Tonight concluded the Bible classes that I will teach on this trip in Ivano-Frankivsk. Once again the attendance at both classes held steady. The in-depth study on biblical interpretation and typology maintained a constant 11-12 in attendance. The general class on Proverbs held steady at 23-26. The second class tonight suffered the lowest attendance because a rain storm and seasonal head colds have struck some members. Tonight we had 23 present (the lowest count during the series).
The responses from members and visitors have been very encouraging. One of the visitors told me that she has never read the Bible but was encouraged to attend by members of the congregation. She said she was so happy she came because now she has a better understanding of the Bible. She is “religious” and is a member of the Orthodox Church. She says the Lord’s Prayer and believes in the Ten Commandments. But she says her priest tells her that she does not need to study the Bible because only the priest can understand it. If she has any question she is to ask him and he can tell her. I hope that after attending a number of classes (I think she missed 2) that she indeed has a better understanding about the Bible.
The last two days have been spent in visiting certain locations and following up on contacts for future efforts. Today we visited the construction site and things are moving along but not as fast as we had hoped. We had hoped to be in the warehouse by January but that has been moved back due to inclement weather making the work grounds impossible for trucks.
During these last two days we have also been purchasing some household items for those displaced. I received a request for a clothes iron from two of those who are now members at Ivano-Frankivsk who have been replaced. At first it was suggested to buy one iron and leave it in the church’s meeting place to be used by whomever needed it and they could bring it back. After so much experience, in several USA locations, of having tools and other items left at the church building to be used and returned, said that would not work. So I have bought two irons on this trip. Other household items that were requested have been clothes hangers, moth fumigators, etc.
One point has been very encouraging to me. The congregation is talking about being self-sufficient! This is really good and evidences maturity on their part. They talk about being self-sufficient and being involved in mission efforts elsewhere in western Ukraine. They continue conducting in-depth Bible classes to help mature those who want to be more knowledgeable and active in evangelism.
The desire to be self-sufficient requires them to find income producing jobs.
Finding income producing jobs in Ukraine is a difficult task. This is why many will go to Poland or other western Europe countries to work and then return to Ukraine. For the past two years several from the congregation here have been doing this and it really takes away from the congregation. Several of the men are still involved in the auto-mechanic and body shop efforts. Others are employed in other jobs. In discussions with some today they said they are searching for other income activities by which they can earn extra money and help the congregation become self-sufficient as well as keep families from being separated by economic work situations.
When I first got here I was told that Andrew and Volodya the taxi driver had started their own tourist agency. That was an interesting piece of news. Ivan said he knew this guy that wanted to start a tourist agency with the emphasis on USA travel. So Ivan put Andrew and Volodya in touch with this guy. They are now working on that as an income producer. One of the things that this tourist agency owner wants to do to take a group from Ukraine to the USA for a bus tour in late June. So the boys are arranging that trip and as incentive they will get to go to the USA for the bus tour as well (as I understand it the bus tour will be restricted to New York City). I am not sure what income producing level is possible with this business. At this point nothing is for sure except this guy wants to start a tourist agency with a bus tour in NYC.
Another income producing effort is to plant a garden in some of the land near the construction site and go into the truck patch business. They also want to have some chickens and pheasants there. They are talking to the property owners of the nearby land to see how much they can rent the land in order to set up the chicken pens. Today I saw the land near the property given to the Church where these truck patches will be planted. As I understand things they already have permission to plant the garden but not for the chicken houses. They plan on planting after April 20.
I told them that I commend them for wanting to be self-sufficient because that is rare in many mission works. When I said this Marina said, “You mean it is rare in Ukraine?” I told her no it was rare all over the world. They seemed shocked that congregations did not want to be self-sufficient.
In the morning I will go to Lviv and meet with those who have established the new congregation there. There will be three from the Ivano-Frankivsk congregation going with me as we make connections and discuss mutual efforts in the Lord’s work. There is an USAF airlift of relief supplies that is being arranged by Kathy Cadden. It will fly into our bases in Germany and then be trucked by the military to Lviv. The new congregation is eager to help in the distribution of these items to those displaced by Russia’s war and invasion. We will drive over tomorrow, spend the night and drive back on Saturday to prepare for the Lord’s Day here.
Today I received a call from Kyiv. I am scheduled to fly out of Ivano-Frankivsk early Monday and will spend the day in Kyiv visiting displaced children’s camps. After a day of visiting those locations I will board the fast train for Zaporozhye arriving very late Monday night or very, very early Tuesday morning!
In Zaporozhye I have been invited to be at the dedication of a monument of the 30th anniversary of the catastrophic Chernobyl meltdown because of the massive amount of relief we have sent. (To refresh your memory on this disaster just plug into your internet search engine “Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster 1986.”)
Pray for our efforts as we continue this trip!
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
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