Week 1-We've Arrived and So Has God

Привет!
My team arrived in Kiev Ukraine late Tuesday afternoon and got settled into our apartment and acclimated to our surroundings. For those of your who may not be sure of our specific work while we’re here, we are giving free one-on-one conversational English lessons using the book of Luke as our guide. Out hope is to help natives with their English in a casual, friendly setting and connect them with the local church. We held an information meeting on Wednesday evening and 21 perspective readers showed up. At the meeting, we described the nature of the work and made first appointments for this week. 

Thursday was out first full day of work and I met and read with 4 individuals. Friday, I read with 3 individuals and my team members, Sean and Rett had similar numbers. At first I was quite nervous for the reading sessions, but they have all gone quite well so far. The training we completed prior to the trip has been helpful in anticipating how to handle various situations and with providing confidence within my efforts. One important idea I have learned the past few days is that not one reader is alike. They are all on different levels of understanding and have different needs and it is important to let the reader guide the discussion and the types of questions asked. I am very surprised at how many of my readers have opened up after just the first meeting and am excited to see where our discussions take us.

 We ended the week with a short trip to Bila Tserkva for a church retreat with the local congregation.

 The church here is so warm and welcoming even though many of them know little-to-no English. It was great to get to know many of the church members (and a few of our readers) spending time in worship and fellowship together. Language difference is but a small barrier to smiles, laughs, games, and just enjoying the presence of one another as part of God’s family.

This first week has been exhausting but very rewarding and I am hoping to build upon the relationships that have started forming.

May God Be Glorified,

K.L.E