Goodbye Lviv

Lviv Ukraine has been an entirely different Ukrainian experience for me. This city is full of national pride, rich history, beautiful architecture and a very busy lively atmosphere. Much like my time in Kremenchuk, though, the people here are really what makes this city the wonderful place it is. I wasn’t sure what to expect coming into Lviv, since this trip was a last minute addition to my time in Ukraine, and in the beginning I was only supposed to be here about 9 days but that quickly changed to staying basically a month. The host missionaries, Tommy and Mary, were wonderfully flexible and made sure that this month was full of ministry, connections, and mentorship. I have been truly blessed to have been here.

Mary and Tommy are both professors at one of the seminary’s here in Lviv. Mary’s focus is on Women’s ministry and helping quip women with the means to begin a women’s ministry and also share the importance of having such a ministry. As I have spoken a bit about in previous posts in every country I have been in, I have seen how truly vital this type of ministry is, and I’ve also seen how hard it is to get this type of ministry started. I was very excited to work with Mary with her churches women’s ministry, being able to lead the discussion one week and then this last week I also was able to throw a baby shower for Ira one of the women from the group. The baby shower was a fun time of a few women getting together and letting Ira feel loved. One thing I love about Ukrainian baby showers, is they are focused around the spiritual side of stepping into motherhood. I am told that typically there is a devotional and prayer over the mother and the birth of the baby.  During the shower we talked about Jochebed the mother of Moses and how like her we need to “let go and trust God” on the adventures God places before us, be that having our first baby, starting college, or moving half way across the world.

This past week when I was able to sit in on Tommy’s foundations for missions class. I joined a group of students who are currently in their fourth year of pastoral studies. This class not only went into the theological bases for missions but also gave the students practical examples of living out God’s calling by inviting people in who had spent part of their summer serving cross culturally and even towards the end of the week Tommy had the class go out of their comfort zones and reach out to the people of Lviv. On Thursday afternoon the class walked down to the park in front of the large university in Lviv and passed out free coffee, tea, and cookies to the people that walked by. This was my first experience with this type of outreach and I must say, I really enjoyed just showing love to people. Many people asked me what this was about and why were we offering the coffee for free, and then seeing their reactions when we told them that it’s because we wanted to show them love and then that leading to deeper conversations, it was awesome! Many of the students I talked with after the outreach were really excited about what happened that afternoon. Some of them talked about wanting to make it a repeated event, saying “the more we do it the better we will be when we go out into our ministries!”  

Today sadly is my last day in Lviv, I’ve spent the day visiting with some friends I have met along the way this month, saying goodbyes for now. The next two weeks are going to be very busy and full of different travels. I leave tomorrow for Krakow Poland where I will be staying with Graceland ministries, a ministry that spreads the word of God by teaching English through the Bible, then on the 19^th I will be traveling to Slovakia for a few days and then on the 22^nd will head to Hungary for about a week. Then hopefully on the 28^th I will make it into Romania where I will get to spend a longer time there. This year has been full of these “step back and watch God do his thing” moments and the way these new places came into play has been no different. Though this is going to be a very busy and full next few weeks I am excited to see what God has in store in all of these places.

Please be praying:

-For Trinity church here in Lviv, I have been encouraged to have been with them these past 4 weeks and watching their commitment to the Great commission and witnessing a sending out service as they sent one of their members to Poland to start a 2 year mission in Krakow.

-For Mary and Tommy- as they continue to prepare classes and teach German by means of the Bible to those in the community. They also will be traveling back to Germany in the next few months to have their 3^rd baby who should be here around November.

-For the Bible Seminary- pray for the travel of students as many come from a great distance for their week long courses, Pray for the teachers as they prepare their lessons and the students as they receive them, this accelerated program is very intense 8 hours of classes each day and if you miss a day you miss a big portion of information. Pray for their continued pursuit of knowing God more and their desire to reach those who are yet to know their savior.

- Pray for the current refugee crisis currently happening in the Europe, I’ve been watching the news some and seeing the overwhelming need of these people, not only physically and emotionally but also spiritually. I’m not sure yet how much of a role I will play in the next few weeks, but I will be in some of the places that have just been overrun with need. Please be praying that opportunities and means arrive that I can reach out to these people.

-Pray for the upcoming travels- there is still a bit of uncertainty in a few areas as I am figuring out how to get from point A to point G but there is no anxiety as I know there is a plan and things will work out. Pray for my continued lack of anxiety J over the next few weeks of travel, and for the people I will be encountering along the way. God has always blown me away thus far by who he sits me by and the people he sends to help me along the way.

-Pray for my upcoming time in Romania- I’m very excited for this next chapter in my journey, and feel like there is something big happening there now, and I am very excited to be a part of it despite how small it may be. Please be praying for the missionaries there and for the work they are doing, that they continue to follow Gods lead and take the light into the darkness.

Thank you all for your prayers and your continued support over this journey. You all are awesome!