Staff Missionary Reports
Reports and Experiences of the Godspeed
Staff
Sunday, Kiev
"…a time to weep, and a time to laugh…"
Eccl 3:4
Dear friends and family,
A few recently-learned techniques for obtaining laughter in another
country, specifically Ukraine:
- talk about a rooster, and make the usual "cockadoodle-doo"
sound. (no such sound in Ukraine; the roosters here, as everyone
[else] knows, say "coo-ca-ri-co")
- so, try another animal sound, this time a frog: "ribbit,
ribbit", of course, or even a deep "croak". (no
luck; Ukrainian frogs are said to make a sound that is more
like our duck: "cuac-cuac")
- undaunted, do the "arf-arf" barking noise of a
dog. (close, but no prize: "gaw-gauf" is what works
here)
- skip the sounds and go straight to attracting the cat, "Here,
kitty, kitty". (biggest laughter yet; cats here will respond
only to an difficult-to-pronounce "tstt-tstt-tstt"
or something thereabout.
- remove all references to animals, and proceed to give a seminar,
standing in front of an audience, looking one's best, tall and
straight. (Break left ear piece off glasses just before speaking;
break toe on right foot night before. Appear before audience
with glasses perched on face at 35 degree angle, offset by list
to the right due to not being able to put weight on right foot).
Laughter seems easy to come by here, and truly I have never felt
laughed at, just laughed with. Smiles abound, and there is much
joy in the Lord being expressed by the group of young single missionaries
we have worked with this past week. Such joy becomes even more
impressive as we have a chance to meet with each one individually,
when tears (sometimes theirs, sometimes ours) seem to be the more
appropriate emotional expression as we hear their stories. At
this point in most of my reports, I would now describe several
case histories that would typify the problems we have encountered.
But here, after four days of being allowed into the deepest recesses
of others' hearts and hurts, I find there is no way I can relate
any of the details, even anonymously, without feeling that I have
either violated a sacred confidence or have done a totally inadequate
job of describing what God is doing in these lives. Suffice it
to say that the ravages of alcoholic and abusive families, abandonment,
poverty and political upheaval, and the cultural heritage of a
godless government are not able to stand against the healing presence
and indwelling joy of the Holy Spirit.
We start again tomorrow, this time a four-day conference on Marriage
with 23 missionary couples. I am told that at the completion of
the conference, we are to go to the city of Cherkassy for further
presentations to members of the local church. In spite of my skewed
vision, asymmetric gait, and a woefully inadequate knowledge of
local animal sounds, I trust that God will bring even more shared
laughter and tears as He lets us see what He is doing in and through
these good people.
We will probably not have e-mail contact for one week, but we
are so appreciative of your notes and thoughts when we get to
read them. Thank you for writing, and thank you for praying.
Godspeed,
Barney, for Karen
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