Back From Ukraine

I am back from Ukraine!  It was a whirlwind trip, but it was so great to be back in Ukraine and to be able to talk to friends face to face and hear how the war has impacted them personally.  The purpose of the trip was to have leaders from the Baptist Union of Ukraine and Converge (formerly Baptist General Conference) meet to talk about the needs of Ukraine during this war and about the potential for ministry partnerships in the future.  This was the first meeting for many of the people on the trip.  I represented Potential Endeavors and the work that we have been doing in Ukraine over the past 4 years.

The trip was different from any trip I have done in the past.  Since there is no commercial air travel into Ukraine, we had to fly to Poland and drive across the border to get to Ukraine.  Our meeting was in Lviv so it was about a 5-hour drive plus whatever time it would take to get through the Polish and Ukrainian borders.  This was the first time I had been in Poland.  From what I saw it is very beautiful.

As we entered Ukraine, we saw the effects of war.  There were many checkpoints along the road and a large military presence.  As we were having dinner on the first night, an air raid siren went off.  We were asked if we wanted to go to a shelter, but our Ukrainian partners were used to the sirens and chose to stay at dinner.  We stayed with them.  After all clear was sounded, we heard that there had been a missile fired towards Lviv and had hit 70 kilometers north of the city.  That was close enough to make me a little jittery wondering if another siren goes off what would I do, especially in the middle of the night.  As we walked around the city center after our meetings ended for the evening, we saw a vibrant city life, but noticed that all the lights on the buildings were off and there was a curfew at 11.

Our meetings took place over two days.  We spent time getting to know each other and then we talked about the work of the Baptist Union in providing humanitarian assistance during the time of the war.  As we began our discussion, the first humbling experience was that 4 of the 5 leaders had their homes damaged by the Russian invasion against Kyiv.  They all lived around Irpin and this was the area that saw some of the heaviest damage.  One even had the invaders staying in their home.  Despite what they had experienced personally, they never allowed it to stop the work of aiding others impacted by this war.

All the resources that have been sent to the Baptist Union of Ukraine have been distributed to the churches across Ukraine that have provided assistance.  Churches would submit their needs to their regional leadership and then the regional leadership would share their needs to the Baptist Union.  Money was distributed based upon need and impact they could make.  It was impressive how they had detailed documentation showing where the money was spent and how it was used to help.  This is important as it builds trust that resources are not being wasted in any way.

The humanitarian efforts were in three main areas:  Evacuation of people from the conflict areas, housing and care for the individuals as they traveled across Ukraine, and support for people as they resettled into new homes in the western part of Ukraine.  Tens of thousands of people were helped by churches as they traveled across Ukraine.

Due to the war, 450 churches are now in occupied territories, 200 have been forced to be closed and 45 churches have been damaged or destroyed in the war.  There are over 140 dislocated pastors who had to leave their churches and resettle in the western part of Ukraine.  The Baptist Union is aiding these pastors as they have lost their homes, and their ministry.  The Baptist Union is providing for their families and helping them to find new ministry opportunities in the communities they have settled into.

One amazing thing I learned on this trip is how the people from Ukrainian churches who have resettled in Europe are working in the churches to do ministry together and share the gospel with others from Ukraine who have resettled in these communities.

As the war continues, the Baptist Union is looking for new ways to provide assistance.  As Ukraine retakes occupied territories, they are using mobile kitchens to go into these communities to provide hot meals for the people who have no utilities to allow them to cook.  Churches have become support centers to provide food, water and battery charging sites.

While the churches are providing for the physical needs for so many, they are also providing for the spiritual needs.  Churches are filled with new people who need spiritual support.  People are suffering from the effects of trauma and how to deal with the loss of all they have and how to start anew.  They need the hope of Jesus in an environment that can feel hopeless for many.

As our time continued, we moved to discussing future ministry needs.  Due to the war and people who have emigrated out of Ukraine, the Baptist Union estimates that it will need 1,000 new pastors to lead churches and ministry in the next few years.  With that need, resources to train and develop future pastors and ministry leaders is greatly needed.  This need fits in with the work that we (Potential Endeavors) have been doing with Vasily Furta is developing mentoring groups in regions across Ukraine.  Before the war we had starting 4 or 5 of the groups and were in the process of starting 10 more.  These groups have been put on hold as the war has interrupted the plans, but we hope to get them started again this fall.  We are hoping that we can partner with churches from Converge to provide resources to help these groups.  In addition, it would be great if we could develop relationships between these young leaders in Ukraine and leaders in US churches to mentor and support each other.  When the war ends and it is easier to travel again, these relationships could result in ongoing ministry opportunities.

As our time together came to an end, we spent time praying for Ukraine, the leaders of the Baptist Union and the potential for future ministry partnerships between Converge, the Baptist Union and Potential Endeavors.  It was a great blessing to be able to spend time together and for me it was a blessing to get to know the leaders of Converge.

Our journey home was not without its adventure.  The lines to leave Ukraine were very long and slow.  Our driver got us to the border crossing area with the shortest line and then was able to get us to the front of the line, but the process of getting through the two borders still took over 3 hours.  As we entered Poland all of our bags were searched, which takes a lot of time with all the vehicles who are going across.

We made it back to our hotel and had an awesome time debriefing our trip together and celebrating how God has brought all of us together and for what we see as the future partnerships that are possible.

I was so blessed to be invited on this trip.  Blessed to spend time with my Ukrainian friends and with my new Converge friends.  I was blessed to see how God is working in Ukraine and how people are finding Jesus in midst of the war.  I don’t know when my next trip to Ukraine will be, but I know that work will continue.  We will continue to raise support for pastors in Ukraine and continue to look for partners to help with the work of the mentoring groups.  We will be ready to return when the doors of opportunity open up.

Continue to pray for Ukraine.  Thanks for all the prayers that were lifted up while we were in Ukraine.  We could feel God’s hand of protection and blessing on us.  The needs are great and when the war ends the needs of rebuilding the damage churches and lives will just be starting.  Pray for new leaders to be raised up to do the work of God in Ukraine and to continue their desire to reach their communities for Jesus.