Weekly updates in Ukraine

these are my weekly email updates for my Lighthouse team back in Amsterdam from the past 5-6 weeks. i know some were curious as to what i have been doing, so i've decided to share them on my blog as well..enjoy! 

Week 1-

what the Lords been speaking so far:

i have been in Kiev now for 5 days.  crazy.

when i came to the Ywam base i met a girl who is from the Israel Ihop prayer room. She was only here for one more day when i met her, but i was really curious to get to know her because i could tell she was very sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading. We both wanted to go to independence square (Maidan square) She had been a few times but i hadn't been at all. Maidan Square was where they had riots back in February and over 100 people died. Ukrainians have been camped out in the square since the Pro-Russian president rejected a European association agreement back in November 2013 and instead chose to pursue a Russian bailout and closer ties with Russia which obviously led to protests from the Ukrainian people. most of Western Ukraine is pro-europe and most of eastern Europe is pro Russia or so they say?

why do i say all of this? good question. the biggest question i should always ask myself is if i am praying for a nation, how do i pray for it if i know nothing about it? 

ok, back to my story with Esther (ihop girl from Israel) .. i hadn't told her anything about what i did yet, when she started sharing with me about this city called Odessa, one of the largest human trafficking cities in Eastern Europe that is in the southeast of Ukraine. she said she wanted to go there, but it never worked out for her to go and she didn't know why God put it on her heart so strongly if she wasn't able to go.. and i told her.. well, maybe you were supposed to tell me and pass the baton.. the rest of the day God confirmed that. i shared with her about the lighthouse and what we do etc. We were on our way back through Maidan square when we saw an old lady selling books.. Esther stopped and pointed at this one book that said "lighthouses of Ukraine" on it.. i jokingly said "maybe there is a lighthouse in Odessa" it was all in Ukrainian so we couldn't read any of it but she flipped a page and below a picture of a lighthouse it said Odessa... we were like noo wayyyy.. i saw the word Odessa a few times during that day as well popping up in random places. Later that day she gave me olive oil from the town of David in Israel for the purpose of anointing this city, Odessa with it.

praying and seeking the Lord on potentially going there in the next month.

yesterday i went with a team and played games with some of the orphan teens.. and also taught English to 8 ladies.. that was so much fun!!! wow.. i love teaching.. it was amazing and wish they did it twice a week instead of once.. these ladies were so hungry to learn but we teach them English in a bible study format.. so basically we read scripture to them (them not being Christians) and ask them questions about the Bible story and share about our own lives.. the story yesterday was the Prodigal Son. they were hungry to learn English but also hungry to learn about God obviously. :)

so yes, that has been a bit of my week. God is speaking and it is a good season for me to rest in Him and pray for this country. 

Week 2-

i had a meeting with the girls of A21 Kiev on Monday and had some contacts and connections with them. some leads of possibilities but no point in sharing yet if they don't go anywhere.. but will let you know if some of them do.

i have been really enjoying teaching english to the adults and know it is an encouragement for them to come every week. you can tell that they love it. 

the Human trafficking seminar in Moldova was cancelled. however, i am still looking at checking Moldova and Bulgaria and Odessa city out. 

a few articles i found on men that go to Odessa to find love from Western nations-

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/marriage-ukrainianstyle-hopeful-bachelors-from-all-over-the-world-head-to-odessa-in-search-of-a-wife-8701428.html

http://www.marieclaire.com/sex-love/relationship-issues/mail-order-bride

Week 3-

i went to an orphanage that 2 american ladies run... for 3 hours i tutored the kids one at a time in English. their ages ranged from 7-17.. it was actually quite easy. i am beginning to realize the kids don't get a lot of encouragement from teachers or one another for that matter.. so when encouraging them in their learning.. their entire demeanor changes. i so enjoyed the children. such precious kids. i hope to return in the following weeks.

i think Easter weekend was my most challenging time since being here. i think because it was just me and the Lord. everyone on base went either home or someones home to celebrate. i was a bit sad and it forced me to trust in God in all areas of my life.. even holidays and celebrate with Him in what He did on the cross. How blessed am i to spend time with Jesus with no distractions for an entire weekend to sit at His feet? it was uncomfortable i think because of what we have been raised to think what a holiday looks like.. and what am i really focusing on and putting my energy in when these different seasons come up.. it all comes back to who we are really celebrating.. and when everything is stripped away what is left? is Jesus enough? when that moment comes, you realize what you have had as your idols all these years.. and when its you and Jesus.. you now see those "idols" are just blessings.. and to never let those blessings distract you from the real reason we celebrate..

anyways. sorry was getting some revelation as i wrote!

the amsterdam outreach team is coming tomorrow and i will be joining them for some of the ministry they will be involved in here with the orphanages and english class.. prayer and intercession.

I am getting more of a heart for Ukraine// specifically to pray into peace between the nations as Russia wants to take over more land. praying for Putin (thanks Marleen for that word :) she got a picture of Putin and I standing next to each other) 

lots of books on giving and funding ministries..seriously learning some incredible gems of what the Bible says about giving, receiving and stewarding.. just when you think you know it all.. you get a big ole slice of humble pie.. LOVING the learning.

i have another lead on going to Odessa- a human trafficking ring city.. might be going at the end of May with one of the girls who volunteers with A21.

might be going to Moldova but am still emailing contacts to see if that would be a possibility.. but if God wants me to stay here in Ukraine for the month.. i am ok with that and excited for what He has in store if that is the case.

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i am beginning to realize a big part of why i am here is to teach a nation to pray.. to teach God's followers how to seek the Lord as they are on burn out mode and have all the energy sucked out of them.

i was talking to one of the girls here of what our ministry does and i told her that i told Elisabeth before i joined the LH team that there is no point in me joining the LH if 50% of my time isn't in the place of prayer on behalf of the women we reach out to and seeking the Lord for intimacy. i told this girl here in Ukraine that our team spends half of our team in the place of prayer. that to survive in a ministry that is on the frontlines (in our case prostitution, in her case orphans) you need to be in the place of prayer.. 

a few days later she came up to me and asked me if i can teach her how to pray!  we have been meeting every morning for an hour and we pray! omg .. it has been so amazing and she has opened up so much.. like weights and burdens are lifting off of her shoulders ... TEACH A NATION TO PRAY,CHANGE THE WORLD that has been my theme this week..she wants to continue praying in the mornings.. i have been learning that stepping out in faith is one of the most rewarding things..

ok.. that was long. love you guys.. and if you have time write me and tell me how you are.. i enjoy hearing what God is doing..

Week 4-

the team is here so its been really good to have them and they have the same heart of prayer and worship and rejoicing before the Lord and Monday worship with the ywam Kiev base and the amsterdam team leading out in worship i think has been healing for ywam Kiev as I haven't really seen a passionate unified worship time since being here so that was awesome!

It's been a bit of a more challenging week. 

i think i told some of you that my Grandma had stage 4 cancer for the past 6 weeks. She died this week and not sure if she gave her life to the Lord. So have been praying and thinking of my family this week. 

i have been doing more counseling and discipleship this week when things come up when people pray... like what we think of God... the most important thought you will have! so discipleship needed.

as far as Odessa goes, not sure if you heard in the news but there were riots last friday there and 50 people died. which has been the largest death toll regarding the Ukraine issue since euromaidan in feb where 100 died in Kiev. 

still praying whether to go at the end of the month as i still have the opportunity to do so with one of the A21 girls and raise awareness on human trafficking in some schools down there.. as well as anoint the city in oil and pray for it of course.

hope you guys are doing well. :)

Week 5 & 6

Hi my lovely Lighthouse team :)

i have been joining the Holland team in ministry part time since they came. 

dude. we had an intense prayer time as they asked me to lead them in an intercession time. there was repentance going down.. tears.. passion.. encouragement.. prophetic words spoken over one another.. all in 2 hours! it was amazing.. i believe it was because the holy spirit was unquenchable in that window of time.. fearing God.. being obedient to what He was speaking.. and all of Heaven broke loose. come on.

tensions are running high as the elections are coming up at the end of the month.. something to continue to pray for. justice.

i plan to visit a refugee camp that has families from Donetsk and Slovyansk.. one of the targeted areas for Pro-Russians infiltrating and bringing illegal voting to annex themselves from Ukraine. thus leaving families with no food and water and flying bullets .. forcing them to evacuate from their homes to refugee areas. 

at the orphanage i visit every week, there are 20 kids that just arrived from foster families in Donetsk.. so we got to hang out and play with them this week which was lots of fun! 

there has been crazy lightning storms that cut off my internet where i live.. so internet has been more limited this week. i have also been sick because the weather has been so drastic, it will be extremely humid one day and the next be rain and thunderstorms.. half the team is now sick .. other than that it has been great :)

the ywam base here, i think i mentioned, is on a lake and they have been doing baptisms so it has been so amazing to see the churches that come and the baptisms that take place here.. anointing it more and more with Holy Spirit.. come on.

bless you guys... am missing amsterdam obviously ;)

in the land of pink houses and purple roofs

It is true. what you hear in the news about Ukraine is a stark contrast when you actually live here. They like their pink Pebto Bismol coloured houses and purple roofs that you can plainly see in a forest painted with green trees. They are a people that "keep calm and carry on" and for this reason alone, i have wanted to learn more about why they aren't reacting to such great injustices taking place in their own land. Come to think of it, maybe that is all they have ever known...

Leading me to a slightly in-depth study on 'what the heck is really going on in Ukraine'... it gives me great joy to let you know that a few missing pieces in my mind have finally come together as i ask the people themselves to bring clarity to a confused foreigner.

If you want to understand what is going on in Ukraine, you need to take a step back and understand what is going on in Eastern Europe or as some call it, "the former Soviet Union"... and let me answer a few important questions one confused individual might ask themselves...

When did Ukraine become its own Independent country? 1991.

When countries become independent from another country, isn't there usually a fight/war that happens to officially say they are independent? usually, yes

Why wasn't there a war when Ukraine gained its independence? Because Russia still had control over many things in Ukraine, including money, government and politics or so they say.

Now that Ukrainians are wanting to cling more to the West and wanting to separate themselves from Russia and it's pro-Russian elected officials, is this upsetting Russia and its stronghold over the land? of course.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing that Ukraine separatists are taking over cities in Ukraine, and holding illegal referendums? perhaps a good thing. Ukrainians need to make up their mind. They need to ask themselves, are they pro Russian or are they pro Ukrainian? although that doesn't change the fact that the referendums themselves are illegal and corrupt and most likely forced by Pro-Russians in the area.

they are fighting for their nation... and in a way... it is a good thing.. the Ukrainians are saying no more to political corruption ruled by Russia and no to dictators or pay outs instead of bringing a case to trial. is that how the judicial system should work? whoever can pay the judge more money wins the case? Up till now that is all it's ever been and all the country has ever known.

In a way, all of this coming out is Ukrainians taking a stand against Big Brother Russia and saying NO MORE BULLYING. and those that are Pro-Russian, need to make a choice.. Ukraine or Russia.

Are there other countries that Russia still has its thumb on strongly? of course, look at Belarus. It won't surprise me in the upcoming years, if something happens there as well. People know injustice when they see it, and they reach a point to say enough is enough as well.

What is something you can pray into regarding this issue?

-For those directly affected in Eastern Ukraine.

-Those living in these regions that have been directly affected by their towns being dangerous to live in and have had to move to refugee camps.

-For Aid to come to these regions as roads have been blocked to go into them and water and food is limited.

-For those still living in these regions who sleep on the floors for fear of being shot in cross fire.

your prayers matter and change things! God is here in Ukraine and it is amazing to partner with Him in the midst of brokenness!