Many of you know that Randy and I just traveled to Ukraine to work with International School Project. While there we participated in two 3-day conferences introducing public school teachers and administrators to an ethics curriculum for 12-14 yr. olds that uses a Christian worldview as its foundation. During the conference, we are able to share our faith and give each teacher a Bible and a copy of the Jesus film for children. Here are some highlights of the trip.
Because there was a possibility that the airport in L’viv would be closed, we arrived a day earlier than usual. This meant that after we traveled by bus to Lutsk, a city near the Polish border, we had Sunday free. A few of us attended part of a traditional service in an Orthodox church; then we stopped in for the worship of a 2 year old church plant for young people which holds services right in our hotel (we sang Blessed Be Thy Name and How Great is our God in Ukrainian!); and finally we met as a group for devotion and prayer. What struck me was how God was being worshiped in every place by true believers, regardless of the setting (beautiful cathedral or hotel conference room) and regardless of differences in language. I look forward to the day when every tribe and nation is together worshiping before the throne of God.
The first Monday was orientation for the entire team made up of both Western and Ukrainian leaders. On every overseas trip prior to this, it felt like we Americans had special status and the in-country people served us. This time, however, I truly felt like we were a team and in fact the Americans were providing support to the Ukrainians. It’s wonderful! They taught the conference and we were just small group leaders.
We learned some facts about the success of ISP in Ukraine in less than a decade. 2000 teachers have participated, and recently they were sent a survey asking for feedback. 22% sent it back which is a huge response (average return rate is usually 10%). Of those 440 teachers, 95% have shared the curriculum with another teacher, 75% are using it in their classrooms, and 50% said they learned to study the Bible through the conference. As a result, over 2 million students have been exposed to the curriculum. One of the presenters at the first conference in Lutsk became a Christian a few years back in the small group of one of the men who was on this trip. He is already seeing the 2nd and 3rd generation fruit of the seed he planted in her life as she is now reaching Ukrainians herself.
The first conference went well – 118 participants. Randy and I both had 6 women plus an interpreter in our small groups. In mine, none of the women were Christians, and when we gave them a Bible it was clear that they had never used one before. What an honor to be able to show them how to look up verses and do a basic inductive Bible study!
Randy had a couple Christians in his group. After he shared his testimony, he showed them a chart with a scale that moved from Atheist to Growing Believer. Zinia who was one of the older teachers said she was Seeking God. Then she took the chart and showed it to the two youngest in the group who had said they believed God exists, but weren’t seeking him. She told them they should make the leap to New Believers. “You are young and should make the decision to have a personal relationship with God. It is more difficult for me because I grew up under an Atheistic society with the Soviet rule. I would like to get there, but I have many deep seated beliefs and teachings to overcome. But you are young and can do it.” How amazing that a non-Christian would try to convince others to follow Christ! Please pray for Zinia and those two girls to “make the leap.”
Over the weekend, the team traveled to Rivne for the first conference ever in that Oblast (like our states). Rather than being at a school, we were at the Teacher Training Institute which meant about 70 % of the teachers were from surrounding villages. Since most conferences only draw teachers from schools within the city, this was a rare opportunity to impact villages that we would otherwise never be able to reach.
This time I had a couple Christians in my group. But the differences in opinion between the city teachers and village teachers made leading them a little challenging. They were passionate, which I loved. But having to referee through an interpreter was a new experience for me. However, I think it was a gift from God because by the third and final day of the conference they were very engaged and listening as we shared about personal faith. After watching the Jesus film for children, one of the younger teachers asked me, “I was so shocked to see Jesus angry when he overturned the tables. Why did he do that?” Since we didn’t have time to talk about it during the conference, I promised we’d connect via e-mail. Please pray I can encourage her. She is very open and has lots of questions about Christianity.
Overall, it was a great trip. We used Life Maps during the first two days of the conference, sharing our life and giving them a chance to share their own. I personally enjoyed the relational evangelism style, getting to know the teachers. It gave a depth of connection which helped when sharing our faith. I’d recommend ISP to just about anyone who was willing to love people.
i'm so blessed you were able to do this! in addition to the help you gave others, it is in teaching that we discover new truths for ourselves.
Posted by: Paula | November 06, 2010 at 08:52 AM