How Many Christmases are there really??

So...it is Christmas time! Yay Jesus - I do enjoy this time of the year, although this year has been very different than any other year already. Firstly, I am living in Ukraine and they celebrate Christmas on January 7th and in a very different way than we "North Americans" are accustomed to. (I have resorted to calling myself "North American" because people here call us all American, whether we are Canadian or American and when I try to correct them, they say, "It's all North America!" - he he!)

This year I am in charge of the planning and running of "North American" Christmas, which is in two days. Then we will celebrate New Years, which in this part of the world is the very important holiday (a remnant of Soviet times when Christmas was not celebrated...). So - for New Years people set up a tree and decorate it, say up all night, watch ritualistic Russian movies, eat a lot of chocolate and special dishes and give gifts. Our team leader, who is Russian, is in charge of carrying out a real "Russian New Year"!

After that...we have another Christmas - Ukrainian Christmas, on the 7th of January. This entails people going from house to house singing Ukrainian carols and of course a big, traditional meal. Our team has been asked to plan and carry out the program for the Ukrainian Christmas celebration for the missionaries and ministers of YWAM Ternopil. We have been learning Ukrainian Carols....and beginning to prepare, but we have two big celebrations to get through before that :)

For this year, I will be privileged to celebrate the birth of Jesus (which really, the day isn't important, but the remembrance and celebration of Christ's first coming IS...) with brothers and sisters in Christ from 6 plus nations. We have received a new team member, who also had trouble with her visa to Egypt so she came to be with us, from Kazakhstan. She is from the Ugur (spelling??) people group, who are originally from Northern China. She is definitely a Christmas gift from God to us all bringing a new dynamic to our family and allowing us to learn about her, her people, and Kazakhstan as well.

Just this morning we were having a time of worship that was focused on the Cross of Christ....and we shared in communion together and there were 6 nations standing together eating the body of Jesus and drinking the blood. Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kenya and Canada... as if that is not the miracle of the cross at work! Every tribe and every tongue!

So - Christmas time....rejoice in the Lord and all He has done by coming, living as a man and being tempted in every way as we, yet without sin, and then giving Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, conquering death, hell and the grave and rising again to bring us back into a loving relationship with the Father through the Holy Spirit, and giving us an assignment to go and teach all nations all that He has and is teaching us!

Hmmmm - this is all wrapped up in the fullness of why we celebrate Christmas....it's so much greater than anything that might be under our trees this year! Jesus - He is the greatest gift - living, breathing and changing lives this Christmas season!

С Рождеством!!! (Merry Christmas!)

While I'm Waiting!

So - here we are...on outreach...still at the base in Ternopil!

No. This is not a joke. How is it possible that 4 of the 5 team members "suddenly" get colds? As a result we had to postpone our ten day outreach to the village. Then, in the midst of waiting and resting, we get word from our team mates headed to Ethiopia that they were not able to board their flight in Turkey because of some unclear visa information. They were "stuck" in Istanbul, needing to get to Ankara, where the Ethiopian Embassy is. It just so happens that one of our team members, Riza, is from Ankara. He was able to help our friends, by instructing them to get onto the right bus and by having his sister and brother in law host them in Ankara. What an interesting turn of events!

We could not have anticipated this. Nor could we have known that our "delay" turned out to work for the good of the team and served a greater purpose than just resting and recovering! We are learning the truth that "All things work together for good, to those that love God and are called according to His purposes" Romans 8:28.

For some of us, we have been in great awe of the Lord. At His sovereignty. To think...all of the chain of events that caused our Indian visas not to work out, then the formation of a new team, then the delay to the village....all lead to us being in the right place at the right time to serve our brothers and sisters stuck in another country. How interconnected and tied together we all are in Christ. WOW!

How important it is to continue to seek the face of Jesus in every circumstance. Even when we are still receiving the answers....the goodness of God is going before us and working all things together for good!

Jesus is amazing!

Chortkiv, Ukraine - 3 day outreach and quest!

Two weeks ago we had two days of our lectures devoted to “team time”. This was time where both teams, India and Ethiopia, were to spend together building relationships and learning together as preparation for the 3 month outreach phase.

Our team, Team India, had the opportunity to travel 70 km south of Ternopil to a city call Chortkiv. This city is quite a bit smaller than our present home, with about 30,000 people. It was nice to be in such a “small city” and we really felt it in the three days we were there. We saw the same people on the streets at least twice – he he he!!

We went to serve and work with a local church there in Chortkiv with whom our school staff have good relationships. In our time there we spoke, sang and did drama at the young adult group of the church. I was really blessed to connect with a few of the English speakers and we had some great conversation and I was able to encourage them in God’s plans and goodness for them. A young family from the church gave us their one room apartment to stay in...which was certainly a gift! They took their two young kids and stayed at a friends for the two nights we stayed. So...there we were...8 girls sleeping in the living room and bedroom....cooking together, cleaning together – ha ha ha! An interesting fact that was a surprise to us all.... the shower was in the kitchen if you can picture it!

Our first day, we had a "Quest", which was basically a big scavenger hunt to find people and information in a city we had never been to - in 2 hours. This was a GREAT cultural learning experience....by the end we were all agitated...and when we debriefed we realized that we all had different goals when we were given the tasks. To the North Americans - we could not believe that people wanted to stop and take pictures everywhere we went - we were on a time deadline - 2 hours and 6 people we had never met to find, interview,etc. To the Ukranians we were pushy and rude because we were not taking advantage of the opportunity to see the sights at the same time...and hey, we better get groceries for supper because we are walking by possibly the only large supermarket! Ha ha ha - LESSON LEARNED - COMMUNICATE THE VISION AND PURPOSE OF THE TASK - WITH TRANSLATION....so everyone is working together! 

The second day we had a time devoted to focused worship and prayer...so we hiked up a hill on the warm sunny morning, found a good spot overlooking the city and sang praises and gave worship to God. It was an amazing time for us as a team – our first time to just rest and worship together simply because Jesus is worthy to receive our praise and worship! In the afternoon we met up with some of the local believers and led them in some street ministry and evangelism. This was tonnes of fun! We met many people during this time and had some really great conversations with people. The people of Chortkiv were VERY friendly and so open to talk and share and pray with us. It was refreshing!

Two team mates blessing a dear lady we met
She is from Poland and was so encouraged
and blessed us as well!

Saturday night was a highlight for me....because we worked with the “Coffee House” outreach which is run by a former YWAMer and leader in the church, Lydia. God has given her a vision and heart to reach out to youth at the local disco-tech or night club. Once every couple of weeks Lydia and her team go to the night club and present a short drama and say a few words and hand out their contact info for people. There have been many young people who have responded through relationship to this outreach. Lydia shares that before she was born again, in relationship with Jesus, she was in the night club drinking and drugging away her abusive and failed marriage until some of her friends began to love her and really care for her and share Christ with her. I had the priviledge of playing a part in the short drama we did and then saying a few words to the crowd at the end. The message was simple, “We all get stuck to sin....but Jesus died for us while we were sinners, so that when we believe in Him and ask Him to He has the power to forgive us and FREE us from the power of sin.”

The drama is posted before this post. :) Check it out -  it is really great and you will get a sense of the atmosphere!

After the drama we stuck around and talked to people that wanted to talk. A young woman approached us, connected with us and two days later she ended up coming to visit us at home when we were in Ternopil. Yay God! Many other youth and young adults wanted to talk to us, ask us questions and get to know us. It was tonnes of fun....and a great reminder to me that people everywhere are in need of God’s great love and so often we forget about the places that might “seem” more dark....but LIGHT BELONGS IN THE DARKNESS.

The final day we shared at the local church we were working with in the city. It was tonnes of fun....we shared  with the congregation all about ourselves, DTS, India, and some of the students shared stories or testimonies of amazing things that God has done in bringing them to the school and while being here. We sang a song - Russian and English, but the only catch is we started in Russian, with microphones in the hands of people that have never used mics (we were not expecting personal mics for every singer!!) and whoever started, hit the wrong key and everyone else just followed suit (smile/frown**)!! ha ha - oh to be a part of a team. So...when it was English time, my choice was to try to save the song or to support the team - so I went with the support the team and tried to save it at the same time....it was a great and terrible experience at the same time! After the worship service, on the drive home, we all laughed so hard....we only can improve from here on in!  Our team leader said, "I thought you guys were going to cut it short....BUT you finished the song!!" Ha ha - we are still laughing about it!  Jesus is FUNNY!!

That is the trip in a nut-shell....

Disco-tech Outreach - Ukraine

Content from October Newsletter

OCTOBER NEWS (sorry - it is in a very borning....written form...if you want the newsletter in pretty fun reading form, email me!)

Discipleship Training School –

We are officially over one month into our lecture phase of the DTS....and I have been radically surprised by God through the teaching and working of God’s Spirit. So far we have been host to some humble and powerful teachers of God’s word, Paul Logan, Loren and Darlene Cunningham, Al and Carolyn Akimov, and Jim Isom. They have taught on evangelism, missions, hearing God and the role of family and our identity in Christ. I would love to be able to give you a better synopsis of all we have been taught and all God is doing...but that would take many more pages than I desire to pass on to you!

I will say that Jesus is changing us all by His Word and Spirit....and I feel that my heart is under deep surgery. Some of the challenges that I have been going through have been the adaptation to living in a community setting....if you go through something as an individual, you go through it as a group because you cannot hide anywhere to be alone!! God has been pointing His finger on a lot of sin in my heart – selfishness, pride, ungratefulness, complaining, judgement...the list goes on. And in all of these things, I am in an environment where I must deal with each of these things so that we can live in unity and love as a family unit in Christ.

Just this last week....which consisted of a lot of inner healing and identifying root beliefs that are in opposition to the truth (which is why behaviour exists that goes against God) so that they can be renewed by God’s word (Romans 12), the Holy Spirit really revealed the state of my heart.....which is in desperate need of the work of the cross! I have come back to a place of realizing how much I need Jesus, His cross, His blood and His continual work in me (through His Word and Spirit). In total honesty – I see how much of a mess I am and how lost I am without the hope of Christ and His power that makes me a new creation every day!

YWAM Jubilee –

At the end of September we joined with the rest of Ukraine and Russia and gathered together to celebrate the Jubilee (50^th) Anniversary of Youth With a Mission. It was a PARTY to say the least and a time of connecting, and readying for the future. As “non-YWAMer”s many of us students felt a little out of place, but by the end of the conference we were all powerfully impacted. It was a great encouragement to see and build relationships with other followers of Jesus in Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Belarus and other Ukranianian cities.  We were about 250 people and shared meals, teaching sessions, worship and more together. Many received fresh vision for future outreaches and we all were equipped in greater ways.

I attended a workshop teaching about “Understanding Islam”. The session was VERY powerful and imparted a lot of practical wisdom and tools. It was just a taste of a longer training session that is used as a training tool for people that minister in Muslim nations. One of the most interesting things I learned was that almost ¼ of the world’s Muslim population speaks Russian as their first language. That is amazing to me – I had no idea. The European city that has the most Muslims per capita....is not Paris or London, but is Moscow. Southern Russia, that borders the “stans” has contains this large population of Russian speaking Muslims that have no witness for Jesus Christ, many of which live isolated and in very low economic status because they have been neglected through the Soviet times and left alone afterwards. God is stirring some things up in my heart for these peoples and regions....

Breakthrough in Kiev –

After the conference our DTS group stayed in Kiev and joined up with the DTS in Kiev for one week of teaching on pioneer missions. It was a powerful week indeed. The greatest thing I can pass on is this quote from Brother Andrew, “Who told you that a nation is closed to the good news of Jesus Christ....? Did God say that the nation was closed? NO, it was men that told you. If God has not said it, it is not so. And if God wants you in a nation, He will get you in and open all the doors you need.” Inspiring to say the least!

I was also so blessed and thankful to help out with leading worship at the YWAM base in Kiev. On the Thursday evening the base had their “Family Night” and two of the Kiev DTS students and myself formed a last minute band and lead a worship night. This was a highlight for me, firstly because God supernaturally brought us together – a keyboardist (English), a bassist (Ukrainian) and myself, guitarist (English). We had to lead in English and Russian....ha ha ha – and we did! There were about 100 or so missions staff and students present...and it was a powerful time,

After the evening, I thanked the Kiev DTS leader for helping with sound and he expressed how much of a breakthrough this night was. He shared that for a long time, nothing like that had happened on the base and he knew that it was a start of God’s move and breakthrough for the Kiev missions base and staff. What an honour for us as DTS Ternopil to have been present and a part of God’s work there!

Student Ministry/Outreach –

Evangelism: We have been going out to the streets every week as a school. While in Kiev, we had the privilege to teach the Kiev DTS a crash street-evangelism course and then we took them out with us. In Kiev it was so different – most of the older people we spoke with in Kiev were atheists and full of anger and hurt from the war (WW2), much fruit from the Soviet Union. This really broke my heart because some of the older men we spoke with, professors, were actually asking us, “Show me God if He exists....prove it to me.” Deep in their voices, however was an earnest desire to know that God is real.

In Ternopil, this past week, we split into groups and prayed as teams and went “treasure hunting”, which is asking God to speak to us of a specific place and person He wants us to meet with. Each group came back afterwards with awesome testimonies of God’s faithful guidance and the precious people on the receiving end. We have been building strong relationships with the people God has been sending us out to meet. We are meeting with them on Friday nights to build closer relationships and begin discipleship of those that are giving their lives to God. Our focus for this will continue in hearing God’s direction, following Him, sharing His words with people and building relationship and discipleship.

Elders and orphans: Last week we went to our other outreach ministries for the first time. My post was an Old Age Home. We went in groups to find men or women to visit with for our time at the home. My group, Lena, Riza and myself, found an elderly man, Sebastien, in his room and ready to receive us. We entered his small, smokey room and sat down. He was so excited to see us and shared that he never gets visitors. We explained why we were there....to talk with him, get to know him, etc. and he said, “ask me anything and I will tell you.” To our surprise, this 84 year old man, was a Soviet War Hero. He was on the front lines and shared later that he had the honour of freeing Warsaw, Poland from the Germans (and he mentioned other cities)... The last person that came to visit him was a reporter from Kiev, to find out about his stories.

He was a dear man, and all three of us felt a connection instantly. He thought that it was really cool that I was from Canada and that I spoke English. He shared that when he was in Berlin fighting that he used to drink Vodka with English soldiers!  We left him some brownies that we had baked...and he was so blessed by our company and conversation! I am so excited to go back and keep visiting with this amazing man! What a reminder of the richness of life, wisdom and history that the older generation carries....and here he his, living in a tiny room in the state run seniors home on a very small pension. We are already planning ways to bless him....thinking about having a dinner in his honour, or taking him into town by taxi....if you get any ideas, please let me know!

Riga, Latvia – School of Prophetic Justice

I am writing this extensive (ha ha) newsletter from Riga, Latvia. I am sitting in an apartment of one of the YWAM staff, a Dutch woman, who is hosting us and the School of Prophetic Justice. School starts tomorrow and we have around 50 students from Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Norway, Russia, and other European countries. One of our students has come from Thailand....so we are expecting great things from God! It has already been such a powerful and supernatural trip to get here yesterday....and it is a priviledge to be serving with Jari and Tanya Koivu and the YWAM Alternatives Network to serve Europe with the information of Pro-Life Missions and Human Trafficking Ministry....I will share more in the next newsletter....but for now....keep praying with us for many to be changed, inspiried and set a flame for the work of love found in God’s justice for the unborn and oppressed of the world. We are believing that eyes will be opened in Europe to these vital ministries, as in many nations there is very little taking place through the ministry of the church. It is time! 

Divine Encounters on the Way to Riga

What a day – leaving Ukraine....train, taxis, planes....benches – kind men and women and above all the most amazing God beyond my imaginations! To me it is a miracle to be here....in a beautiful apartment – received with love and a warm open heart....in Latvia! I was so tired all day that it seems as though I am here and have come out of a haze. Ahhhh – it is already refreshing and already I have some perspective of what and how and why...although a dim shadow of Your full plan!

Faith, under construction as we go! 

I am staying with the wonderful disciple of Jesus that is going to turn human trafficking upside down in Riga and then all over Europe. This woman is already and will be a modern day hero.....an everyday lover of Jesus...who is putting hands and feet to the ending of the sex trade! What an honour...and you have brought me here to serve her Lord as a guest in her home. Already I see the priviledge and honour and strategy in staying here....all by Your hand. You are so faithful to provide for me...and so superabundantly!

Even missing the connection today in Kiev was such a pleasant surprise....just resting in Your grace and enjoying the sunshine, birds, people walking to and fro and of course Sasha from Georgia. As I sat on the bench reading my book....I noticed him looking at me a bit and then he came with his sandwich and sat on the bench next to me. I did not take too much notice until he began liberally feeding the pigeons and then more and more and more! He was taking great joy in sharing his lunch and they were frenzied as well!!  I had to duck for cover a few times! Then....I felt to offer him some of my yummy Ukranian chocolate ....and to my joy he accepted it. This made way for a lovely time together....Sasha, a native Georgian is probably in his late 60s, early 70s. A businessman who owns a hotel (or maybe a few....) It was a miracle that I even got that much information – he spoke no English and I used the very minimal Russian I have.....he tried speaking German with me, but that did not get too far! Ha ha ha! It was a great gift from God to meet him – I showed him photos of Ternopil, the base, the missionaries....and he understood I was a missionary!! He invited me to come to Georgia and learn Russian – and left me with his phone number when in Moscow and Georgia! For much of the time we just sat silent together....and tried to talk here and there....as I was showing him photos he blessed me and commented that I was a beautiful woman!! I believe if nothing else God brought him to me to tell me that very truth! I received it with gratefulness in my heart! What a gift from God that encounter was....and I believe the Lord will be with him and reveal Himself to Sasha...!

And then there was Maxim....a friends friends friend who met me at the train station.....waited for me to detrain, grabbed my bag from me....whisked me away to the taxis, found me a good price, got me in, warned the driver I didn’t speak Ukrainian and then was gone. The soccer coach and kind man, Maxim. Thank you father for taking care of me through all of these people...! You are too good to put to words and your provision is so abundant it astounds me!

Overlooking the lake in Ternopil....

Now – I am in Riga – and going to sleep....there is such an excitement in my heart. I know that I am here for Your purpose Jesus. I know that You have assigned me to be here as an ambassador of healing to the nations....to sow this seed in faith! Time to sow and believe! 

THE ipod challenge!!!!

What! It can not be so! You mean that I can not find my ipod...before I am boarding a 9 hour flight and before entering into a season of 6 month intensive and intrusive learning and ministry where personal space will already be little to none. Now....not being able to find my ipod almost is insult to injury...the only little device that allows me to plug into worship through music, to tune into God and tune out every other noise and person around (we all know how we “need” to do this at different points in the day – something we like to call “space” or “time to ourselves”.) And hey – when living in a community setting (I mean the only private space is a 1 X 1 room that houses the toilet!!) every buffer of personal space is welcomed and used as a tool to connect with Jesus and disconnect with people, even for an hour....to simulate solitary time and allow a vacuum of the Presence of God in a personal meeting space.


Yes, you might be thinking what God is thinking!! Ha ha ha ha...and He was letting me know some of His thoughts, as I was on the way to the airport and asking Him about this fiasco! Firstly, one of His thoughts was this : “Do I need to plug in an ipod to “tune out the rest of the world”? One of my classic crutches for using my ipod (let me clarify, I rarely use my ipod....mostly to connecting with Jesus in the midst of an airplane ride, to encourage sleep, in devotions and worship, on runs and walks at times...and you know...the rare occation to separate myself from the others around me that I might not “feel” like talking to and can’t physically get away from!) Back to the crutch - and it is this – to keep garbage from entering my ears. Most times, I would rather not hear the conversation my neighbours are having about the neighbour who does this and that....or the curse words exchanged in “normal” conversation that I am not a part of. I know my heart motive is pure, and as I write this is all starting to sound a bit like insulation.

Fire can’t start in a vacuum!

The next thought that God shared with me was relating to this very fact. God hears the just and the unjust. He has listened to every vile song, every curse riled against His own name, every degrading thing, every slander, every gossip, He HEARS IT ALL. Does He tune it out to regain His holiness? Does He need to keep His ears plugged with His own praises in order to do His mighty works in the heavens and earth? Nope – His holiness is settled in heaven, His heart is secure and fixed....and yet He is grieved, His heart breaks and He weeps and stirred to powerful love when He hears His creation entering into anything that is not faith. His compassion is the filter that takes sin and defilement and translates it into the burden of the Cross and the power of the resurrection that He is waiting to be received by every heart.

So....obviously, I can see Jesus probing my heart to teach me a lesson in this all. Admittedly, for convenience sake, I would really love to have my ipod with me...I mean – 6 months in different languages and cultures...some English solice of anointed worship at my fingertips seems greater than gold in this moment...and will seem as such a couple months into this thing!!

But there is a greater solice that the Lord is trying to open me up to receive. Jesus didn’t tote an ipod. He lived in constant fellowship with the Father – IN THE MIDST OF A PERVERSE AND SINFUL GENERATION. Jesus must have heard all kinds of ungodly conversations in passing, and we all know that He wasn’t afraid to be the light in those dark places. He lived in close community with the 12 disciples for 3 solid years. His “tune out” was the hidden place of prayer and the rest of the time it was the secret place of abiding in the Father’s presence and love by Holy Spirit’s constant help and presence.

This is it. This is the goal. This is the Father’s desire for me, for us. To not rely on anything but Him. So even an ipod, used for godly things, can become a crutch, and a means of disconnect from the very people God is desiring us to share deeper community with, even in the kaos of kosmos and defilement of the world. What would we do if faced without having the “normal” helps in our relationship with Jesus. We could call them conveniences, because they are that.

Take away my solitary place of prayer. Take away my “buffer” of personal space as manifested in my ipod. What will You find Lord?

My prayer in and through this learning time is that with or without the things and cultural expressions of worship and devotion there would remain ABIDING. You would remain, Jesus, constantly present and speaking and making holy. There would remain the love of God, burning deeply and passionately for Jesus and for others. There would remain heaven and earth and the two colliding through my life.

It’s time for the test!