Second visit to Ukraine (Twelve Days during August & September 2005)
Fortunately, being a committed Christian and knowing Paul’s teaching on being equally yoked, my first “mission” was to share the Gospel of Salvation with Larisa, my Ukrainian friend and hopefully she would accept Jesus into her heart. Then I’d see how things would go from there. So in preparation for my second visit to her, I arranged for us to meet with Christians and visit churches I had found online or was referred to through my church.
There was much discussion about her faith and mine. I was careful to be accepting of her beliefs as a Russian Orthodox. While giving her space to remain in her current religious tradition, I invited her to hear and observe what an Evangelical Christian church was like. She eventually agreed to visit a church of my choosing. And little did I know that in the process of searching for, contacting and communicating with pastors and other Christians there, I was beginning to build relationships that would someday serve another purpose.
Getting prayer and wise counsel from those in my church body was something I learned and knew would help me to follow God’s purpose, if in fact He did want me to go and visit her second time. So of course I sought His counsel in this way as well as thru prayer and Bible time. Wouldn’t you know a week or two before I left, someone had a word for me that there was more to this trip than just meeting up with this woman. He said he felt God was telling him there’d be a missions aspect to this trip as well. I figured, sure, I was going to minister to her by introducing her to Evangelical Christianity. But God apparently had more than just that in mind.
Well on my 3rd day there, we found our way to Greater Grace Chapel of Odessa and met some wonderful people there. It was within walking distance from our hotel, in a city of 2 million people! She and her daughter, who happened to meet us 20 minutes before the service began, ended up attending the service and loving the people and the message. They did not feel threatened in any way by a “new religion,” or even worse, like some Orthodox Christians who may view Evangelicals as cults. I guess it’s all in the presentation. The Sunday message was perfect for the occasion, teaching that Jesus did not begin a religion, He just wants us to be in relationship with Him. They were really comfortable with that and liked the church experience. Praise God!
There was much more going on with me spiritually during this trip, and with her too. But it’s too much to go into now. However, a few days later in the shipbuilding city of Nickolaev, her hometown, we met another fine Christian woman named Zhanna, who immediately befriended her. In fact, I was walking her baby around in a park while she and Larisa chatted and bonded. Of course, I was praying intensely for her the whole time! In was in that park that Zhanna translated for me while I led Larisa in a prayer to accept Jesus! And the angels rejoiced!
The last leg of our trip took us to Kiev, Ukraine’s capital. We stood in Independence Square
where just eight months ago history was made. Thousands of protesters gathered daily in support of the “Orange Revolution” led by then Presidential candidate Viktor Yuschenko. This man was the one who was poisoned with dioxin during his campaign. He ended up with permanent scars on his face, but he did not die. No, he became and still is President of Ukraine. Of course, I had followed these elections back at home. The courts due to blatant election fraud declared the first one void. All the world was watching the second election, which resulted in a reversal from the first result. Yuschenko, a self-professed Christian defeated the Communist Party candidate. The normal press didn’t carry this part, but the crowds of protesters gathered in Independence Square were predominantly Christians who prayed early in the morning before gathering in the square and late at night, every night during the time of crisis that was between elections.
And so there we were in the city of Kiev. We had a great guided tour of this city on seven hills. We learned much about the history of early Kiev, and later under communist rule. We even saw some former KGB buildings. But the most exciting part of this day-and-a-half visit to Kiev, or shall I say, the reason I think God put me there, was touring the seat of Ukraine’s government, the Presidential Palace and Residence and the Parliament Building. And it is here where I will close this posting, because the end of this story is found as I recount the end of my second visit to Ukraine in the posting titled, “Letter to Dutch Sheets on Praying with Authority for Ukraine” dated Friday, Sept. 9, 2005.
There was much discussion about her faith and mine. I was careful to be accepting of her beliefs as a Russian Orthodox. While giving her space to remain in her current religious tradition, I invited her to hear and observe what an Evangelical Christian church was like. She eventually agreed to visit a church of my choosing. And little did I know that in the process of searching for, contacting and communicating with pastors and other Christians there, I was beginning to build relationships that would someday serve another purpose.
Getting prayer and wise counsel from those in my church body was something I learned and knew would help me to follow God’s purpose, if in fact He did want me to go and visit her second time. So of course I sought His counsel in this way as well as thru prayer and Bible time. Wouldn’t you know a week or two before I left, someone had a word for me that there was more to this trip than just meeting up with this woman. He said he felt God was telling him there’d be a missions aspect to this trip as well. I figured, sure, I was going to minister to her by introducing her to Evangelical Christianity. But God apparently had more than just that in mind.
Well on my 3rd day there, we found our way to Greater Grace Chapel of Odessa and met some wonderful people there. It was within walking distance from our hotel, in a city of 2 million people! She and her daughter, who happened to meet us 20 minutes before the service began, ended up attending the service and loving the people and the message. They did not feel threatened in any way by a “new religion,” or even worse, like some Orthodox Christians who may view Evangelicals as cults. I guess it’s all in the presentation. The Sunday message was perfect for the occasion, teaching that Jesus did not begin a religion, He just wants us to be in relationship with Him. They were really comfortable with that and liked the church experience. Praise God!
There was much more going on with me spiritually during this trip, and with her too. But it’s too much to go into now. However, a few days later in the shipbuilding city of Nickolaev, her hometown, we met another fine Christian woman named Zhanna, who immediately befriended her. In fact, I was walking her baby around in a park while she and Larisa chatted and bonded. Of course, I was praying intensely for her the whole time! In was in that park that Zhanna translated for me while I led Larisa in a prayer to accept Jesus! And the angels rejoiced!
The last leg of our trip took us to Kiev, Ukraine’s capital. We stood in Independence Square
where just eight months ago history was made. Thousands of protesters gathered daily in support of the “Orange Revolution” led by then Presidential candidate Viktor Yuschenko. This man was the one who was poisoned with dioxin during his campaign. He ended up with permanent scars on his face, but he did not die. No, he became and still is President of Ukraine. Of course, I had followed these elections back at home. The courts due to blatant election fraud declared the first one void. All the world was watching the second election, which resulted in a reversal from the first result. Yuschenko, a self-professed Christian defeated the Communist Party candidate. The normal press didn’t carry this part, but the crowds of protesters gathered in Independence Square were predominantly Christians who prayed early in the morning before gathering in the square and late at night, every night during the time of crisis that was between elections.
And so there we were in the city of Kiev. We had a great guided tour of this city on seven hills. We learned much about the history of early Kiev, and later under communist rule. We even saw some former KGB buildings. But the most exciting part of this day-and-a-half visit to Kiev, or shall I say, the reason I think God put me there, was touring the seat of Ukraine’s government, the Presidential Palace and Residence and the Parliament Building. And it is here where I will close this posting, because the end of this story is found as I recount the end of my second visit to Ukraine in the posting titled, “Letter to Dutch Sheets on Praying with Authority for Ukraine” dated Friday, Sept. 9, 2005.
posted by Alfred from Plymouth | 6:32 PM
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