Skip to main content

The protests in Ukraine

Janna and I live only about 5 miles from where most of the violence is taking place, but when we walk to the neighborhood grocery store, you can easily forget that we live in a country in turmoil because everything is going along just like normal.  At church, we’ve spent a lot of time praying about recent events, and about the future of Ukraine.  I can see the concern on everyone’s faces.  But on the other hand, last week when we went to the orphanage, not a single kid or teacher asked about events in Kyiv.  People write us everyday wondering if we are ok, if we are safe, when we are planning on evacuating the country.  But Tuesday night we went over to Second Chance and did English lessons with the girls, ate lasagna and played games.  Life is going along like normal, except that we check the Kyiv Post more regularly than usual.  At least for now, we aren’t in any danger.  But even if things get worse, I don’t want to leave, I want to keep working with the kids so that they will have a hope and a future and know the love that God has for them. 

We do appreciate the concern so many people have shown for us and our safety.  And we do ask everyone to pray for the situation in Ukraine, as temperatures are dropping, but tempers are rising.  But Janna and I are not afraid.   We have confidence in the Grace of God, and I know heaven is going to be amazing.   I used to say all the time, “We’re all gonna die.  And its going to be fantastic!”  What is there to be afraid of when Jesus has taken away the power of death?

If I may be so bold, one of my greatest frustrations is people who say that they are Christians and say that they believe in an all-powerful, loving God, but are afraid of  … well … everything.  Have faith, and keep perspective.  While we were in the US, speaking in Churches, someone in almost every church asked us, “Is it safe?”  and every time we had to fight the urge to respond with, “Does it matter?” As soon as we start living in fear, we stop living in faith. 

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life … which of your by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life.  Matthew 6:25,27

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christmas in Ukraine Part VI: Nat and Tiffy come to Ukraine

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of hosting two sisters here in Kiev, Tiffany and Natalie. When they came to Ukraine from America, they brought 280 blankets to give out to children in need! The blankets were awesome! Natalie and Tiffany go to Liberty College, and they had decided to do something for kids in Ukraine. They chose to make blankets. With the help of many prayer groups at Liberty, they came up with 280 beautiful, colorful, warm and fuzzy blankets, and each one had cards inside with Bible verses and notes from the people who made them. What a wonderful idea! We spent three days going around to different places to hand out the blankets, and it was precious! First we went to our orphanage, Komarivka. The majority of the kids had gone home for the holidays, but about 30 kids remained. You should have seen their faces! Such big smiles all around! One of my favorite pictures ever of two giggling girls, Luda and Vita! Some of the older girls, Larissa, Natasha, J...
4 comments
Read more

The power of a hug

Three weeks ago at church, Masha sat next to me.   Masha is ten, has Downs Syndrome and is a fantastic hugger.  She just loves hugging.  So I try to always stop and hug her back.  During the service, she came in and sat between me and her dad, for a while she loved on her dad and then she leaned her head on my shoulder, so I leaned my head over onto hers, and she looked up at me with this big smile.  She reached around and gave me a shoulder hug, and then patted my head, and then rubbed my back for a few minutes.  I didn’t move the entire time because it just felt so good.  It was just simple, innocent affection, and it sent tingles up my spine.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about you need more hugs and back scratches. Human contact is so important.  That’s why I try and hug the kids when we go up to the orphanage.  These are just a few stories of some of the hugs I’ve given and gotten this past month, and why hugs are so imp...
4 comments
Read more

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain: Why shopping is a pain in Ukraine.

I used to like shopping. I thought it was fun. I love closure, and so nothing was more satisfying than crossing items off a list. I enjoyed the experience of checking out new stuff, looking for bargains, and of course everyone knows that buying stuff feels good.   That was then. This is now. Shopping here is a pain. Let me explain (hey, I’m a poet and I don’t even realize it)! First, we don’t have a car. That means we are at the mercy of public transportation, and so we have to keep that in mind when choosing what store to go to. Is it close to a bus or metro stop? Do we have to transfer metro lines? When we lived in the city center, we were really close to two metro lines. We like this store called MegaMarket, and it was only a few stops away on the metro. So, we would grab our backpacks, walk a block to the metro, go down a ridiculously long escalator, then hop on a metro and ride a couple stops down.   Then we would walk a few blocks and there it was..…Megamarket! Second re...
4 comments
Read more