| A "Few Words" with our Family from Far Off America |
|
 Not long ago Salvation Church had the honor of greeting guests, no, excuse me, family, from far off America. During these visits we enjoy not only fellowship and time spent together, but also active participation in our work in the fields of Poltava which are "white unto harvest". Incidentally, for those who do not know, the mutual assistance and cooperation with our sister church (hence the family relationship) began in 1992. That's when John Bixby, representative of the American delegation, became one of the first to visit us. - John, please tell us, what are the similarities and differences between our churches? - First and foremost, the thing that unites us is the Lord Jesus Christ. We are also united in the love of His Word - the Bible. Our two churches share the same understanding of the Bible. We have a shared view of evangelism, both locally and internationally. Both churches take great joy in sharing the love of Jesus Christ with this world.
- The only difference between us is our language and culture. I don't think there is anything else. - How has the cooperation and mutual assistance between our sister churches developed? - We have taken, and continue to take, a great sense of responsibily toward building the relationship between our churches. When the Lord led us together in 1992, he gave us a special relationship, which, hopefully, New Covenant Bible Church will continue to support. Here is where your church is assigned to serve, in Poltava. It is a privilege for Salvation Church to serve in this place. Let me explain, when our group arrived in Poltava the first time in 1996, we knew we were here only because your church needed to build a building. And that is what we tried to help with for a time. That is, it was God's intervention in your situation through us. We completed our task of helping you, and in 2000 construction of the building was finished. - Your description gives the impression of one-sided help from your church to ours. A sister relationship between churches implies reciprocal benefit. How does Salvation Church help New Covenant Bible Church? - I would like to mention two types of blessing that we receive from you. One of them was very unexpected for me. We all know that pride is the sin most people commit most often. Christians try with all their strength to resist pride, but it is very hard. This is a temptation for Americans, too. When we visit you, then sometimes (and believe me, we don't like to think this), we start to feel we are important, that we are superior to you. But every time we hope to be a blessing to you, we get a blessing in return from you. Every time we return home we take a lot more back with us than we brought in the first place. Those are the ways of our Lord. They are many-faceted. You bless us every time we come. After the trip we tell others and they receive a blessing along with us. The second type of blessing we receive from you are your prayers. You always pray for us. In return we also support your church in prayer. I don't think it's a secret that New Covenant Bible Church went through very difficult times between 2003 and 2008. We had five difficult years. During that time we were not able to visit you. Thanks to your prayers, God gave us the strength to survive those difficult times. It was a big help for us. Even now, we need your prayer support. You know Ross and Jan Stern. Ross was diagnosed with cancer. You pray for him. Two weeks before our arrival in Poltava, Ross told me not to forget to thank Salvation Church and Born Again Church for your support in prayer and words of encouragement. It means a lot to him. So greetings from Ross and Jan. You bless us when you pray for us. We asked three of the young members of the team from our sister church about their impressions of Ukraine, since this is their first trip outside the boarders of America - Can you share your impressions of your stay in Ukraine?
  - It is very nice, even though some people aren't smiling. The food is delicious and healthy. The schools are very different. The teachers and students show much more respect for each other than in America. That's very good.   Ashley
 Casey. - The houses are not like American houses. I really like to walk around them. They are very interesting, very colorful, very unique, unlike American houses. The yards near the houses are very different from ours. Also, your toilets and bathtubs are in separate rooms. That's not the way it is at home.    Â
 Tanner. - The houses are really very different. The food is very healthy. People here are nice. In America people are nice too, but not like here. The schools are very different. Your drivers are crazy.      - What was your impression of our church? Casey - The Church made a big impression on me. I was really pleasantly surprised by the evangelistic work that takes place here. In America we tend to talk a lot about evangelism, but here we are really working for the glory of God, we had the opportunity to really make a serious effort. God has opened the way here to spread His kingdom. I was also very impressed by the translators. We see God's love in their eyes. And how much patience they showed us! Tanner. - The service is very long. The singing is very good. But we can't chew gum. Ashley. - Even though the service was long, it was very good. There was a lot of music. I agree with Casey, there is really a lot of focus on evangelism. In our church we talk a lot about it, we learn how to do it, but we don't do it that often. But everyone in your church does it - your service was - surprising! - And now honestly, name something good that is particularly memorable, and what, conversely, made a bad impression?
Ashley - I liked that we were very busy and everything was so good. We were very warmly received. The Ukrainian people are very interested in American culture, as opposed to us Americans who are selfish and don't know anything but themselves and their country. I don't like your public toilets, or rather a hole in the ground in a small stall. I just didn't want to go in there.
Tanner - Your people are very nice! But the toilets leave a lot to be desired. I'm not in a hurry to go in them. Casey - I thought people just radiated love, we really felt it. I didn't like the toilets either. Â Â Â Â Â For the wonderful Palmer family, Steve and Darcy, this is not the first visit. By the way, Steve has been involved in the Internet ministry of our church for the past year. "How," you ask? Steve does the English-language editing and translation of our website - a big, hard job. Note that Steve does the translation by himself, without the help of Russian speakers. Every year we see significant progress in Steve's Russian conversation skills. Thus the Palmer family finds common ground with Ukrainians faster than anyone. - What made the biggest impression during your missionary work in our church? Steve - I think that the thing that impressed me most was the meeting with the teachers. There were a lot of interesting things during this trip, but the meeting with the teachers was surprising: a lot of teachers came and we had a great time talking with them. In general, the teachers were very open to us. I got a chance to chat with a couple of young teachers on serious topics. Every year that we work with them, they become more open and friendly. I noticed that this year they are even more pleased to spend time with us and did not consider it an imposition.
Darcy - My missionary work this year was somewhat different from last year since I became ill and was forced to stay home with the Yarmoshevich family, who were kind enough to host us. The most enjoyable experience for me was to make friends with their young daughter Nastya. She always wanted to be with me, and it was so cute. Although we could not talk to each other, we spent the whole day together, taking care of each other. It was a wonderful time spent together. Â Â Â Â - This missionary trip wasn't something new for you, because this is not your first time in Ukraine. What changes have you seen in the ministry of Salvation Church since you were here last? Darcy - Well, I was pleased to be able to visit the Sunday school you started for adults, which begins one hour prior to the church service. We were happy to visit that class. Steve - There are more schools we can work with this time. It was nice that the school number 37 re-opened its doors to us and provided an opportunity to interact with more students. These changes were very nice. We also enjoyed the good things we have experienced before. I would like to once again thank the church for the sincere and friendly welcome. The teachers and students were equally friendly, and we are very happy with how we got along. - How would you assess your progress in learning the Russian language? Did it help to spend time in an environment of Slavic language speakers? - This year I can speak better than I could before. I understand most of what people say to me in Russian. It helped a lot to speak with Sasha and Julia Yarmoshevich. Fortunately they do not speak English, and I had a great opportunity to practice. Unfortunately, my Russian is still far from perfect, but I was able to express myself in most areas. That is, this is the first year when I could actually put into practice all that I had learned. - Why would you put such an effort in learning a language that you use only a few times a year? - Being able to understand your language opens up the opportunity to understand your culture and thinking. If you speak the language of the country you are visiting, then the people feel comfortable with you and they are much more open to you. Command of the language makes communication more full, deep and interesting. We are beginning to understand each other better. Language unites us. We can glorify God more effectively. We can't ignore the three courageous women who sacrificed their vacation and time to share a piece of their hearts with the Ukrainian people. We have some interesting questions for them, some of which can even be called a purely feminine. - Please tell us your impressions of Ukrainian schools. Brenda - I taught in schools 37 and 17. The students impressed me with their hospitality and interest in learning. During our stay schools have been on spring break, but they still were willing to interrupt their vacation to attend our classes. Quite a few came to our lessons. For the sake of our lessons they canceled their own plans. This really inspired us. Plus they well mannered and well dressed. They treated us with great respect. During our class, they did not argue, complain, or misbehave. They did great! Andrea - This is my third visit to Poltava. I hope I was able to help in the agricultural college. I noticed that the Ukrainian students really need to practice listening and speaking skills in English. The students are very focused on the rules and grammar, but oral conversation practice is very rare. I hope I was able help them get the "taste" of the English language on their own tongues. Remembering my first visit to Ukraine, it was nice to see familiar friendly faces, they all recognized me and said hello. Also, it was nice to work with Ashley. She is 21 years old, so with her help, we easily established a rapport with the Ukrainian students. In this age young people are at a crossroads. It is very difficult to do if you're not motivated. But, in spite of the difficulties, the students treated us very well. Many thanks to the teachers, who have kindly shared their classrooms. Everything went very well. Karen - This is my first time in Poltava, and Ukraine in general. First, I conducted activities in school 37, and later at school 17. I am very happy that I had the opportunity to help. The kids were so excited. The teachers were very friendly. They were all so kind. Children seemed to me very well mannered, which greatly impressed me. In the second half of the week I had the opportunity to go to lessons at Cooperative University. As we talked the students told me about their dreams for the future. Actually, the teachers were also happy to answer this question. It was interesting to observe the interaction between students and teachers. The children showed a "hunger" for knowledge. I saw this not only at the university, but also in the schools. Everyone was eager to talk, and on a variety of topics. I got a lot out of it, too. - What can you say about Ukrainian cuisine? What dishes do you like most? Andrea - I love borscht. I even have the recipe and I can make it myself. Incidentally, it's a very healthy food. Also, I like Ukrainian salads, especially the ones made with cabbage. I've been looking forward to these Ukrainian dishes most of all, because I have already had them. I tried to limit the amount of pasta, sour cream and cream that I eat, since it gives me a heavy feeling and doesn't give me energy for the full day. Three years ago, when I first visited Ukraine I got "hooked" on the tea. Since that time, even in America, I always drink it. Brenda - I usually have a big breakfast, so in Ukraine, I really enjoyed the variety of morning dishes that I was offered. It could be anything: chicken, mashed potatoes, rice, sausage ... I have found that among all the dishes in Ukraine my favorite is - meat, like chicken, so tender and juicy. It was also interesting that it is always possible to find something chocolate on the table. Every meal is "wrapped up" with sweet chocolate candy. It would be hard to die of a lack of chocolate in Ukraine. All my 'chocolate' needs were met. In contrast to Andrea, I am not really a "tea" person. Usually, I like to drink coffee. I was lucky in the fact that Natasha, my hostess, supported me in my passion for coffee.
Karen - I would say this: I liked everything that was somehow connected with the potatoes. It's so spring-like. So many different kinds of potatoes. The salads were so fresh. I really liked all the food. My sixteen-year-old daughter fell in love borscht. So I'll start to cook it in America. - Last question concerning the families you stayed with. What is your impression of the Ukrainian way of life?
 Andrea - This is my third year staying with the same family. It's difficult to pronounce their name - Shtrikul, but that doesn't prevent me loving them. They don't understand English, which helps me to learn Russian quicker.     Brenda - I was interested to learn about life and culture in a Ukrainian family. Yes, their lives are very different from those of American families. But family practices, eating at the same time every day, going to bed at the same time, are strongly developed. They are all very well organized. There was time for all the activities and no fuss. A wonderful family! I felt like a full-fledged member of Ukrainian life. Staying in a hotel would have been nothing like that. In addition, I got answers to all questions that occurred to me. Karen - It was wonderful. My daughter and I stayed with the Kryvobok family. An amazing family! These people met and welcomed us with a big smile and hug. So it was so nice to chat over a cup of hot tea. Sometimes other guests came to visit - and we made a pleasant new acquaintance. We even had a chance to get acquainted with their grandmother. She told us some very interesting stories of her life. I don't have the words to describe it all. It was a very interesting experience to have the opportunity to feel part of another culture. It was a real "exchange of love." We hope that after these experiences, these sisters in Christ from our sister church will want to visit us again and again. And we in turn thank them for their help and look forward to the next visit and the "exchange of love." In conclusion here are a few words from the pastor of our church - Valery S. Antoniuk. We have a longstanding relationship and very positive experience in our relationship with New Covenant Bible Church. It seems to me that this is indeed a sister relationship, which went through different periods: the period of testing that we had, the period of difficulty in the American church ... We prayed for each other - and this is the big advantage of this type of relationship, which indicates that the churches are truly partners. Even when new pastors came the relationship continued. |
- And how do our churches differ?
