04 Apr These Missionaries Are Worthy of a Joyful Cry
I don’t cry often but after being in Ukraine the last twelve days I couldn’t hold back my tears of joy, honor, and amazement about these smart, courageous, and strategic Ukrainian missionaries.
Why cry?
I spent time with these ‘ordinary’ Ukrainian missionary heroes. They are serving in some of the hard to reach places around the world where people don’t know Jesus.
- Cambodia – unreached people groups
- Tajikistan – unreached people groups
- India – unreached people groups
- Nepal – unreached people groups
- Uganda – where there are still unreached people groups
- Russia – where there are still unreached people groups
- Thailand – unreached people groups
- Neverland NK – most dangerous place in the world to serve
These Ukrainian missionaries are not only living in places where there are very few, or no Christians, but where there are social problems related to poverty and incredibly high rates of alcoholism and drug addiction.
They deal with the insecurity of serving in places where Islam is the dominate religion and security forces hunt them down to kick them out. They know that if someone they are serving there makes a decision to put their faith in Christ that this person might be rejected by their family, beaten, imprisoned, stoned or killed for his or her decision.
I heard stories from a pastor serving in Tajikistan who knows of new Christian coverts in Afghanistan that as soon as their Muslim family members find out someone has become a Christian the men in the family, usually a father, an uncle, and or a grandfather will take the new convert to Christianity and immediately kill them publicly in the town square.
Christianity is not a cute religion we can add as an ‘ingredient’ into our comfortable and pleasurable life-style. It is life and death for many around the world who believe in the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. These Ukrainian missionaries probably understand better than we do in America what it costs to make Jesus Christ the Lord of their life and follow him.
This is why I cried while I was in Ukraine. It is an honor to know these men and women. Here are some of their faces:
Most of these people are friends I have met through the Storyline courses I have taught in Ukraine the last two years. As a result of the good work I have been doing I was invited to participate in a national mission’s conference by teaching a breakout session about global missions. It was the first time I have ever taught speaking only the Russian language.
At one point during the mission’s conference people were invited to come to the front and pray with a church leader about God’s calling to serve as a missionary.
Here are some pictures of the future heroes of Ukrainian missionary service:
Friends, your prayers and financial support are powerful and effective in the Ukrainian mission’s movement. It is still relatively small but it is growing.
There are talented, smart, and strategic leaders in front of this movement and it is a joy to serve alongside them. There is also a generation of youth who are ready to sacrificially follow behind them. It is an honor to be on the same team.