KIEV...MEANINGFUL EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

During my 13 day stay in Kiev, Ukraine there were far too many meaningful events to list here in this space but I thought it would be beneficial to list a few. What made these events and activities memorable and exciting, was God's unmistakable hand in the middle of it all! It was also a blessing to serve with a team of people (13 of us) who modeled a servant attitude every step of the way. Our shared experiences in preparation for the trip and then during the trip itself, built for each of us a lifelong connection. Here we go!

-Jack's testimony during our team preparation - third meeting. Worth the trip itself and we were still sitting in our living room! Priceless!
-Arriving in Kiev on June 14 and reality setting in, and then seeing Pastor Peter's huge smile and experiencing his even bigger hug, which are an obvious overflow from his heart!
-Settling in...meeting our hosts family and then preparing for the marriage conference. Our host family was incredibly warm and hospitable, always working toward meeting our every need. I cannot remember being served this way since I was a two year old with chickenpox.
-The Marriage Conference...Thursday evening through Saturday afternoon. We were unsure if our sessions would be practical, meaningful, helpful, and relevant in this culture. We spent much time in prayer asking God to use our thoughts and words as well as help our interpreter make sense of it all for His glory and praise. This prayer was answered over and over again!
-Our wish was to be used to bring hope and encouragement to marriages. God provided that for young and "old" marriages alike. In fact, we found out later that one of the couples present at the conference was ready to file for divorce, but during the conference they re-committed themselves to Christ and their marriage.
-Learning...marriage issues are the same and communication and conflict resolution principles were welcomed and embraced.

More later....