Ukraine: August 2012

The Crossroad Mission Team is currently in the planning phase for a trip back to Cherkassy, Ukraine in August 2012.  There are currently 5 team members planning to minister, serve and share.  If you're interested, please email mike@crossroadchurch.com or call the church office for more details:  410.586.1272.

We're Ba-ack

Sooo happy to be back in the United States!  The flight was long and we're jet lagged but glad to be home.

Be sure to be at Crossroad Church this Sunday as we will be sharing a multimedia presentation and testimonies.

So looking forward to seeing you all.

God is great!

Love u all,
Mike

Heading Home

It's 0630 here in Cherkassy and the team will be loading up shortly.

3 hr bus ride
3 hr flight from Kiev to London
2 hr layover
8 hr flight to Dulles
1.5 hr ride home

So we'll see you all very soon.

Love u guys!



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Location:Shevchenka Blvd,Cherkasy,Ukraine

Reciprocity

God gives back to those who give to Him. We've given our time, talents and resources and He has blessed us beyond measure. The Lord saved our greatest blessing for the final day!

Today we traveled to a drug/alcohol rehab about an hour south of Cherkassy. It was located in a small farming village. It's a place where the residents commit to living there for a year. Each day they get up, pray and received Gods word, then they work on the farm. There are all kinds if animals and fields for them to work.

We prayed for each of them and God spoke and encouraged the men and women. The men layed hands on each other and prayed for each other. One man, Oleg, had gotten saved last Friday when we were ministering at the homeless shelter. He looked like a changed man. His eyes were clear and there was a beautiful new peace on him. He was already laying hands on his brothers and praying for them. God is soooooooooooo good.

After sharing and praying together, we were treated to a short tour of the farm followed by a delicious meal. They served us borsch, potatoes with tomatoes, cucumbers and onions followed by fresh cut tea and homemade apple turnovers. Their dining area is open-air, dirt flor complete with cats, geese and an occasional rooster. It was awesome!

Tonight we are going to pray over a piece of land Pastor Sasha is looking to buy and will be sharing our last meal together in Cherkassy.

The team is in great spirits and we are all so full and amazed by what God has done to and through each of us.

We miss and love you all.


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Location:Shevchenka Blvd,Cherkasy,Ukraine

Pictures of Kiev

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Kiev

Today were sightseeing in Kiev. It's a beautiful city and we are with our friends so were having a precious time.

Last evening the team collectively donated $400 (3,200 Grivna) to an elderly woman for cataract surgery. She was very blessed and prayed for us in a powerful way.

Tomorrow we are going to a drug/alcohol rehab center. Please pray that we will speak boldly and effectively for the Lord.

God is soooooooooooo good.

Love u guys!!




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Location:Khreshchatyk St,Kiev,Ukraine

Churchin It

Two 3.5 hr church services today. We sang, danced, prayed and received great teaching. We prayed for many and ministered on the street in between services. Ahhhhhh. God is good.

Love u guys!!










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Location:Khreshchatyk St,Cherkasy,Ukraine

Jesus IS Lord

9am here in Cherkasy. The weather is about 78F with sunny skies. The team is headed to Truth Christian Church this morning.

Last night the guys hit the city center. We shared the word of the Lord with many young people. One young man accepted on the spot and many others took the prayer cards home with them. We could sense God was pricking their hearts and are confident that they will be saved.

We met our first atheist and debated our perspectives but after some time we parted ways with mutual respect.

Another man we met "Slava" had accepted Christ the night before because he found one of the prayer cards the team had been passing out. PRAISE GOD! Someone else's trash became his eternal salvation. Crazy!

This trip is changing our lives. We have been stretched and tugged by the Lord to work in a way beyond our comfort zone. As a result, our lives have been changed, we've been filled and have learned that we can't out-give God. When we give ourselves, he blesses us with joy, peace and himself.

Thank you Jesus for this opportunity and thank you Crossroad for your prayers and financial help. We've used the funds for bus fare and to help with other travel and interpreter expenses.

We love you Crossroad and are praying for you guys this morning.



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Location:Shevchenka Blvd,Cherkasy,Ukraine

Saturday

Checkin' in from MickeyD's today. It's a beautiful morning with cloudy skies and the temperature around 70 degrees.

The girls are leading a ladies bible study at Pastor Sasha's church and there will unsaved women at this meeting (please pray).

The men are going to be doing street evangelism. Already today, we have shared Jesus with a few people just in the 2 block walk to McDonalds.

We were without a translator so sharing the gospel verbally was hard but Gods spirit spoke and we handed them cards with the salvation prayer. In any case, they received a beautiful seed.

Look for more updates for the guys and girls later tonight.

We love and miss you guys and can feel your prayers.

Mike




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Location:Khreshchatyk St,Cherkasy,Ukraine

Prayer Warriors among us!!!

Today we had the opportunity to help serve food to the homeless at a soup kitchen.  The people came to the church for some soup, a piece of bread and hot tea.  The language barrier was not a problem with the spirit flowing thru all of them and all of us.  We were humbled to realize how fortunate we are in America but also the realization of how free the people of the Ukraine are.  We prayed for everyone corporately and individually.  The prayers there were not elaborate; some just need a job and one asked for healing of a sister relationship.  There were many who already knew Jesus and there were some that asked him into their hearts.  Two men and a young girl came to the church just to receive prayer.  How Wonderful is that!!!

We had a great lunch together again today and that has been great time for the team to relax, fellowship and encourage one another.  God is creating such a bond between the 10 of us that it seems like we have been old friends for years. 

After lunch, the team gathered to bring up food staples to make up 100 bags of non-perishables to give out to the widows and single mothers that the church ministers too.  We are going to hand them out on Saturday.  We had an assembly line going to fill these bags and I must say that between the team and the help of a few ladies from the church we had them all done in no time.  Laughter rang thru to make the work seem like nothing. 

Tonight we visited Pastor Sasha's church for a prayer service.  How inspiring we all were from the love that was showered upon all of this team.  We went to pray for the churches here and be encouraging but they encouraged and blessed us.  This is how every person that we have met has treated us.  People on the street are just as kind.

We went to dinner with Nadia, Lena, Dema and Lilia tonight to a traditional Ukrainian restaurant.  Some of us started out with a Cesear Salad.  Boy were we surprised when the salads came and there wasn't a stitch of romaine lettuce on the plate.  It was full of Chicken, Ham, Tomatoe and Parsley.  We suggested they make a menu with pictures, lol.  We had several different kinds of vareniki.  They were filled with many different things like liver, cheese, mashed potatoes, cabbage and some even had cherries.  They were delicious!

Please continue to pray for the people here and for the team.  We came to be a blessing but are getting so much more in return than we could have ever imagined.

Blessings,

Katie

Preach It

We visited an AIDS daycare this morning where all the children are HIV positive. We handed out toys and sang and played with them.

We had another amazing Ukrainian lunch with pork soup, potatoes and tomatoes and a delicious chocolate bread pudding concoction.

We went to a rehab clinic but were unable to witness because they would not let us in. We praised God because we trust his will was done nonetheless.

We then went back to Dema's house and shared. It was awesome and I thank God for the brothers as we strengthened each others.

Below is a pic of Rusty bringing the word at Truth Church in downtown Cherkasy.

Worship was awesome tonight. The presence of God was so strong without the distraction of having to sing along.

I met Pastor Sasha and he sends his love and greeting to Crossroad.

I'm at McDonalds as I write so sorry for any typos. We love an miss you all and ask that you continue to keep us lifted up.

God is awesome!!



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Location:Shevchenka Blvd,Cherkasy,Ukraine

Day #2

God is working here in the Ukraine.  Today, we visited an orphanage for the mentally ill.  These kids will forever remain in my heart.  We delivered stuffed animals & candy, sang and played games.  I'm not sure who was blessed more...us or them.

After the Orphanage, we traveled to Pastor Yuri's church and were served with a delicious meal of soup, red & yellow tomatoes, mashed potatos and the most amazing pork chops on the planet.  All that followed by coconut cream cake & coffee.

Next Rusty, Mike & Gordon traveled to the other side of town to meet with the director of a hospital for AIDS patients and drug/alcohol addicts.  She explained the purpose and vision for their ministry and set us up for many upcomming vists over the next few days.

Later, we split up into 3 teams with 1 interpreter each and held street evangelism.  With Dima's help, we led a young man named "Yuri" to Jesus right there on the street corner.  When the prayer was over, he wiped the tears from his eyes and said, "I feel freedom in my heart."  I will never forget this new brother.

Last item of the day was a double-cheeseburger from McDonalds with the team and our hosts :-)

Tomorrow we have a full day.  The team will be at an AIDS hospital for children and traveling to a drug & alcohol recovery clinic.  Please continue to pray for us.  I have never experienced the power of Christ in such a beautiful way and I can assure you that each and every member of our team is giving and receiving a life-changing blessing.

Mike

Witnessing at Mickey D's

This evening we went out in front of McDonalds to witness.  Dorothy and I thought that the language barrier would be an obstacle; however, our interpreter told us that actually our approaching people using English would draw their attention and cause them to stop and listen out of curiosity.  We shared with a lot of people (with our interpreter standing by to assist when needed). Quite a few people knew English and we were able to converse with them.  When people showed no interest and walked away, we offered a Russian tract for them to take home and read later.  Unfortunately it was raining all evening and as it began to rain harder, few people were on the streets for us to share with so we ended our efforts and went inside to eat.  It was wonderful being surrounded by our brothers and sisters from Cherkassy as we all ate together.  One memorable event during mealtime was when two guys approached Gordon requesting to have their photos taken with him.  Perhaps they thought he was "Mr. T"? But they happily walked away after the photo shoot, but Gordon ensured that they had a tract to take with them.

This morning we visited an orphanage and distributed toys and candy to the children.  Mike taught a boy named Vladeick how to "high five" and the boy beemed with pride.  These children do not get visitors, so our visit was precious to them.  Kathy became especially attached to a young boy named Sergei who clung to her.  They seemed to have a special connection. Sergei is mute and his mother tried to kill him.  He came to the orphanage with stab wounds.  It was a blessing to make these children's lives a bit brighter today.

On a humorous note, Dorothy & I are rooming with a lady named Luda.  She only speaks Russian.  Dorothy & I have had fun pantomiming and pointing in an effort to gain her understanding.  We've had quite a few laughs! Luda is so hospitable and gracious.  She's been cooking meals for us and doing everything in her means to make us comfortable.

Kim

Day #1

It's around 12am Wednesday (local) and we haven't had much more than a few blinks of sleep but our trip has already been frutiful.  As far as the men's team goes, we've had the opportunity to share Jesus on the street a number of times.  An elderly lady named Tonya approached our team asking for money for a drink.  We offered her Jesus.  In tears, she accepted Christ and gave us hugs that none of us will soon forget.  The spirit of God is here.  Please pray that we would continue to meet divine opportunity with courage and boldness in the name of Jesus.  Now off to catch some Zs.  Tomorrow we're planning the morning at the orphanage and lunch at Pastor Yuri's church. 

Yawn!

A weary missionary catches some Zs @ London Heathrow.



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Location:Windsor Close,,United Kingdom

Heading East

The team is packed and heading to the airport. There is a great sense of anticipation, joy and community among our team members. We have a 7 hr flight to London; a 2-hr layover; a 3.5 hr flight to Kiev and lastly a 3 hr drive to Cherkassy. Please pray that we will have opportunity and courage to speak
boldly in Jesus' name.




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Thank You for Your Support

Many thanks to God and our Crossroad family. We have raised nearly $1,000 to cover travel, lodging and translator expenses while in the Ukraine. God is good and has provided all of our needs. Less than 3 days until we leave.


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Preparation

The team just held our final meeting to prep for the Ukraine trip. Were taking more than 500lbs of clothing, toys, school supplies and Russian witnessing tools. There is an awesome sense of excitement and anticipation among the team members.

Less than 5 days until we leave.



Pictured above and below, the team is packing the bags of donated items.





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Location:Crossroad Christian Church, St Leonard, MD

BBQ Fundraiser 7/31

We will be having a BBQ Fundraiser directly after church on 7/31.  All proceeds will benefit Crossroad Christian Church's trip to Cherkasy, Ukraine on 8/8.  Bring your wallet & your appetite :-)

2011 Ukraine Trip

We have 10 members of Crossroad Christian Church headed to Cherkasy, Ukraine August 8 - 19.  Please begin praying that God would open doors and direct our paths as we pursue his will and purpose for the people of Ukraine.