Borogovo Mission        Borogovo Youth Mission        Widows Project

Mission to Nikopol, UKRAINE September 2007

Report by Wendy Rickard

Pastor Vanya (John) Bokoch and his wife Nadya are an inspirational couple, who not only lead the 400 strong Baptist Church in Nikopol but also have created several satellite churches in Nikopol and the surrounding countryside which they support. Like most Ukranian pastors, they do not receive a salary and simply live by faith.

They are a selfless couple, who spend their days helping all manner of people in the various churches and also reaching out to neighbours and the needy in the community, as well as providing hospitality to foreign visitors.

As well as being Pastor, and all that entails, John, with his old red Volkswagen minibus, provides a life line to so many of his congregations. We spent a lot of time travelling around in his minibus to various churches, orphanages etc., covering a wide radius, and witnessed the way he picks up so many people to travel to and fro to meetings. Also he builds in home visits and delivering gifts, water etc. to people on the way. 

Travelling in the minibus is a step of faith in itself, as there are various problems with the van, which we experienced first hand! However, you cannot fail to be impressed with the way John handles these set-backs. In fact nothing ever seems to be “a problem” to John – he just sees “opportunities” for God to work in these situations e.g. one morning during our stay he was driving along when the van broke down outside a shop. He went into the shop to ask a man if he could borrow a screwdriver. He got into conversation with this man about the Lord, who then started to cry and John ended up praying with him. As John said afterwards – “this is why the minibus broke down, so that I could speak to that man”. This sort of thing happens all the time with John but he always manages to arrive everywhere just in time!


As you may recall, Maranda, our American East West representative and interpreter got married in America last December. She married a young Ukranian man called Vassa, who is in the final stages of his training to go into the ministry and is based in Tyachiv in Transcarpathia. Maranda and Vassa have also dedicated their lives to living by faith and I know that John and Nadya have been inspirational role models for Maranda. Please pray for both these couples that God will provide for them and protect them in their ministries.

Mission to Nikopol, UKRAINE September 2007

Report by Glen Rickard

It was a great thrill to be invited to take part in the formal ordination ceremony registering the Church at Keyrovoh as a Baptist Church. Our host, John Bokoch, pastor of the 2nd Baptist Church in Nicopol has now opened new Churches like this in many villages, establishing centres of worship in a land where only a few years ago communism ruled. This new Church was bought and renovated largely by the money raised by East West Fellowship and our supporters. Thank you.

Our God does amazing things! During the dedication service I noticed a face in the congregation that was familiar to me but I just couldn’t place it. It was the face a big man, bald head, mid to late thirties. A Nightclub bouncer type! Got the picture? He was casually dressed but smart (for Ukraine that is). This chap was singing the hymns and closing his eyes during prayer and at the end of the service he even prayed the sinners prayer, repenting and offering his life to the Lord. The service closed and the new local pastor approached me and putting his arm around the shoulders of this bald bear of a man asked, “Do you know who this is”? I shook my head. The pastor them explained something that ‘blew me away’… 
Two years ago on an earlier visit to Keyrovoh, we met in the garden at the rear of the Church as the building was in the process of renovation. All through the service a drunken man from next door had swayed up and down the adjoining wooden fence, holding a half empty vodka bottle, swearing and shouting abuse at us. It became so bad that we stopped the meeting and prayed for him and against him. At that time we had several ladies present who had never heard the gospel and where on the point of coming to Christ. This man was a major disruption. Well you have probably guessed by now. The man in the service, smiling and taking part was this man! How wonderful the power and grace of God! We rejoiced and went away amazed at what God can do. We must never under estimate prayer or the power of God. Please pray for him, we are still unsure if the has come to faith fully but his face and his actions suggest that if he hasn’t he’s mighty close. We are confident that our God can finish the work.

Mission to Nikopol, UKRAINE September 2007

Report by Colin Dickson

Nolan Bradshaw took Glen, Wendy and myself to Manchester airport for 5:00 a.m. on Friday 7th September for our flights to Kiev via Warsaw. Maranda Heytsi met us with Vassa, a young Christian living in Kiev. After a meal Maranda, Glen & Wendy and myself took the train to Dniperptrovsk. We met John Bokoch who took us on to Nikopol by minibus. We arrived at the home of John and Nadia after 1:00 a.m. Saturday morning.

Saturday 8th September – a quiet day of preparation.

Sunday 9th September – Meeting at 9:00 a.m. at the Born Again Church with Pastor Nicolai. We had a meal after the meeting and went straight on to the Blogodat Church (Church of Blessings for a meeting at 12 noon. At both meetings Glen and I spoke and Wendy sang. The ministry was much appreciated.

Monday 10th September – visited the Nikopol Babies Orphanage and distributed gifts and $100 for supplies. In the afternoon we presented a gospel service at the Chicolova Old Peoples Home. We also bought a house for an old lady whose house ha burned down. We paid $400 for the house, but it needed a considerable amount of work to make it habitable.

Tuesday 11th September – morning – preparation time.
Afternoon we spoke to the ladies at the Skola Internat. The gospel was clearly presented and afterwards we had tea. A tour of the school showed us that considerable improvements had been made in the buildings. We also spoke with Maxim, a Christian teacher at the school, that we had previously met on Sunday at the Born Again Church. That evening we visited again the Born Again Church.

Wednesday 12th September – afternoon, Pastor Nicolai took us to Shevchenkova a small village where we held a gospel meeting in the house of two teachers, Luda and Svetia. These ladies had lost their jobs because of their Christian faith. We had a meal afterwards. That evening we visited the rehabilitation centre where the gospel was clearly presented.

Thursday 13th September – in the afternoon we visited Sishkano, a very poor village where we held a gospel meeting and prayed for Pasha, a young man crippled in an accident.

Friday 14th September – in the morning we visited Nikopol market. Afternoon we went to Krimichevatoye Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist Church in the region, 150 years old!

Saturday 15th September – I stayed in as I was sick. Glen & Wendy visited Krasnogrigorevka village Church. Glen spoke with the old soldier who was saved on a previous visit.

Sunday 16th September – I missed the meeting at the Central Baptist Church as I was still unwell, but was able to go to our final meeting at Keyrovo. This was the official opening of the church. Senior pastors from the region prayed with the people in a service of dedication. Glen & I spoke and Wendy sang as also did a youth group. It was good to see a man who we had met in a previous visit and had been drunk and antagonistic towards the gospel, now saved and soba. We praise our wonderful God for his goodness and grace. 

Monday 17th September – minibus to Kiev. Stayed the night in the First Baptist church.

Tuesday 18th September – 14:30 Kiev to Warsaw. 20:05 Warsaw to Manchester. Met by Chris Porter. It was good to be home.

This had been a very fruitful mission. We had been very busy, preaching in many churches and meeting new Christians. We were also able to set up the ‘Widows Project’ with Nadia. This project, funded initially for one year, provided for two part time ladies to work as carers for the widows of the Nikopol Central Baptist Church. Nadia would manage the project. We also set up a hardship fund and money to provide a Christmas meal and hamper for the widows.

In James 1 we read: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (N.I.V.)

Colin Dickson 
November 2007

Nikopol Mission        Borogovo Youth Mission        Widows Project

Mission To Beregova by Eddie and Isabel Jones

September 2007

Last November during the 25 year celebrations of EWF we were privileged to give hospitality to Valentin, a young Pastor from Beregova in Ukraine. We were blessed by his time here and promised to visit his family and his church in 2007.

Leaving Dunfermline at 4am on Tuesday 25th September, we headed for Edinburgh Airport and a flight to Budapest via Frankfurt. It was a joy to be met by Valentin at Budapest Airport. Six hours later, at 10.45pm we arrived at his home in Mukachevo to be greeted by his wife Tanya and in-laws Sonia and Joseph. A good meal and a chat were enjoyed before heading for bed! Next day we met little Lena aged 16 months and then went to school to pick up Vladik, aged 5. It was good to be allowed to go right into the classroom which looked very similar to one in our country in the 1970's!

We enjoyed seeing the garden where Valentin grows lots of plants for selling. This helps to give the family an income since Pastors in Ukraine are not paid a salary. The town of Mukachevo now has a nice centre with shops, cafes and a big market.

On Wednesday we visited the Bernik home in Veliki Luchki. We had a meal and enjoyed fellowship with Anton and Vera. Anton showed us their home and we couldn’t leave without looking in on the cow and the pig!

Next evening Valentin took us to a prayer meeting at his Church. We arrived late because of car troubles but did enjoy the service (although we had no English interpretation). We sang “What a Friend we have in Jesus”, praising the Lord in Ukrainian, Hungarian and English!

It was an experience to travel by bus into town after visiting the impressive castle set high above the area. A trip up into the Carpathian mountains reminded us of home! We enjoyed a meal in a Christian Hotel then went back to be guests at a birthday party for a one year old friend called Benjamin. 

Sunday was a day to highlight. We took part in a service of Harvest Thanksgiving, held outside the church in glorious sunshine and attended by two hundred, including visitors from surrounding fellowships. There were three sermons and the service lasted three and a half hours. It was followed by a church lunch of stuffed cabbage and cake. We were made very welcome and especially enjoyed the choirs. This time we had an interpreter.
Next day we drove to Uzhgorod to meet Dr Samuel Karpuk. He showed us round the Baptist Church there and called on one of the Pastors who was a dentist to come and treat Valentin who was suffering from toothache. We all got to go into the room to witness Valentin’s treatment! That must be a first!

Dr Karpuk accompanied us to Shalamanova to visit the church which EWF has helped finance over the last few years. What a beautiful building we found there! We gave Dr Karpuk a gift from EWF and had a cup of tea with him.

On our second last day we drove with Valentin, Tanya and Vladik to Miskolc in Hungary to spend a night with Maria Bosz. It was such a thrill to see her looking so well after her cancer and a joy to be able to talk with her. She was sorry that we only had one night and made us promise to go back soon to spend time in her home.

Early next morning Valentin drove us to Budapest Airport. It was sad saying goodbye to the family who made our stay so enjoyable and we are so grateful to them.

PRAYER POINTS

Pray for the on-going work at Beregova Baptist Church
Pray for Valentin, Tanya, Vladik and Lena
Give thanks that Valentin has managed to buy a much needed old car
An extension to the Beregova Church is desperately needed due to growing numbers, including a kitchen, toilet facilities and Sunday School rooms.

Eddie and Isabel Jones
October 2007

Nikopol Mission            Borogovo Mission        Widows Project

Reports from Youth Beregovo Mission August 2007

Andrew Davies writes:
During the week we were in Ukraine, we met many foreign people, and although we could not understand what they were saying, we could all tell how enthusiastic they were to see us. Our host was an amazingly kind and generous woman, who freely let us sleep in her house, and she prepared us three amazing meals each day.

During the week, we spent a lot of time at the Church, and with the Ukrainian youth, and Pastor Valentin Nehro. Everyone was happy to see us and they were all so kind and generous to us. We had a lot of fun, building relationships with the youth, some of who could speak a little English, so communication wasn’t as hard as I had first expected. We did many activities, such as youth meetings, walks, and we visited one of the orphanages as well. The entire week was an amazing, fulfilling week, and I truly enjoyed it and cannot wait to go back.

James Miller writes:
For me, the highlight of the trip to Ukraine in the summer was quite simply the people. It was amazing to see the humility of the people that we met, and I was humbled by the fact that they were constantly putting themselves out of their way to do things for us. We really saw God’s love and joy in the Christian’s we had the pleasure of meeting over there. Another fantastic part of the trip is that we got closer as a youth group to God and also as a group of friends. Also we thoroughly enjoyed the food made by the fantastic cook and wonderful lady that we stayed with! I personally was thrilled with the relationships we built with the local church’s youth group, individuals within the youth; as well as other individuals – such as Pastor Valentin and the young married couple who were youth leaders (who did so much for us and took us to so many places) – the Ukrainian version of Joanne and Tanel. I felt that my relationship with God and my faith grew tremendously while I was over there, and I would love to go back to Ukraine to see the people that we met and got to know. I went out to Ukraine not really knowing what to expect, but I came back with a new perspective on many things. It was truly a special experience which I will never forget – definitely more than worth going!

While we were over there we visited an orphanage which is in need of support. As well as this, the lady who fronts the worship in the church expressed a strong desire to have a worship band in the church, but has neither the musicians nor the financial means for instruments to do so. I felt strongly about raising money in aid of these causes, as well as perhaps sending a team of musicians out to teach people instruments. 

Jessica McHugh:
'I feel humbled and blessed and thanks the Lord for the opportunities that have been granted to me. The generosity and care shown to us in the week we where there has made me sit back and re-think my life and my relationship with God. They have so little material possessions and yet you can clearly see God working in their lives.' Thanks,

Apart from the fact that one of the girls was ill and ended up in hospital (!) the trip was a great adventure for them and made a great impression.

The following are some of the comments made during a follow up meeting the week after their return.

“The people were so generous and caring” “It made me think of the early church”
“They treated us like one of their family” “People were hungry for God”
“The food was fantastic” “I didn’t miss my computer”
“They had a passion for God”
“Their life style, compared with mine, made me take a step back”
“I was shocked at the gypsies lives, their children did not have clothes”
“We felt blessed and humbled at the was they put themselves out for us”
“Everyone was so kind to me at the hospital” 
“They are so good to each other”

When you visit East Europe you are never the same again. We pray that these teenagers will always have a heart for mission.

Paulene Dickson

Nikopol Mission      Borogovo Mission      Borogovo Youth Mission

The “Widows” Project

Widows have a very hard time in Ukraine, they mostly eat food they have grown themselves. Ladies well into their eighties can be seen digging and planting their gardens, they have to. The church in Nikopol has 140 widows out of a congregation of about 400, so it is difficult for the church to help.

You will be pleased to know that using the donations sent to EWF marked “widows”, it has been possible to set up a scheme for a year. Praise the Lord!
Two areas of need have been targeted …
Bedridden and housebound ladies. Two women from the church have been employed part time, to care for bedridden and housebound widows. This will involve shopping, cooking washing and generally caring for these dear Christian ladies.

ii) We have set up a hardship fund to be administered by Nadia Bokoch, the Pastor’s wife. She will buy food for widows during the winter months.

We are so delighted to be able to do this. In particular this year it is expected that food supplies will be difficult as Ukraine has had an exceptionally hot and dry summer and food has not grown well.

In addition EWF has left money to pay for a Christmas meal for widows to bring a friend. It is intended that this will be an evangelistic event and is separately funded by EWF.

We truly thank God and thanks to everyone who has contributed. It is hoped to be able to continue this project after the initial year.

Paulene Dickson