Ukraine Part II

It has been WAY too long since I have blogged! I am already almost done with my most recent section of my journey and I still haven't written about the one before it. So, after a very long interlude, here I go!

After the unexpected change of plans, I headed to Boryslav a day early. About 150 km from Lviv in the other direction, Boryslav has about 50,000 residents. While in Boryslav I stayed with my translator, another Luba. Luba is in her late 20s and speaks English very well. Her and her family opened their home to me for the next week and a half. Luba is a part of a Baptist church in Boryslav that does a lot of work with the elderly in their community. One of their pastors, Pastor Vasyl, has a list of 50 elderly people from their church and community that he visits on a regular basis!

During the first part of my time in Boryslav, I went on some of those visits with him. We would sit, visit, and pray with the elderly- who were often moved to tears in gratitude for our visit. Luba and I also accompanied Vasyl to a small village outside of the town. The woman we visited was 89 years old and the only Baptist in her village. She has been bed-ridden for 3 years. Vasyl goes monthly to the place where she stays to administer the Lord's Supper to her. 

Just a week after I arrived in Boryslav, Luba and I headed to a small village outside of Kiev to the small Bible school she attended there. One of her friends from the school was getting married and agreed to let me tag along. It was a quick trip- we were barely there 24 hours, but it gave me the chance to see Kiev and witness how Ukrainian weddings go. It was a lot of fun and while there I got to spend time with some long term ministry workers who live in Poland. It was a great time to fellowship with them and learn about the organization they work with. 

The night before we left for Kiev, Pastor Vasyl, Luba, and I made the journey to Lviv where we met a short term team of Americans working with the seminary in the city. Sister Luba, Brother Ivan, and Sofiya from Kamyanka were also there and we enjoyed a brief but happy reunion. The purpose of the meeting was to receive some support from the Missouri Baptist Home for their respective eldercare ministries. While there I also had the opportunity to finally meet John Jackson in person! This man had helped make my first stay in Belarus possible so it was nice to finally get to say "thank you" in the flesh. 

A happy reunion and a welcome introduction!

Throughout my time with Luba I helped her teach English. She does special English tutoring lessons for children in the community as a way to help them improve their English and earn money for herself. It was fun to meet her students and get to be a special guest for them to practice with. I also went with her to church and to the youth Bible study group. We made a few special visits of our own to a town close by called Truskavits. There we visited one of her friends who became a believer just 3 years ago. We also visited a young woman there who has a disease that has left her in a wheelchair. She doesn't get very many visitors and rarely gets to go out. It was a joy to visit her and share about why I am traveling all over Europe. 

The Harchinkle Family- members of Luna's church and the kids are her English students.

On one of my last days in Boryslav, Pastor Vasyl, Luba, and I traveled to a village that houses a government facility for the elderly. The facility is broken up into two places and together they hold about 116 residents. We were there to deliver some supplies and support to the facility that we had been given during our meeting with the team in Lviv. We brought them a huge pile of adult diapers, special bed pads, and cleaning products for the facility. We also brought some sweets along and handed them out to the residents as we toured the facility. We visited with almost every single resident. Most of them were amazed that I had come all the way from America to visit them! I pray that they were blessed by our visit and by the products we brought with us.

Handing out some sweet treats to the residents. 

The government facility houses 2-4 residents in a room depending on their needs.

Adult diapers- a huge need filled by funds from The Missouri Baptist Home

I had a great time in Boryslav and in Ukraine. The past month and a half have been eye opening for me. I have learned a great deal about ministry with the elderly, ministry in varying cultures, and been humbled by the hospitality I was shown. I am incredibly thankful to all of those who helped make this time a possibility and to the Lord for teaching me through my experiences. Please join me in praying for these people, places, and ministries.

After my time in Ukraine, I headed to Greece to meet my mom and sister for a few weeks of vacation. My next post about that leg of the journey is coming soon (I promise)!