Monday, February 24, 2014

Fallen Heroes


From someone's Facebook post:
I've watched this memorial tribute video several times already today but decided to watch it again as I try to wind down for sleep. I find the music so beautiful. And here I am watching for the fourth time and all of a sudden I see something. I quickly stop and go back, pausing the video.

There in the midst of the memorial to the fallen heroes of Maidan is a copy of the Gospel of John that the Prayer Tent ministry has passed out for the past three months, day after day, witnessing in the freezing cold - despite the threat of beatings, arrest, and most recently death.

I look at the worn cover and see the spine is broken. This is not a brand new Gospel passed out earlier today. This was read and kept and used. 

I can't help but think back over the past three months and the stories we've heard of God using the Christians on Maidan to share the Word and about the hope and freedom that is found in Jesus.

I think back to all the pictures of people stopping by the Prayer Tent to chat and drink hot tea and take a New Testament or Gospel of John. I think back to their faces. Where are they now? Was this their copy? Did they survive the bloody week that has just passed? Did they give their life over to Christ? 

I am not sure we will ever know in this lifetime, but I do believe that one day in Heaven we will meet many who came to Jesus because of the believers on Maidan. These are heroes who were willing to give up everything to be Jesus to their countrymen and to stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the struggle against tyranny, oppression, and injustice. The nation will forever be in debt to them. The Church in Ukraine even more so.

They are truly heroes of the faith. So with that I say, "Glory to Ukraine!" "Glory to the heroes!"

Sunday, February 23, 2014

MDI's 96-hour Experience in Ukraine

Prior to making the long journey to Ukraine, MDI's staff prayed long and hard as to whether it was right for us to travel to Ukraine.  We knew that our friends had erected a prayer tent right in the middle of the "action" and were heavily involved in providing food, tea and prayer support for battle-weary protestors.  The prayer tent was also open to all faiths including the leaders of those faiths.  We decided if we could provide comfort and support to our leaders we are in relationship with, we would go.  Their response to our asking was, "Please come!"  So, on a Monday morning we left.

When arriving on Tuesday, we were a little overwhelmed with people saying to us, "We are so glad you are here.  Everyone else has canceled their visits to Ukraine.  It once again, shows us your deep love for us and the country of Ukraine."  For us, it was affirmation we had made the right decision to come.

What no one realized, was that the very minute we walked through customs, the protests turned from peaceful to very deadly.  Even driving in from the airport, we heard a report that eight people had just been killed.

Upon arriving at our apartment, we walked to the window, which overlooked the downtown area of Kiev where the fighting was.  We could easily see a large wall of black smoke building in the sky and could hear explosions and gunshots ringing through the air.  It was a very sobering sight.  We realized this was not a movie or a news report of somewhere else in the world.  It was about two miles from us and it was happening in a country we call our second home and our friends were right in the middle of it.  We called Anatoly Kaluzhny and asked him for advice as to how we should conduct ourselves.  He told us, that at that moment, the fighting was confined to the downtown area, and we were safe where we were but to not go beyond several blocks of where were living.

During dinner, Anatoly called us and asked if we would come to the New Life Church office (about six blocks away) to pray with him.  Upon arriving there, the stress of the day was clearly written on his face.  After a season of prayer, he told us he was worried about his sons going to Maidan to fight.  He needed to leave to try to talk them out of going.  We left him promising we would go right home and stay there.

We were to learn later that Anatoly had been unsuccessful talking his boys into not going.  He decided if they were going he was as well.  That night, twenty-six people were killed.  When we communicated with our friends to confirm our meetings with them, the shock of the reality of what was happening was evident in their voices.  This was the beginning of when our timely arrival was now turning into a distraction for our friends.  They were not only focused on the conflict, worried about the safety of their families, but were now having to also worry about our safety as well. 

The next evening came the news of a truce!  Praise God, the conflict seemed to have found way to end.  We started to relax thinking we could continue working with our leaders in a normal fashion. We woke the next morning to find out that the truce had not lasted more than a few hours.  We had a full day of meetings planned and decided we would process what to do next while having our meetings.  During the day things started to happen:
1.     More than sixty people had been killed that day.
2.     Most grocery stores were running out of food.
3.     Huge block-long lines were forming at gas stations with stations running out of gas.
4.     ATM's were no longer working.
5.     Credit cards were no longer working due to a communication shutdown.
6.     Rumors were going around they were going to block all bridges including the ones between us and the airport.

We were having a late lunch with Anatoly at a huge mall, when we received a call from one of our leaders (Lena) saying, "I can no longer tell you that you are safe in Ukraine."  We made the decision to leave, so I was calling Delta trying to figure out how we could leave the country.   Suddenly we realized that there was no one around which seemed very strange due to it being only 3:45 in the afternoon.   We got up to leave and found security people waiting for us.  They informed us that the mall had been closed and we were the last people to leave.  They then proceeded to escort us out of the building.  Delta had told us we could not get out until the next morning.  So we called our missionary, Heather Harris, and asked her to get her passport, pack a bag and have a friend drive her to our apartment.

When she arrived, she was not happy to be leaving.  She wanted to stand with her friends.  She did realize however, she too was a distraction to those same friends so agreed to leave with us.  A few minutes later I heard, "Hey Steve, look at this!"  I walked over to the window where she was looking out and there stood about twenty-five men, dressed in black, holding sticks/clubs.  She said, "I can't tell whether those are good or bad guys."  I said, "We are not going to go find out."  That was affirmation that it was, indeed, time to leave.

We all got up at 3am to get ready to be picked up at 4.  We had heard rumors that there were 5,000 protestors blocking the airport to prevent government officials from leaving the country.  On the way to the airport, there was a large roadblock, run by armed young men, which stopped us.  It turned out that they were with the opposition and our friend/driver, Anya, said “Слава Україні” (“Glory to Ukraine”) and let us go.

We are now safe in Madrid.  We so appreciate all of your prayers during this time.  We are asking that you continue to pray for the country of Ukraine and our friends there.


Blessings,

Friday, February 21, 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

I am writing from Amsterdam on our way to Madrid. We left Kiev, Ukraine, early this morning. Yesterday afternoon we decided that it would be wise to go. Not to leave out of fear or anxiety, but for a very specific reason. We have had a few meetings with some of the leaders we were to meet with this trip. But we had just called our staff with Journey to Freedom Ukraine in Odessa and told them not to come to Kiev because they would have to go through the center of Kiev to get to us and it would not be wise for them to do so. And while we kept hearing from our ministry friends that they so appreciated that we came and were standing with them in spirit, they also told us that we needed to stay very close to our apartment especially since we did not speak the language and because there could be thugs roaming the area. We realized that if things escalated further we would be a great distraction to our leaders as they were concerned about us and our safety for the moment. Their focus needed to be on their own calling to stand for freedom in their country and not to be concerned about us. And so we decided to leave and go on to Madrid for our upcoming meetings there. Upon arrival in Amsterdam we received a US Department of State Emergency Travel Warning. The Department of State urges "U.S. citizens who travel to Ukraine to evaluate carefully the risks posed to their personal safety, particularly in the capital city of Kyiv. The situation in Ukraine is unpredictable and could change quickly." 

We asked our MDI missionary, Heather Harris, to go with us and she said yes. And even though her heart is very much in Kiev she thought it would be wise to be gone for a short time too. We are looking forward to spending time with Heather H. We had planned meetings with her in Kiev and now we will be able to have more prolonged time with her in Madrid. We are also anticipating a good staff retreat and strategic planning time as well as increased time with the MTW team there. 

So please pray for our transition and change of focus. We really left our hearts in Kiev with all of our friends standing in Maidan and are planning on being back in April. The photographs that you have seen in your papers and on screens are real. But instead of scaring the Ukrainian people it is only increasing their resolve that it is absolutely necessary to stand and keep on standing. We pray for liberty and truth to prevail in Ukraine. We serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and He is reigning here!

Thank you for your love and encouragement. We feel your prayer coverage as do our many friends here. 

Blessings, 




from Marti for the MDI team

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Our reality in Ukraine

For weeks we have been asking ourselves whether MDI should make its scheduled trip to the troubled country of Ukraine.  When checking with our friends and advisers in Ukraine, they said they wanted us to come, some even said they needed us to come.  So come we did.  Upon arrival yesterday afternoon, we received a call from Anatoly Kaluzhny to say he had spent the day praying on live TV and meeting with parliament people.  They were telling him that tonight was the night when the troops were going to move in -- 7 pm was the magic hour.  

At 6 pm, Marti Scudder, Heather Karls and I went to one of our bedroom windows that has a view of downtown (about 2 miles away across the river) to see if we could see anything.  We opened the windows and could see the beginnings of a broad-based wall of smoke building from the square.  We could also hear explosions, gun shots and fireworks (some citizens are throwing fireworks because that is all they have to resist with).  When we left the restaurant, we could easily hear loud explosions and gun fire coming from a few miles away.

Heather Harris, an MDI missionary here in Kiev, joined us for dinner.  We all decided we would go to Anatoly Kaluzhney's office afterwards were he was holding a prayer meeting.   There we watched a live internet feed and were shocked by what we saw - major fires as tents and tire barricades were set ablaze.  Troops, coming into the city from five different directions, dressed in armor, helmets and shields were slowly moving into the troubled area gaining ground inch by inch. Anatoly told us about some of his church members saying goodbye to their families as the headed for the battle.  The had decided that this battle was worth loosing their life over.   We prayed!  We then heard that the whole metro and bus systems have been closed and will stay closed today (imagine New York City with no Subway or buses) and all the roads into the city have been closed including the ones going to the airport. 

We then talked about how the MDI team could stay safe during this rebellion. Our apartment is about two miles from the battle.  But it is across the river and we are on the 10th floor of a high-rise.  We now have food in the refrigerator and feel very comfortable and safe.  We decided to have Heather Harris spend the night with us and not try to get back to her apartment.  Please DO NOT worry about us.  We feel no sense of danger where we are.

For many of us at MDI, Ukraine is our second home country.  We love and care about the people, their well-being, freedoms (or lack thereof) and their right to worship in the manner they wish.  As Americans we see these conflicts on TV.  But I can assure you, it is quite different being here and experiencing this first hand.  The tension is palpable.   There is a deep rawness to what is happening here.  Something that we Americans,who have not fought in wars, know little about.  Our friends are not only afraid for their country but  for their neighbors and children who want to stand.  And standing is what they are doing.  The have no weapons or skills to fight.  They do not have armor, shields or helmets. They just have their faith in God that that is what He is wanting them to do.  Just stand!  What we can do is "to stand" in the gap for these people and country.  This is real!  At this writing, there are 25 dead and, reportedly, thousands injured.  Please pray!

Your MDI staff:

Steve Lorenz
Marti Scudder
Heather Karls