Evendays

I’m flying Saturday morning to Ukraine. After meeting up with people in Kiev, it’ll be the night train to Ternopil in western Ukraine (NOT Chernobyl, though they do rhyme). There will be opportunities to teach and preach for the entire week, before coming back to Lausanne on Saturday. My first visit to Ternopil was in Jan-Feb 1991. Wife’s dad and I drove for 4 days to get there. Terrible roads. No gas. Lots of pickles. Snow 6 feet high on each side of the road in the Carpathian mountains. When we arrived in Ternopil, all the apartments looked exactly the same: dirty-grey in the foggy light of the setting sun. But we found a distant relative and worshiped with a house church that Sunday. They graciously asked Wife’s dad and me to preach. They listened intently and asked many questions, stuffed us with food and asked more questions. Later we visited, it seemed like, every local city official and made plans for the future. We were both struck by the spiritual thirst of the women. And yes, they continue to be the backbone of the church of Christ in that community.