GOOD BYE (Das Vadanya) our friends!!
We had a church picnic yesterday in the park by the black sea and it was wonderful. Both food and fellowship were excellent and there was an excellent challenge by Steve Gibson to the local church regarding church leadership and respect for authority. As is to be expected, churches all over the world face many of the same struggles we face at home.
It is often joked that if it wasn't for all these sinners the church would be perfect. Praise God he has forgiven all of us as sinners!
I am posting this from our hotel in Poland. We traveled from Ukraine today to Poland and Leszek Wakula and family met us at the airport. They are staying with us tonight and tomorrow so that we can see Warsaw and learn a bit about their life as well. Poland is remarkably different from Odessa considering it is only a two hour flight away.
On our way out in the morning we passed a woman walking her goats just around the corner from the seminary. Not something you see every day in Grand Rapids Michigan.
They are just starting to begin to improve public spaces in Odessa. Areas with flowers and grass are very rare and the locals were very proud that they had reached a point where public spaces are being improved.
Yes, there are VERY wealthy people here in Odessa. The people are not poor here by any means. Their lifestyle has improved dramatically over the years. That said, there are still some with considerably more and they flaunt it. I don't think I've ever seen a Maserati in Grand Rapids. It really surprised us to see one in Odessa.
Friday night we went out to eat with our entire team and some of the locally based missionaries. A good time was had by all. It is nice once in a while to get a meal "out". We have so much in common with the missionaries here it is nice to have food we consider "normal" even though the food in Ukraine was very good. All of us agree we came to Ukraine expecting to lose weight and we'll have to go on a diet when we get home because we have had so much good food to eat!
The girls, as you can see, have become very close. Considering that these girls didn't even know eachother before we began meeting with our team it is exciting to see them together.
I mentioned earlier that there are rich people here. On the way to the park where the church picnic was to take place we went by TONS of them. They have very large suburban neighborhoods here just like at home. In fact, these houses are larger than most of the large "wealthy" developments in Grand Rapids. They still have above ground utilities (including water) though. This seems very odd to those of us from the west.
Not sure of this is a place of worship or just some mammoth house but it is spectucular. It was in the neighborhood with the large homes.
Here is a picture of Denise in her element. She carries two cell phones so as to have one on each of the two major carriers in the area. From what I understand, this insures that cell to cell calls from most of the church members are free.
A church member helping grill the meat for the festivities!
We played a new game with the church on Saturday that is a DEFINITE game we need to play at MSM. Kind of like keep away, someone starts in the middle and people volley the ball back and forth. If anyone makes a mistake, the join the people in the middle. If anyone goofs bad enough that someone on the inside can catch the ball -- everyone is released from the center and the last person to hit the ball assumes the center position. It is not only fun, but easy to figure out!
Here's a picture of the incredible spread the locals prepared for us. The camp site was basically a dry grassy area in the trees within walking distance (but not sight) of the black sea. It reminds me a bit of what a tent camp site would have been for us years ago.
There are churches in the area that have purchased a private "camp" area together and use it. It is similar to the early days of Gull Lake Bible Conference or Maranatha I think. Small little cottages and some people in tents.
After prayer we got to dig in. The food was AWESOME. They had roast PORK. Thank you Ray (a seminary teacher/missionary) for preparing the barbecue. It was excellent!
After dinner Steve Gibson gave the church a message from the heart. He talked specifically about church leadership and submission to authority. The message was clear and concise and all of us could learn from him on this subject.
After the wonderful time with the church at the picnic and service we walked down to the beach for a last dip in the Black Sea.
After a good swim it was time to say goodbye to the believers at the beach. We are so thankful for the many people we now know at the church! We love you all!
The Sunset is beautiful in Odessa. This was our last Sunset!
Because we left the church earlier in the week somewhat a mess we wanted to go clean up and get the church ready for Sunday AM services. It also gave us a final chance to spend a little time with the leaders of the church here. I am not sure that I've ever been thankful for being able to scrub a floor before but this week was a time for firsts.
Thank you all for praying for us this 10 days in Odessa. We asked that God would work through us and also that we would see his presence and identify his work in progress through the people here and through us. God has certainly provided that assurance.
We miss you all and are thankful for your support and prayers. God has blessed us all this week and we appreciate your prayers as we spend a day in Poland prior to the long flight home. Thank you again!
Love the Ukraine Family Team.
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