Saturday, May 28th:
Key Leadership in Word of Life and I met for over four hours to discuss their present situation and pressing problems. But as is their “tradition” it had to begin with something to eat. So we had ice-cream smothered in fresh strawberries, with fresh banana slices and ground chocolate to sprinkle on the top. Maybe it is their way of getting everyone into a “sweet” frame of mind. I am not sure but it was worth the try – at least we had no difficulties.
It was evident from the conversation of those who attended the Crimea Pastors/Leaders Retreat an impact had been made that was working deeply into their spirits. So I picked up the subject and spent the first hour sharing about the need for leaders to be physicians to bring not only physical health to the spirit of the people, but the great need to by physicians of the soul. And of course physicians of the body to bring health by praying for the sick.
The Church has developed to the place where it is time to clarify the structure, establish some key ministries and present their vision to the people. That was the topic of conversation for the greater part of the meeting and I believe we were able to set the stage for them to move forward in this area.
The meeting finally concluded about 7:30 PM but then it was supper time and I had the opportunity to spend the rest of the evening speaking directly to the pastor and his wife about their role as shepherds of the body.
Sunday, May 29th:
Off to the worship service at 9:40 on foot for about one mile. Summer is here, school ended on Friday and for the Ukrainians it also means it is time to go to the villages and see relatives and begin vacation. The vacation for many may only be weekend trips to the villages where they were raised or where key relatives live. And therefore the crowd is down. And that was the case today. Even the presence of the preacher from Southwest Florida does not guarantee they will all be here as was the case today, but we still had a decent gathering and were able to minister the Word to an appreciative audience.
Then it was time to hike back home, eat a light lunch, take a nap and then rise again to take a journey with my hosts – Tolik and Oksana Smertina; and another couple from the Church, Slavic and Alena. The journey took us by car to a picnic in my honor where the pastor and another family were waiting. Ukrainian picnics are always an event in more ways than one for those from the United States. You always head into a wooded area, find some trees to sit under on blankets, though in this case someone had gathered three boards about six feet long and 4 chunks of wood and made a “u-shaped” bench with a table in the middle. The height of this picnic table was about twelve inches.
Then some of the guys always build a fire and we wait for the wood to become coals. They coals are then scraped back and potatoes are placed in the coals (without foil). After the coals are placed back on top, then the meat is carefully placed on the shiskabob rods. While this is taking place the ladies cut fresh vegetables, in this case, cabbage, cucumbers and tomatoes. Then everyone watches to see what and how the “American” eats. The spotlight is on! So you eat what they eat! You laugh and have fun with them and all the while ignore what we “US picnicers” would frown at – the potential unsanitary table, cleaning of the vegetables, etc.
I just quote my favorite Bible verse for traveling: “And if you eat any deadly thing it will not harm you.” Then I dig in and enjoy the time.
Monday, May 30th:
It all began at 12:30! Would you believe? A second picnic! YES! That is right! But this one was with the children from the orphanage the ladies of the Church have been ministering to over the past 3-4 years or longer. I am the guest of the youth who will be there. They wanted the privilege of asking me questions. And they did! About America; about Christians in America; about my family; about the Church; about politics in America; and on and on. But I did get the answers to roll over to Jesus! I challenged them to think of David, whom many scholars say he was an unwanted sibling because he had a Moabite mother and of Jesus and the possibility of what other kids said about him because of the pregnancy of his mother before she married Joseph – you know all the cruel things that some kids will say because they did not understand the facts – some He understood some of their struggles.
I will wrapped up the day and the public ministry in the evening at the Cell Group which meets here at the flat (apartment for you Americans). It is an event that always happens and I am honored and consider it a privilege to share with God’s people anywhere, at anytime.
Tuesday, May 31st - Thursday, June 2nd:
I depart Chernivtsi at noon on Tuesday by car to meet my train to Kiev in Khmelnitsky. It departs about 4:30 and arrives in Kiev about 9:30 PM. I have two appointments in Kiev on Wednesday, then on Thursday I fly from Kiev to Istanbul to meet a team of missionaries and pastors. We will tour the Seven Cities of Asia Minor as listed in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. Our purpose is to work with a Pastor in Turkey to establish a Church in five of these cities. He has already started two.
So this will probably be my last Blog until I return to the United States because of the intense schedule I face. But I will do a blog on that trip upon my return.
God bless and thanks for your prayers.
Dr D
PS: You can read the blog here from Peru about the LTI students, Marilyn and their ministry developments.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment