HOLIDAYS BRING OUT SO MANY FEELINGS

"I Am Not There, I Am Here"

On this Thanksgiving holiday I am thankful for many things including living and working in Ukraine. I must admit, though, our hearts sometimes ache over being so far from loved ones and family, from our culture and familiarity of it.  I post this from another missionary.  It is encouraging and I hope helps others to understand our being so far. 

I am not there.

          I am here.

The miles are long. Their days are my nights. My days are their nights.

I am not there. I am here.


She looks so beautiful, dressed in white. She walks the aisle, and he meets her at the front. The “I do’s” are said and tears of joy are shed. I do not see it. I only have pictures. I am not there. I am here.


The tree is put up and decorated. The lights glisten and glow. Sipping hot chocolate after a family dinner. Presents exchanged. But I am not there. I am here.

Tears are shed. Flowers fill the chapel. A casket is closed. Hearts are broken. Goodbyes are spoken. Comforting hugs. Reminiscing over happy memories. But I am not there. I am here.

A family hurting. Children crying. Parents aching. And someone leaves. A broken home. Phone calls and emails are all I have. My heart wants to hold them, to cry with them. I want to wipe away the tears. But I am not there. I am here.

Bad news comes. Health is failing. Surgeries. Treatments. Doctor’s appointments. I cannot help. I cannot drive for them or cook a meal or clean. I am not there. I am here.

A beautiful pregnant belly. The gender announced. Before long, the labor starts. The baby’s first cry. Happy parents. But I do not get to hold the baby. I do not hear the cry. I am not there. I am here.

Birthdays come and go. Trials faced. But I am not there…

Sometimes my heart wants to cry out, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first see her wedding. Let me first see the baby born. Let me make sure everyone will be o.k. while I am gone. Let me first… me first…”

              Me first…

I am not the first to think it. I am not the first to feel the pull… the tug.

Luke 9:57-62 “And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.  And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Following is not without sacrifice. I don’t want to look back. I want to keep my hand to the plough. I want to plough straight and deep.

My heart wants to cry, “Me first!” So I remind my heart about what belongs first.

Matthew 6:33  “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

If I put Him first, He will supply me need… comfort when I ache inside… comfort when I miss family and friends… comfort when the tears flow.

Why am I here when I am missing out on things there?

 I remember why I am here. I remember Who brought me here.

Romans 10:13-15 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

I am not there.

              By God’s grace, I am here.

              So today, I lay “there” on the altar again.

I am here.   (Author unknown, surely a missionary)

#CARDS FOR #CHRIST

I travel about 45 minutes to our northwest where I do a monthly class with some ladies.  As you can see we don't have a big space to work in this tiny church, but that does not stop them from creating lovely things.

This is Oxana and Vika, mother and daughter.  Vika is a school teacher.  These two always do such lovely creations.

Of course, Vika's little dog Archie had to be part of everything.

Natasha always does pretty work.  She was an orphan growing up.

Though they are not often with us, these two youngsters are Natasha's children, Ivanka and David.  I've been giving them clothes because they don't have a lot.  A young girl needs some nice things.

Thank you to those of you who send pretties and supplies.  I couldn't do this without you.  These were Easter cards that the ladies will give to the elderly in homes.  So your blessing of supplies will bless others for Christ.  Despite the threat of war with Russia, we try to continue life as normal.  Pray for peace please.

#UKRAINE FOR #EUROPE

This video is women of Ukraine.  Ukrainian women who speak Russian as their first language.  We speak Russian in Ukraine.  We have for 20 years without any discriminatory problem.  Many in our church speak Russian and Ukrainian.  Many have Russian as their first language, a leftover from Soviet Russification.  Though their words are in Russian, it is translated below so you can understand their hearts.

Post by For the Peace in Ukraine.

THE PROPAGANDA WAR OVER UKRAINE! by Jeff Franks

“Now we see through a glass, darkly . . .” (1 Cor 13:12)!



The Russian TV and press have been presenting the Ukrainian revolution as a brazen coup

d’etat led by “neo-Nazi nationalist thugs”. Because Ukrainian nationalists were present and

could be more easily seen at the forefront of violent clashes with riot police, certain producers

have filmed documentaries, complete with interviews, which purport to show the all-

encompassing “true nature” of the anti-Yanukovich protests. “Who do you hate?” asked one

Russian interviewer. “Russians, Jews, and Poles,” answered the activist. Therefore, goes the

line, the Ukrainian revolution was of the exact same spirit as Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch. Only

unlike Hitler, these Ukrainian neo-Nazis who gathered “in mass” on Maidan square in Kyiv,

actually forced Victor Yanukovich, Ukraine’s “legitimately elected president”, from power.

How accurate are these Russian media accounts? Whether true or not, they are

overwhelmingly convincing. I have been in several discussions with Russians who can see it

only this way. When ousted President Yanukovich spoke in Rostov-on-Don, he said Euro-

maidan was the work of “right wing thugs”. “We will not let these fascist bullies from Maidan rule

our lives!” cried the fully equipped soldiers in masks and unmarked uniforms who raised the

Russian flag over the government buildings and airports of Crimea. Naturally, their cry finds

resonance in the majority ethnic Russian population of Crimea, many of whom welcome

Russia’s invasion with open arms.


What is wrong with these so-called “anti-Maidan” presentations?   Three things.


First of all, they employ emotional hot-buttons which rouse nationalist hostility and resentment.

“All Ukrainians are so-and-so’s.” Similar arguments were sometimes employed during the

protests to provoke anger against Russians: “We will not be ruled by those Russian so-and-sos

(fill in the blank)!” In order to sound more reasonable, one Russian Christian told me, “You are

like MOST Ukrainians who think such-and-such.” Of course, people who think “such-and-such”

are always wrong-headed, aren’t they?



Secondly, these arguments ignore the factual account of events as they occurred. In November

2013, when President Yanukovich rejected the associational trade agreement with the EU,

“who” first came down to Kyiv’s Maidan to protest? Go back and review the videos and news

accounts. You will find that they were mostly university-age students. Where were the Nazi

symbols? Where were the nationalist slogans? Why were there so many young faces and so

few middle aged people with families? When the riot police attacked them in the pre-dawn

hours, did they offer resistance? Who then came to Independence Square to protest, almost a

million strong? Were they at all concerned about Europe or were they angered at the violent

attack on young people from their own government? “Euro-Maidan” was a convenient label at

the start, but pro-European or anti-Russian sentiments had already given way to the larger

issues of theft, corruption, and abuse of power in the current administration. These are factual

issues which burst the hot-air balloons of propaganda. Nevertheless, the propaganda continues

on both sides and sadly, it seems to work.


Thirdly, these arguments employ a common device used in media and politics, the “straw man”

fallacy. You take your opponent’s legitimate issues, in this case anger at Yanukovich’s

corruption and abuse of power, and present them as ridiculous, obviously absurd, and evil.

“Look at these neo-Nazis who hate Russians and Jews. Is this the kind of government you want

in Ukraine?” That is a classic “straw man” fallacy. “Regardless of the facts, regardless of the

true nature of things, if you hate Nazi’s then you should hate the new Ukrainian government.”

I do not have to convince people of the “true nature” of things, which are always more complex

than I can fully understand. Lord grant that we remember to love our enemies and pray for

those who abuse and persecute us. May we remember to dress in the “full armor of God”,

putting on the belt of truth. May we never find comfort or justification in false accounts, because

they never bear the good fruits of love, peace and liberty, but rather provide a covering for

abusive control, corruption, and theft. As you pray for peace in Russia and Ukraine, forgive in

advance any remarks made in anger by those who have bought into the propaganda of one side

or another.