Ukraine has been on my mind lately as I have been working on this blog, but even more so in light of recent events. The invasion into Ukraine has been heavy on all of our hearts as we have friends and hosts who are in the middle of it. Someone told us before we left on the Race that by the time we came back we were going to leave parts of our heart in all of the places we go and this is true. Just over two months ago, my squad spent four weeks in different parts of Ukraine and we now have faces of friends who are there in both the Eastern and Western parts of Ukraine. Please join us in praying for Ukraine and Russia! Here is my reflection on my time in Uzhhorod, Ukraine.
Ukraine Recap
Month 4 Country: Ukraine
Dates: November 16th- December 15th
Currency: Ukrainian Hryvnia
Language: Mostly Ukrainian but also Russian and Transcarpathian in the villages (mix of Hungarian, Ukrainian, Slovakian, and Polish)
City: Uzhhorod
Ministry: Commissioned for every Nation
Hosts: Clinton and Lena (Shade for Children)
The word the Lord gave me for this country: Presence and Perseverance
I was reflecting a lot during this month on how the Lord is the Great Shepherd. He is our guide, our advocate, and is present in all of the storms. I was looking at some verses that describe the Lord as our Shepherd. Here are a few of them-
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” 1 Peter 2: 24-25
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever” Psalm 23
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10: 14-15)
I am praying that the people of Ukraine will know that the Lord is the Great Shepherd and He is our guide, defender, friend and Lord.
What made me feel alive this month?
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Working with the local church to invest in the lives of others
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Celebrating different holidays with my team who became family (Thanksgiving and an early Christmas together)
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Getting the opportunity to build some relationships with children from a couple of orphanages
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This was the longest that I stayed in one place and it was nice to have some consistency and feel like Uzhhorod became home for a little while.
What was difficult about this month? Why was it difficult? What broke my heart this month?
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Seeing the need and not being able to do something long term for the need, especially regarding Ukraine’s orphanages and the children who don’t have families and are often separated from their siblings
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Seeing the differences in the ways people live and the difficult circumstances that people have. I met a woman in a village who is 29 and has 8 children 10 and under. She lives in a village and her husband struggles with drinking. The family lives in a two room home, one room for sleeping and another with a sink and small space for clothes. She only has freezing cold water even in the middle of the day. She has no income and struggles to provide for her children in such a small mountain village.
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Orphanages and hearing the stories of how these children have ended up in these orphanages and hearing how people who are broken respond in their brokenness by treating children in horrid and abusive ways.
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I had the stomach flu! Through it I was reminded of how Jesus expressed so much humility and vulnerability to come to earth and suffer in the physical pain and sicknesses that we experience. When I was sick this month, I was reminded that Jesus knows our challenges and still chose to humble himself and leave the glory of heaven and lived a life as a man who experienced things like sickness, fatigue, and all of the different emotions we do. (Philippians 2)
What am I thankful for?
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Opportunities to encourage the local Ukrainian church through testimonies of God moving in our lives, our Ukrainian lesson where we learned the alphabet and some useful phrases, celebrated Thanksgiving with 2 other teams on our squad, some sweet new friendships with people, had an early Christmas party with my team so that we could celebrate together, seeing it snow, staying in one place for the whole month allowed us to build some consistency, having some squad leaders with us for different parts of the month, seeing God show up in various ways and seeing miracles, reflecting on our time together as a See3 Team! Eat Me’s tea and sandwiches, a close grocery store, opportunity to exercise at a gym, the kitchen table where I spent most of my mornings praying, reading, and journaling.
(I love Uzhhorod)
What things do I want to make sure to remember (funny stories, big moments, small memories)
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I was making frosting for some cinnamon rolls we made as a team for Thanksgiving day…I accidentally bought baking soda that I thought was powdered sugar. I had one salty bite of frosting and then realized my mistake. Lesson learned… Google translate everything, even if it looks and feels like powdered sugar.
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Our time in the Roma community
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Making gingerbread men with a Girls Transitional House (A home run by the church for girls to live in when they “graduate” from the orphanage system) We got to celebrate with them by having dinner, making gingerbread men, and dancing.
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Early Christmas celebration as a team
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The largest Thanksgiving I have ever been to. My team got invited to the host’s home of 2 other teams on our squad and they invited their church to Thanksgiving dinner. There were 90 people all under 1 roof!
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The boy named *Andrew* in the orphanage we went to each Thursday who just wanted me to stand and hold him every time we went to the orphanage. (*Name changed for privacy)
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Making snowflakes to decorate our apartment and other holiday festivities
(My team in Uzhhorod)
Cultural differences:
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Corn is a very common food. It is added to everything and is a very common pizza topping.
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It is not culturally appropriate for women to shake hands
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People in Ukraine take great pride in their appearance and typically are dressed very nicely.
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When you go to people’s houses and you take your shoes off at the door you are typically given slippers to wear in the house
What have I been reading?– Face to Face with Jesus by Samaa Habib
Song on repeat this month?– Alabaster Heart by Bethel Music, Kalley
Some of my favorite foods I have tried in Ukraine?
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Lavash (Thin Phyllo dough wrapped up with cucumber, tomato, lettuce, chicken, sauce), Eat Me Cafe Teas and Chicken sandwiches (waffle), Transcarpatian dish of rice and ground beef wrapped in stewed cabbage leaves, pickled beet salad,
Here are some Prayer Requests:
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Tensions and Conflict in Ukraine- Peace, Wisdom, and Protection
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Revival in both Ukraine and Russia that hearts would be open to the Lord’s pursuit of them.
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Christians in Ukraine would sense God’s presence and experience His comfort
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Wisdom for how the churches in Ukraine and Russia are to respond
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Christians would boldly share the gospel in this time and that they would remain joyful in the midst of trials
Three of our teams, including mine, were located on the Western side of Ukraine. They are there responding by providing shelter and basic necessities for refugees, helping needy families, and supporting some of the orphanages who we were working with. Children in orphanages in the Eastern side are being evacuated to the Western side and those orphanages have already experienced cuts in funding.
The churches in Western Ukraine are responding to the refugees coming into their region from the East. Here are some of our connections that we made who are working to address the needs in their communities. Please pray for them and support them if you can.
In Mukachevo, Ukraine one of the hosts my squad worked with is supporting refugees coming to Western Ukraine. Joel Brown is the pastor of a Calvary Church- Living Water in Ukraine and they are hoping to support 200-300 refugees from Eastern Ukraine by providing places for lodging, showers, food, hygiene supplies.
Calvary Church/ Living Water Church’s refugee donation link:
http://www.jsterlingbrown.com/
Joel’s (Pastor) Facebook Page where he describes where the resources given are going!
https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=757775320
My hosts Clinton and Lena White have their own organization called Shade for Children and they primarily work with children in the orphanages and needy families in the community. They also have been participating in Crisis response for refugees alongside Church of the Living God in Uzhhorod as well as orphanage visits and assistance as the Western orphanages are receiving an influx of children coming from the East.
Shade for Children’s Donation Link:
https://give.cornerstone.cc/shadeforchildren
Shade For Children’s Crisis Response Information:
https://www.shadeforchildren.net/projects-2
Love you all! Thank you for your continued support.
-Elizabeth
