And the works go on...

In 1995, I had the privilege of visiting Ukraine for the first time, as a 16 year old.  In the picture below, I am standing with some young ladies whom I met on that trip.  This picture was taken 14 years after our first meeting, in 2009.

Just an hour drive away from the camp I visited so many years ago, two church buildings were being built (or funds were being raised at the time for their building), and these projects were being financed by my home church in Oklahoma City, Windsor Hills Baptist Church.  This post is dedicated to the people of my home church who gave towards those projects about 16 years ago.  

(Below)  Here is the first building, which my hubby was recently shown.  He was making a quick trip through this town [more about that later] and did not have time to meet the pastor or the people of the church.  So, the story of this church will have to wait for another day...  But, isn't it beautiful?!  

(Below)  And here is the inside of the second church building....  On the wall is written "...God is love...  I John 4:16."

(Below)  This is a picture taken of a picture.... of where the church congregation formerly met.  You can see the new building is in the process of being built in the background.  Quite the improvement, wouldn't you say?!

(Below) Another picture taken of a picture...  Three Americans standing with two Ukrainians.  Two of those Americans were staff members of my home church, Bro. C.W. Fisk and Dr. Clifford Hearron.  The third American is Evangelist Jim Belisle.  This picture is proudly displayed in the new church building today.

(Below)  Another picture of a picture, taken in 1948, celebrating the church's 25th Anniversary.  How I would love to sit and hear the stories those dear Christians could have told of what it meant to be a Christian in Communist Russia at that time!

(Below)  The new church building...

(Below)  And the new church building again today!  Here hubby stands with the new pastor, a man David described as one of the kindest, humblest men you could ever meet.

(Below)  And here hubby was invited to have tea and cookies with the young people of the church, after he preached for their Saturday evening youth meeting.

As I look at these pictures that hubby brought home on the camera, I am awestruck at the way God has blessed these two little churches out in villages that had probably never seen Americans before those trips in the '90s.  What blesses me more than anything is to see these people faithfully pressing on even without any type of American financial support.  What they have is something real that officially started in 1923. 

And it makes me wonder what the people in those old black and whites would think of the church today?!

So, thank you, Windsor Hills Baptist Church, for helping these churches move foward.  I am thrilled to see the fruit of a project we raised money for "sight unseen." 

And these works go on...!