Traveling to Ужгород (Uzhgorod)

Lviv--Perhaps one of the biggest surprises on our trip, we were not even meant to end up in this city, but I am glad we did! This is a picture of the most beautiful church I have ever seen, found about half a mile from the train station we came in on. Lviv's architecture is older than that of Kiev, and while it has all the modern conveniences, the ancientness of the area was felt!

Our original plan was to purchases tickets for an overnight train to Uzhgorod, and one of the first things we did when we got off the plane was go to the place to purchase said tickets. However, all tickets had been sold out, and the earliest ticket they had was for August 3rd. Mind you, the youth camp starts on the 1st, and a lot of prep-work still needed to be done, so this was not going to work. So instead, we purchased tickets to Lviv, and then tickets from Lviv to Uzhgorod. Getting up at 4:30 AM (about 8:30 PM EST), we headed for the station for our first train ride that lasted 5 hrs, only to wait in Lviv for another 5, and then take the final train to Uzhgorod--another 5 hours. Needless to say, our beds that night looked pretty welcoming!

The most important thing I came away with from Lviv was a simple truth: God has His people everywhere. As we walked by a park on the way back to the train station, Josiah heard a song that he recognized coming from the park center. As we got closer, we saw a group of people standing in a stone 'gazebo' that echoed the sound of their voices. Although we did not understand the words, we did know that they were singing Christian songs in beautiful harmony (albeit some mistakes with laughs from the singers themselves). Walking away, I thanked God that He had people in a city that were still being a LIGHT! As far as I know, the holiness movement has no churches there, and although the Catholic and Orthodox churches stand, I was encouraged to see believers worshiping God in sincerity and truth!

Close of Day Three

Today ends our time in Kiev, and what an awesome time it has been! Kiev is the beautiful capital of Ukraine, and we have had several adventures throughout the city, not the least of which was Zip-lining across the Dniper River! Although these past two days have been more of a time of tourism, we start off early tomorrow morning for Uzhgorod in west. We have to get up at 4:30 AM (about 4 and half hours from current local time) and take a train on an interesting little trip.

I have seen many fascinating sights, including an old crypt in a cave system underneath an Orthodox Church. My personal favorite stop today, however, was the WWII Museum (although the museum also included recent wars too.) One of the most impacting sights there was the torn clothing of a child from one of the concentration camps. Tim translated one of the signs and told me that over 2.5 million children were sent to various concentration camps in WWII. A massive photo from the time hung on the wall, with the faces of children looking through barbed wire. Once again, I was reminded of the horrors of the Holocaust, and reminded of why I am even here in the first place. I am here to be the best representative of Christ that I can, so that children, young adults, and adults don't have to enter an eternity without the hope of salvation.

I appreciate and covet all your prayers as we travel tomorrow, and as we prepare for the youth camp that starts on Monday. Pray that the Lord would help us and give us the words to speak and the translators the help to communicate it to the youth.

One of the buildings near the town center.

On The Way

Off to Ukraine! As I write this, I am traveling in the van on the way to JFK with Shane and Josiah! Br Paul Gingrich agreed to put up with us and drive us, and the excitement is building! Going through the checklist, I believe I have everything I need for these coming weeks in eastern Europe. Our first flight leaves at 5:45, and we will be landing in Amsterdam around 1 AM EST. We will land in Ukraine around 6:30 AM EST. Thanks to everyone for your prayers! Update you soon!

Jacob

Final Preperations Begin

12 days from now, I will be leaving from JFK on my flight to Ukraine! It is so hard to believe that the trip is just around the corner, and as I start my final preparations, it all is becoming a little more real to me. Over the past few weeks, I have been struggling against a great spiritual darkness, but even as I wrote some thank you's a few minutes ago the darkness continued giving way to the Light.

This Sunday will be final Sunday preaching at Stone Ridge PHC. As I prepare for that, my thoughts have began turning to the opportunity I have been given to speak at the Carpathian Christian Youth Camp in Ukraine. Naturally, I will be speaking through a translator as I am not familiar enough with the language to preach. I have some difficult topics to speak on, the first being titled The Truth about Yourself. Being honest, I have no idea where to start, but I know the Lord will lead me to the right place.

This trip will be my first of many missions trips I anticipate having in my life time. As such, the excitement just keeps building more and more every day! Today I am gathering my chechlists and writing some final thank you's to those who have supported me and made this trip possible. However, as much as the money is important, the prayers of my friends and family have been even more treasured. Thank you to all who labor in the place of prayer for me, because God is answering those prayers! He has led me this far, and now I follow in His steps to the European mission field. Please remember me in prayer as I gather everything I will need, as well as I prepare to speak to people I have never met on subjects that are challenging to many! Till next time!

Two Week Update!

So, I guess it would probably be a good idea to start telling you what a day in the life of a future missionary is like. Well, it's exactly like yours, especially if you have ever been a college student/bible college student. You wake up, you have breakfast, have devotions, go to work so you can go back to college, and then go back to sleep. Then there are other times like now when a trip to Europe is on the horizon, and you begin the final preparation stages.

Two weeks from this Monday I leave for Ukraine. Until then, I am preaching this Sunday and next at a church currently without a pastor. This is a pretty new experience for me preaching every week, and I find myself continually drawing nearer to God. As I lean upon His wisdom, I learn many new things myself as I prepare to present the Word of God. Although greatly challenging, these opportunities have presented me much preparation for the future work that God has for me. I do not yet know all those details, but I'm so glad He walks with us every single step of the way!

Over the next two weeks, I will do my best to post more regularly as I lead up to the final trip! If you have any questions, comments, etc, just toss them below! Our God is moving and doing great things, keep encouraged my friends!