I have returned to the USA!! My Departure from Warsaw, Poland was Wednesday at 3:00 am Warsaw time (which is 9:00 pm Tuesday CDST), and I fell into bed at 11:00 pm Wednesday CST. It was a very long day of travel, to be sure. But all went smoothly! All bags arrived; the flight connections were made with ample time; and no problems at all!
The trip was very successful. Thank you for your prayers! Even though the war continues, the Church has a wonderful spirit.
In the midst of jet-lag I share these thoughts on the trip.
There are several encouraging positives that I have highlighted in the trip reports. One of the more positive is the security that our brethren have in their “own meeting place.” This is most significant in light of the Russian invasion (2014 to present). Before the war, we were renting two rooms (the cost of renting was factored into the “American” presence). Then the rent doubled, so we had to cut it down to one room. Then the rent doubled again, and thankfully the building was completed enough for us to start assembling in it. The war has caused a migration from the east, and property rentals have become scarce and expensive. The full invasion of 2022 exacerbated this situation.
The congregation takes pride in doing what they can to continue the building’s construction and aesthetics. They are busy, AND a busy congregation is a happy and peaceful congregation!
Pasha finds a great purpose and satisfaction in working on the building, and you can see him swell with joy when you compliment his amazing work. Another fact, often ignored, is that the building gives legitimacy to the congregation in the community and in the Religious Department’s eyes. Many of you will remember the anti-establishment “coffee house churches” of the counterculture 1960s (Note: the attitudes against authority then have metastasized in our time!). These coffee house churches popped up because of a youthful rebellion and ignorance of “traditions” that made our nation great. It is not surprising that this “counterculture” targeted Church buildings. Where are these now? Their flame was brief, and their erasure was complete, but Satan used them for his devious cunning!
I met with the congregation during the week in a storefront, but every time, members would say they miss meeting in the building. The Church’s fellowship that occurs in the kitchen before and after assemblies is amazing.
The list of contributors to the construction is in the hundreds and spans our nation. THANK YOU for your donations that have allowed this construction to be debt-free! We continue in the construction as donations allow, but you have permitted your brothers and sisters to find identity, security, and energy! And we are positioned to host WBI’s extension!
Another positive of this trip is the continuing solidifying of our work and identity with the Regional Religious Department. There is a total transparency of our work that has never existed! Our transparency is reciprocated by an eagerness, from the State, to assure that the congregation is protected and safe from takeovers and abuse.
Our involvement in distributing humanitarian aid continues to help the Church’s standing. Our “storage” facility had to be restored from an automobile body repair shop to its original purpose. Pasha worked months on doing this, and in the trip reports you saw the storage facility full. Our shipments have lessened because of the economy—we do not have funds to ship as many containers as previously.
The war continues because Russia’s evil continues. On this trip, I saw a more positive attitude than I have since the initial 2014 invasion. Thanks to Ukraine’s innovative robotics, the KIA numbers are lower, but there are still frequent funerals. On the State levels, there continues to be talk about how to end the war and the idea of a “demilitarized zone” that takes eastern Ukraine continues. But such a concept is valid only in the “Nineteenth Century” mindset (which is how Russia operates). Given today’s drone and missile capabilities, there is not a demilitarized zone broad enough to deter aggression. The sad fact is that most of the east is destroyed, and rebuilding will take generations!
The quantum leap in robotics is unreal. I recall seeing a 2014 video of a drone giving coordinates and a strike on a Russian tank sheltering under an overpass, and thought that was amazing. That was “Model-T” technology compared with what I have been shown. I am told that “after the war” I can share fully amazing details. I tease with this: “Harry Potter’s cloak of invisibility” is more of a reality than it is fiction!
There is a more realistic feeling about “after the war ends.” We have been preparing for this with plans and operations that will utilize the Lord’s Church. Our efforts to collect and ship physical rehabilitation equipment continue as this is great need. Our plans for emotional therapies for PTSD, families, and children continue on a national level which will provide the administrative networks to make the efforts successful. The “Galaxy Center” is in operation and doing great things for the children of war.
There are many “open doors,” and the field is white unto harvest. But the Ukrainian workers are “few.” Many mature Christians left the country, and only a very few will return.
Many other thoughts could be stated but this “return to Montgomery” has become too long!
Thank you, brethren, for your financial support that has been used by God to accomplish amazing results that have been beyond imagination! Our position, reputation, and opportunities on the local, Regional and State levels are strong and inviting!
Our efforts are constructed with this simple mission: The local Church is TO SERVE and not BE SERVED! This precludes those who attend just to get what they can without giving anything! Sadly this attitude is visible in the Church worldwide as many want to know what the local church has “for them.” These come to be served and get angry at the idea they are to sacrifice and serve others. Read again: Philippians 2:3-8.
Review the Trip reports and the Updates on the website and rejoice in the work God is doing in Ivano-Frankivsk. Gif has returned and the congregation is happy!
I give a shoutout to all international readers of these reports! Especially to those who check daily from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Belgium, Türkiye, Poland, Ukraine, and many other nations! Be challenged!
John L. Kachelman, Jr., UKRAINE MISSIONS, Dalraida Church of Christ, P.O. Box 3085, Montgomery, AL 36109
