A Clear Demonstration of the Right Path

by Stan Guy, ITEM Professor

Picture: Kiev, Ukraine: as part of Ukrainian students’ practicum, this picture shows Sunday evangelism outreach in a village of one hundred people where gospel never been heard before.

The call came very unexpectedly Friday afternoon February 15th. David Ludwick from ITEM was calling to see if I would be interested in going to Ukraine to teach a one week course at the Kiev Regional Bible College. We had discussed this possibility over 3 years ago but it never came together. Now not only did I get the call but I would need to leave in a month. I had very mixed emotions. I was leaving the next day to go on a vacation for a week. I had no idea how my wife Roseann would respond to me going overseas, particularly by myself. I wanted to say yes right then but I knew I needed to talk with her.

I finished my conversation with David promising him I would be back as soon as I could. I picked up the phone and called Roseann. She knew David was calling because he got my phone number from her. When I explained what he wanted me to do her first response was “Why not?” She was as excited about this opportunity for me as I was. It was all the encouragement I needed to call David back and set up a meeting the next day to go over the plan. When we met we discussed the location, the types of training they were looking for and the time. He went to the church library to get for me some resources for study and I went and rented a car to go on vacation.

As we shared this opportunity with more people there was a constant response of encouragement and excitement that God had opened this opportunity for me. For me this was the answer to my prayers of what direction did God have for me in serving Him. As I have been struggling for the past three years about knowing what God wanted me to be doing and where he wanted me to serve. He began to open my eyes by opening the door for me to attend the MTW Missions Conference last November.

That event confirmed that I should get back involved as chairman of our mission team. As we started this year with a big push to help guide the congregation back toward being a mission minded church the team grew and we had a successful Mission Focus Sunday that once again confirmed to me that I was moving in the right direction. This trip was the final step to completely confirm I was doing what God wanted me to do.

God confirmed this calling in two ways. One was the way he brought to me the resources and thinking to put together the curriculum so quickly and with ease. I had three weeks to develop an outline and consider what needed to be taught as well as prepare two sermons to be shared with the congregation of the church on the Sunday I arrived. When I arrived at the Kiev Regional Bible College I would soon discover that I would have time either before class or after to prepare more completely for each day. This was valuable time as I was able to think through what need to be shared and what did not. What areas needed specific Biblical reference and which did not. Even with all this preparation I am still amazed at how God brings to me what needs to be said as I teach and preach. I see all of this as a confirmation that God is at work and guides me through His Spirit as to what he wants communicated.

The second way God confirmed this calling was the amount of encouragement and support he provided to make this trip possible. More than half of the people I sent a letter to and asked for prayer and financial support responded with a commitment to pray and financial assistance. There are over 30 families committed to praying for me and God provided over $4,500 to cover the expenses. This tremendous amount of support spoke to me as a clear demonstration that I was on the right path and that I should consider returning again next year.

I arrived at the Kiev International Airport at 8:30 am on Sunday March 16th, 30 minutes late. It took over an hour to get through immigration and get my luggage but as I entered the main part of the airport Vitaliy was waiting for me with a sign in his hand. We went directly to his car and headed to Vyshnev. By the time we arrived the church had started and I needed to change clothes. Quickly making the change I came out of my room and was introduced to Valentine who was to be my interpreter for the next couple of days at class. We joined the worship service and Vitaliy confirmed that I would be speaking sometime during the service. Their tradition is very different than at the churches in the States. I was one of four preachers that morning. There was a wonderful mix of congregational singing, special music, and prayers sprinkled between the sermons. There was a visiting choir and they were wonderful. During the course of the service there were songs in Russian, Ukrainian and Hebrew. There were sermons in Russian, Ukrainian and English. It was a wonderful mix of languages, nationalities and people, all worshiping the same God. After the service they pulled together the room and accommodations for the week. I stayed in one of the classrooms in the church. They brought in a twin sized roll-a-way bed, a couple of tables for me to work and eat from and the table in the room to use as a place to store my suitcases. So I and the stuffed animals became friends for a week. That evening I attended the worship service but there was not a translator so I was not able to share the sermon I had put together. I would get an opportunity on the last day of class to share the message of the sermon to the students.

Classes started at 2pm on Monday. I would discover over the week that class time would change each day. Monday and Thursday it was 2pm. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday it was 9am. On Monday Valentine was my interpreter. On Tuesday Lyuba was my interpreter. On Wednesday and Friday Nadia was my interpreter and on Thursday Lena and Nadia shared that duty. As this was the first time I have ever needed an interpreter it took some adjusting to make sure that what I wanted to communicate was clear to them so they could pass on the information. The vast majority of time we got along very well. I set up the computer with my notes between us and they were able to read them most of the time. There were some specific words and a few phrases I had to describe to them but I believe we were able to accomplish our goal.

On Monday we were able to go from Genesis to Numbers. I spent a good time in Genesis laying out the redemptive plan of salvation and showing how each major person was an example of God demonstrating this redemptive plan. We examined the exodus and looked at it in light of the redemptive plan of God.

Tuesday we studied Deuteronomy through Samuel. This day we had a good discussion on the purpose of the law and what happened to those who died between the time of Adam and the giving of the law to Moses. In studying Samuel we looked at the change in the way God dealt with his people: going from a theocracy to kingship. We discussed Saul and David and their different responses to God. We discussed how both represented in different ways God’s redemptive plan. We emphasized God keeping his promises.

Wednesday we studied Kings through part of Psalms. We looked at the history of Israel through the eyes of Jeremiah and Ezra and saw that the kings were written from the perspective of a proud people and Chronicles through the eyes of a conquered people. Elijah and Elisha were studied in light of their being used by God to demonstrate his redemptive plan of salvation and as types of Christ. We then looked at the conquered people being allowed to return to their home and rebuild the altar, the temple and the city. We rejoiced as we read that King Darius ordered the governor Tattenai of Trans-Euphrates to stop preventing the rebuilding and to pay the bills for the reconstruction and supplies, everything the Israelites needed to survive.

On Thursday we finished our study of the Psalms and finished with the Song of Songs. After we discussed the patterns of praise found in the Psalms we took a very close look at Ps. 103. We read each verse and examined it in light of God’s dealing with man and man’s response. This Psalm is a wonderful presentation of the redemptive plan of salvation. Our discussion of the Proverbs centered on how best to interpret Proverbs. We pointed out the difference in the purposes of the Proverbs and how they seek to instruct us in life. Our discussion of Ecclesiastes challenged some of the students due to the presentation as the book being written from man’s perspective and not necessarily from God’s. Solomon expresses what he has observed “under the sun” and his observation led him to conclude that all life is meaningless. We had a good interaction about how that fit into the fact that the Bible is God’s inspired word. After assuring them that I fully believed that and after having them read the end of the book where Solomon calls on his people to praise the Lord I think they understood my point. We had some time at the end of the day to just talk. We talked about life in the U.S. We talked about life in Ukraine. When it was time to go, one of the students said we should have done that earlier. I was pleased that they did not think I was wasting their time.

On Friday morning we finished our studies by examining the book of Isaiah. We started the class with a devotional on being refreshed by God through his love. I presented the sermon I had prepared and had not been able to share. With my wife’s encouragement and recognizing I had the time I presented the message. It was well received. After tea we examined Isaiah and explored how his message helps us see a revelation of God through powerful, vital names such as: Holy One and God is Judge. The book helps us to see a clear vision of Jesus as Messiah. We examined what it meant to be a servant before the Lord. And we looked at some of the powerful visions of the end recorded in this book.

I then administered the test.

Some general observations:
1. It was very difficult to get feedback from the students during classes. The language barrier also prevented body language readings. Nadia is a University professor so I asked her and she was encouraging but during class I was not sure how well things were going. At Friday evening tea (they have tea at 10am and 6pm and you can set your clock by it) I was overwhelmed with the encouragement and comments from the students. One of them commented that they were happy to get to know me and have a good relationship. That comment came as a result of our discussion in class about what a relationship is. It told me they were listening and learning. Several times they asked me to come back. This included the pastor of the church and he did not sit in on any of the classes.

2. I need to prepare myself to be able to speak with them when there is not an interpreter. If God calls me back I want to be able to spend more time in fellowship with them. Based on their comments I would like to return but be better prepared. I also need to be prepared for the many hours of being by myself. Wednesday afternoon was particularly hard as I was feeling very alone. I was able to get on the internet with Roseann and Shawnee and we talked back and forth for awhile.

3. I believe more charts and graphs and possibly some way to project on to a screen would enhance the class time. I am sure I would have to provide all the equipment but I need to think that through. I definitely need to find more ways to get the students involved. Nadia recommended that the students rather than her read passages of Scripture as we went through the studies and that did help them get more engaged.

4. These students have a real heart for learning. At least two of the older students came to Christ late in life and they are soaking up all they can. They are already involved in ministry and come to learn as much as they can. The more I began to understand that, the easier it was to build relationships with them even though we had the language barrier.

Stan Guy

March, 2008