Harvest Sunday - Customs in Ukrainian Church

Good Morning! It is 9:17 am on Monday morning as I type this message. For you it is 2:17am. The weather here has turned colder since a welcome rain. There was no rain here for more than 4 months and most of the wheat crop is ruined, much like our crops on the East Coast.

However, as is tradition, some of the village churches have held their "Harvest Sunday" services. Grace will hold it's service on the last Sunday of September. On this day the church front is decorated with fruits, vegetables and baked goods as they come together to thank God for the harvest of crops and foods that He has given them. It is a time of thanksgiving and preparation for the cold winters because the food that is brought is then destributed to the elderly and home bound after the service by the Deacons and young men of the church. Then the younger women will go over and help to can the fruit and vegetables for the winter. It is a picture of the early Church sharing what they had with others who did not. I will try to find some of my picturs from former years and post them so you can see what it is like at the churches with the abundance of food and color spread around the front tables.

Yesterday we had a wedding at Grace Church. It is traditional that the weddings are at the end of the Sunday morning service since most of the congregation is there and they didn't have to make extra trips from the farms to come (in the older days). The bride was the daughter of the Administrator of the Odessa Baptist Theological Seminary. The wedding takes place on the pulpit level and included both sets of parents as well as a "best man" and a "maid of honor." The groom walks the bride down the aisle. Another interesting point is that the choir provides the music with short, beautiful songs while the couple is kneeling before prayer and as they exchange rings. Here the couple is pronounced husband and wife before the exchange of rings, since in times past, there was no money for a ring. After the wedding is concluded, the wedding party and their parents stand together for a receiving line. If a reception is held, it is in another location. In this example, it was at the Seminary.

In the Christian community here, couples do not date alone until after their engagement is announced (usually by the pastor at the end of a Sunday service when he calls them forward and makes the announcement that they are to be married.) Up until that time they are always in a group of students or church friends. Engagements are usually 3 to 4 months, but can be longer if the couple is finishing university or other studies. In the days before the fall of the Soviet Union, if a Christian girl married a young man who was not a Christian or a member of a Christian church, she was basically "excommunicated" until the time that he made a profession of faith or came to join the church. This may seem very harsh to us, but it was a matter of preservation during the time of persecution, especially if this young man was not known to the "underground" churches. Things have changed now, and much of that suspicion is gone. Praise God.

This will be the last blog from Odessa. We fly to Vienna, Austria this afternoon. The remainder of my postings will be pictures as we arrive home.

May God bless you richly. Please pray for the members of Grace Baptist Church here in Odessa and for the small village church in Ilyinka. Pray for the Transition House to be glassed in with the rest of the windows and doors so that work can continue during the winter. This house is much needed for the homeless and family-less young men and women as they have to leave the Shelter at age 18.

Camp for Ilyinka Village Children

Here is a report from the Children's Camp Director about the camp for the children in the little village of Ilyinka. (You can see a picture of the small mission church on this Blog.) These children are from homes where there is heavy drinking and drug use. They are not Christian children. This is the first summer of "free camp" on the Black Sea for most of them. Read now the report and pray for these children andtheir families:

"From June, 20 till June, 30th this year God has given us an opportunity to lead a children's camp at the Black Sea Camp for twenty three children who visit church in Illyinka. From the very beginning of the organization and preparations for the camp God plentifully blessed us. Sincerely believing Christian teachers have offered time to organize for children not only rest on seacoast, but also the interesting program with fascinating Bible lessons. The goal of the program, called "Traces to the Source", was to help each child learn the main Biblical truth about the way of salvation through accepting Jesus Christ as personal Savior.

Every morning children did exercises and attended a general meeting where they sang, told verses from the Bible and got acquainted with the program for day. We had two levels for Bible lessons - younger and older children. During lessons of needlework each child showed the imagination and creativity. Often their hand-made articles corresponded to a theme of a Bible lesson. Many children made beautiful Bible verses and hung up them above the beds to see the Word of God constantly. During day the children studied new songs, verses, dramas and presented these in the evening worship with enthusiasm.

It was difficult to work with these children at the camp as all of them are from faithless families and their parents do not visit church. But our Christian Brothers and Sisters prayed for us and our Lord has helped us to overcome all difficulties and to find the approach to each child. We thank God for those minutes when we could talk to each child alone, listen to them, pray and tell how God loves them. Children changed every day and we observed with pleasure as they learned to speak kind words, to help each other and to get new friends instead of quarreling.

Nine days slipped by. The final day of camp came. It was a special day since we were going to call children to make a decisive step and repent on evening service. On evening service after singing there came the moment when there was full silence in a hall. Children attentively listened to the story about the prodigal son. After the sermon the children were invited to repent and many children came to a front of a hall and prayed to God. The joy filled our hearts when we saw as children come to the God. After the evening service we had farewell campfire where children again heard an invitation to receive Jesus in their hearts. And again we saw how new children come to Christ and receive Him as their Savior. Most of the children from our camp have repented that day. We are grateful to God that He has allowed us to work with these children and allowed to be witnesses of how the Holy Spirit led children's hearts to understand who He is and what He has come to do in their lives."

Sunday in Odessa

Sunday was beautiful in Odessa. We attended the morning service at Grace where we met 4 men from York, PA who came over to help lay tile in the kitchen of the Black Sea Camp. This should sound familiar to the Team to Gulfport! These men had the advantage of being contractor and this being their second or third trip over to work on this large construction project of rehabilitating an old camp ground. They will be here until next Friday when they will return from their 2 week mission trip.
On Sunday evening we attended the 6pm worship service, which is mostly older members. It is also a time when visiting ministers and/or seminary students have a chance to share the Gospel and preach. There are usually three sermons per worship service; usually 10 to 15 minutes long, interspersed with choir anthems, solos, readings, prayers and, of course, an offering. Headsets and translators are available; however, we prefer to listen to the services in Russian or Ukrainian. It is interesting when there is a Ukrainian speaker, for most of the older population were forced to speak only Russian and therefore do not completely understand the sermons given in Ukrainian. For us it would be like someone preaching in Elizabethan English. We would understand most of it, but there would be words that would have a different meaning or context. Makes translating to John a real challenge!

Arrival in Odessa, Ukraine

Greetings! We have arived in Odessa safely and have moved all of the wonderful gifts you sent to Grace Baptist Church. It is taking some time to catch up to the time change. We are 8 hours ahead of you here! We are visiting with American missionaries tonight and preparing for the two hour church service tomorrow morning. We look forward to seeing friends again and worshipping together. This afternoon we drove out to the small town of Fontanka to see the Transition House where the older children will live (after they reach 18) in prepartion for college, trade school or life in general. Some of the windows have been installed before we arrived. It is such a thrill to see this building take shape knowing what an impact it will have on some many lives. Thank you for your prayers of safety for out travel. We felt the calm and peace that only comes from the grace of God through the Holy Spirit. Peace to you!

Black Sea Camp of Grace Baptist Church

Pictured here are some of the Grace Shelter children who have worked at the church's camp /retreat site on the Black Sea. If you could see straight across the water, you would be looking at Istanbul, Turkey. Note the 2 young girls in the white skull caps. They are sisters in a family of 5 found locked in an apartment last winter. The mother, an Armenian gypsy, was arrested for being drunk in public and didn't tell anyone about her children. When finally found weeks later, the 2 month old was dead and the other four children were near death. They are thriving at the Shelter!

Bogdan

Many of you have heard our story about Bogdan. His name, in Ukrainian, means "of God". His mother tried to sell him for drugs to some men from Spain. He was rescued by a Christian neighbor who was a member at Grace Baptist Church. He has problems with ADHD and craves love and affection. What would have happened to him, had this ministry not been in place? Where would he be now if his Mother had been successful? A child of the street, he has asked to give his heart to Jesus. Please pray for Bogdan.

Odessa, Ukraine Children's Shetler

Pictured here are some of the children we work with at the Grace Baptist Church "Shelter". Theyare pictured in front of the sanctuary doors. The signs on the church say: Grace Church and the banner basically says "Grace to You and the World". These are our older children ranging in age from 11 to 17. They are not adoptable. They are shelterd, loved, clothed, educated and taught the love of God by their House Parents, the pastors and the congregation of Grace Baptist Church. They depend on outside help to provide for the children.