Oct. 5, Kharkov Christian Center, Kharkov, Ukraine
Tuesday 6:30 pm: Greetings from the Kiev airport. Erik and I must connect thru the Kiev airport to get to Kharkov. Our flight to Kharkov will board in an hour or so. No matter how much air travel you’ve done, never think you’ve seen it all. Today I experienced something new. When we arrived into Kiev, we were driven by bus to Baggage Claim, and had to re-enter Security in order to get to the gate for our connecting flight. A connecting flight on the same airline—but we still had to exit Security at the connecting hub. A first for me.
We had gorgeous weather in Odessa. Today we strolled around Odessa and saw a few sights, just a perfect day. As we drove for the airport, it became overcast. Our host just now sent us a clip of the rain he hit into, after dropping us off at the airport. The Lord held the rain off until we had finished enjoying the city, smile.
Now we’re going to Kharkov Christian Center. I conducted 3 days of meetings at this church four years ago, I think they were midweek meetings. And now we’re returning for another midweek service. They hold a regular Wednesday midweek service. The pastor, Peter Kovalenko, is a wonderful brother, I’ve ministered with him at a few conferences. As it turns out, he is away on ministry himself right now, so we’ll very much miss seeing him. His assistant, Anton, speaks excellent English and will take good care of us. They have nice lodging right on their church premises, and I’m guessing we’ll be lodged there again. Kharkov faced significant turbulence when Ukraine’s disruptions first broke, and it seemed “iffy” which way the city would go (which was also true of Odessa). But Kharkov has managed to remain relatively calm, and is clearly within Ukraine’s orb still, as is Odessa. I think they’re planning on having Erik join their worship team in some capacity in tomorrow’s service, and then I will speak. I’ve prepared my heart to speak on “illegal prayers.”
Wednesday 1:00 pm: Erik and I are back from a prayer walk in the neighborhood of our hotel. We’re both struck with subtle signs that Kharkov is stronger economically than Odessa. Maybe we can ask our hosts if our impressions are accurate. The city is littered with workers (mostly women) who are out and about raking up the falling leaves into piles. Their implements seem rudimentary, but they plod at the task and it’s getting done. With most of the leaves still on the trees. So their task will continue for some weeks.
Thursday noon: Greetings from Kharkov. We are in a car and are now being driven to Poltava. Kharkov is over a million people, and Poltava a town of 300,000. Ukraine’s total population is 48 million. Last night’s service in Kharkov was blessed of the Lord. The Lord helped me in the preaching of the word, and the saints responded very eagerly in giving their hearts to the Lord. Afterwards we had a delightful time of fellowship at McDonald’s.
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