Dear Prairie Flower Baptist Church,
Last year a missionary family that we support by the name of Vovo and Laura Kisarets came to visit our church. I can honestly say that their presentation was different than most missionary presentations that I have seen. Vovo got up on stage to preach and present his ministry, but Laura got up there with him (not too out of the ordinary). What threw me off was when Vovo began to speak; because he was speaking Ukrainian and Laura started to translate for him! I didn’t really know what to expect, but God worked through Vovo’s powerful message and presentation. In their presentation, they explained that one of their ministries was teaching conversational English to Ukrainians. At the end of their presentation, they said they were looking for teams to help them teach at their next English school and camp.
The Holy Spirit began to move in my life, but at first I wasn’t sure if God was moving or if I was just feeling a tug by my own feelings. I did not want to be hasty, so I talked to Pastor Dave in the morning to receive wise counsel. When I talked to him, he had mentioned that someone else had approached him about the trip as well. We thought that God might be opening up this door of ministry, so we prayed for God to continue to lead us. After that, the doors just kept opening and shortly after that we decided to make the trip official.
Without going into detail, there were so many unknowns, variables, and details that I didn’t even know where to start as I was planning for this trip. God moved and worked in so many different ways to make this trip happen and everything for this trip just seemed to fall into place. Don’t get me wrong, there were many times that I would get pretty nervous (especially buying tickets); but every time a problem would arise, we would pray, give it to God, and He would provide! It has been such a great growing experience and I am excited to see what God will do while we are there.
I am trying not to post full names, the dates of the trip, and other important facts on social media for security reasons, but we are leaving very soon. Our team is comprised of six individuals that God has uniquely placed together: Eldon, Phyllis, Braden, Janine, my wife (Julia), and myself. We have been praying for this trip and I know that many other people have been too, but here is how you can specifically pray for us while we are on our trip:
- Safe and Smooth Travels – Safety always seems to be concern these days and for good reason! Also, Laura said that the airports in these countries can be hard to deal with, so please pray that our arrival and departure would be without complications.
- Vovo and Laura – They are working very hard to prepare for these schools and camps. So please pray that God would give them strength and endurance to finish strong and do their best.
- The Ukrainian People – We will be coming into contact with many different people. Please pray that God would begin to work in the hearts of these people and that we would be bold with the Gospel!
- Our Team- Traveling will be exhausting, teaching will be new, and trying to communicate with people of a whole different culture and language will be difficult. Pray that God would give us strength and wisdom to deal with the difficulties that lie ahead.
We are so excited to see how God is working in the Ukraine and to see how God will use us while we are there!
Thank you so much,
Pastor Jon