BEE is the forerunner of the CBLT ministry that we are part of now. My parents were deeply involved in starting BEE here in Ukraine and eventually became the leaders. In the late 90's they handed that ministry over to Ukrainian leadership to focus more on the Russian ministry. So it was a special time to be able to celebrate this ministry that is still going strong today and to hear all the testimonies about how it has changed people's lives and churches.
Since the celebration was in Kyiv mum and I went by train (dad was already there because he had some meetings beforehand) to avoid an early morning marshrutka (bus/van) ride. Of course, that meant that we arrived in Kyiv at 6am, but since the alternative for the marshrutka was leaving at 4am and sitting the whole way...
The train isn't bad over all. We get on around 10pm and get our sheets and are able to sleep until about 5:15am when the conducter wakes everyone up (an hour in advance of arrival) so that we can all give our sheets back and are ready and dressed and what not when we pull in.
Most coupes hold four people (a coupe is second class, first class usually has two to three people per coupe; lower classes generally don't have doors and have six people--three tiers of bunks on each side). We were sharing with two men who were on the upper berths (this is why I don't like traveling by train by myself--you never know who you are going to end up sharing a coupe with). Thankfully, these were fairly nice, normal men--not drunk or smoking (or gropey, but then that's the benefit of traveling with two women together) all the time. Unfortunately, one of them had a cold and I picked that up and am still trying to get rid of it.
Thankfully, in the Kyiv train station there is a McDonald's which we hit right after the bathrooms (I am strongly opposed to using train bathrooms, something about the swaying and jolting and seeing the tracks flipping by underneath me...). A couple of coffees and some McBreakfast (yes, they recently got the breakfast menu there, so we don't have to have a cheeseburger first thing in the morning) later, we were feeling more human and headed out to the church to meet up with my dad.
Now the church is in the center of town, as is the train station. So, we only had to take two different metros and walk for about ten minutes to get there. Naturally, I picked up some coke on the way (because that's what good Christians do).
The event started with some singing and preaching and then they had Al Bridges speak. Al is one of the founders of BEE and so it was great to here him talk about how BEE came about and his memories of BEE Ukraine specifically.
Of course, since this was specifically a Ukrainian celebration there was a lot of focus on my dad. Which was nice for me. He was having trouble hearing, so unfortunately missed a lot of the stories, but many people shared how he had impacted their lives.
It was great to hear and see these testimonies, seeing the fruits of my parent's labor. So many churches have been planted here and new leaders raised up and small groups started because of their involvement in God's work here. God has truly blessed that and it was encouraging to see.
Dad spoke and shared about his initial work with BEE and all of that and then they also had Vera speak. I loved that. She hated it. I can't blame her. She's not an upfront person.
But it was good because she deserves a lot of recognition too. As the day went on and they worked through the different years of ministry in Ukraine it became very apparent that many people know her and are aware of her work and respect and love her. Highly unusual in a male dominated ministry. And even more so because this ministry's whole aim and goal is to raise up men to be leaders for the church. And yet, God chose to use her. And she was willing and available to be used by Him. She's made a lot of sacrifices and I am glad to see her get some recognition.
All in all it was a special day and a great way to celebrate: reviewing what had been and then giving challenges and vision for the future. The president of the Ukrainian Baptist Union got up at the end and gave a challenge about church leaders all across Ukraine holding small groups with unbelievers. He's one of dad's/BEE's students too. ;) I hope people take him up on his challenge!
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