Earlier this summer, a team of six people from HCC traveled to the former Soviet republic of Moldova to share the gospel with children who are either Ukrainian refugees or call the villages of Moldova their home.
Planning for the trip started about a year ago, with the goal of assisting a group of Moldovan nationals in the ministry. Plans changed, and rather than assisting, our team of 60 and 70-somethings had to produce and pull-off a five-day VBS program all by themselves. Then the plan changed again to holding five one-day VBS programs in different locations:
• Balti City, at the center for Ukrainian refugees
• Biesti village
• Meresheny village
• Pripicheny village
• Chisinau, at the Center for Ukrainian Refugees
“God had provided everything that we needed; we just had to put it all in the right order.”
The program was inspired by Hebrews 11, especially the first verse: “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” God had provided everything that we needed; we just had to put it all in the right order.
On the first day, we realized we were spending too much time teaching and not enough time with games and crafts. The good news? Ukrainian and Moldovan mothers who were in the room focused on every word we said. That night we changed up the format—breaking up the teaching into small parts with activities, in between lessons that reinforced what we taught.
During part of our trip, we partnered with Vasily Pyntya, an HCC-supported missionary, in putting on a VBS program in a Moldovan village. It was a blast!!!
On our last day, we visited the ICARE center (Church Without Walls), which works with the Ukrainian refugees, and assembled about four pallets worth of food bags. The center distributes these food bags to about 3800 refugee families who come in once every other month to receive food and hygiene bags.
The ICARE center also gives each family a copy of the book of John, stamped with the date they received the food and hygiene bags. Families must have the book of John with them the next time to receive additional supplies. The church conducts follow-up visits with about 40 families per day, allowing those who serve with time to visit each family who receives the help.
In the 1800s, George Mueller relied completely on God to provide the food that he needed to feed the children in several orphanages. Organizing a short-term mission trip seems much like that. We set the table and trust God to assemble the team. He always brings exactly who is needed—and works through each person. It’s impossible to imagine this trip being done without even one of the members, as each was essential to our ministry.