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It is SO cold in Kiev right now. The temperature plunged last week to 27 below 0. Still, over 40 of our grads and current students made the trip from their different regions of Ukraine to Kiev. Mike and I and Natasha Bochko (our translator and assistant), Mike and Rachel Gustafson, Sam and Melissa Hughes, Vasya and Alona Ostryi, and Radik and Sophia Tsurkan (all involved in teaching the youth ministry courses) were eagerly awaiting their arrival.
Mike and I had no idea that the others had done some planning to make our goodbye very special. Words of gratitude and encouragement were spoken, memories were shared, a song that I guess can only be entitled “Michael Manna” was written and sung a couple different times by the group.
Mike shared a final message with his students. He made a baton that he passed on to Vasya as he publically installed him as YMI’s new director of youth ministry in Ukraine. He also gave Vasya a Bible and Mike’s own coffee mug – the two things that have been Mike’s greatest tools in ministry. (The coffee cup is a symbol of time and relationship.) Later, Vasya and Sam presented us with a beautiful clock that is in the form of a ship’s helm, representing the time that Mike was the “captain” of youth ministry at KTS (Kiev Theological Seminary).
On Saturday morning , we arrived to find that a few of the students had trampled the words, “MIKE, WE LOVE YUO” in the freshly fallen snow of the courtyard. The misspelled “YUO” made it all the more fun! Toward the end of our time together, Sam Hughes shared an encouraging message with the group. He will be a wonderful support and fellow worker with Vasya! Then group had one more surprise for us. They gave us a beautiful photo album that contained pictures from all of our years at the seminary. Randomly inserted among the many pages of pictures are handwritten notes from our students. How very special! Our students surrounded us and prayed for us, and we honestly felt “commissioned” by our own! Finally, Radik, Natasha, and one of our newer students, Alina, sang Michael W. Smith’s song, “Friends are Friends Forever” in Russian, then switched to English.
Oh my! We came home rather exhausted from all the emotions, but with hearts so very filled with love from our students and our co-workers … and from God! For God is the One who brought us here and brought us together with these amazing young men and women who are ministering around Ukraine. They are committed to the truth that it is by the love of Christ that they will minister, not just with their programs. It is through relationships that young people will be introduced to Christ, mentored, and changed. How we praise the Lord for our time together with these dear ones!
At one point in a session, Radik was sharing a testimony to the group about how he had started out as a youth pastor who did everything – organized the programs, did the speaking, set up the chairs, brought the treats, cleaned up after … he joked that he was even his own audience! In the first youth ministry class (YM101: Principles of Youth Ministry), he began to understand the importance of building a team of adult and student leaders, delegating responsibilities, and thus multiplying leaders in the church. He said it dawned on him that while he was at the seminary taking classes, no youth ministry was going on at home, because it was all dependent on him. Suddenly, Radik paused in his story, looked at Mike and said, “Mike, go! You have done your job here. We will train the youth leaders in Ukraine. You go on to others!”
Friends, wow! Something happened in our hearts at that moment! We felt released in such a wonderful way! Our hearts surged with a mixture of joy and genuine trust as we looked around a room filled with grounded, godly youth ministers … several even now sporting a few gray hairs! Our first years of students are seasoned … they have many years of experience in youth ministry.
So, even though a few months still remain until we leave, that was truly “goodbye.” We came home feeling so loved, so “complete”, and so good about looking forward to the next step that God has for us. The ministry here will go on to greater heights under Ukrainian leadership. As for Mike and I, we look forward to training more youth pastors overseas – now in multiple countries. It is also my prayer to become “Mama Judy and Papa Mike” to some Russian and Ukrainian students in universities around Louisville. We are praying that our new house will have a BIG living room! Thank you, dear friends, for your continued prayer and financial support. We would LOVE for you to meet the ones whose lives you have helped to impact through the youth ministry training. Oh, they are a good bunch! Heaven is coming, and will it EVER be fun to make some introductions! We love you!