(Above photo is the Dalraida group as they arrived in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine from Montgomery, AL after 27.5 hours traveling!)
I awoke this morning thinking that the group from the church of Christ at Dalraida (Montgomery, AL) had to be almost to Amsterdam. Soon afterwards I received a message from my son that they had landed in Amsterdam. Later he sent word they had landed in Kyiv. Inna met them in Kyiv and eventually brought them safely to Ivano-Frankvisk.
All was going well until a plane delay in Kyiv that pushed things back 2 hours! We finally got all settled into their flats after midnight. Sunday morning will definitely be early for those of us acclimated to this time zone but for the Dalraida crew their minds and bodies are struggling to get together!
We had a good number from the Ivano-Frankivsk congregation who had come to the airport and were waiting for the Dalraida group to arrive.
The Lord’s Day assembly in the morning will be the first meeting of brethren who are often worshipping in the same biblical pattern according to Truth but from so far away! It will be encouraging to see once again brothers and sisters gathering together in the same assembly and all united in faith.
Prior to the group’s arrival my day was spent in a number of actions. Thus far on the trip health issues have not be a problem but that fact was challenged this morning. I’m not sure if my queasy and weak feeling was because of a piece of liver I had for breakfast or a strenuous therapy treatment on my shoulder. As the day drew on I got to feeling better!
The upcoming week is going to be interesting. We have planned the first organized actions of Bible study in the village where Volodya has been working for two years. During the day a group will be enmeshed in the local school teaching English (that is the English variety with the good ole south Alabama accent!). In the evenings we will conduct classes for adults, teens and children. The theme of the evening lessons is “How to make our village happy.” We will be focused on the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5. In addition to the group spending time in the school we will have a group at the Law University, Police Hospital, and other locations. We will visit some distribution sites and will deliver desks to School #23 where there is to be media coverage. A more distant ride will take those divided into different groups to either Snyatyn or Mykulychyn. A portion of the group has been invited to a National Guard battalion near Starry Lysets who conduct a tank range training unit. We will visit the schools in village Ugorniky. This is the village on the main road traveling in and out of Ivano-Frankivsk is located and where the property for the Church to construct its building was given. Each morning will began at a breakfast at 8:00 and continue until all is finished at Starry Lysets each evening. It will be a full week packed with great opportunities to serve the Lord!
Our African mission in Ukraine…you have read where I talked about Emmanuel and Nana who are from Ghana. They are here because the medical university was moved from Donetsk to Ivano-Frankivsk when Russia invaded and occupied parts of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and Crimea.
Perhaps Providence placed them here to prepare them to return to Africa and preach the Word of God. In his recent visit Gary Jerkins met with these medical students who expressed great interest in a seminar. Gary is working on such medical seminar later next year. In this seminar Emmanuel and Nana will invite a number of their classmates to come. This seminar will provide instruction on basic medical procedures. I am excited about this plan and appreciate Gary’s eagerness to organize and run it!
Another thing that Emmanuel does is impressive…every Saturday he uses the church’s meeting flat and conducts special tutoring for medical students (especially those who are in years under him). After these tutoring sessions Emmanuel then present a Bible lesson. Is this not amazing—in the center of the European continent and in the midst of western Ukraine we have a brother from Ghana that is conducting Bible study for those from other African nations and these will return to the African continent with the Truth?
Pray for our efforts as we continue this trip!
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
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