A BRIEF BLOG BREAK

I know I haven't blogged since the first week in July, but it has been a rough 3 weeks since I returned from Ukraine. I appreciate every one's concern and e-mails about my where-a-bouts. I will only say that I will try to do better from here on out.

Let me just give you a quick, but very brief run down of the events as they've played out. On paper they may not seem all that big, but from our prospective they have felt huge and consuming.

We get back from Ukraine. The next week I'm in complete jet-lag meltdown. Others had no problems getting back on track. It took me about 6 days to really feel like myself again. Oh and the same time that I'm trying to catch up on sleep, my wife Sarah returns to work which means several things. One big thing is that I'm still behind in my sleep and now I'm at home the entire week with a 7 week old baby. YIKES!

Taking Chloe to daycare on that first day the following week was the next big challenge. It was horrible enough for me, but Katie really took it hard. As we were leaving she stood in front of the window to the room and stared back at her. She got in the car and erupted in tears..."I miss her already," she cried. I held back the tears but I've been there and done it before so I held it together. Chloe did fine at daycare and has since adjusted just fine...as has Katie!

Thankfully my schedule allows me flexibility so I can work at home and not necessarily have to go into the office. I keep Chloe usually until 10 and then have her at daycare by 10:30...return either home to work on my school work or to the PBC Missions Office. She stays there 5 hours and then I go get her at 3:30. Upon my return home, I spend time watching her learn how to smile, feed her, change her and rock her to sleep. I've become a Mr. Mom to say the least. Sarah has supper waiting for her when she gets home.

Sarah has obviously really had a struggle upon returning to work. She didn't want to go back. Who can blame her? The very day I took her to daycare I got a job offer at my old career that was a real temptation. Part time job in Beckley, but with full time pay and benefits. After much prayer I turned it down much to Sarah's dismay. She was ready to turn in her notice and stay at home with our beautiful little girl.

I just couldn't do it. I just could NOT go back to that place and work for them. I kept feeling like God was telling me that He has called me to new things and not to the things of the past. A dear friend who had no idea what I was going to told me that the Lord asked her to share this scripture with me...Act 26:16 Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as My servant and witness. You are to tell the world what you have seen and what I will show you in the future.
Act 26:17 And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles
Act 26:18 to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God's people, who are set apart by faith in Me.'

I knew once I read that verse that God was reminding me of my calling and that He's telling me to be a fisher of men, not a trainer of salesmen. It was so hard to say no because my wife wanted it so bad, but I'm so thankful that she is a woman who trusts her husband to hear from God.

Every since I've walked away from that offer, it seems like we've been reminded of our financial needs so many many times and the fact that the job offer would have solved so many of those challenges. I just have to believe that the enemy is just trying to distract and lure me away with these things. I also just have to believe that God is up to something great in our lives.

We've also been looking at our housing options. We are running out of space and feeling very much like it's time something happened in our living situation. I love this land that we live on and it holds much sentimental value. We are trusting God to work out whatever, whenever...I confess though we are getting a bit antsy to do something.

So Finally after 3 really chaotic weeks we are starting to settle into a routine and schedule. Chloe is doing MUCH better in her sleep patterns and she often will sleep 6 hours at a time. Sarah usually gets up with her around 2 and I will get up and just stay up with her when she wakes back up to eat again at 5 or 6. She's adorable and we love her oh so much. It's so exciting to see her grow and evolve into the girl and woman that God has destined and purposed her to be!

Thanks for your patience and faithfulness. I will likely be posting in the future 2 to 3 times a week, usually Tuesday and Thursday and maybe on Friday.

I've also started up on FACEBOOK. You can check out many of my pics from mission trips and family by going directly to my page at www.facebook.com/trailblazer4

Be Blessed,
Ron

MISINFORMATION MAYHEM

Well we all arrived safely back from our mission trip on July 4th! What a great day to come home on! It was nice to arrive back in a nation that honors and celebrates freedom and sacrifice. As we took communion on Sunday our pastor reminded us that just as we remember our nation's freedom and Independence from oppressive powers that the Lord's Supper is also a remembrance of His sacrifice that won our spiritual freedom! Nice parallel!

On with the recaps now. Much like my South Africa blogs I will write these blog entries based on overall experience and feelings that I took away instead of detailing each specific event. So here goes...

This is my 4th trip to Ukraine. Each year I learn and see new things that I have never seen or experienced before. Sometimes I'm surprised by the new insights and other times I'm just dumbfounded.

This year I think the largest single thing that has stuck with me is something that I've always witnessed but never seen in view of a larger picture - MISINFORMATION! The Ukrainian culture is full of myth and misinformation about, well, about just about everything it seems. With every twist and turn of a conversation with a local, I learn more and more about the AMOUNT of BAD information that they use to make decisions in their daily lives.

Here's some fun ones just to get you started. If you eat ice cream too fast you'll ge the flu. Or how about young girls that sit on concrete will not be able to have babies. If you chew gum it tricks your stomach and is bad for you. If you have cold air blowing on you you will have throat problems and get sick. Babies must be wrapped with several layers of clothing to keep them warm, even in the hot weather. Yes it seems everywhere I turned this year I heard a new belief that my friends have regarding air conditioner, ice, and other crazy things.

On Monday evening our team worked an eye-glass clinic. During these clinics a local doctor performs a basic eye check and we distribute a pair of reading glasses. It is a great ministry and a great way to get people to sit and listen to the Word for a little bit while they wait. I met a lady named something similar to Petrovia. She was an elderly babushka (widowed, grandmother) there for a pair of glasses. I approached her and started talking to her about church. Told her that I was there from Amercia to help Pastor Sergei with this eye-glass clinic and that while she waited I wanted to talk to her. She was very polite and was willing to talk. We got onto spiritual matters and I learned that this lady had had 2 abortions early on in her life. She was still being tormented by the heartache and pain associated with this horrible act. Now keep in mind that the former USSR and her satellite states all promoted and still promote abortion for a fetus that isn't "perfect." It is unfortunately a very common practice and is still being used a form of birth control even to this day.

As she shares about having these two abortions I silently reflect on the horrid nature of the act. With Chloe only being 7 weeks old, it's just so hard to imagine what it would have been like to have decided to abort her. I listen with heartache as tears overflow from her eyes. The pain is obvious in her eyes and her heart is still heavy with remorse. I am able to push my personal disgust for the act behind me and focus on her spiritual needs at this point. I'm thankful that the Lord helped me see her for how he sees her. I asked her if she thought she would go to heaven or hell if she were die in her sleep. Her answer was a shocking as her confession just 3 minutes ago. She said, "I read that my aborted babies are in heaven and when I die they will say that I can't get in to have life because I denied them life. I would then be kicked out and go to hell."

I sat there not sure exactly what to say, praying on the inside for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The message was clear that I must share that there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ. I sat there and shared with her that the only sin that will send her to hell is NOT abortion as horrible as it may be, but it is unbelief that Jesus is who He says He is and can forgive our sins. I explained that there are no degrees of sin and that all sin, regardless of its nature, separates us from Him.

You could see her brain working to figure it all out. She's lived the past 30 or 40 years on a bag of lies and misinformation about her ability to have peace in heaven in eternity. Now she hears of hope, forgiveness, mercy? It all seemed to be so new and foreign to her. After a long discussion and sharing the Word with her, she made her own mind up that she was going to put her faith and trust in Jesus to forgive her and cleanse her.

It was beautiful to hear her pray and I walked away so "full" on the inside and happy that I had met her. I can only pray that she sincerely trust Jesus to forgive her fully for those abortions. She seemed to have peace about her as her name was called and she slowly made her way into the little dance hall to get her new pair of glasses.

The MISINFORMATION MAYHEM in Ukraine is infections and condemning. When you don't have all the facts, regardless of the situation, you can make bad decisions. It's crazy to burn up and experience heat exhaustion in an apartment because you're afraid to open the window to let air circulated out of fear of getting a cold. Now, we know the truth about air circulation. We know that it will not kill you or make you sick. In fact, it could save your life if you are stuck in a small, hot apartment. Until the facts and truth is known however, they will continue to live in fear of air movement. This mentality seeps over into their spiritual beliefs as well. The Bible teaches that the truth will set us free. Keep in mind however, that you are only as free as the truth you know.

What if we could take a truth to a people that would totally free them of ritualistic and religious habits and expose them to a personal relationship with the Savior? What would happen to the mindset of the society? Their people would change, government would change, homes would change! They are only as free however as the truth they know and the truth they know about Jesus is very very small. The truth and the whole truth in Jesus Christ is the only thing that can help this or any other society in the world. I pray that the truth will go forward in a big way and set these captives free from their hoops and hurdles and the condemnation that they sense in their lives.