I went on a mission to Ukraine over last weekend, along with Mladen Dominić and Ivan Tešić. Back in February, my friend and former co-worker in Ukraine, Dema Grishchuk, came to visit us in Zagreb and invited Christians from Croatia to go to this conference in Kiev on May 1-3. They specifically wanted some from Croatia to go and share with the Ukrainian Christians at the conference about their experiences during the war in the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, and provide some spiritual encouragement for what they are currently going through in Ukraine. I went as kind of a bridge of contact between Ukraine and Croatia. I was also invited to preach to the conference on Sunday morning.

Licitar

Throughout Friday and Saturday, Mladen and Ivan shared with the conference on the following topics: Historical Background of the Yugoslavian Conflict, Church Unity During Crisis, Relations with Christians on the Other Side, God’s Provision During Crisis, and Stories From the War. We also shared about humanitarian and evangelistic work with refugees in Croatia, the evenings of Christian poetry and music that comforted and ministered to many in Zagreb, and the meeting between churches from Croatia and Serbia that took place in Hungary. On Sunday, I preached on the topic, Patriotism and Faith. My main point was that, as Jesus followers, our primary allegiance is to the Kingdom of God before any earthly political system. If we can keep that focus, then all the other answers to the difficult questions we discussed in the conference come much easier. I also encouraged the attendees to remember that Satan is the true enemy (Ephesians 6), not those on the other side politically. In addition to the conference sessions, there were many opportunities for individual conversations with the people attending the conference. Some of these were quite intense, as these brothers and sisters have been through so much in the last year.

Mladen speaking

Ivan speaking

Panel discussion

The crowd

Me preaching on Sunday

Ivan, Me, and Mladen, on our return to Zagreb

It was great to be with Dema and his family, as well as many others whom I have not seen in several years, such as my “parents” when I lived in Donetsk, Jay Don and Mary Lee Rogers. Another serendipity was seeing two of the orphans with whom we used to work when I lived in Ukraine. They are now married, have a family, are faithful Christians, and Denis is involved with the current humanitarian efforts with refugees. It was great to see this fruit from my work there years ago, as well as to see Denis now serving others in the name of Jesus.

With Dema and family

With Denis and family

It was a blessed weekend. I really think God used us to encourage this group of Christians in Ukraine. Please pray with us for these precious people and the great challenges they face in their country. Pray for peace in Ukraine. Pray for God’s joy and peace in their hearts. And pray for these Jesus followers, that they will take advantage of this tremendous opportunity to show the world what the Kingdom of God looks like, and how it functions.