Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Some things about Ukraine I've noticed

Any time I meet a new person, either at church or our in public and they find out I'm an American, they immediately start asking me questions.  I think the top 2 questions I get asked are:

- What is strange for you here?
- Why did you come to Ukraine?

Both of these questions reveal they people's shock that I choose to come and live here.
When I was asked the first question it was hard to think of an answer.  What is really strange for me here?

Well, after living here for 5 weeks now, I've come to a few ideas of things that are out of the usual for me.  Not bad, just different.  Some of them are quite funny, at least I think so :)

1. Public transportation in Ukraine:

a. The cheapest, fastest and cleanest way to get around is by the metro.  The metro is one of the best and easiest to use systems in Europe.  Here's a few pictures:

Here's a map of the metro stations.
 Here's a typical picture of what the metro looks like here in Kiev.

I experience peak rush hour yesterday in the metro, where we are literally going at a snail's pace.


b.  The Marshutka

This is probably the worst way to get around because of the bad condition of the road surfaces, really dangerous drivers around the bus, potential to ride with an intoxicated bus driver, the bus itself is really old and usually hot, it's usually too crowded to sit down, and the cost is usually more expensive than the metro and you travel much shorter distances.



One day last week I traveled to Oles's home to care for him when he was really sick.  So the only way to get to that region of Kiev is by bus.  Well, the first bus didn't even stop for me, so I waited for the second bus and barely squeezed on.  We were packed in like sardines!  Instead of being frustrated I just laughed to myself and thanked God that nobody around me smelled like B.O. lol.  The bus ride was 40 minutes, and about   of them I spent packed in around other people.  It was a first time experience for me!

c. Train
I have yet to really ride the real trains here in Ukraine, because I haven't travelled outside of the city by train yet.  Most people who travel within and outside of Ukraine take the trains.  I hear they are not very comfortable and very crowded, but maybe I'll get the chance to go sometime in the future!  These are the kind of trains you can actually sleep on!




2. Food products: 
"Yep, I'm in Ukraine" - this is the thought that goes through my head sometimes when I see something really different than I'm used to.

As far as food products go, the cheaper the product, the worse the quality is.  This would include milk, butter and all kind of packaged products.

a. Milk - It was surprising to me to hear that because Ukrainian farming has been on the decline there are not enough cows to meet the demand for milk.  Thus, all milk is imported in powder form from China and rehydrated here and sold as liquid milk!  When I found this out, I thought "I knew there was something strange about this milk!"  Milk smells and tastes really strange here, so since it comes from the powder form, that explains everything! (I'm a Registered Dietitian, so I know about food :)

You see those colorful bags at the bottom shelf?  That's bagged milk!  I never heard of such a thing! lol


b. Butter - In America we only have 3 main types: Margarine (which isn't butter), salted and unsalted butter.  In Ukraine they have every percentage of butter you can think of from 56% butter to 82.6% butter.  So needless to say I stood in front of the butter isle for 15 minutes trying to figure out which one to buy based on price and percentage.  Generally I buy the more expensive, high percentage one, (which is only $1.25 for 200 grams).  At least if I go that way I'm more likely to get a better product.



c. Yogurt products - They have more yogurt and yogurt-like products here than I have heard of in my life.  They also have things like Kefir and drinkable yogurt, but some things I've tried tasted like liquid cheese or really sour milk. :P  Fortunately, I found one drinkable yogurt I like, so I stick to that one.




d. There's no peanut butter here!  This speaks for itself, and is slightly sad, so I guess I'll have to learn to live without it!



e. Coffee - You can tell that Ukrainians are a tired people by how many coffee shops and "coffee carts" are all over the city.  It's just like in America where you have a Starbucks on every corner.  By the way there's no Starbucks in Ukraine at all!  So that means no pumpkin spice lattes for me this fall!

Here's a typical coffee cart - you can get a good latte for about $1-2 here depending on where you are in the city :)



Kofe House - "кофе хауз" - A common coffee shop in Kiev


There's other things that are different for me, like all the poor people everywhere (especially elderly people).  Ukraine does not have a social security system like we have in America, so most of these people are fired from their jobs when they get too old and end up begging on the streets.  It's a very sad reality.

There's also stray dogs and cats everywhere, which is really unusual, but you get used to seeing them all the time, and they are pretty harmless.

It's funny that the weather here is almost exactly like Blacksburg weather: unpredictable, really strong winds that come from nowhere, etc...If you're a Hokie, you know what I'm talking about! ;)


SO...the next question is always: why did you decide to come to Ukraine?
People just don;t seem to understand why I would move to a place that is less comfortable, and especially when I don't know Russian or have any family here.  I tell them:  It was God's will for my life.  I came here once before to serve the orphans and knew it was His will, after 6 months of praying, for me to return, and hopefully long-term :)

There's many strange things about Ukraine, but I really love it here, and it already feels like home!

The most important thing for me to remember is that God brought me here and He has total control over my life.  He will equip me with every tool I need to live in this new culture and to do ministry here.  I try to think about everything as a new experience and a new opportunity for God to teach me something, and help me trust Him more :)

Even though everything around me is different, there's constant stress from the environment and it's easy to get discouraged, I remember a few things:

Hebrews 13:8 
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."


Deuteronomy 28:1-68
"And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. .."



Romans 15:13
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

So far God has helped me to enhance my trust in Him, and abound in the hope that He is working all things around me for my good!

Thanks for reading, ministry updates to come soon!


Friday, August 24, 2012

Sufferings

One of the most famous and most quoted scripture is Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

I have found this verse extremely comforting, especially in suffering, because it is a promise.  It is a promise that God can work ALL things for our good.  "All things" includes the good things and the very bad things.  God has the power and He will work even our greatest sufferings for our GOOD!

Right now in our church, a godly wife and mother may have cancer, and death could be a very real thing for her.  In addition, one of the godly families in our church had a miscarriage.

When I learned about these sufferings, I immediately went into prayer for these families.  I was hurting for them both, so I prayed for comfort, but above all I prayed that they would see that God works all things for their good, because they love Him.

I am realizing more than ever, how suffering is a great faith builder.  This is probably one of the reasons why Jesus said "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Jesus told us we would experience tribulation, and we would suffer.  But we can have peace in Him, and we can trust Him, because He has already overcome the world through the cross and His resurrection!

How trustworthy is our Lord!  How great is our God, that He can use even the worst things in this world to help us grow closer to Him!

Peter also said that "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." 1 Peter 5:10

What a beautiful promise from God! When we suffer, it can feel like the suffering will never end.  But God gave us this promise, that in comparison to eternity, we will only suffer a "little while".  And whether or not God delivers us from our suffering before we die, or through death, we will no longer suffer once we are reunited with Christ! For in Revelation it says "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev 21:4)

We can be assured that not only does God work all our sufferings for our good during this lifetime, but that He will remove our sufferings from us in Heaven.  He will wipe every tear from our eyes, restore, confirm, strengthen and establish us for an eternity with Him!

I am continuing in prayer for the families in our church that are suffering right now.  I will continue to pray that God will be all comforting to them and that through all this they will continue to trust in Him alone.  Please join me in this prayer for all believers who are suffering right now, and that in the future when we all suffer, that God will be our source of joy, comfort, strength and hope.

To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Monday, August 20, 2012

God is Sovereign

I am now reading in the book of Daniel, and particularly, I have been meditating on the Sovereignty of God in regards to my ministry here in Ukraine.  One chapter especially made me think about this.

In chapter 4, Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar's dream about the large tree that was cut down.


24 “This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king:25 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenchedwith the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. 26 The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. 27 Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue. 

28 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the gloryof my majesty?”
31 Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.”
33 Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.
His dominion is an eternal dominion;

    his kingdom endures from generation to generation. 
35 
All the peoples of the earth
    are regarded as nothing. 
He does as he pleases 
    with the powers of heaven
    and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand 
    or say to him: “What have you done?”
36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before.37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. 


When I read this I was amazed that the king was so proud that it took 7 years of suffering and insanity for him to acknowledge that God is the most high God and He is almighty, giving power to who He wishes to give power to.  I payed special attention to verse 37 "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble."

Sometimes, it seems that God allows prideful people to walk around on the earth and do what they please, doing all kinds of evil.  Because of this the children of God may look to their father and say "Please God, humble them so that they may know you!"  I have asked God this question many times about people who I've spoken the Gospel to, yet seen no response in their hearts.

Something this situation in Daniel reminds me of is that God is sovereign.  He has the choice and free will to do as He pleases with anyone.  He chose to let Nebuchadnezzar rule over all the people until one day in the perfect timing, God drive him to insanity for the perfect amount of time it would take for Nebuchadnezzar to come before God, humbled.

"Those who walk in pride, He is able to humble"   God can, and He will (eventually) humble all people before Him.   Romans 14:11 "For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”"

There will be a day when every single person on the earth will know and admit that God is God.  Until then, God will choose who He wishes to humble.  This is indeed even humbling tfor me to hear this!  Only God has the power to change hearts, I don't.  If God allows me to, I can be used as an instrument of His work.  In ministry this is a really good thing for me to remember; God has control, He will choose who He wishes to bring before Him in repentance, so I have no need to worry about whether people will repent or not, God already knows.

Something else that is relevant that I remember: Isaiah 55:10-11

"As the rain and the snow

    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish, 
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 
11 
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty, 
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."


What have I concluded from all this scripture and studying?
God is sovereign, and He will humble who He chooses to humble for now.  I am only a tool, and I should expect that God will do what He plans with my ministry, and not worry about the results.  God will take care of everything, in the right time.




Thursday, August 16, 2012

Introversion discovered

If there's one thing about my personality that I've realized since I've been here in Ukraine it is that I have become an introvert.  

The perfect example was this past Sunday when I went with a large group of mostly Russian speakers to the river after church.  For the most part they are just like my friends in the states, they have fun in the same way and interact in a similar way with each other.  However, the biggest difference here is just the language.  There's quite a few English speakers in the church but the group I ended up hanging out with after church turned out to be mostly Russian speaking that day.

What I've realized is this: It's hard for me to initiate conversation with anyone who doesn't speak English.  I just don't know what to say sometimes!  It's so strange, because in the states I would consider myself an extrovert by nature!  I love being with people, and I really don't like to be alone most of the time, but for some reason, the Russian company here just doesn't stimulate my extroversion.

Another example (that actually is pretty typical of me here): Last night after Home group, I traveled back with Oles and our friend, who only speaks Russian.  He was using Oles as a translator, and he was initiating all the conversation.  After about 10 minutes Oles said to me "He's trying to talk with you, maybe you could ask him something too?"  I was a little surprised, thinking "Oh, man, what am I supposed to say?"  I thought for a minute and came up with a question for him, which kept the conversation rolling.  I'm glad Oles prompted me to ask some questions in response, because I might not have thought to do it on my own, and our conversation might not have been as fruitful as it was!

I think this introversion may just be a part of the transitional period as I get used to being surrounded by a foreign language.  I certainly hope so, because once we start the English clubs for non-believers, I'll be in charge of starting conversation and leading the students in a conversational topic to learn English!

On Monday I met with a missionary family who has lived here in Ukraine for 7 years (they are from Texas).  They said, if I am an introvert, that's a good thing, because they tend to become less frustrated and do better in the long-term with the language barrier.  That's based on their experience and what they have seen in other people here from the states.

But aside from my introversion, I'm not worried about it, and I'm not worried about anything to be more specific!  God has been very faithful throughout time providing for His children's needs, and I know He'll provide me just what I need in ministry here too!  I believe and hope in His future grace in my life and that's all I really need!

Philippians 4:19 "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

I will start teaching English soon, so stay tuned!! :)




Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Stories of some of the orphans

Vorzel, Ukraine is one of the hundreds of places in Ukraine where there is a orphanage.  Vorzel is about an hour outside of the center of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine.  Most orphanages in Ukraine are not as good as this orphanage.  The reasons seem to stem all from God's grace on this orphanage.

Almaz, an evangelical Christian church in Kiev, is the church who spearhead the ministry to the orphans at Vorzel.  The church has cared for these orphans for the many years now and God has provided volunteers from Ukraine and many places in the US to come to Vorzel and minister to the orphans and caregivers through construction projects, playing with the kids, and showing them the love of Christ.  Over the last year, most of the children (who can read) have received a children's Bible.  Every summer our team from Virginia Tech comes to Ukraine to care for the orphans.  This trip last year was my first trip to Ukraine.  Now, I'm here for the second time, and I'm hoping to stay for as long as God wants me to stay here!  I know for now it is 3 months, and I pray that if God is willing He will enable me to stay longer to continue working here in Ukraine.

The last two weeks in Vorzel were a wonderful way to start ministry here in Ukraine.  This year there were many different children than last year, so it was exciting to meet them and be able to minister to a new group of kids (and exciting that some of the kids from last year are now adopted).  On the other hand, it's also a little sad, that there are so many new orphans.  Some of the kids are perfectly healthy and beautiful, and it's hard to imagine how any parent could give up such a child.  Sometimes my heart just breaks for these children, because I know that these years may be the only happiest years of their whole lives.  Life is very hard for orphans in Ukraine and the system works against their integration into normal society once they get older.  The boarding schools the kids go to after the orphanage are tough places, where some kids never make it out alive.  Once they turn 18 they are turned out of the schools, left to be on their own, with no knowledge of how to function in Ukrainian culture and society.  This is why so many of them turn to drugs, gangs, crime, prostitution or other avenues.  For these children it will take God's grace to make any changes in their lives, and to give them a hope for the future (spiritually and physically here in the earth)

Here are a few stories of the kids at the orphanage:

Lierra (Pronounced Lerra)
This little girl is about 2-2.5 years old.  She doesn't talk much, but she is really easy to communicate with.  She is always smiling and always running around finding a new place to play.  She's pretty easy to entertain and I even was able to teach her (and also another little girl, Sabrina) some English words like up and down.  If I had the opportunity to adopt her and her brother, I would, if God blessed me to do so.



Nikita
Lierra's brother, and he has a fiery, adventurous personality.  We believe they probably came from different dad's since they don't look alike at all.  He's always running around doing something that boys like to do.  He loves riding on a bike, now that we finished the sidewalk for them to ride on.


Nina
Nina is the middle sister of three sisters (Nadia, Nina and Oksana).  She was at the orphanage last year with her two sisters.  Now Nadia is gone, because her mother took her back home.  Unfortunately, w=from what we hear, Nadia is not living in the best conditions even though she is with her mom.  Please pray for her protection and for God's care.  Nadia, Nina and Oksana were all at the orphanage because their mom has 8 children and they are the youngest ones, that she could not afford to care for.  Because they still have a mom who has parental rights, they can not be adopted, even though they are technically orphans.
Nina is a really sweet girl, and like to do things that little girls typically do.  She has a girlfriend at the orphanage, Karina, and Nina loves taking pictures.  This year she even developed a crush on one of the guys from the Almaz team.  It was kind of cute.  Nina also remembered me from last year, which was surprising, but exciting at the same time.

Oksana 
She is the youngest of the three sisters.  She is quiet and really sweet.  She doesn't fight as much as some of the other kids do and she is in general a pretty happy child.  She likes to blow bubbles and put on lip gloss (that one guy on our team brought for her)

There were 4 kids at the orphanage that are siblings from the same family.  This is usually uncommon to see so many kids come from the same family.  Their story is sad, but paints a real picture of things that happen in this world.  They had a family up until their dad died in a car accident.  When their dad died, their mom could no longer afford to care for them, and so she was forced to give them up (likely because of financial reasons).  People generally struggle to make it by in Ukraine because jobs are scarce, pay is low, and the cost of living is high, especially in the cities like Kiev. Below are the pictures of the 4 kids.

Sasha and the smallest brother, Stopa (from the 4 siblings)
Sasha is probably the oldest of the four siblings, which is why he seems to be the most responsible one. He especially looks after his smallest brother, Stopa.  Sasha knows some English and understands us sometimes when we talk to him in English and broken Russian.  Sasha and Justin made a great bond with Seth from our team, the son of Jim Pace (Our VT team's pastor).  



Justin, one of the older brothers of the 4 siblings
He has an immense heart and is a hard worker.  The whole 2 weeks while we did construction, he wanted to help in any way he could.  He a small guy, so there wasn't much for him to really help with, but almost every day the guys on our team graciously found some way he could help (sweeping the dirt, moving wooden 2x4's, watering the concrete, etc.)  He is a great helper and a very sweet boy.



Juliana, the sister of the 4 siblings
When we asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up, she said "A mommy".  You can usually find her playing mommy with her baby doll.

Dianah
 Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to hear her whole story, but she has been at the orphanage for the last year.  It seems that she has some mild cognitive delay, but no one knows for sure.  She doesn't really talk and she plays differently than the other children.  I played with only her for several hours one day, helping her climb up and go down the slide, walk around the play ground and play in the sand box.  She is really quiet and really sweet.  I look forward to spending more time with her in the future.

Masha
This sweet little girl has the sweetest, shyest smile I've seen of all the kids at Vorzel.  She's probably about 2 years old and she doesn't talk.  She gets very attached to the person she is playing with and gets very upset when someone leaves her.  Over all she is really quiet and sweet.  I really loved spending time with her.  As far as I know, she does not have any parents.


Sabrina
She is an orphan from a gypsy family who left her here in the last year.  She has some behavioral issues that will take some time to change, but she is a pretty sweet and funny little girl.  She has some scars on her right arm and the right side of her neck.  The scars are probably from a burn, but no one knows how exactly she got them.  Unfortunately, she probably came from a very neglectful home, which is why she is a little different than the other kids in her behavior.



Maxim
His story is not known to me, but he was pretty excited about this Russian children's bible we gave to him.  It's the Jesus storybook Bible, one of the best ones out there!

More stories to come soon as I continue to visit the kids at the orphanage!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

That Wall of Frustration

Right now as I write I have the second worst stomach ache  I've had since being here (too much awesome (yet acidic) Ukrainian fruit juice I suppose), but I want to write this anyways, so I don't forget all the wonderful things God revealed to me this weekend.

This past Friday and Saturday I participated and helped with the Almaz church conference on how to care for children and people with special needs.   The greatest thing I learned at this conference wasn't about how to help a child develop more, or how to improve their quality of life.  Rather, I learned first hand, and from the preaching from one of that pastors about how I, too, am like a special needs child in God's eyes.

In reality, in comparison to God's greatness, holiness and purity, we are all done here on the earth completely helpless and completely in need of God to save us from our destruction (due to sin).  Just like a child who is trapped in their body, unable to communicate with others or help themselves, I am unable to help myself without God.  Sure, I may think that I can help myself to do anything I want since I am physically healthy and able, but spiritually, I am depraved and trapped without my God.


Basically, compared to God, we all have disabilities.

One story really struck me.  A woman with cerebral palsy could not communicate until one day a speech therapy student came to her.  While asking her questions, the student realized that when the woman moved her eyes up, it meant yes, and when her eyes looked down it meant no.  This small little detail in the woman's communication opened up the door for her to communicate with the outside world.  Later it was discovered that this woman had a very high IQ (she was a genius) but she was previously trapped in her body, unable to communicate.  She might have been stuck in her body her whole life if it hadn't been for God's mercy in her life.  The speaker said that later she went on to write a book titled "I raise my eyes to say yes"


In that moment, I realized something: I feel just like that woman right now.
I realized that my language barrier here in Ukraine is greater than I expected and I feel trapped inside my body sometimes.  Now of course I can use gestures and try to use the few words and phrases I do know to convey my point to people, but sometimes it can be really frustrating.  


Most of the time my frustration passes pretty quickly because I realize with God, I can do all things, and because of His care over my life I have nothing to worry or be frustrated about.  However, on Saturday at the conference, this didn't happen.


I was helping to pour lemonade to prepare for when people would come in to get lunch.  First, I couldn't understand what I was supposed to do, until some English speaking Ukrainian helped me find my task.  Then it was easy, just pour lemonade and hand it out to people.  But actually, it wasn't so easy.  People started coming in about 15 minutes later and taking food and drink and almost every minute someone asked me a question and all I could say was: "I don't know" or "I don't understand" or "Eta Lemonade" (It's lemonade) hoping that they would know that I didn't understand them.  I almost lost it right then and there, amidst the chaos and people and so many questions in a language I don't yet understand.  I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, so I paused for a moment and prayed for strength to carry on and be joyful.  


Just then, my best friend on the earth came in and asked me to join him for lunch.  He immediately could tell something was wrong, so he asked me to stop what I was doing and just follow him.  Things had slowed down then, and I wasn't needed anymore, so I followed him.  He brought me food and drink, we quickly ate, and then found a quiet place to sit and talk.  He asked me "What do you think God wants you to do now?"  I knew, but I couldn't vocalize anything at the time because of my emotions, so I just shook my head.  He told me, you need to trust God in these situations, and not become frustrated by the language here.  God had made it very clear that you are supposed to be here to serve Him, and He will equip you with every tool you need, including language.  It will take some time, but God will help you, and He will be your strength."


We prayed for about 10 minutes and my joy came back to me almost instantly.  I have not felt so uplifted in so long.  I felt my spirit refreshed again and ready to go back out into the strange world I now live in.


People constantly ask me, "How are you doing now that you live in Ukraine?"


I will say to them "Life is different and sometimes hard here, but it's the best place for me to be because I'm doing God's will for my life and that glorifies Him"


Some scripture I have specifically thought of this weekend:


In a difficult situation when I need to be reminded of the good plans God has for me:
- Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."


When I am tired from this hard life:
- Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."


When I am in need of help:
- Psalm 54:4 "Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me."


- Isaiah 41:10 "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."


- Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."






I didn't realize until I actually moved here and all my American friends left, how much I could struggle here.  However, I don't have to struggle.  God has given me open arms to fall into to rescue me from the burden of a heavy heart, frustrations and worries I may face here in Ukraine.  I choose to give them to Him and let Him control my life.


May glory be to God forever and ever, Amen.