Staff Missionary Reports
Reports and Experiences of the Godspeed Staff
Ukraine, October 2000
This should be Kiev...that's where the airline had assured us we would land...yet the
signs say Kinb with the "n" written backwards. It is the same city that Glenn and I had
visited nine months before when we first had an opportunity to present basic communication
and conflict resolution topics to a group of fifteen young Ukrainian missionary couples.
Even though they all had successful ministries throughout the country of Ukraine, their
marriage relationships were suffering, and both the work and the witness were being
compromised. We had been asked to come to teach on developing stronger marriages, and
even though our time last January had been blessed, there were some topics that we could
not address without a woman to co-present. So, in early October Karen and I returned to
Kiev (Kinb is the closest I can come on my computer to re-creating the Cyrillic spelling
of the city) to speak to the same group, this time to focus on topics which are sometimes
difficult to communicate about even in our own language: men's and women's roles in
marriage, sexual intimacy, and "love languages". We have had many opportunities to work
with couples and missionary teams both in the Godspeed office in Maryland, and in
conferences and meetings with missionaries in many lands, but those have all been with
English-speaking groups. But now in Kiev...would they understand? Would we understand?
Are the intimate problems that married couples face in our Western culture the same as
those faced by couples of another country, another culture 7000 miles away?
We were reassured that God must know what language to speak even as we entered the country
of Ukraine. We were transporting some computer and projection equipment for the Ukrainian
missionary team, which easily could have triggered an expensive if not bureaucratically
uncomfortable scene as we transited customs. Yet, we were whisked through as if shepherded
by angels, with all goods intact and successfully delivered. I had checked with
"weather.com" to make sure I had packed neither too much nor too little for what was
described as a "mild autumn season in Kiev". So, with my one sweater, no jacket, and many
t-shirts and shorts in tow, we were transported to the "sanatorium", a remotely situated
facility with a history dating back to USSR days, a rather rustic cross between a health
club and conference center. Someone had forgotten to tell the sanatorium about the "mild
autumn" part, and when the temperature dropped to 40 degrees F the first night, we soon
found out that heat was not scheduled to be turned on for winter until October 15th
(several days after we would depart). Other heated amenities were only randomly available,
and the memorable Night of Hot Water will be filed under the "Showers:Luxurious/Way Too
Short" category.
 |
Anatole and Olga lead praise and worship…
|
For the next four days, we met morning and afternoon with twenty-six people (twelve
couples, one man whose wife was too ill to come, and one single missionary who functioned
as interpreter). Of the twenty-six, only six spoke English, with varying degrees of
proficiency. Most but not all had been to our first January conference. Five of the
ladies present were pregnant, varying from six weeks to one who was due the day the
conference was to be over: she had been advised not to come, but she and her husband did
not want to miss the information so had ridden on an overnight train to get to Kiev. Once
we had established the ground rule that even though my title includes "M.D.", I no longer
deliver babies, we proceeded. Each morning and afternoon session would start with praise
and worship, done the Ukrainian way. Led by guitar, the group would sing songs in their
native tongue, stopping between songs as one or another would pray deeply and fervently
for their nation, for each other, and for us. We could not understand the words...but in
the midst of a prayer to Gospode (the Lord) we would hear our names "Baarrneee and
Kaarren", and we would be blessed. This was not just praise and worship....this was
PRAISE and WORSHIP !
|
Struggling to communicate sensitive
topics through an interpreter…
|
We spoke to the group on topics of communication, and expressing love, and on sex. One of
the men was antagonistic throughout much of the conference…a tall, striking man who
obviously had great charm. When he would comment to the group (in Russian), he was able to
generate much laughter. But he was not so humorous with me; he announced that the
conference was unnecessary because (loosely interpreted) "…we should not pay any
attention to psychology…we should only pay attention to scripture!". This was hard to
argue with, and I sympathized with him; Karen and I have both had to look at and at times
totally discard a lot of the psychological information we have been taught throughout the
years, to avoid anything that would not "fit" with God's word. Yet as the conference
progressed, his wife was often in tears…it became evident that this good man had been
using scriptural references in a very narrow way, to be more of a controller of than a
servant-leader of his wife. It seemed to us that God was working on his heart during our
time there, and after the last evening and last lecture, this imposing man with the
charming smile, who never smiled at me, came over, shook my hand, very seriously thanked
me and said goodbye. I think of him daily.
|
Friendship is not dependent upon language…
|
The courage of some people...one man, lacking any other means of communicating to us,
talks through a female interpreter about his very intimate problem with sexual
functioning. A woman confides about her pain during sexual activity. At one point, Karen
meets with the women alone, I with the men. I assumed we (the men) would have a short
meeting and could then go talk football or something; two hours later we were still not
done...it was clear that most of them had only a minimal knowledge of anatomy, physical
sexual responses, effects of hormonal cycles, etc., and they were hungry for information.
And, because these were totally dedicated believers who seek to involve Christ and God's
word in every aspect of their lives, they didn't just want to know (for instance) about
all different types of birth control, they insisted that I also discuss the scriptural
basis and theological implications of birth control in general (I deferred to others on
that one). Karen and I had a session with the five expectant couples...pregnancy in that
part of the world consists of only one or two hours of prenatal information (mostly
frightening), no involvement of the husband before or during labor and delivery, no
anesthesia, and an interesting set of dietary recommendations which defied explanation.
What did we pack for our return trip from Kiev? We brought back invitations; we have been
asked to return sometime in the Spring of 2001 for two weeks, to give more detailed
lectures, to address parenting issues, and to give a conference to the single members of
the organization. The spouse of one of those attending our conference serves as the
national Ukrainian director of another Christian outreach ministry, and he asked us to
return to give the same marriage conference to all of his staff (more than forty
individuals). I brought back a renewed appreciation of hot showers. We brought back a
sense of being humbled by the total dedication to Christ and the fervor for telling
others about Him that each of these Ukrainian believers demonstrated. In a country where
hardships and political changes could easily cause a spirit of complaining and pessimism,
these good servants were joyful, satisfied with the circumstance God had placed them in,
and totally committed to seeing their nation brought to an understanding of a Savior. We
brought back a new awareness that in spite of the confusion of different languages and
script, brothers and sisters in Christ the world over deal with the same concerns, the
same struggles, and the same joys.
And, we brought back our gratitude...first to God, for once again allowing us to witness
His miracle working power...and to those of you who made the trip possible through your
gifts and prayers. God is enlarging His kingdom, bringing people in all parts of the
world to a saving knowledge of His Son, Jesus. In the country of Ukraine, He is working
through a dedicated group of missionaries who, thanks to your prayers and support, not
only love Him, but are now better able to love one another. Others see that love, and are
drawn to know more about Jesus. Your involvement, your prayers, and your support of
Godspeed are having an impact! Please write or give us a call if you would like to
know more about this trip or the many other ways God is using Godspeed Missionary Care.
Godspeed,
Barney M. Davis, Jr., M.D.
Executive Director,
Godspeed Missionary Care
|
