How do you capture two weeks of amazing experiences? This trip was really about four things:
Offering Encouragement
We heard over and over from people how much our visits during the war mean to them. They say constantly that it is such an encouragement that we come while they are experiencing war. We also found that many of the people we talked with one on one were so thankful for the encouragement and an opportunity to talk about their challenges and struggles.
Training Leaders
This is one of the things we spend the most time doing on our trips. However, you never know what impact your training has. This trip we had the opportunity to hear from several people who shared the impact our training has had on them and how they have used what we have trained on. We heard how our training materials are being used by the leaders as they train others themselves.
Motivating Change
Making changes is the hardest part. You can agree with what we teach on, but ultimately the people have to apply what they learn and make changes if they want see results. On this trip we heard from many individuals that have applied what they have learned and have seen results. They know that I am going to come back in the future and ask them what they have done with what they have learned.
Inspiring Dreams
This is probably the things we hear them most. That after our trainings they have gone and tried to dream and hear from God what God-sized dreams they have. We heard from Olga how we have helped her accomplish her dream of providing a training resource for families with our new book. We heard from Ruslan who created a dream for Synergy and church planting after one of our meetings. From Olga that has seen her dream of a Children’s Ministries conference be accomplished from our help. In fact, we heard from many people that we should write our next book on dreams.
Here is a little more detail on what we did on each day of the trip.
On our first Monday in Ukraine, we got off the train from Poland and went right to a Women’s Ministries leaders conference where I led two sessions on my book and parenting. The session went well, but it is not a great idea to start training on the first day you arrive – the jetlag hit me hard in the evening session. The two days together went amazing and all the books we had at the event went. The last night we had a question-and-answer session, and the women talked about my book and how much they were enjoying it and how they were making plans to share with the women in their small groups at their churches.
On Wednesday we drove from Lviv to Kyiv where we did a couple of videos at the Baptist Union offices and then on Thursday we met with the leaders of The Temple of Peace, which is a church in downtown Kyiv. It had been one year since we had met for the first time, and they shared what they have been doing this past year and the changes that they have made. It was exciting to see how God was working and that they had grown by over 30% over the past year.
On Friday we drove to Cherkasy where we had several meetings at our favorite coffee shop in Cherkasy and then went to New Life Church where we had a gathering to share my book with people from all over the region. We had close to 100 people attend and we were able to see many old friends, including the host family that Beth had stayed with over 30 years ago. New Life is always a special place for us as this was where our Ukraine ministry began. It was a special evening! They also recorded our training so we have a You Tube version that we can share with others.
On Saturday we were in Buzevka at the home of our partner Vasily Furta. I had a speaking session in Uman for the M4 church planting organization and Beth met with Alla and the pastors wives prayer group she leads. They had a special time together and all want to share our book with the women in their churches. In the afternoon we had coffee with Vasily Olynuk and his wife. Vasily was the leader in the Baptist Union when Love Life for Ukraine started. Always a special time of sharing together. We also had the privilege to have coffee at the new home of Lyuda and Sashsa. Lyuda is our translator, and we had a special time seeing their new home.
On Sunday we drove to Cherniyiv region and attend the Bread of Life church with pastor Bogdon. Bogdon had attend one of our training retreats in April and after leaving he went back to his church and build an addition to his church for Children’s Ministries. He was so challenge in our meetings that he took what he learned and put into action. I preached the message, and Beth went in and observed their program. Afterwards we had a lunch in their home and shared together. It was a special time!
Monday was a travel day as we drove back to Lviv area for our church planters conference. We had 20 couples for 3 days. This was the last of three sessions together. It was fun to see how God was working and how the connections have built over the last year that we have been meeting. Hopefully on future trips in Ukraine we will have the privilege to visit many of their churches and homes as well.
On Thursday we wrapped up the church planters conference and drove to Rivne for the Children’s Ministries Leaders Training. There were 80 leaders from representing all regions of Ukraine except for occupied territories. This conference is always special for Beth as Children’s Ministries is her passion. She did a training session on Friday morning. She covered leadership foundations and shared some practical ways to share salvation message to kids. She did amazing as always! In the evening, I shared my book with the leaders and gave them all a copy. Olga the leader always does such an awesome job of creating an event that makes all participants feel appreciated and valued while also training and inspiring them.
On Saturday we attended a conference in Lviv called …. Vasily was speaking in a workshop and doing an online sharing session, and we had to walk around the booths of ministries working in Ukraine. In was fun connecting with many people that we have interacted with over the years who were there sharing in their ministry booths.
On Sunday we caught the train and headed to Poland to begin the trip home.
I could write so much more but wanted to share with you a summary to give you a little taste of what we experienced on our trip. Thank you for your prayers and financial support that has supported us in our ministry. We came home with a few special requests for support so we are praying for how we can help provide resources for these requests. We are hoping to raise an additional $8500 by the end of the year to help provide for these needs. If you are interested in learning more about these needs, please reach out to me at my email rick.post@potentialendeavors.com or my cell at 651-329-6033.
