Family, Life & Ministry, and Future – all represented here in these 3 cups
Story #2 – Ukraine
In May, 2000 we moved from Kyiv after 2.5 years of language study to the northeastern border city of Sumy.
This was the next chapter in the great adventure that God has called us to – living for Him and serving Him wherever He leads. When we moved to Kyiv in 1997, we didn’t even know Sumy existed. While in language school, I was talking with our area director about what would be next – we were looking for ministry opportunities outside of the capital – and he mentioned Sumy and an invitation from the local church leadership to bring a team there. We lived in Sumy till August, 2013. What an adventure! We had no idea of all that God was going to do and all that we would learn and experience.
We and our teammates (usually only 4-6 adults at most over the years) were some of the few foreigners who made Sumy their home. Thus, we were very immersed in the culture and life there. The city of 300,000+ is the capital of the oblast (province/state) with a population of 1.4 million+. It was a closed city to foreigners during the period of the Soviet Union as there was a nuclear missile base located 40 kms away. Most of our time was spent with Ukrainians, and our lives and ministries reflected that. We moved there to serve alongside and under the evangelical church leadership, seeking to help them develop ministries, ministry leadership and plant churches.
What an adventure! Each day when I left our apartment, I did not know what might take place. Of course, I had my plans, my to-do lists etc. But so much was outside of my “control”. I would attend a meeting, planning on being there for an hour and then on to my list. While at the meeting, I would be asked if I could go along to this or that ministry, help with this etc and the adventure continued. We would go to the open market for groceries and who knew what the conversations would be, what the experience would be or how long you would be. The meat market, the potato lady, the fruit stand……always interesting. To step out side was to step into adventure.
Summer was never routine – beyond we knew that we would be doing ministry of some sort at camp and on the street, and that in August we would need to leave the country for 2 weeks to do our visas. Summer camp was always a big part of our May-July schedule. It became even more so when God opened the door for us to help facilitate the establishment of a year round camp and conference ministry by a local church at a former Soviet Pioneer camp. It has become a ministry hub for the region, giving churches and ministries a place to meet and ministering to all ages throughout the year. We are so thankful for Sumy Grace Camp and the opportunity to be part of its story.
We were blessed with relationships that crossed cultures – Ukrainians, Germans, Americans and others. Our lives have been enriched beyond measure through those relationships, and many continue to this day.
God gave us the opportunity to serve in Ukraine from 1997 – 2014, and then we returned to Canada primarily to transition our kids into their next stage of life. That plan was to be here in Canada for approx 2 years…..but God had other plans.
