Thoughts from Oleta and Bettie

We're still here in the airport, so here's some stories from Oleta about her experiences here in Ukraine on this trip.

The most wonderful thing if I had to pick one would be the night that we went to a large pizza restaurant. The people were sitting all outside with the umbrella tables. I asked Wally if the meeting was going to be outside. He said, no, the meeting was inside. We walked in and it was a large restaurant full of people. He said we are going to the back room. They had a large room in the back and had accordian doors. We walked through them and the room was just full of people, four or five children and about 50 or 60 adults.

I sat down and Wally said it was time for me to speak. So I started out by telling them I wanted to tell them about Jesus and how he has changed my life. I told them that God had sent us to tell them how much he loves them, and that he has provided a way so they can know for sure exactly where they will go when they die. I told them how He has prepared a place for us and there is only one way we can go there. In Ephesians it tells us that in Him we have redemption through His blood, and if we will accept Him He promises us to come in. He made it simply enough for a child to understand. We must invite Him in, otherwise He will not come in.

The next step is to turn and to go His way because turn means to repent and to not go the way we were going ever again. And I asked them to please do no say this prayer unless you mean it with all your heart. Then I asked them if they went to sleep tonight and if didn't wake up where they would be. Many of them began to cry. They all repented except their Christian friends who had brought then. That was the most special meeting for me.

That night about 15 decisions was made. During the days that we were here I had 41 people make decisions for Christ.

Here's Bettie's message.

I just want to say the most important thing to me is knowing God and loving Him. I came to the Ukraine because I love the Lord so much I want to share that love with everyone that crosses my path. I worked with Larry and he and I both prayed before we came that God would send people across our path that God would want us to share His love. God did send many people across our path. Many people came to know Christ through this message. After all we came to do the will of the Father and by doing the will of the Father many people were saved.

God led us to people of all backgrounds, to the Orthodox faith to the little children, to those who never heard about Jesus, and we shared the simple message that Christ died on the Cross and rose in three days and is alive to give us eternal life also. We shared with them that the shedding of his blood covered all of our sins, and that His price was the only way to get to Heaven and have life eternal.

One of my favorite encounters was when Larry and I was invited into a home where the lady as Orthodox faith. We shared the greatest story ever told about Jesus who died for her, and she started to cry. I went over to her and got on my knees and took her hand, and wiped away the tears. I asked her if she would like this free gift of salvation offered by Jesus. I told her it was like someone giving us a gift wrapped with a beautiful ribbon and if we refused to take that gift it would break the person's heart who was offering it to them. I asked her if she wanted to repeat the simple prayer to ask Jesus into her heart and to know that she would go into Heaven when she died. She said 'da' or yes. She repeated the prayer after us and we rejoiced. She thanked God for saving her soul.

We shared with her that the only time angels rejoice in Heaven is when one soul comes to know Jesus, and to always remember that Jesus is in her heart and would be with her until the very end, to strengthen her, to encourage her and to comfort her broken heart when it was broken and to guide her in everything every day. All she had to do was ask Him.

Then Larry and I went to our favorite pupil to share this love with, and those are the little children of the churches and had invited all of her friends. We shared the salvation bracelets and the story of Jesus loving them. Their little eyes just sparkled. We asked them if they would like to receive Jesus today. It was with a simple prayer, acknowledging that each one was sinners and believing that Jesus had died for them, shedding his blood, and just confessing with their little mouth and believing with their heart that He would save them and they would have eternal life in Heaven and also He would be with them in this life on earth. Many of the little children came to know Christ that day, and their parents were their to listen. You could see the joy on their parents' faces as the little children became believers.

The trip was wonderful. We had gone to lift up the name of Jesus because the Bible says if we lift His name up we will draw all men to Himself. He kept his promises becauase many women, men and little children came to know Christ. We are on our way home wishing that we had been able to reach more souls, but Jesus is saying to my spirit, your mission is completed, you have seen everyone I intented for your team to see and now it's time to go home. And now it's time to continue spreading the gospel among your own people. You do this by dying to self and asking the Spirit to walk through you. Just be and let Jesus say the words along with the Holy Spirit and God's will be done.

I love you all.

They've begun boarding so it's time to go.