Jun
15
Sunday Morning Sunday School - 9:30am
For All Ages
Mission Trip To Ukraine
A Message From Bro. Moe!
May 14, 2025
Hello my brothers and sisters! I am pleased to say that God blessed us with an uneventful journey to Ukraine and a couple of free days to recover from our jet lag!
My friend Carl, from Charlotte, joined me for the trip from the US. We left Wednesday evening and arrived in Ukraine Friday morning after long flights and even longer train rides!
Sunday we were greeted at the morning and evening worship services with familiar faces, open arms, big hugs and kisses and joy in our hearts from seeing each other again.
I had the opportunity to speak briefly to the congregation and brought them greetings from America and from the many that are praying diligently for them.
I then spoke about the peace that I knew they longed for, for their country, but then I spoke of a different kind of peace…the peace that only Jesus Christ could give them. My prayer is that all of them will find, and rest in, that inner peace, free from worry and trepidation, that only He can provide.
Yesterday my friend Jay, from England, arrived at the church to join our team. We spent the day showing him around the church and the surrounding areas to get him acquainted.
Today we visited two shut-ins, took them food, learned about their life, provided them with some spiritual and financial gifts, and prayed with them.
We first visited Olga, who I have visited before during previous trips.
When she came to the door she began hugging and kissing everyone on our team and eagerly escorted us into her small apartment.
Olga is an elderly widow, who lives on an $80/month government pension. She has no family. She was raised during the era of the harsh and unforgiving Soviet Union,and spoke of the difficulties of growing up during that period. She was born with a crippled right hand which made it difficult to find work that she could do. She started out working where she could and later in life began working in a library.
She told us her life story and the physical tolls that arthritis has now taken on her hands and legs, her failing eyesight, and the horrors that she experiences when she hears the drones attacking, or the explosions from the air defenses. She sobbed as she relived the terror she had been experiencing.
Because of the arthritis, she moves slowly, bent over, and holding onto things to steady her.
She said that when she hears the drones and explosions she has to hurriedly get to the corridor outside of her apartment door, away from the windows where it is the safest.
My heart sank for her as I tried to imagine this marvelous , crippled, Godly, woman trying to hurriedly get herself to safety.
Before leaving we asked if there was anything that she needed that we could get for her. With tearful eyes she said that visiting with her, and spending time with her was worth more than anything else we could ever do for her.
We said a prayer for her before we left, wiped our tears, and said our goodbyes.
Our second visit of the day was with 87 year old Nina and her caregiver daughter Ludmilla.
Once again we were greeted with open arms and welcoming smiles.
Nina also grew up in the era of the Soviet Union. She told us of how when she was four years old, she remembered clinging onto her father’s shoulders as he was being taken away to serve in the Soviet military during WWII. She ended up losing her father in that war.
She remembered the death of Stalin and the national day of mourning that followed. She told us of the 1947 famine in Ukraine, during which hundreds of thousands of citizens died.
When she was 17 she worked in a garment factory for 15 years, had one of her daughters and then went to work at a retail establishment.
She told us of how the Bible was banned in the Soviet Union, as was any other religion other than the Russian Orthodox Church. Nina told us of how they had to hide their Bibles and only bring them out when it was safe.
She talked of how government officials were placed inside the church and that going to church and worshipping God were two completely different things. She said that she stopped going to church so that she could actually start worshipping God.
Nina did marry and had two daughters. Her husband passed away some time ago. She has a granddaughter that is an actress that is in movies and on television.
During our visit Ludmilla treated us to coffee and tea and delicious homemade cherry tarts.
We also asked Nina if there was anything that she needed that we could provide for her and she, like Olga, expressed her deep gratitude for our visit.
We prayed with Nina and Ludmilla before we left and enjoyed the parting hugs and kisses of appreciation and gratefulness for our visit.
The asst pastor (Igor), who had been our driver and translator for the day, took us back to church where he said we had been invited to meet with four or five of the church women.
Upon our arrival back at the church, we were escorted to a large room where, when we entered, were surprisingly greeted with applause and cheers by fifteen or twenty of the women from the church! They were all seated around a large table which was covered in all kinds of foods and desserts!
Turns out we had been invited to the birthday celebration of two of the ladies. Our friend Jay, from the UK, ever the wonderfully outgoing one, joyfully stood up and sang happy birthday to the group In English and then again in Spanish as everyone sang along ( in their own language).
It was a great time of fellowship with that group. I did, however, suggest that Igor learn how to count. He just gave me a big grin.
Tomorrow we will be making improvements to the home of an elderly widow (Aunt Nadya) whose house we had worked at before. Her house and property had been damaged by a missile during the initial Russian invasion.
Please pray that our working hands and our walking testimony will bring the love of Christ to the people we meet.
May 18, 2025
Today we enjoyed the morning and evening worship services at the church and watched the spirit of God being expressed by the people.
Our teammate Jay actually provided the messages today, and the pastor translated Jay's words into Ukrainian for the congregation. Throughout Jay's messages I could hear "Amen" being uttered throughout the congregation. It was clear that his messages were touching hearts.
This past week it has rained almost every day, thus hampering some of the work that we had planned, but it was much needed rain because of the near drought conditions over the winter. Apparently they experienced much less rain and snowfall as is typical for them. But God has had other plans for us!
One of our main projects for this trip is to install a septic system for Aunt Nadia, whom we have been helping during our visits. Nadia has never had indoor plumbing so in preparation for an indoor toilet and shower, we arranged for workers to install a septic tank.
It was raining the morning of the install but before going there we had to pick up two refrigerators from a family that was donating them to the military. It is a common thing in Ukraine for people and families to donate items like that just to bring a bit more comfort to the soldiers.
When we arrived at Nadia's later that morning, we found that the men (boys) had started hand digging the hole for the tank early that morning, in the steady rain. The tank required a hole 9 feet deep and 6' wide. These two 16 year old boys were down about 6' when we arrived! It was impressive to watch.
We had to leave before they were finished with the job, but the boss was kind enough to send us photos of the finished work.
While I was checking on the septic tank job, Jay and Carl had the pleasure of visiting some additional shut-ins with the head Deacon, Igor.
The first visit was with Anna, of whom I had visited before. I know Anna to be a late 70's, strong Christian widow who has an unshakable faith, even during this terrible war.
Anna talked with them about deep theological topics of which she had an excellent understanding. They opened up the scripture with her and talked about their faith.
She treated them to borsch, a traditional Ukrainian stew, and tea sweetened with honey from her own hive. Carl, Igor and Jay prayed with her and left her with love from our entire team, hugs and kisses, food, some spiritual gifts and a financial gift. She was so grateful for the visit and the time spent with her.
Their second visit was with Nadia (not the same Nadia I was helping that day), a good friend of Anna. I had not visited Nadia before so Carl and Jay described her as a youthful looking 86 year old widow, who had lost her husband and son. She greeted them at the door wearing a superman robe, and gave them a big smile and big hugs.
Nadia distinctly remembered being a child during WWII and being very hungry, not only during that time but throughout her youth. Nadia is a strong believer and they spent considerable time with her in the Bible. Again they finished their visit by praying with her, and leaving her with food, spiritual gifts and a financial gift.
One afternoon the pastor took us to the Holodomor Memorial. The Holodomor was a man-made famine that occurred in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933, resulting in the death's of millions of Ukrainians. Joseph Stalin, in an attempt to crush Ukrainian nationalism and resistance, created a famine by collecting all of the agriculture, confiscating food and supplies from peasants, and restricting their movement so the people could not search for food.
Inside the museum, among other displays of the terror that Stalin had inflicted, were large thick books with the names of all of the people who died during the famine. As we were looking at the display, we saw the pastor standing over one of those books. Inside the book he found the name of his grandfather and other relatives. The book also gave a brief accounting of how they died. He read how his grandfather's farm had been confiscated, leaving them to fend for themselves when it came to finding food. Soon after, they took his grandfather away and killed him for "political" reasons. However, for 25 years they told the pastor's grandmother that his grandfather was alive in a prison in Siberia. It wasn't until the fall of the Soviet Union, and the opening of the KGB books, that she learned that he had been dead for 25 years. It was a very emotional experience for Pastor Dima. He had never seen that book before.
We have more work to do this week if God is willing, as well as a trip to the halfway house to deliver food to the residents there.
Thank you for your continued prayers for us, for the pastor here, the church family here, and the people of Ukraine.
Moe,
Galations 6:2
"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ"
May 23, 2025
Greetings again my brothers and sisters!What a wonderful week we have had visiting with and working with the people of the church here and the community!On Monday we took the long journey into the western part of Ukraine, to the Mercy House. This small house tucked away deep in a rural village, about an hour and half from Kyiv, serves as a rehabilitation home for those with substance abuse challenges. Currently there are three men staying there but they have had as many as twelve at one time.Upon our arrival we greeted the men there, unloaded the groceries from the van, and then showed Carl and Jay around the grounds. Pastor Dima told them of the history of the home and showed them the areas where pigs and chickens were once raised and where the vegetable gardens once flourished. He explained that the men that live their now are too old or have disabilities that prevent them from being able to meet the physical demands of caring for animals and gardens.In order to stay at the home, the individuals must follow very strict rules. These rules include of course, no drugs or alcohol, no smoking, no cell phones without permission, they must share in the daily chores, participate in daily Bible lessons, and they must attend Communion once a month at the church in Kyiv (none have transportation so the church transports them).The men that live there have been rescued from hospitals and the streets by someone from the church. Many have nowhere else to live. Some stay for years and some stay for days. Those that can't follow the rules leave on their own or are asked to leave.We brought them the monthly supply of food and other sundries, and sat with them to enjoy a lunch of pork fat, borscht, bread, cheese, and the ever present cup of tea. For desert they served us home-made apple jam and bread. Our brother Jay read scripture for the group and we prayed for the men.After the meal, one of the men shared the story of how his mother died when he was young and that set him onto a path of despair and ultimately alcoholism. He told us of how he was taken off the streets and into the hospital three times. On the third time, someone called our host church who sent someone over to take him to the Mercy House. He said that he gave his life to Christ and has been sober since that day. That was thirteen years ago and now he is the resident supervisor.During one of my previous trips I remember a resident told us that he was literally laying in a ditch on the side of the road, in the rain, on a cold winter night, when one of the church members here pulled him out of the ditch, and took him to the Mercy House. He said his mortal life was saved that night and his immortal life was saved a few months later.Every time I leave there I thank God for the Mercy House, and for Pastor Dima's church which funds one hundred percent of it's operation. The church through the Mercy House has changed a lot of lives in more ways than one. I also pray that I never take for granted the blessings I have received...loving parents, a roof over my head, food on the table, and a church to which my parents took me throughout my childhood.The next day our team was in the lobby of the church at the same time the church staff had gathered for their morning prayer. While we were waiting to begin, an elderly lady timidly entered the church carrying something in a plastic bag. As she spoke (in Ukrainian), I could see the expressions of the church staff transition from those of curiosity to ones of gratitude, for the lady pulled out a Bible and said that she wanted to give it to the church.Then, the lady started sobbing as she was talking and the expressions around changed from gratitude to deep sadness as some walked over to comfort her. As she did her best to talk through her tears, I learned later that she had been wanting to go to this church for a long time, but someone told her that she should not because "the church keeps a list". As it turns out, this lady grew up during the soviet era when the churches were required to register with the government, and were required to keep a list of attendees.That list was used to persecute those who strayed too far from the official communist doctrine. This lady was still fearful of being put on a government list, even though that practice ended with the fall of the soviet union.The church staff rallied around her and assured her she had nothing to worry about. They prayed for her and welcomed her to the next service. All of our team members were a bit in awe at how the harsh treatment by the soviet communists, still had strong, deeply emotional, lingering effects on people even to this day.Throughout our time here we would be invited to eat a lunch or dinner with the families of the church staff or members of the church. The warmth and kindness shown to us was consistent from family to family. The food was always amazing and the conversations jovial and lighthearted. There was no complaining about the war or talk about the tragedies their families had experienced. They were rejoicing in just having us there, from so far away, bringing our love and our encouragement and our support to them. They shared their family photos with us and told stories of their youth. They laughed when telling how they met their spouse or something their children had done. It was just like having a meal with any other family back home...but for the air raid alerts that would sound off on our phones.We made our way back to Aunt Nadia's this morning to inspect the work completed by the plumber that we hired. He did a very good job of running not only the drain lines, but also the hot and cold water lines to Nadia's future indoor bathroom. We paid him his due and then set our sights on moving the huge dirt pile in her back yard, that had been left by the crew that installed her septic tank.It was my plan to start that job as soon as we arrived, but I should have known better. Nadia asked if we wanted tea and cake before we started and I politely thanked her and told her (through my phone translator) that we were going to go ahead and start our work and that we would eat a bit later. It was all a futile effort on my part. With a pleasant, wry smile she turned away and proceeded to put on a kettle of water...and then placed the cake on the table.An hour later we managed to pry ourself away from the table and began the work on moving that huge pile of dirt, eighty yards to where she wanted it placed. Two hours and twenty three full wheelbarrows later, we completed the job just in time for...guess what. Time to eat again.We cleaned up and went inside to find Aunt Nadia had laid out a table of food that could have fed an army. There were only four of us, including Nadia, and at least one of us was still full from the cake and tea episode. Nevertheless, we all managed to eat our share and then some, of borscht, pork fat, bread, potatoes, cheese and cabbage wraps. It was all incredibly delicious.This would be the last time that we saw Aunt Nadia before we returned home so we said our goodbyes. I noticed that when she hugged me goodbye that she was gently crying. Over and over she kept saying "dyakuyu" "dyakuyu", the Ukrainian word for "thank you". She was thanking us for all we were doing to help improve her life.She held her hug as I kissed her tear dampened cheek, and I assured her that I would be back again, if it was the Lord's will.Later this evening, as we were headed out for our nightly visit to the mall food court across the street, we saw the youth teen group was meeting in one of the church classrooms. Once we were at the mall we called over and spoke to the youth leader, and invited the youth group to join us for fellowship and a special treat at Cinnabon. They gladly accepted, arrived quickly, and were eager to order their treats!As we sat around the table, I challenged their English speaking skills. They laughed as they made fun of each other's mistakes as I engaged them in conversation. (I'm just glad they did not challenge me on my Ukrainian language skills!) Everyone had a good time and I'm glad we had an opportunity to interact with the youth of the church. We left them with words of encouragement and assurance that we would be praying for their future and their spiritual walk.We will start our journey home tomorrow night. As I reflect on our trip, I'm humbled by the way that God took my perfectly planned, detailed list of tasks and my precise schedule of everything I expected to accomplish, shook it all up, tossed out parts here, added a few parts there, and provided us with the most effective spiritual outreach of any of our trips.God used our brother Jay from the UK in a special way regarding the effectiveness of our outreach. Jay not only provided two of the church service messages, but also brought booklets, in the Ukrainian language, that gave words of spiritual encouragement to the reader. We placed those booklets at the memorials of fallen soldiers, so that their loved ones may read them, and gave them to individuals as we saw the opportunity. God had a purpose for Jay being on this trip.I look forward to returning home to my wife and my family and my church family, all of whom I miss a lot. I am so grateful that God has given me a supportive family and a supportive church. Thank you all for all you do to support these mission trips.God willing, I will see you all soon!MoeMay 29, 2025
Hello brothers and sisters!I am safely home now and happy to be back with my wife and family, and I’m looking forward to seeing you all at church!As a final update to our May 2025 mission trip to Ukraine, I wanted to provide you with a summary of a few of the major accomplishments that we were able to achieve during the trip. Those accomplishments include:- Spreading the love of Christ and the message of salvation- Distribution of Ukrainian language booklets of encouragement- Visitation with shut-ins, which included gifts of food, spiritual materials and financial support- Visitation with those recovering addicts at the Mercy House- Installation of a septic system for Aunt Nadia's home- Installation of drain lines and hot/cold supply lines to a future inside bathroom for Aunt Nadia's home- Purchase of an interactive video learning board for the children/teens Sunday school class- Purchase of Sunday school graduation gifts for the church children- Financial support for the church- Financial love gifts for the pastor and two Asst. Pastors- Youth outing to the local mall (Cinnabon)I thank you again for your prayers during our trip, and for your financial support, which makes it possible for us to help others in that war-torn country.May God bless you richly,MoeGal 6:2"Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ"
Please Chick The Picture/Link
Below If You Would Like To
Support Our Efforts.
Type "Ukraine Mission Trip"
in the Memo Section Of
The Page.
For More Information
Regarding Our Trip,
You Can Email Bro. Mo At
mocephus2003@yahoo.com
May God Richly Bless Your Support!!!
To See The Video
Of The Last Mission Trip,
Watch The Service Below.
The Update To Our Church
Is In The Middle
Of The Service.
