The team safely made it to Kherson, Ukraine this afternoon. The trip was safe and free of any major hiccups. We received all of our bags but one so please be praying that the last of our bags arrives on Saturday or Monday (Flights don’t come into Kherson on Sundays).
As we traveled the globe today we saw MANY faces. Every walk of life was represented and at times we felt out of place as Christians. Tonight we discussed during our group time how some of the team unintentionally walked into a Muslim prayer time while looking for a restroom and once in the restroom there were Muslims washing their feet. It was experience that honestly none of us had ever had before. But what dawned us was that as uncomfortable as we were, these were God’s beloved creations. He desires to be in an everlasting relationship with them and quite possibly we are his messengers. So amongst the overwhelming sea of people we have to remember that Jesus knows each one of them by name and died on the cross for them.
Also, we had a great night of fellowship with our host families and an incredible meal. Just seeing the smiles and excited faces as we walked into their homes made it clear that connections are already being made. It is amazing to see God at work. It was obvious that he knitted our hearts together long before we ever stepped foot on an airplane. There’s lots of work to do here this week, but more importantly there’s lots of love to share with the Ukrainian people.
Please pray that we won’t let the “work” in front of us cloud our senses and we miss an opportunity to spend time in relationship with our brothers and sisters. We love and miss all of our families and friends at home, but are excited about God’s work in the coming week!
May God use you to shine light in the darkness. May God make you dangerous to the enemy as you speak in the name of our Savior. I pray the week will go by quickly for you as share the love, life and death of Christ with the believers and unbelievers you come into contact with. I pray your safe return to friends and family here.