By Brenda Plonis and Craig Shrum
KHUST, Ukraine--"No other religious organization, inside or outside of Transcarpathia, has done such solid, consistent work as the Worldwide Church of God has."
This was Victor Pavliy's summary of the cooperative effort between members of the church and the Mission Nazareth in western Ukraine during the past three summers.
The Mission, a Sabbatarian organization headed by Victor, uses its resources and contacts as a Christian support network. It works to supply the spiritual and physical needs of the Transcarpathian region and is based in the city of Khust.
Since 1994 the Mission has been host to 16 Worldwide Church of God members and Ambassador students who have staffed church missions in the region.
This year, four students and two graduates went to Transcarpathia to work with Mission Nazareth on various evangelistic and humanitarian aid projects. They were Kathi Nomm, Brenda Plonis, Jake Protivnak, Craig Shrum, Benjamin Trautmann and Tonia Weik.
Craig arrived May 2 to work with Victor on setting up the group's activities, which included evangelism programs, English courses and humanitarian aid.
The rest of the group arrived May 30. English classes for 90 students from Khust began June 4 after an opening ceremony at the Mission building. Classes met Tuesday through Friday from 9 to 11 a.m. and ran for six weeks.
Evangelism
Though the classes did not have a religious focus, they did serve as a form of evangelism. As Victor said: "After seeing the example of their teachers, who gave the classes free of charge, the students understand what a Christian does. After these classes, 90 families in the city of Khust have a better idea of true Christianity."
One of the students, Ivanna Bonj, said: "Our teacher taught us not only English, but also a lot of other things. As to me, I realized, that God is always with us and we really need him."
On Thursday nights we invited our students to an English hymn sing at the Mission. The students learned six hymns and Christian songs. Usually about 30 students attended.
At a nearby camp for children affected by the Chernobyl nuclear accident, our evangelism took a more hands-on form. We performed hymns and gave short speeches. Afterward we played games and talked with the children.
We made our fourth and final visit to the camp with our English students, who performed the songs they'd learned at the hymn sing.
With the Sabbatarians, we gave an evangelistic program in the courtyard of an apartment complex in Khust. The program consisted of singing, prayer and preaching. We performed songs in English and Russian and spoke about God's unfailing love for us.
Humanitarian aid
Another goal for this summer was to investigate the greatest needs of the people of Transcarpathia. We visited an orphanage for physically and mentally disabled children. We also visited a hospital and interviewed the staff there as well as at the regional drug rehabilitation center. The story was usually the same--a lack of resources and money.
At the orphanage we met members of a French volunteer organization who were remodeling the bath and shower facilities. They also try to provide the children with medical supplies. However, it is a big job and the director of the orphanage is already worried about food supplies for the winter.
The economic situation has worsened over the past three summers. In 1994 US$1 equalled 45,000 Ukrainian coupons. Now the exchange rate is 180,000 coupons to a dollar. In May there were teachers' strikes because they had not been paid their $60-a-month wage since February. The director of the orphanage told us that his institution received only half its allotted state subsidy.
Factories are shut down, and though people are willing to work, there are no jobs.
Fellowship
Another focus of our trip was fellowshipping and worshiping with Sabbatarians in Khust and the surrounding villages. They taught us Christian songs in Russian, which we performed during evangelistic programs with them.
We listened to their stories of life under communism. Bibles had to be smuggled into the country in loaves of bread. Christians worshiped secretly in the forest because religious assemblies were illegal. They're grateful now for the freedom to meet with Christians from outside of Ukraine.
Sveta Mondich, wife of Khust pastor Vasyl Mondich, said, "Thank God we can see each other and talk friend to friend." Such was not always the case under communism.
In our religious discussions with them, it was refreshing to find that though we have differences in belief, we can still focus on our common faith in Christ. We felt a strong bond of brotherhood with them. We left Ukraine with the realization that they are a part of our family in Christ with a lot to share--their love, compassion and most importantly, their lessons of service to others.
They very much want to work with us again. Victor expressed the hope that one day Mission Nazareth will have the funds to sponsor "the group from America."
Thanks
As with any project, there were many people who helped us to realize our goals. Money from Church Administration International and from congregations in Pennsylvania and New York covered our airfare and living expenses in Ukraine.
German congregations donated food and household supplies. The Bonn Office arranged for us to use one of their vans. Their donations and the prayers and hard work of many resulted in a successful summer with our Christian family in Ukraine.
Sept. 17, 1996, Worldwide News, page 5
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