By Kathi Nomm and Brenda Plonis
BIG SANDY--As students returning to Ukraine we keep asking ourselves, "Why?" What is so intriguing about this area and why do we feel a need to be a part of it?
It is not the crowded streets, nor the rundown schoolroom that beckons us, but rather the realization that in some way our presence there could enable someone else to experience the peace we have in Christ.
For six weeks last summer we interacted with many diverse people. By the end of the summer, we concluded that the children, teachers and factory workers attending our English classes were just like us.
Getting past the grammar, we found out who they were. Their concerns, their fears, and most importantly their hopes, were similar to ours. Whether American or Ukrainian, Sabbatarian or Catholic, our need to be forgiven and experience life in Christ is the same. This shared bond can help ease our burdens and bring us together as one enormous unified body in Christ.
Last summer on our humanitarian aid mission to Ukraine, we learned that God works in mysterious ways, through countless avenues, with the same desire--to give hope and salvation in Christ and the peace it provides.
It is in Ukraine that we learned to trust in God, get to know Christ and allow him to work through us. We hope to spread and share his gospel with our brothers and sisters in Ukraine this summer too.
In May, five Ambassador University students and a graduate left for the Transcarpathian Mountain region of Ukraine to once again serve the community, teach English and fellowship with Christians for six weeks. Participants are Jake Protivnak, Benjamin Trautmann, Craig Shrum, Tonia Weik and ourselves. Brenda is the director of this summer's mission.
This is the first missionary type trip that the church has sponsored for college students. For the most part, the trip has been student organized, with support and confidence from Church Administration International.
We are planning to perform about 12 musical programs consisting of sacred songs, along with contemporary Christian rock as part of our own evangelism. One thing we eagerly anticipate is youth conferences being planned with not only Sabbatarians, but Baptists and members of various other religions.
During these conferences, youths from all denominations will be worshiping in their own ways.
Our other goals include looking into the hospitals and their needs for supplies. Medical and dental supplies are at a severe shortage in Ukraine. We obtained extra supplies to take with us from an American hospital.
One more goal we have is to assist in the development of the English education system. We will meet with English teachers to discuss ways to improve their curriculum. Many of the classes taught by local teachers do not involve the students in active participation as much as schools do in America.
After witnessing the Sabbatarians' hospitality last summer, we are confident that they will welcome us back, not because we are Sabbath-keepers, but because we are Christians.
It is encouraging to see Christians on the other side of the world focus on God and Jesus Christ. They have helped us realize that no matter who we are, in God's eyes we are the same.
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