Digging for Your Life

Harvesting Potatoes

Yesterday, Dominic and I went to the village of Kozhenyky to help harvest potatoes. We've done this before and it's our way of helping a family in the church that owns the home and land there. It's hard work, but we also have fun along the way and they feed us really well.

Lunch Break (red borshch and holubtsi)

They tell us that the village is dying. There are no young people there anymore. They've all moved away. As the older people in the village die, their homes are often just boarded up. We've heard that the village is down to just one cow now as cows are a lot of work to care for.

The road out of the village goes up the hill to the far right.

Collecting pollen.

Dominic burning the dead potato vegetation.

It appears that, unbeknownst to Dominic, he was being stalked by the grim reaper.

Looking around at how difficult life is there, I can understand how young people would want to move away. There is no running water or toilets and most people live off of the animals they raise and the crops they grow. Potatoes are of course the most important crop and the most labor intensive. They are also solely dependent on God's provision of rain for water.

Biggest sunflower ever?

Pumpkins and more.

The potatoes that are harvested must last people until the next year. Nothing goes to waste. The potatoes are sorted and any that are damaged are fed to their animals. Potatoes can also be sold or traded. So as I looked around at other people digging neighboring plots of land, I realized that they were literally digging for their lives.

This woman had been in the field next to us collecting vegetables and some grass for the one remaining cow in the village. She was lugging a full load up the steep hill using an old baby carriage.

Walking in the Village

Some of the kids asked if I would take their picture after assuring us that their dog doesn't bite.

Yesterday, Dominic and Edna went with me on a walk through the forest. We ended our walk by walking home through the little village on the other side of the river. It's still part of Bila Tserkva and I guess you could call it a suburb rather than a village, but people raise animals and crops so I think of it as a village. Anyway, I snapped a few photos as we walked to give people a better idea of what it looks like where we live.

People have dog and cat doors so why not a chicken door? Actually, I guess it's more of tunnel than a door, but I still like the idea.

A babusya (grandmother) watching over her goats

I'm always amazed at how different life can be just across the river. Each day we watch as people bring carts of vegetables, fruits, meats, and homemade dairy products from the village to sell in the market on this side of the river.

A babusya on her way to the market

Edna and Dominic walking towards the bridge on the way home

I guess you could say, "there's no place like home", and we feel truly blessed by the life that God has called us to here.

From Death to Life

Today we held a funeral for Serihy, but not in the normal sense. We brought members of our church and treated it as though it were an extended church service. We sang worship songs and preached about God's free gift of eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ. It turned out to be a great opportunity for sharing the Gospel with the villagers that attended. I was blessed to be able to share about the life we are offered once we leave this world behind. The other two pastors preached similar messages of salvation and the need to invite Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior before it's too late. God's Love is so great that His Word reached into this small village of mostly elderly people and began to shine light into their lives. (This happened figuratively and literally!)

A cold overcast day suddenly gave way to bright sunshine as God's Word was lovingly shared.

After we left the cemetery, we shared a meal and one last song together.

Не в тому любов, що ми полюбили Бога, а що Він полюбив нас, і послав Свого Сина вблаганням за наші гріхи. -1 Іван 4:10

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. - 1 John 4:10

You can see more photos from this day by clicking HERE.

Passing and Prayer

Serhiy and his dog Topeek heading home.

Earlier today, our friend Maria's great-uncle, Serhiy, left this world. We knew him from the times we visited the village where he lived to help harvest potatoes and it was earlier this year that we buried his sister, Baba Hanya. We will be holding a funeral service tomorrow in the village of Kozhenykiy. Please pray for Maria and her family as they shoulder the majority of the work and preparations to be done tonight and tomorrow. We are hoping to help in any way we can, but there is a lot to be done in a short time. Maria's mother Valentina has especially been overwhelmed with caring for Serhiy since his sister died and in his final days. Please pray that we will find ways to bring glory to God and share Christ with the people of the village there.

Outreach to Flood Victims in Western Ukraine (Part 4)

Andriy and Dominic sampling some of the hot bread that we would later hand out.

Saturday morning we headed to within a mile of the Moldovan and Romanian borders to visit some of the worst hit areas around the village of Mamalyha. One of the biggest problems is the need for clean drinking water. The flood carried bacteria and waste into all the wells and polluted the ground water. The elderly were most affected because it is difficult for them to travel to get food and water. (Be sure and check out Conor's blog too.)

On the road to Mamalyha

Valera shows us just how high the water was, filling this well with mud and debris.

Along with food, the Chernihiv church placed Russian translations of Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper in these black bags.

This woman told us that she lost everything she owns including her home on the other side of the fence. She is now staying with neighbors.

A family stands near their destroyed home.

Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing Love. -Lamentations 3:32

The Ukrainian border is just down this road. The hills to the left are in Moldova and the hills to the right are in Romania.

Outreach to Flood Victims in Western Ukraine (Part 3)

Marina and Olya begin the cleanup work in the house

On Friday morning we began helping to cleanup around the home of Halya, a woman from the church in Novoselytsia. You can see from the pictures that the flood literally stripped away all the newly completed work they had done on the home.

Andriy helped me and Conor move some of the bigger stuff as we cleaned out this shed to salvage what we could from the mud. Later we would clean the mud off the table and bench so that we could share a meal on it.

Dominic cleaned the bulk of the mud off of Halya's canned foods that Jake had rescued from her still flooded cellar.

Jake and Andriy cleaned up the jars of food that hadn't had there lids rust through.

Mira, Vlada, and Olya cleaned the mud of the windows, blinds, and screens.

Conor and I had almost finished getting the shed cleaned out so the mud could dry.

We all sat down to eat on the table that had earlier been covered in mud and debris. Halya is at the end of the table serving us borshch.

After we left Halya's place, we got cleaned up and attended a Friday night service at our hosts' church. Jake was invited to share a message and Andriy gave his testimony while the girls were asked to lead a few worship songs. We were all greatly encouraged by the welcome we received and the fellowship we shared. Our hosts went out of their way to make sure we were always well fed and had a comfortable place to stay. They were all amazing.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. - Romans 12:10

After the service we traveled to a small village of about 3,000 people to attend a Friday night Youth Group. The village was made up of ethnic Romanians who spoke Romanian and attended Romanian speaking schools, something we were all a little surprised to find. The village was actually part of Romania until the Soviet occupation after WW II. The family that was hosting the Youth Group in their home told us that they had ten children, which is a little unusual in Ukraine. We talked and sang until about 1:30AM. Heavy rains forced some of us to spend the night in their home. It was a long, but rewarding day.

Some video of our evening together

Outreach to Flood Victims in Western Ukraine (Part 2)

Valya and Olya with a woman whose home was damaged by the flood

Just to give you an idea of where we went, this map shows the straight line distance from Chernihiv to Novoselytsia in the Chernivtsi Oblast (If only the drive had been that simple).

Once we arrived in the village of Novoselytsia and met our hosts from the local Baptist church, we waisted no time in getting out to meet the people. We picked up some food that had been donated by other Baptist churches in Ukraine and then the Chernihiv church also purchased some food and supplies to be distributed. We headed out to some of the areas in the village that had been hit by the flood. People were very grateful for what we could give them and had tears in their eyes when they learned how far we had come just to help them. Almost everyone had lost their gardens to the flood so any food we could give was greatly appreciated. Anya Knotts has also posted about this so please check out that blog as well. Mission: Western Ukraine flood area

This woman is explaining how her house, behind her, collapsed during the flood.

This woman lives alone and was thankful for what we could give her and for the time the girls spent talking with her.

This man was walking his goat home when he saw us giving out food. I carried a bag of potatoes to his home where he and his wife showed me how high the water had come.

Once the food was all handed out, we decided to visit the home of a woman from the Baptist church there in Novoselytsia. She had almost completed an expensive remodel on her home when the flood hit. The water level had risen almost to the ceiling. There really wasn't much if anything she could salvage from her home. It was sad to see almost everything she owned sitting around her home waiting to be hauled away as trash. It was decided that we would spend most of the next day helping her clean up so that she could begin the process of making her home livable again.

One of our hosts, Valera, shows us how much water is still in the cellar of the woman from their church. All of her canned food for the winter was also still buried down in the mud.

We were amazed at just how high the water had risen in some areas. Valya can't even reach the highest water mark on the tree.

I noticed that while the garden behind this rose bush was dead and completely destroyed by the flood, this rose had not only survived, but had blossomed. That is my prayer for the people there. Not only that they survive, but that they blossom in Christ and look to Him to meet all their needs.