Tag: Ukrainian friends

The Generosity of Others Opened Up Her Music

~ jesusluvsall ~ 20 Comments

In October, I felt led to take a step of faith after hearing about my young musician friend from Ukraine having to leave her violin behind. I shared about it in The Look On Her Face-Priceless in October and arranging for my friend from the Lincoln Youth Symphony to loan her a violin. When he came to my classroom to bring her the violin, I could see the oppression leave her. Her countenance changed and has stayed that way.

Part of that step of faith was trusting God to provide the money to pay my friend for the violin. I am thrilled to share all the money needed came in thanks to generous brothers and sisters in Christ. I want to share with you a picture from the Youth Christmas Program at the Ukrainian Church. My young friend, Ester, had the lead role in it. She sang some solos and was the lead in the play. It was all in Ukrainian but I got the gist of it. She is the one in the white coat center stage.

Since that day that Ester received the violin, she has been playing both the violin and piano again and singing in her church. She has also helped children. The program Sunday evening was recorded and is being shared with Ukrainians all over.

The impact of the kindness and generosity of brother and sisters in Christ that she probably will not meet until we are all in heaven will be felt by many for years to come.

Thank you to all of my generous friends!!!

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Saturday with my Ukrainian Friends

~ jesusluvsall ~ 3 Comments

Vladimir was one of my first students when I began teaching ESL in March 2000. We had fun studying together each week. One memory that stands out for me is one morning while we were studying in a coffee shop. My back was to the window, so I did not see what was happening, but Vladimir did. His eyes got real big with a look of surprise. He pointed at the window and I looked to see what was happening. The police were arresting someone. Realizing Vladimir had come from Ukraine that used to part of the old USSR and that people used to get arrested and disappear there, I changed our lesson to rights in the USA.

Photo by Mathias Reding on Pexels.com

Yesterday he was working outside at the church making a gazebo for them to use for barbecues. It has pillars made of stone for support. When he came in, we talked and reminisced about our study times in the past. It is always good to see him again.

My Ukrainian friends are hardworking and have made a beautiful church building. They did all of the work themselves. My Saturday class is in a nice room in the basement.

Speaking of my Saturday class, we continue to have fun studying together. Yesterday we had 18 people come. Each week I am impressed with how refugees who have only been in the USA four weeks, six weeks, etc. are being resilient. I know they have been through trauma and have a lot to adapt to here, but they have great support from the Ukrainian church.

After class, I was again blessed to have lunch. Nadia was teaching Middle School students cooking again and yesterday it was rice pilaf. It was delicious. She is wonderful with the children as she teaches them cooking.

This morning I will be with my Hispanic friends at my church. I called each of them last night. Our room will be filled with laughter, music, and Spanish as we practice English together. Then it will be time to taper down at the coffee shop.

How has your weekend been?

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

October Is Here

~ jesusluvsall ~ 11 Comments

October is here. It is the month that brings us fall colors in northern places, cooler temperatures, and oddly enough something called pumpkin spiced lattes. Pumpkin spices lattes do not seem to have a place in coffee shops, but coffee shops are businesses, so they want to make money. Have no fear your coffee purist will not allow such a concoction to pass through his lips.

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It was in October 1989 that the beginnings of what God was calling me to happened. I visited a different church to see a Billy Graham Ministries movie- Caught. It was about an American drug addict in Amsterdam who came to know Jesus through a man from India who was there for the Billy Graham world convention for evangelism. At the end of the film, it showed Billy Graham saying, “and do the work of an evangelist.” When I heard that, it felt like spiritually an arrow had pierced me.

I came home after the film and when I walked in the door, the presence of Jesus felt so strong that I dropped to my knees and then laid down on the floor. I kept seeing people who were lost in life. Jesus has given me so many opportunities to share him and his love with many lost souls from many countries since then.

It happened again yesterday at the Ukrainian Church. It was my first Friday offering a class there. We had a mother and her 15 year old daughter join us. The daughter is not a Christian yet. I shared a devotional thought with them that because Jesus was a refugee during his childhood on earth that he understands what it is like to be a refugee.

So welcome October and the opportunities to share Jesus, but you can keep those strange pumpkin spiced lattes. 🙂

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

That Was Fast- September Flew By

~ jesusluvsall ~ 13 Comments

It’s the last Sunday of September already. It feels like I blinked and September flew by. The saying time flies when you are having fun seems to apply. This has been quite the month. Jesus has blessed me with many opportunities this month.

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It started with getting a car earlier this month thanks to generous people. That has allowed me to go to the Ukrainian church to teach on Saturday mornings. We have fun while studying. I love to see their smiles and hear them laugh especially knowing what they have been through.

My morning class started again this month, That certainly adds to time seeming to fly by. It is great to be back with the moms learning English, so they can help their children. They are going to decorate our classroom tomorrow, but something tells me they won’t want my help with that. 🙂

This morning I will see my Hispanic friends at church. We will practice English, sing a few songs in Spanish and pray. This afternoon I will go to a birthday party for an eleven year daughter of friends of mine from Mexico.

With all of this fun I have been having with my friends from other countries, it might be full steam ahead to Christmas. Did I mention there are only 90 shopping days left until Christmas?

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Story Time- First Time I Ate Borscht

~ jesusluvsall ~ 9 Comments

Borscht is a soup that is popular in Ukraine. The first time I ate borscht was during a dinner with my friends at the Ukrainian church many years ago. They were having a special potluck dinner and had invited me to join. Never one to pass up homecooked food, I gladly joined them.

As I was going through the line getting my food, I came to the mashed potatoes. Next to the mashed potatoes was something that looked a bit like salsa to me, bur I did not see anything next to the ‘salsa’ to put it on, Being the creative person that I am at times, I began putting the ‘salsa’ on my mashed potatoes much to the surprise of my Ukrainian friends.

A few of them quickly said, “no teacher that is borscht” while laughing at my blunder. I asked them what borscht is and they told me it is a soup. Not one to waste food, I sat down and ate my food including the mashed potatoes with the borscht on top. It actually tasted good. I told my friends I sat down with that perhaps I should get more. They just smiled and laughed.

Sharing a meal is a great way to get to know people and build friendships. Jesus often shared meals with people in their homes. He would eat in the homes of people who were looked down on by the Pharisees, religious leaders of the day. One time the Pharisees asked Jesus’s disciples why he ate with sinners. Jesus heard it and replied in Matthew 9:12-13:

On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The issue is not who we share a meal with or what the meal is. The issue is why we share a meal. Jesus shared meals with people to draw them to himself. Likewise, we can share meals in hopes of Jesus drawing people to himself through our friendships.

By the way, borscht is a delicious soup, but I do not put it on mashed potatoes anymore.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

How You Can Join with Me in Helping Ukrainian Refugees in My City

~ jesusluvsall ~ 24 Comments

It is exciting for me to be able to help Ukrainian Refugees in my city. This will be at least a one year endeavor of blessings for me.

Photo by Mathias Reding on Pexels.com

I arranged for a young woman from my church who is a paramedic to come next Saturday to meet a young woman from Ukraine that was a paramedic there. It ties in with a theme I have with new refugees who are high school or college age-“You Dreams Are Not Over.”

If you would like to be a part of my ministry with Ukrainian Refugees, there are two ways.

PRAYER- Please pray for me for wisdom, energy, and empowerment by the Lord. Please pray for the new refugees I meet from Ukraine for their new lives here and for open hearts to hear about Jesus.

Another way you can be involved is my Amazon Wish List. The name is Matt’s Ukrainian Ministry. I have set it up for all items to be delivered directly to House of Prayer here in Lincoln NE. I will update the list as needs arise, but have the initial items needed on the list now. The link- Matt’s Ukrainian Ministry. Shipping Address- Matt/House of Prayer Church 1333 Morton St. Lincoln NE 68521

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

My First Saturday with Ukrainian Friends

~ jesusluvsall ~ 13 Comments

It was my privilege to meet ten refugees from Ukraine yesterday during our first Saturday together. It was more of a time of letting them get to know me and assessing their English levels, so I can plan our future lessons. It was good to see them laugh as we studied.

Photo by Mathias Reding on Pexels.com

Of the ten, five were from one family. The family has two daughters and one son. The two daughters are 20 and 19. One of them completed two years in a university in Ukraine in psychology. The other one had just graduated high school a few months ago. I encouraged them that their dreams are not over and that with Jesus they can have a good future here.

The family just came here on Labor Day, five days before I met them. Realizing that, I asked the twelve year old son if he was nervous about starting school here. He nodded his head yes. I encouraged him that the teachers are nice and will understand he is learning English. We talked about how he can learn step by step.

Before we ended, one of the men said we should pray, so I asked him to pray for us. It was the perfect way to end our lass time. I am looking forward to this new adventure with my Ukrainian friends. The class would not have happened if I had not gotten a new to me vehicle Thursday.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Prayers Were Needed/Prayers Were Answered

~ jesusluvsall ~ 20 Comments

About a month ago, I shared a post- Prayers Needed that was about an email I received letting me know my current position would not have enough hours to keep my benefits and then my van died beyond repair. The past four weeks have been a valley time.

This week in a span of two days, it turned around. On Thursday thanks to generous donors, I bought a Hyundai Tuscon. Then yesterday I found out I did not get the position I applied for but my hours were expanded so I can keep my benefits. Even better, my current position pays two dollars an hour more and is what I actually enjoy doing. I had only applied for the position to keep benefits.

As Christians we are not immune to life’s problems, but how we handle them can be a testimony. If we give things to God and seek him through the down times, God works through us.

I am grateful I had more time with my friend Luis from El Salvador. He gave me rides home on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and rides to church on Sundays. Because of the extra time, he opened up about what happened to him in El Salvador when a drug gang tried to force him to join. That led to sharing about how Jesus understands trauma. That is one example from the past four weeks.

But now it is on to new adventures like the English conversation group that is starting at the Ukrainian church today. We will have many Saturdays together of having lessons and sharing life. I love helping refugees with their new lives in America and this group will be at a church that will share Jesus with them.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.