We're back in the United States on the Tri-State Tollway on the way home.
The final count on decisions for Christ total 261 which is almost a hundred more than last year.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Flood Relief Becomes New Part of Mission Trip
On June 28, a devastating series of flash floods caused by a foot of rain in southwestern Ukraine killed 30, including 6 six children, while damaging more than 40,000 homes.
This clip from Ukrainian TV shows just part of problem.
The Baptist churches in Chernivtsi have been putting together sacks of staples - oil, water, salt, sugar, buckwheat, pasta and cornmeal to distribute in some of the villages. I know Bob went out one day to help distribute and I went out with the youth on Tuesday to Gorcha (sp?).
The town isn't even on a river. Crab Orchard Creek has a stronger flow, but unlike our creeks, this one was in a deep ravine which wrapped around the city on three sides. The flood waters hit the homes we visited not from the river side, but from the town side before rejoining the main channel.
The water lines were five and six feet deep on some of the houses we visited dropping off food and talking and praying with the residents. Most of the houses were masonry construction so the walls are still good, but the floors have to be taken out and the dirt underneath dried. Inside the plaster has to be re-done, but the furniture and electronics are usually totally destroyed.
Some of the people we talked to had just 15 minutes warning as the waters rose so quickly. Others had no warning since the flash floods took place at night. One elderly couple told us they were in the water for more than five hours.
According to news accounts (and the Ukrainiana Blog), flood waters damaged 40,601 homes, 360 vehicular bridges, 561 pedestrian bridges, 423 miles of roads and 83,724 of farmland.
This clip from Ukrainian TV shows just part of problem.
The Baptist churches in Chernivtsi have been putting together sacks of staples - oil, water, salt, sugar, buckwheat, pasta and cornmeal to distribute in some of the villages. I know Bob went out one day to help distribute and I went out with the youth on Tuesday to Gorcha (sp?).
The town isn't even on a river. Crab Orchard Creek has a stronger flow, but unlike our creeks, this one was in a deep ravine which wrapped around the city on three sides. The flood waters hit the homes we visited not from the river side, but from the town side before rejoining the main channel.
The water lines were five and six feet deep on some of the houses we visited dropping off food and talking and praying with the residents. Most of the houses were masonry construction so the walls are still good, but the floors have to be taken out and the dirt underneath dried. Inside the plaster has to be re-done, but the furniture and electronics are usually totally destroyed.
Some of the people we talked to had just 15 minutes warning as the waters rose so quickly. Others had no warning since the flash floods took place at night. One elderly couple told us they were in the water for more than five hours.
According to news accounts (and the Ukrainiana Blog), flood waters damaged 40,601 homes, 360 vehicular bridges, 561 pedestrian bridges, 423 miles of roads and 83,724 of farmland.
Baby Benjamin and Bob
There's a particular "Baby Benjamin" that stole the hearts of Bob, Oleta and Darek at different times. Born with spina bifida, Benjamin wasn't expected to live but has now for two years. Although paralyzed in his legs and deaf without hearing aids, Bob had both Sandy and Darek with their medical training (Sandy's a nurse and Darek is a physical therapist) look at the boy and the paperwork the mother had from the doctors to see if there was anything American medical technology or practices might help.
The mother had heard about a cochlear implant to help her son's hearing. The consensus seems to be that would help, but the issue is how to get the boy to America for such an operation. A wheelchair would also help, but even in America that would come until he was three or four.
Sandy says the boy is definitely taken with Bob, and as we've heard Bob talk about him enough, he's taken with the boy as well.
The mother had heard about a cochlear implant to help her son's hearing. The consensus seems to be that would help, but the issue is how to get the boy to America for such an operation. A wheelchair would also help, but even in America that would come until he was three or four.
Sandy says the boy is definitely taken with Bob, and as we've heard Bob talk about him enough, he's taken with the boy as well.
More Than 200 Decisions for Christ
Today was our last day in Chernivtsi. For the first time in a week, all of us finally made it to the same building at the same time for a farewell meal and to find out what's been happening with the different teams.
Before the meal Brother Bob told me we had more than 200 decisions made for Christ this week with Bettie D. and Larry's team that stayed in one of the villages harvesting the most. I hadn't seen either one of them since last Friday. Both looked tired, but pleased with the results.
Most of us spent more time though planting seeds. The youth team visited six different camps in the past week. Betty M., Oleta and Sandy all at different times visited facilities for the deaf, a rehab center for alcoholics as well as the city hospital.
Almost every team has spent at least some of the time in the villages.
Tomorrow we leave Chernivtsi around 10:30 a.m. and ride to Lviv by charter bus. We'll fly out of Lviv for Warsaw on Saturday and from there to Chicago on Sunday.
Before the meal Brother Bob told me we had more than 200 decisions made for Christ this week with Bettie D. and Larry's team that stayed in one of the villages harvesting the most. I hadn't seen either one of them since last Friday. Both looked tired, but pleased with the results.
Most of us spent more time though planting seeds. The youth team visited six different camps in the past week. Betty M., Oleta and Sandy all at different times visited facilities for the deaf, a rehab center for alcoholics as well as the city hospital.
Almost every team has spent at least some of the time in the villages.
Tomorrow we leave Chernivtsi around 10:30 a.m. and ride to Lviv by charter bus. We'll fly out of Lviv for Warsaw on Saturday and from there to Chicago on Sunday.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Decisions Increase to at Least 28
I've asked the other members of the mission team to provide me some written updates about what they are doing. As I get them I will post them.
Bettie D., from Second Baptist and Larry from Andalusia are out in the villages. I haven't actually seen them since Friday. The latest word from them is that six were saved on Saturday.
Oleta and Betty M. from Marion are together and seem to be mostly working with groups that are meeting in houses. Six were saved on Sunday and another two yesterday.
Ron Ellis has been shooting pictures galore. I hope to get some posted in the next few days. He had two saved yesterday.
Bob Wagner had one saved over the weekend and helped take relief supplies yesterday to some villages here in the oblast that suffered major flooding on June 28.
Until next time, keep us in your prayers.
Bettie D., from Second Baptist and Larry from Andalusia are out in the villages. I haven't actually seen them since Friday. The latest word from them is that six were saved on Saturday.
Oleta and Betty M. from Marion are together and seem to be mostly working with groups that are meeting in houses. Six were saved on Sunday and another two yesterday.
Ron Ellis has been shooting pictures galore. I hope to get some posted in the next few days. He had two saved yesterday.
Bob Wagner had one saved over the weekend and helped take relief supplies yesterday to some villages here in the oblast that suffered major flooding on June 28.
Until next time, keep us in your prayers.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
At Least 10 Decisions for Christ So Far
I think I'm working on about eight hours of sleep over the last two nights so this won't be long. While most of our group went out to the main camp Saturday for a baptism and a celebration of the camp's 10th anniversary, I found myself detached from the youth delegation and assigned to visit two Romanian ethnic villages still in the Chernivtsi oblast (state).
As a last minute change there was the usual mix-ups on times, who exactly was going and what exactly I would be doing. I had even stayed up to after 3 a.m. working on a sermon that I thought I was going to have to preach on Saturday. In the end I didn't need it.
The group ended up to be me; Nicoli, a Romanian preacher who helps organize evangelical crusades throughout the old Soviet Union; and my interpreter Olga, who teaches English at one of the Christian schools in Chernivtsi.
We arrived in Scherbintsy about 10:30 a.m. It's a tiny village that was too small to even show up on national map of Ukraine. We met up with the local pastor and made two visits as well as a man walking down the road. The streets in this village are beyond bad. Drivers endanger their cars by even attempting to travel them. The women at each house prayed and accepted Jesus. Keep Alexandra and Valentina in your prayers.
Later that afternoon we traveled to another village, Koteleve. This one was a bit larger, about 3,000 people and better creek-graveled streets actually laid out in a grid for the most part.
There we met with a man named Ian who was paralyzed after falling from the roof of his house. He had been visited before by others and while willing to listen wasn't ready to make any decisions. His wife has divorced him and taken custody of his children. Definitely keep in him your prayers. He's 38 and as far as he is concerned, his life is ruined.
Afterwards we met a social worker who belongs to the local Baptist Church. She wanted us to visit an elderly lady born in 1933 (sorry for anyone born that year that doesn't consider one's self to be elderly, this lady was). Her name was Maria and she took care of her mentally handicapped teen-age niece and nephew. She had nearly nothing in terms of earthly possessions but she loved God and the relatives in her care. She too accepted Jesus in her heart.
After Maria we went to visit the social worker's sister's family. They were Orthodox, strongly opinionated in the case of her nephew who taught at the finance and business institute in Chernivtsi. The two of them got into a loud discussion that even without the translator, was clear that it had started long ago, and this was just the latest on the subject of religion.
After he got up and left I tried to explain some things, both historical and Biblical, but the social worker kept interrupting usually with the thought on a totally different tangent. Afterwards, Olga told me she was ready to throw up her hands and quit, the woman was speaking so far and changing subjects almost as quickly. The social worker is a strong Christian, but when it comes to witnessing to her immediately family the battle lines have been set in stone. The rest of the family listened and responded well, but they never made a decision.
Today, I went back to Koteleve, and preached and sang at the local Baptist Church which had about two dozen in attendance. The service lasted a good two hours.
After the service and a quick snack at the church we went to the house of Vasily and Maria Lysak, an elderly couple unable to attend church due to their health and physical condition. Vasily is a former pastor. The deacon who went with us encouraged me to tell about my sermon, so I gave a shorted bare-bones version, which was about the thief on the cross (my solo is also the song "Thief" made popular by Third Day).
He had tears in his eyes throughout the visit and was so happy that he had visitors, particularly one from America who wanted to talk about Jesus.
Next we visited a couple where the man was suffering from cancer. Both were Orthodox. They understood and agreed with everything, but did not pray for salvation.
The next couple was an older couple, both suffering from physical ailments. Their names are Gregory and Yevgenia. Both were saved. Pray for them.
After the third visit we returned to the church for lunch - a vinegar-based slaw with cucumbers and tomatoes along with stewed potatoes. With the meal finished I got a chance to answer some questions from the Pastor Petro Dzetaryk, deacon Vitaly Kishlar and the local coordinator Oleg Lamba.
After lunch I thought we were finished because only three names or addresses had been mentioned when requests were made at the end of the morning service. It turns out the pastor had two more spots in mind — the homes of two of his sons, both who had grown up in and around the church, but neither had made a profession of faith.
At the first house we met with son Ivan and his wife Marina. Another brother Yuri also arrived early on and sat and listened. I told the story of how my father wanted me to play basketball, and asked me one time why I didn't practice. While I don't actually remember saying this, he repeatedly claimed later that I said I didn't wanted to play basketball because he wanted me to play basketball. I thought that maybe some of the reluctance by the preacher's son, was in part simply due to the fact that his father was a preacher.
Whatever I said and Olga translated managed to get through. With the Holy Spirit encouraging them, all three prayed for forgiveness and to ask Jesus to be their lord and Savior.
Then we went next door and spoke to another one of the brothers, Petro and his wife Natasha, along with another neighbor Raisa. There all three made decisions for Christ.
With just three minutes until the evening service was to start, we left in the preacher's car for the church. Since the service can't start until the preacher arrives, we weren't technically late. I played and sang my new song, No Matter What Happens, and then found out I was definitely supposed to preach. I started with the barest notes of a sermon I had started a couple of months ago and ended up preaching on Psalms 118.
Overall it was a good day and I'm exhausted. Others are beginning to return back to the hotel. As I get updates and time to get to the computer I will add them. Mom and Oleta's interpreter Wally blew out a tire tonight while they were coming back to the city. He hit a pothole. They had a good day as well.
As a last minute change there was the usual mix-ups on times, who exactly was going and what exactly I would be doing. I had even stayed up to after 3 a.m. working on a sermon that I thought I was going to have to preach on Saturday. In the end I didn't need it.
The group ended up to be me; Nicoli, a Romanian preacher who helps organize evangelical crusades throughout the old Soviet Union; and my interpreter Olga, who teaches English at one of the Christian schools in Chernivtsi.
We arrived in Scherbintsy about 10:30 a.m. It's a tiny village that was too small to even show up on national map of Ukraine. We met up with the local pastor and made two visits as well as a man walking down the road. The streets in this village are beyond bad. Drivers endanger their cars by even attempting to travel them. The women at each house prayed and accepted Jesus. Keep Alexandra and Valentina in your prayers.
Later that afternoon we traveled to another village, Koteleve. This one was a bit larger, about 3,000 people and better creek-graveled streets actually laid out in a grid for the most part.
There we met with a man named Ian who was paralyzed after falling from the roof of his house. He had been visited before by others and while willing to listen wasn't ready to make any decisions. His wife has divorced him and taken custody of his children. Definitely keep in him your prayers. He's 38 and as far as he is concerned, his life is ruined.
Afterwards we met a social worker who belongs to the local Baptist Church. She wanted us to visit an elderly lady born in 1933 (sorry for anyone born that year that doesn't consider one's self to be elderly, this lady was). Her name was Maria and she took care of her mentally handicapped teen-age niece and nephew. She had nearly nothing in terms of earthly possessions but she loved God and the relatives in her care. She too accepted Jesus in her heart.
After Maria we went to visit the social worker's sister's family. They were Orthodox, strongly opinionated in the case of her nephew who taught at the finance and business institute in Chernivtsi. The two of them got into a loud discussion that even without the translator, was clear that it had started long ago, and this was just the latest on the subject of religion.
After he got up and left I tried to explain some things, both historical and Biblical, but the social worker kept interrupting usually with the thought on a totally different tangent. Afterwards, Olga told me she was ready to throw up her hands and quit, the woman was speaking so far and changing subjects almost as quickly. The social worker is a strong Christian, but when it comes to witnessing to her immediately family the battle lines have been set in stone. The rest of the family listened and responded well, but they never made a decision.
Today, I went back to Koteleve, and preached and sang at the local Baptist Church which had about two dozen in attendance. The service lasted a good two hours.
After the service and a quick snack at the church we went to the house of Vasily and Maria Lysak, an elderly couple unable to attend church due to their health and physical condition. Vasily is a former pastor. The deacon who went with us encouraged me to tell about my sermon, so I gave a shorted bare-bones version, which was about the thief on the cross (my solo is also the song "Thief" made popular by Third Day).
He had tears in his eyes throughout the visit and was so happy that he had visitors, particularly one from America who wanted to talk about Jesus.
Next we visited a couple where the man was suffering from cancer. Both were Orthodox. They understood and agreed with everything, but did not pray for salvation.
The next couple was an older couple, both suffering from physical ailments. Their names are Gregory and Yevgenia. Both were saved. Pray for them.
After the third visit we returned to the church for lunch - a vinegar-based slaw with cucumbers and tomatoes along with stewed potatoes. With the meal finished I got a chance to answer some questions from the Pastor Petro Dzetaryk, deacon Vitaly Kishlar and the local coordinator Oleg Lamba.
After lunch I thought we were finished because only three names or addresses had been mentioned when requests were made at the end of the morning service. It turns out the pastor had two more spots in mind — the homes of two of his sons, both who had grown up in and around the church, but neither had made a profession of faith.
At the first house we met with son Ivan and his wife Marina. Another brother Yuri also arrived early on and sat and listened. I told the story of how my father wanted me to play basketball, and asked me one time why I didn't practice. While I don't actually remember saying this, he repeatedly claimed later that I said I didn't wanted to play basketball because he wanted me to play basketball. I thought that maybe some of the reluctance by the preacher's son, was in part simply due to the fact that his father was a preacher.
Whatever I said and Olga translated managed to get through. With the Holy Spirit encouraging them, all three prayed for forgiveness and to ask Jesus to be their lord and Savior.
Then we went next door and spoke to another one of the brothers, Petro and his wife Natasha, along with another neighbor Raisa. There all three made decisions for Christ.
With just three minutes until the evening service was to start, we left in the preacher's car for the church. Since the service can't start until the preacher arrives, we weren't technically late. I played and sang my new song, No Matter What Happens, and then found out I was definitely supposed to preach. I started with the barest notes of a sermon I had started a couple of months ago and ended up preaching on Psalms 118.
Overall it was a good day and I'm exhausted. Others are beginning to return back to the hotel. As I get updates and time to get to the computer I will add them. Mom and Oleta's interpreter Wally blew out a tire tonight while they were coming back to the city. He hit a pothole. They had a good day as well.
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Second Baptist Group Ready to Leave
Got to go. Bye.
Hour To Boarding
Only problems so far is my camera stopped working sometime between yesterday afternoon and today. It was only two weeks old.
Our flight LO2 is scheduled to take off at 5:25 p.m. and arrived local time in Warsas at 9:50 a.m. The overall flight goes 9 hours 25 minutes on a Boeing 767-300/300ER aircraft. We cross seven time zones to Poland.
We take LO765 out of Warsaw at 11:50 a.m. tomorrow to Lviv, Ukraine. That flight is just an hour long, and lands at 1:50 p.m. in Ukraine. We add another time zone on that flight.
Click on the following link to check our flight status. Track Flight Status for (LO2) Polskie Linie Lotnicze 2
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Today's The Day
The Second Baptist Bus rolls out at 1 p.m. this afternoon on the first leg of the 2010 Ukraine Mission Trip. There's eight of us from Second going. We'll pick up another four from First Baptist Du Quoin up in West City. Our goal today is Monee, Illinois, just outside the Chicago metro area.
Tomorrow we'll meet three others at O'Hare before we fly to Warsaw.
The picture by the way is Sandy Gibbons, one of the first-timers going this year. Her husband seems to think she has no sense of humor. She was just giddy with excitement Sunday morning when I tried to get a photo for her testimony handout.
I obviously couldn't use this one on that, but it was too good to not use at all.
Monday, July 05, 2010
Forecast Good for Travel This Week
Let's pray the church bus air conditioning continues to work over the next couple of days. It worked last week for the youth going to New Camp in Tennessee.
Hot humid weather is forecast for Illinois Tuesday and Wednesday with a chance of thunderstorms Wednesday. However, skies are supposed to be just mostly cloudy when we're scheduled to fly out of Chicago O'Hare.
As far as our flights Thursday, we scheduled to land in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday morning. The forecast there is for clear skies all day. Another flight takes us to Lviv, Ukraine, that afternoon where we should avoid the "morning shower in spots" that's forecast.
From there we take a bus to Chernivtsi. It's supposed to rain there the next few days but end with "a thunderstorm in the afternoon" on Thursday when we're on the bus. That's about the same weather as we had two years ago.
And after spending spending a week sweating buckets at New Camp where it seem to stay in the high 90s most of the time, it's going to be so nice to go someplace where the high Thursday is supposed to be just 70.
On our full day of rest Friday it's just supposed to be 76. It will warm up to the low to mid 80s by Sunday with lows at night in the 60s. That weather pattern should continue throughout next week.
The next chance of rain is Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Hot humid weather is forecast for Illinois Tuesday and Wednesday with a chance of thunderstorms Wednesday. However, skies are supposed to be just mostly cloudy when we're scheduled to fly out of Chicago O'Hare.
As far as our flights Thursday, we scheduled to land in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday morning. The forecast there is for clear skies all day. Another flight takes us to Lviv, Ukraine, that afternoon where we should avoid the "morning shower in spots" that's forecast.
From there we take a bus to Chernivtsi. It's supposed to rain there the next few days but end with "a thunderstorm in the afternoon" on Thursday when we're on the bus. That's about the same weather as we had two years ago.
And after spending spending a week sweating buckets at New Camp where it seem to stay in the high 90s most of the time, it's going to be so nice to go someplace where the high Thursday is supposed to be just 70.
On our full day of rest Friday it's just supposed to be 76. It will warm up to the low to mid 80s by Sunday with lows at night in the 60s. That weather pattern should continue throughout next week.
The next chance of rain is Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
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