Alena Marasek
On 22.08.17- 30.08.17 I had mission trip to Luhansk region. In the beginning of summer I asked my husband to pray about some opportunity for me to serve. Every summer I try to separate for ministry, because at this time I don’t have so many art commissions and it’s good time to trust God. Usually in the summer I have projects such as wall painting in hospitals and orphanages and mission trips. It’s the best time in my life. Now it’s more difficult, because after the wedding we have a lot of paperwork for Joey’s permanent visa, and my new passport. Also we trying to figure out how to serve in marriage and how to serve to each other.
So, about my trip. That town and village that we attended is already safe but three years ago that territory was occupied. Then the Ukrainian army moved terrorists with Russian soldiers closer to the Russian border. But this territory still is a war zone because the fighting field is pretty close. We sometimes hear shots from every house of the city. Town where our base was is called Popasnaya and village where we served- Kamushevaha. It was a camp for kids there. The organizer of the camp was association Emmanuel. The main idea was to bring hope and joy. Everything was looking professional, but to do something good there can help just God. In the morning we gathered to search His face and asked Him for union and for the teams to serve well. Every day we had Bible study with kids, a lot of games, and a lot of hugs. In the night we heard clear sounds of fighting. The week after the trip was a struggle for me to hear some strange sounds in the peaceful territory. I notice that older kids also fear the loud sounds, but for me it’s so much easier to forget this fear. Some kids said that they want to attend church and the local team already started making a kid’s club there. The local team and churches serve there with a big commitment.
During the camp some people joined us. It was mostly teenagers, the pastor and his wife, and also one young man 21 years old. That real hard work that teenagers do touched my heart a lot. They don’t care about rest but wanted to preach and pray. The 21 year old man was very talented and humble. In the next month he will serve like a pastor and will start a church in another town near the war zone. He is very faithful and loves people, if there will be some opportunity to help him and visit that church I will do this. It is my prayer request. I hope this generation will make a lot of difference. It’s incredible how bright God’s light can be in dark places.
