On Saturday, we took the entire day to see the sights of Kiev. The picture below is a Ukranian Orthodox Church. We went into the church and observed the ceremony. How sad it is to see that no Bible was read from and no Gospel shared. The people believe that they find grace by being around the relics of dead saints.
This a picture of the Kiev skyline with the skyscrapers in the background. Kiev is a large city, about 2.5 million people. It was totally destroyed after World War II, but has been built back beautifully. The downtown area is really a great tourist attraction.
Here I am with Sasha, one of the BIEM church planters, who is planting a church in Turkey. Sasha has a unique ability to make connections with influential people. He has already led several Muslims in Turkey to faith in Christ and baptized them in the Mediterranean Sea. We are standing inside the Russian Orthodox Monastery. We went through the catacombs where dead saints are buried and watched as worshipers prayed for some of the holiness of these saints to be imparted to them.
Here I am pictured with Sam Slobodian, who is a member of our church at Mt. Tabor. Bro. Sam travels much with BIEM and we don't get to fellowship together often. We have enjoyed doing so this week. Here we are in front of a beautiful fountain in Kiev.
On Sunday, I had the opportunity to be with one of our missionaries, Pastor Anatole. He has started a couple of churches and is preparing to start another. This is the building where his current church meets. I am pictured here with Pastor Anatole, Bro. Sam, and Larry and Colleen Oats, a sweet couple from Wisconsin who have joined us on this trip.
Ukranians celebrate Thanksgiving all month during September, but it is up to each individual church to choose which Sunday to celebrate thanksgiving as a church. This Sunday was the special day at Pastor Anatole's church. This a ceremony, where the church thanks God for the physical bread as well as the spiritual bread, the Bible.
I was given the opportunity to preach one of the sermons, with the help of a translator. There were two other sermons besides mine and many songs by the choir and congregation. The service lasted over 2 hours, and then we stayed afterward to eat together. There were close to 200 people in attendance in a building that would maybe seat 150 comfortably.
After the service, those who were visiting received a gift, a free Ukranian Bible and other literature that they desired. As you can see, the Bibles were a big hit. The people here are very hungry for God's Word.
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