Our Last Memory Filled Day

The symphony hall in Kiev.  A visiting orchestra from Vienna played a great selection of classics and original compositions. We were joined by Campus staff and leaders who posed for a picture.

Our day started off with a sobering visit to a World War II museum. Students joined us as we learned the horrific stories of the devastation visited on Ukrainians during the war.

We met with Campus staff and leaders for a nice meal before heading to the symphony.

Ukainian Party - Teacher Appreciation Night

The Ukrainian flag and this banner served as a backdrop for our party.

Steve Schafer in his Ukrainian best.

Delicious Ukrainian food was served. Teachers were invited to fill their plates first.

Americans dressed in their newly acquired Ukrainian costumes. From left to right: Amy, Sonya, Shelly, Rebecca and Jubilee. Losh, Campus director led the students to express their appreciation to their teachers and gave the credit to God. Honestly we felt like rock stars.

Paul's Reflections - Our Last Class

Last night (Thursday) was the final class, the handing out of certificates, and the first of many, many thank yous.  A thirst to learn and a humbleness and willingness to set aside the fear of trying something completely new will be a memory I take home of these wonderful students.  Its never easy to begin to learn a new language, and the confusion you feel can be overwhelming.  But the sense of community that began to build over 10 short days of classes was huge.  Students with intact families.  Students who cannot go home because of the occupation on their native soil by Russian troops.  Students who have seen artillery in action, and yet desire to follow Jesus and not the ways of man.  Students whose father abandoned their families when they were quite young.

Perhaps the most heart warming theme was how young men and young ladies both began to open up to us.  To trust us, and to share.  They commented over and over that "You're not like our regular teachers - you smile, you talk to us, you let us make mistakes and then encourage us and don't chastise us.  You laugh.  You make learning fun."  And more importantly, "I came to class thinking there was no need to discuss or think about religion or God, but now I think differently - I'd like to explore this (about Jesus) more."

Pray for tender hearts.  I felt the willingness to investigate and discuss is a door that is wide open.  From those who know quite a bit about the Bible, but don't know Jesus, to those who think they are atheist, but are willing to consider God.

Continue to pray for lasting fruit.  For the second, and third and fourth generation of disciples that will come from this.

Shopping and Eating

One of the great joys in traveling to a new culture is trying new foods. Our hotel provides breakfast and it has been fantastic. Sometimes we would not eat the foods offered for breakfast (potato salad, beet salad, pickled herring, dill pickles, coleslaw, pickled tomatoes). The items pictured above caused some amount of speculation. Meat or pastry? They were some type of chocolate and nut pastry, some thought they were made of dates. They were delicious and we enjoyed them with the Americanos and Cappuccinos we are in the habit of ordering with our breakfast. We also have appreciated the great service we have been receiving from our waitress Tanya.

Here is Shellie Shaw victoriously purchasing produce at the store. We have all had the opportunity to purchase some snacks at the local grocery story. The produce is particularly challenging as we must use a scale accurately to print out the price of the item. When the choices move from pictures to Ukrainian words we must rely on the kindness of strangers to help us manage to get the right information into the computerized scale.

More Student Quotes

"I really like English Club. Afterwards I have much good emotions!" (The Ukrainian way to say he is happy!) - Vlad

Vlad always comes 30 minutes early to help me set up my classroom. He's a true gentleman! :)

"I don't believe in God. I've never heard much about God. But after all the stories I've heard about people who know God, I can see that there is a change. There is a line that is drawn - before they knew God and after they knew God. I see that it makes a difference in their lives. I think  maybe sometime in my life I want to learn more about God." - Olena

Olena made this statement last night after hearing Losha's testimony on Monday and mine on Tuesday. 

Yulia told me that when I told my story of how I came to God, something inside of her opened up and she just wants to know more about how to be God's child. I explained how to pray, admitting our sin and accepting Jesus' death for to be for us. She said she isn't quite ready, but she wants to know more.

Also, Orest told me that he chose to be an atheist because he weighed all the scientific evidence and that is what made sense. I asked if he had weighed the evidence about God from the Bible. He said he had not so I asked how he could give himself a fair chance to make a good choice if he didn't look at both sides. I challenged him to read the New Testament. He said he would. I told him I would pray that God would help him understand the truth and help him weigh the evidence again.

 

Cheryl's Reflections - A Father's Love

I have had a wonderful time connecting with the university students here in Kiev. I have a natural affinity for students having a daughter who is graduating for college this spring. As I have watched my own daughter grow in every sphere of life, intellectually, physically and spiritually, I realize the powerful impact of engaging students holistically. It has been great partnering with the campus ministry of Kiev. They do a great job encouraging  growth in each area of student life.

One night we did the story of the Prodigal Son. We used a music video of “When God Ran” that had the words to the song and images depicting the story to introduce our Bible discussion. As we talked about the characteristics of a father I was saddened to learn that only two or three of the students in my group of seven grew up with their father. They had a hard time recognizing how uncharacteristic the father in the story is. What earthly father would allow his son to leave with half of the family wealth and waste his life?  And what earthly father would be looking for his sons return, run to welcome him and then throw a big party celebrating his return?  It was so great to talk about the immense love our heavenly Father has for us and how he runs and puts his arms around us, welcomes us back and throws a feast in our honor when we come to him. It is our prayer that many of these students respond to the gospel, that they run to the open arms of their heavenly father. Thank you for your prayers for us and for our students.

Excursion to Lavra in Kiev, the Center of Orthodox Christianity

We participated in an optional excursion to Lavra. It is a complex of churches, monastery, seminary and caves where the relics of the saints are visited and prayed to. This is the view of Kiev on the way to Lavra.

The approach to Lavra.

Women must cover their heads in the churches and to visit the caves. Team members were joined by a few student leaders for our trip.

There are many active churches in the Lavra complex.

Our leaders, Svetlana, Tanya and Max.

Presentations Help Us Become Friends and Practice English

Ukrainians love music. Here are some students sharing music with our class.

Discussion groups are used to help students get as much conversation practice as possible.

Students are invited to share a short presentation about their lives to the class. This helps students practice public speaking skills.

Paul shared the story of his spiritual journey. One of our students Nastia translated for him. Paul did a terrific job sharing a story from his days as a student when he realized he could not love his roomate with his own strength and needed the power of God.

Student Quotes

"This is my first year in university, I am learning to be responsible and make right choices. The first right choice I made was to come to English club so I could become better at English. The first responsible thing I did was learn to cook so that I don't starve!" - Orest

After the Bible lesson where Peter said, "You are the Christ, the son of the living God," Nika came up to Fern after class and said, "Thank you so much for teaching this lesson. It is so important for me to know who Jesus is and learn more about Him."

"I have learned more in three nights of English Club than I learned in three years of English study at the University." - Mary

"I have spoken more English in English club than I have in the rest of my life." - Denis

One student travels one hour and 45 minutes home every night after class. Heather remarked on the sacrifice of time it is for her to attend class and the student responded, "You came all the way from America, I can come one hour and 45 minutes."