Share This

I have been working here in Uzhgorod, Ukraine for 13 years. I have come to realize that every culture has it’s positive and negative side. As an American at times it has been difficult to keep my mind focused on my goal of reaching people for Christ and not letting myself get frustrated with some differences in the culture. The thing I have to remember is that the culture I should be representing is a Kingdom culture. Christ laid out for us in the Bible what the believers should represent and how we should act. I want to focus on His principles and laws and make a difference on the culture I live in. Please join me in praying for the Ukraine.

Alcoholism - The prices on everything is rising faster than salaries, but alcohol is cheap. And culturally it is tradition that when you go to a friends or meet for any reason then you have to drink, usually vodka as a sign of respect for the other person….

Prejudice - The gypsy people are outcasts and are not given a fair chance in Ukrainian society.

Gypsy Culture - The environment is very harsh. The husbands often beat their wives and children. There is a lot of unfaithfulness and the girls are married at a very young age. They often have more children than they can feed and send their children out on the streets to beg.

Orphans - The orphans we work with are 85% gypsy and many of them have families who can’t take care of them. These children have also been labeled as mentally handicapped, but many of them would be considered normal if they had not ended up at this orphanage. The care system for them is very poor - poor supervision, little encouragement, poor to no nutrition in the food they receive and very poor education. The children leave the orphanage with nothing. Many times they have nowhere to go and little hope for their future.

Hopelessness - We have a lot of English students at our school who are looking for a way out of Ukraine or out of their economic situation. They think learning English will be the answer to their prayers. Many see no hope in the future of Ukraine.

Economic Situation - Ukraine is considered a third world country. I would compare it to Mexico. The rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer and there is a very very small middle class. Prices are very comparable for many things to what Americans pay in the states, but their salaries are much less. I would say the average salary is $300 a month.

Corruption - From the top down, corruption runs through every system in the Ukraine. Many political leaders in the past 15 years have blatantly taken all they wanted and gotten away with it. An honest hard working person has very little chance to get ahead here. There is a very real mafia that expects its share and then the government also sets very high prices for utilities and percentages on taxes. So the people also try to cheat the gov. It is a vicious cycle.

The Church - The most positive thing about the Ukraine is the body of believers. The church is on fire and striving to reach out to those around them. They need prayer for boldness, a deep love for the lost, encouragement and then they will continue to be built up in Christ.

We would appreciate your prayers too. We want to glorify Christ in all we do and sometimes physically getting things done honestly, is very difficult. Please pray that we would always be open to the Lord’s leading, that we would only do what He wants us to and most of all that the good news and His love would be spread through us.

Share This

Dr. Tim McGarvey took his team (Northwestern College Symphonic Band) on an outreach mission trip to Chihuahua, Mexico during the first week of March. The team got off to a rough start as they had 2 feet of snow fall in Omaha the day before their flight to El Paso. Dr. McGarvey led his team through the adversity and made a real impact in Chihuahua.

The Northwestern College Symphonic Band held 5 concerts. Camargo City Theater, The Heroes Theater, Palabra Viva Church, Chihuahua City Theater and Delicias City Theater were blessed by their performances.

Some of the pieces performed were Magnum Mysterium, Southern Harmony and Be Thou My Vision. The Gospel was shared during intermissions. During each performance Dr. McGarvey explained who the pieces were composed for and why. He also explained God’s mystery about sending His son Jesus to earth in order to die for us.

Accolades were printed in the local newspaper with the headline: “The Heroes Theater Vibrates”. It mentions how two bands, the Northwestern College Symphonic Band and the State Philharmonic of Chihuahua, gathered together to play in this concert. The Director of the Department of Culture of the State of Chihuahua was heard saying: “It is great to take God out of the church and bring Him to the theater. It doesn’t matter if I get fired for this!”

After the concerts the team was able to share the Gospel and hand-out bibles. Some of the people told C.O.I.’s missionaries that they felt peace in their heart while the band was playing. Dr. McGarvey’s team received a very warm reception.

In all, nearly 7000 people attended the concerts and over 500 people accepted Christ. What an abundant harvest! This mission trip was a resounding success.

Share This

The summer tour season is starting very soon with Christian Outreach International. Each summer, many mission groups come from churches and schools to one of our mission sites around the world. It is a great time to meet new friends that have the same goal as we do - sharing God’s love to a world in need. If you have ever wondered about short term missions, I am here to tell you that they are a wonderful blessing to literally everyone involved. Those who go, those who host, those who are met and those back home. Let’s look at the four groups.

Those who are met: Missions can open your eyes to the needs of others. The people whose needs are being met by the mission group will encounter the real God, lived out in the lives of the group members. They will see how beautiful are the feet of those who bear Christ.

Those who go: The mission team. They meet to prepare, grow as a team, grow individually closer to God. They are presented with chances to stretch themselves out of their comfort zones, and see boldness that they may not have even known that they had. They see God use them, and I believe that there can be no better feeling than that. Their faith is increased, their vision grown and their desire to serve God in all that they do is encouraged.

Those back home: The senders. They are the ones who cover the group in prayer and back them financially. They are the encouragers and the ones that share in the celebration of a job well done. They see a group that returns fired up for ministry and looking to continue ministering to others in their community.

Those who host: In our organization, there is staff at all of the sites ready to facilitate the ministry of the teams that come. We have opportunity to meet new friends with a similar interest in evangelism and Christian service. In the long grind of the summer, we are encouraged by each group that comes, as we see their desire to serve and their passion for God.

God’s design is so perfect that by answering his call to participate in short-term missions, in any way, you will be richly blessed and see Him working in your area and around the world.

Share This

Join us in welcoming 2 new members to the C.O.I. family, Bill and Sherry Gibson. The Gibson’s have many years of experience with ministry in both hands-on and administrative roles. Bill is now our Director of Operations and Sherry is our Executive Assistant. Prayers have been answered with their addition to the family and we know they will help C.O.I. advance God’s Kingdom.

To find out more visit the Gibson’s profile page . 

Share This