...I Am Not From HereI have been going to church a lot recently. Actually, I am probably spending more time in the church than anywhere else. And I am not talking Sundays – Sundays, paradoxically, are the days that I spend the least time in church (never thought it could be possible!) I go to church on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and I spend on average eight hours there each day. If one’s place in heaven were in any way earned by the time spent in church, I would not have problems getting there. Since I don’t believe heaven can be earned, it thus makes no sense why would I spend so much time in church then. “Wow,” you are probably saying by now, “she is either nuts or a very dedicated Christian.” Oh, that’s probably because I have not mentioned that I am actually not doing a lot of praying or reading – most of my days are spent in front of the computer screen and when I answer the phone you could hear me saying, “This is Galina. How may I help you?”
If you were on the other end of the line you would also probably notice that I am “not from here” (meaning South) and “not from there” (meaning North) either. “Where are you from?” asked me some guy when I was in New Orleans about a year ago. “I am from Charlotte,” I said. “I knew you were not from here!” the guy exclaimed, proud that he guessed right. “Well,” I smiled, somewhat sad that I had to disappoint him “my accent is not exactly a Charlottean one, since I am from Ukraine.” Yep, this is true, I am from Ukraine, born and raised on a little farm, and have all proofs you need, including birth certificate, and muscles from milking cows and digging potatoes. My family still lives there and my mom is currently mastering the art of milking her cow with one hand while talking on the cell phone.
Usually by this time I would be asked, “So, what brought you to the United States?” Theories about the reasons of my coming here differ depending on who I talk to, and not because I come up with different ones every time, but because most people think they can come up with more valid reasons than the ones I give (that’s why I am not even going to mention mine, since you will probably do the same thing). The latest theory was suggested by my beloved coworker Julia, “They probably just could not stand you there anymore, and deported you over to the United States.” Julia is very sharp and this is from her that I learn all these things that I absolutely NEED to know. Like one day when I tripped on the way to Bev’s office just in front of Julia, she said, “Have a good trip! See you next fall!” Now, let me tell you, this is a post-graduate level of education, since nobody taught me this in all the years of graduate school!
...Have a Good Trip! See You Next Fall!
If I only knew back then those were prophetic words! Because...I am going on a trip - back to Ukraine. For some reason God makes sure I meet a decent number of Campus Crusade people in my life. Consider this: in 1996 I started working with CoMission in L'viv, Ukraine - the team was sent by Campus Crusade. In 2001 just before coming to the States I met a couple from Syracuse, NY when I was helping with Crossroads conference - Campus Crusade again. I met them again many times since then - it just happened that I moved from Ukraine to Syracuse for couple years - surprise, surprise! And about a month ago at my friends' house I met this guy, Jody Hanford, who was with...right, Campus Crusade with Christ!
There is another peculiar thing about Campus Crusade - they are like a candy store. Every time God sends them my way I end up buying (into) something. Jody told me about an opportunity of going on a short missions trip to the city of Khmel'nitsky, Ukraine. Hard to believe that it was only a month ago, and now I am certain that the month of June 2007 I will spend in Ukraine doing a training conference with public school teachers on DreamMakers/Dream Breakers curriculum. The curriculum is designed to address pressing social issues of drug/alcohol abuse and male-female relationships. The most exciting part is that we will be able to have discussions during the conference on Christian world-view and its role in a character building process of an individual. So, even though it's an educational type of a conference, our team hopes that it will awaken interest in spiritual things.
The only problem with the Campus Crusade candy store is that the candies are kind of expensive. The candy I bought (into) cost $3390 and I bought it on my Faith Credit card. That's actually the only credit card I have now. Hopefully Campus Crusade has the right billing address which I believe is somewhere in the city of Heaven. Meanwhile I told a lot of people (and you may be one of them) about God calling me to go on this mission trip, and also expressed my financial need. I just have to tell you that God has really opened the gates of heaven and poured His blessings through all of my friends who are supporting, encouraging, and praying for me! I am constantly reminded that the whole earth and all on it is His and all the gifts are from His hand! I have to tell you that the checks that He's sent me so far are different in design, but I have no doubt they've come from Him - because nobody can forge His signature!
It's a strange feeling that I have about going back to my own country. I know that it's my country, I grew up there, and at the same time I know that I am an ambassador, bringing the Good News of peace to my people. Having been a teacher myself back in Ukraine, what a challenge and responsibility it is! That's why working with teachers is especially dear to my heart: I am priviledged to work with those who have a passion for raising the next generation and have such an impact on the young lives.
Please, pray that God will prepare my heart to serve my team and those who we are going to minister to. And as I am praying for this trip, God brings the Scripture to my mind, "the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." Matthew 4:16.
So...SEE Y'ALL NEXT FALL!
