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Staff Reports
Reports of recent Trips and Work by Godspeed Missionary Care
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Staff Missionary Reports
Reports and Experiences of the Godspeed Staff
Wednesday evening, Kiev, Ukraine:
It seems more than eight days since we arrived in Kiev last
Tuesday. On Wednesday we took a bus to Cherkassy, stayed
overnight as we visited with local families there, then took an
overnight train to Odessa. Our several days in Odessa were
full, as we had consultations with team members and members
of the local church who had also asked for time with us.
Another overnight train brought us back to Kiev yesterday
morning, and we have been busy since with consultations here.
As I write we are awaiting our last meeting of the evening,
with several more scheduled for tomorrow before our early,
early morning homeward departure Thursday. There are more
images in my mind than I can recount in a brief e-mail, but a
sampling would include...
- an ongoing reminder of how minimal my aches and pains
really are compared to those experienced by others. We
are accompanied on the first two legs of our trip by our
interpreter, a young woman who has suffered from
congenital hip problems since birth. She has undergone
several surgeries over the years, none of which has had
desired results. Every step is painful, and there are
many of them as we walk most places between public
transportation of varying kinds, each with its own set
of ambulatory challenges. After five days of misaligned
hip and knees being stressed excessively, she is
bedridden with acute back spasms. She must board still
another train to get back to her home city, where we hope
someone will be able to meet her at the train to assist.
Throughout our time together, she has never lost her
smile.
- a reminder of my limitations in witnessing and even
relating, much of it due to language restrictions but
more to my own hesitancy to reach out in truth. The
overnight train compartment sleeps four in small (for
someone my size) bunks. Karen and I and our interpreter
occupy three; the other is assigned to a garrulous man
with a near-inexhaustable fund of opinions on life, God,
economics, World War II, all shared with gusto in
between large mouthfuls of green onions and kielbasa and
swigs of vodka. Seldom at a loss for words myself, I
am soon overwhelmed and retreat to my upper bunk, but
he continues to regale us. I hear many things that I
could respond to but am too overwhelmed by it all to
even try.
- a reminder that not everyone has grown up in a
Christian culture. One of the women that we meet talks
about her childhood; it is not just that she was not a
Christian or from a Christian home. She was eight years
old before she ever heard of Easter or Christmas. Raised
in other Soviet-bloc countries as her father was
transferred from place to place, she literally had no
awareness of God, religion, and certainly not of Christ
until later in life.
- a reminder that my passport country is woefully lacking
in enthusiasm concerning football (read: soccer). We
are traveling at a time when the World Cup is in full
swing, and Ukraine has a team in one of the groups. A
counseling session is re-scheduled to allow everyone to
see the Ukraine team defeat Saudi Arabia; priorities are
important.
- a reminder that in spite of thirty-plus years of
psychiatric experience and some lesser degree of
cross-cultural exposure, I never cease to be amazed at
the depths of emotional and relational pain that some
people suffer, and to be in awe of their resiliency and
ability to at the same time share, express, and relish
humor. We are blessed to be allowed to hear both the
sad and the glad.
There are many, many more reminders afloat in my mind, but I
need to get this sent out before we rest tonight to resume work
tomorrow. We are grateful for your prayers, and look forward
to hearing from you...
Godspeed,
Barney, for Karen and the Godspeed team
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