries right in their own towns, like Baba Tania, who will stay and declare the glory of the Lord. Send others to go as encouragements and messengers :)

Giving Our Bread to the Poor

You may or may not ever had read Isaiah 58. If you have, you know it is one of the main biblical texts that explains fasting God's way. If you haven't - you need to - it is awesome to see what God's standard is for something that we all have our own definition for. Fasting. 

This is not a post about fasting. Well, not really, anyways. 

This is a post about feeding the homeless and poor. Which, if you read Isaiah 58, is a part of God's fast. (I won't get into it!!) Personally this has been miraculous in that when we fast as a team, we literally are saving our budgeted money for that day and saving it to buy food that we get to prepare and serve to the homeless and poor of Ternopil. It excites me to think of what and how God will work in and through this! 

Our team here in Ternopil, Ukraine had prayed and asked God where and what He wanted us to do during our 3 month outreach phase. A number of people on the team heard and received direction from the Holy Spirit to work with homeless poor. (We had met a number of them while we were weekly in the city sharing Jesus' love with people.)

I know - this is old news for those of you who read my posts and updates. BUT what is not old news is what has been happening in the process of ministering to and beginning to love these people. 

Last week, Ukrainian Christmas Eve, we were handing out the food we had prepared, pouring tea, and giving special sweet bags that we had made for Christmas and nice new clothes. It was not really an "easy" night to be brief. Lots of the people were drunk, some were stirring up strife. Others were almost trying to climb over us to get to the food - ha ha ha - fun times! We sang a Ukrainian carol and we all forgot the last lines! Good thing everyone here loves to sing - they lead us strong in the end!

After the large crowd dispersed, usually there are at least 10 -15 people that come to get food and leave and don't like to stay to talk, pray, receive ministry, etc., we were standing in the cold night talking and praying for people who wanted prayer. 

One dear lady probably in her 60s, originally from Russia, started blessing us and thanking us. She said, "Seeing you here makes me so joy-full. I will pray that there will be more and more young people like you in Ukraine and all over. Coming here to help us. Not all wrapped up in the things that most people are wrapped up in. We need more people like you. I wish that I would have known Jesus and lived for Him when I was your age. If so, I may not be in this state."  (This woman is a sturdy character - very dear.)

We assured her that it is not too late for God to work in her life. Jesus bring hope to the hopeless. I was awestruck by God's goodness to bless us through this dear lady's words and gratitude, not even to us, but to the God who has made and caused us to love Him and love others.

To you, this might just seem like words that she shared with us. But in that moment, we were standing there in awe and being totally blessed by God that the people that we felt needed us, we actually need as well. We needed her encouragement, we needed to see that the only thing that separates us from these people that society rejects and writes off is our own prejudice and pride.

Jesus loves and died for these precious ones and they might be stuck in their mess, but God's hand is not too short that He can not save and deliver!  

We have been in awe at the relationships that we are making and as we become a part of this street church. Really it is amazing! These people come to be fed physically and spiritually. And they are so eager to ask for prayer, to pray together, they hear a message, ask questions, comment, share, etc. I realized that these ones probably hear God's word more than most "nominal" Christians - they are in church most nights on the street! 

AMAZING! 

I am convinced that amidst this group of babushkas, alcoholics, drug addicts, street people, young and old, are some radical disciples of Jesus! We get to know them and love them in the process - glory to God! 

The Ins and Outs of the TEAM

This outreach experience has been very different from what I had expected. To imagine that I am living in the same house, sleeping in the same bed and cooking and eating in the same kitchen, yet I am on my 3 month practical work is a bit weird for me. I know that God has caused us to remain here, as He has confirmed it in prayer to our entire team and we all have peace about the ministry that we are doing. I guess for me it is fairly “normal” everyday life – loving and seeking Jesus and loving and serving people in His name. By the grace of God this is how I live life whether in Canada or Guatemala, yet I am doing it in another new culture and language.

For me the greatest challenge has been being culturally and linguistically immersed. It is different this time – mostly because I am used to being in a warm culture and live out my life in such a way and it is definitely a COLD culture here in Ukraine!! (warm and cold cultures relate to how people interact, communicate, etc.)  I have been amazed at how differently we all like to do things and having lived with various roommates and families in the past I understand that we all have our own nuances about daily life, tie four other cultures into the knot and you got an interesting situation. It has given way to many good conversations about culture, respect, loving one another, conflict, having differences and respecting them, etc.  It is also interesting in that our age range is fairly small. We are mostly in similar life stages and have all been Christians for at least 7 years.  Personality wise, we all get along and enjoy each other’s humour and hearts. It is a gift from God!

I can genuinely say that I love my team. We are a family. We enjoy being together, praying together, talking about God and His word together, laughing together, cooking and cleaning together, loving and serving others for Jesus together – you get the idea J Yet there is a level where I feel like my own culture inhibits me from connecting with them on a deeper level because there are barriers in the way we think. And if barriers in the way we think, barriers in the way we understand each other and then treat each other.  How I have become acquainted with the independent spirit and mentality that has shaped me as a North American. A year ago I never knew that it was so resilient – for positive and for negative. My prayer has been and remains that every bit of independence and resistance to others (aka – PRIDE) would be transformed into true interdependence with the Holy Spirit first and my co-labourers and family members in the Gospel second.

Our team :) about to enjoy North American Christmas meal :)

And as much as I desire that every barrier be destroyed I am realizing a valuable truth. Jesus likes that we are all different – He made us that way. It is not wrong to be different. Being uniform in thinking, culture, dress, custom, culture, etc. is NOT what unites us and brings us into oneness. The Love of JESUS CHRIST is the only thing that brings us into true unity and oneness. For His love to dwell in our midst we must actually acknowledge our differences and not try to conform to another’s standards, but recognize that we are all who we are, yes in process, and yes, being changed and transformed into the likeness of Christ, yet unique in that process.

The world will look at us and see our love for one another and know that God sent Jesus into the world. That does not mean that they will look at us and we will all look the same. That means that they will look at us in our radical differences and see that there is a genuine supernatural love that we have for one another as walked out in our actions, words and lifestyles and they will see that ONLY GOD can unite these people and give them such a love. ONLY JESUS’ love is this powerful.

In the midst of learning to work as a team, failing at it, repenting and trying again to with one heart feed the homeless, love the poor, the alcoholic and drug addict, share Christ with the every day “Joe”, bring joy to children through English classes, etc.  I am left crying out to God to truly live and experience more of His love through the cross of Jesus Christ and His Spirit that lives in my heart and life. I am becoming more desperate to live in the love of God than ever, as I realize how far away I am from what Jesus has purchased for me! Yet in hope I know that His grace is bringing it to pass!

Our team sharing Christmas Eve with some of the brothers who feed and minister to the homeless and two of the guys who receive ministry. It was a blessed time to rejoice in the Lord in the freezing cold night - he he he - JESUS is born and we are family because of Him!