The Sobie Family - Ministry in Ukraine
NOTE: Today's "Thought from Ukraine" is from Oksana!
Even though we are not in Ukraine as we had originally planned to be right now, God is working in our lives and in the lives of the Ukrainian people. It has been challenging to adjust to the new changes in our lives, especially when we realized that it would be impossible for us us to return to our home and ministry in Ukraine at this time. But we have been learning to trust and believe in the Lord's sovereignty in our lives.
Several days ago, Scott was on the phone talking to Sergei, a Christian worker in our region of Ukraine. Suddenly, Sergei asked a question: “Do you think that we could use your van for ministry during these remaining months while you're in America?”
Now, let me mention a couple of things about our van. At the moment, it is just finishing up repairs at a mechanic who has been doing major body work on it. We invested a lot of money into it because transportation in Ukraine is extremely expensive. Cars in Ukraine cost many times more than in the U.S. And so we were thrilled when the Lord provided this Ford Van to replace our yellow 1976 Moskvich that had its engine literally falling out of it.
So, when we were asked to allow other to use our van, my first thought was, “This is a very valuable possession and we have just invested so much into it so that it would be ready for us when we returned to Ukraine...!”
But, at nearly the same time, I had another thought: “This van is not ours. It is God's! Freely you have been given – freely give! God gave it to us, so how can we refuse an opportunity for it to be used for enlarging and advancing God's kingdom in Ukraine? Isn't that what our ministry is all about?”
You might wonder at how opposite these two thoughts were. I strongly believe that sin comes into our lives when we act upon wrong thoughts and wrong ideas. It isn't a sin to be tempted, but it is a sin when we give into that temptation.
So God's van is going to serve another chapter in missions work! We have provided transportation for various ministry groups and churches, gone on outreach trips, visitation, traveled to churches to preach and minister, helped friends move, hauled drinking water for neighbors, and these are just a few things that come to mind. If our van could talk, I'm sure it would remind us of many other occasions when it was used for service!
But it is so exciting for us to see that, even though we are in the United States now, we can help and assist others in spreading the Gospel by providing our van as a valuable ministry tool. May the Lord continue to bless the ministry labors that are taking place in Ukraine!
Monday, May 7, 2007
Freely Given, Freely Give
