Homecoming and New Journey

Now that the team has been home for over a week I want to write to everyone who supported this trip a HUGE THANK YOU!! We could not have done this trip without all the support from those who prayed for us, assisted in training, providing funding, meals, materials and encouragement. This trip has changed many lives and will continue to shape the spiritual lives of our team for years to come. There have already been numerous testimonies shared about how God has taught them about trust, prayer, comfort, reliance, safely, protection and providence. The Lord is Mighty and has revealed himself in new ways to all of those who traveled as well as many in whom we came in contact.
I say on behalf of all my team that we are honored that our Lord Jesus gave us the ability to travel to Ukraine and fellowship with such a diverse brotherhood of believers. We ministered beside Africans from 8 different countries, along with those from China, Malaysia and India, besides those who were native Ukrainians. A taste of heaven in one week. Our team has made Friends with these international students and have already exchanged e-mails and contact information. I would encourage all my team to write some comments from their own life here on the blog so that others can read of the wonderful changes God is working in and through their lives. May the Lord Jesus receive honor and blessing for all He has done.
I personally (Pastor James) have learned so much about God's protection and unity of the Church that I cannot express it enough. I am so proud of our team and the way they have grown that my smile comes back greater with each memory. Many thanks to those who have written and updated comments on the blog. I am deeply indebted to the parents who trusted me to take their teenagers around the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My love and thanks also to my wife Tanya for allowing me to travel so soon after the birth of our son Lucas James Nolette on May 17th. I have never left for such an extended period of time just after the birth of one of my children and my heart is full of gratitude for such a loving and understanding spouse.
Finally and most importantly, all praise, honor, and glory be to our Lord Jesus Christ for His great salvation, provision and loving kindness towards us and the hope of eternal life found in trusting Him.

Pastor James Nolette
July 3rd
Independence Day comes only in truly knowing Christ (don't wait till tomorrow to celebrate your independence - John 3:16)

Flight Delay!

Attention Parents and Family Members:

The team has landed safely in New York City along with all luggage, but their flight has been delayed until 8:30PM tonight. Flight Delta Airlines #89 will arrive at Fort Lauderdale at 8:30PM. All parents are responsible for picking up their students unless a carpool has been arranged. We are looking forward to seeing all of you.

A Poisonous Sting from the Bumble Bee

Written by Tyler Jett

Last Nights Jam Session began at 6:00 with African, Ukrainian, Asian, and American college students making nametags and socializing with each other. After this, Joel led worship for a while before our team, along with some Africans, performed skits organized by Lucas. Those skits included the movie skit, the sin skit, and the heart skit. Everybody did well and Jenn stood out in a good way despite being placed in the starring role of the heart skit just thirty minutes before it was performed. The crowd reacted the most to the movie skit when Caleb was forced to kiss me (I was obviously surprised). After the skits, Melissa gave her testimony and James shared the gospel. This concluded the Jam Session and, after socializing for about thirty minutes, we left and walked to a Ukrainian “Target” for dinner.

On the way to Target, my stomach began to hurt but I figured it would just go away. We ordered dinner in a second floor cafeteria but I decided not to eat too much food. During the dinner, the guys (me, Joey, Lucas, Caleb, and Matt) persuaded Lyosha, who had helped us get around Ukraine all week, to sleep over at our hostel. After riding the Metro, we began walking to our dorm. As we were walking, my stomach continued to hurt and I was walking very slowly. Being that nobody had been able to keep me quiet the whole trip, the rest of the team had figured out that I was sick and I concluded that I had food poisoning. The food poisoning continued to slow me down before I could not walk any further and the next thing I knew my face was in some flowers and I was “removing” my food poisoning. I immediately felt better and Matt told me that, for what it was worth, it was quite impressive.

After this I felt much better and we all went to the hostel for debriefing. We wrote thank you notes to Pastor Vitali, team members, and students from the church. After debriefing, Lucas, being the Pyro-maniac that he is, showed Lyosha how to create a flame-thrower with hairspray and a lighter. Remember to pray for the country of Ukraine now that Lyosha has been influenced by Lucas. Later, while some guys were on the balcony, Melissa began a water war by drenching them with one of her bottles. Eventually, this led to a team of Lyosha and me versus Melissa and unsuspecting Tori (We won after about thirty minutes).

This morning we all woke up around 7:30 and packed (Except Joey, who had the luxury of having a father to do his packing and slept in until 8:15). We went to a traditional Ukrainian service but we were all tired and everything was in Ukrainian so, well…that’s that. Pastor Vitali told us to leave early so we could get some rest before the 12:00 service. James preached with Pastor Vitali translating for the locals during the service. Once the service ended, the entire team spent about an hour saying our good-byes to the international students with whom we have all become very close. It was sad to say bye but we exchanged email addresses and phone numbers. Then the team, along with a few people from the church, went to a pizza place for lunch.

Now, we are back at New Hope Church and have changed into more comfortable clothes and are playing some card games and napping. It is 5:00 here and we will leave the church at 9:00 to officially begin our journey back to the United States. This trip has been absolutely amazing so please pray that we do not forget what we have learned this past week and that we have a safe trip back. Hopefully, we will see you tomorrow night.

Much Love,

The entire Ukraine Missions Trip Team

Grow-ers not Show-ers

Written by Joey Borick

Hebrews 10:24
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Yesterday can be easily encompassed by this verse. Whether American, Ukrainian, African, or Asian we all stepped up and gave the encouragement needed in order to accomplish what God had in store. Yesterday after the last blog, Lucas started production of his latest skits which were tentatively titled: “Movie skit” and “sin skit.” We then left with our eclectic group of native Ukrainians and Africans for another community of dormitories along a major river. On our walk I was amazed by all the racist graffiti but yet I was encouraged by the bravery of our African friends. We must all remember the blessing that we have in living in the United States. For example many international students from Africa and Asia face hostilities just because of their skin color. When they travel at night they may only do so in groups or else they may be lynched by groups of up to 12 or more people. Nevertheless these people seek the strength of God and always exhibit the joy and happiness. May this spur us to good deeds.

On the bank of the river we formed our usual half circle and began our worship session. I feel as if God really moved in the hearts of a few of the onlookers. Our day today was filled with exploration of Kharkov and right now we are preparing for our much anticipated “JAM Club” with the college students. I must go now, God bless and remember that; “…it is our goal to be grow-ers, not show-ers.”

God Bless and peace be with you all!

Football with Americans

Written by Matthew Madsen

At 5:00 pm after our last blog, the whole group went back to the soccer field we visited earlier that day. We sent a couple groups out to the hostels, which surrounded the field, to invite people to our praise session. Joel Nolette and Mary (an international student) started the meeting with some praise songs. We were a little discouraged by the low number of students who turned up, but the hope of reaching just one person kept us going. A group of drunk Ukrainians tried to disrupt our meeting by shouting and screaming at us. However, the Lord answered our prayers and the drunken Ukrainians were arrested. Joey shared the Gospel and Caleb shared his testimony. We walked to a pizza place where we got our own room in the back of the restaurant. We ate 12 pizzas as a team. With the boy’s table eating 5 pizzas by themselves. We walked home from the pizza place and we reached home at 11:30pm. In debriefing we said our goodbyes to Faith because she is leaving today. Today we left for the church at 9:30 and we reached the church by 10:30. At 11:00 we went to a close by park where we played games and made balloon animals for the locals. We had a wheelbarrow race with the kids as well as a relay race with a bat. These games helped us draw a crowd of young children and we were able to invite them to our Sunday school ministries. The kids were receptive to our interaction with them and we are hoping for a good turnout on Sunday. After that we went to lunch where we ate beef and potatoes. After lunch we all went upstairs to practice our skits for the upcoming JAM session. Lucas directs these skits as if he is directing a highly priced film. Tonight we are going out to another University hostel where we will be sharing the Word of God through our praise and skits. Please pray for the unity of the team and for Faith’s safe travel home to the US. Please also pray for the upcoming JAM session tomorrow night. We will be seeing you all soon.

Posted by Faith Wilson:

I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your prayers and support. We continually saw the effects of these prayers and I can’t describe to you just how much they made our trip.

God has done and is doing amazing things in Ukraine, and it has been my honor to be a small part of that. He has stretched us, grown us, and revealed Himself to us in ways unimaginable. I am grateful for the leader He provided us with, and for Pastor Vitale and his heart to serve this country in need.

These team members have gone beyond my wildest dreams, and they blessed me and challenged me in ways I never expected. I am extremely proud to have had the opportunity to even work with these wonderful students, not to mention lead them.

Lucas: Your enthusiasm and heart for the Lord was contagious. Thanks for helping us all keep our focus where it needed to be and for being sensitive to whatever it was the Lord had for you next. You truly have a servant’s heart.

Caleb: You have grown miles on this trip and it has been wonderful to see you step up and lead those around you. Your desire to put meaning into what you do is evident to everyone around.

Tyler: You constantly desire to help those around you and you really want what will benefit others more than what will benefit yourself. Thanks for stepping up and being willing to go outside of your comfort zone to do what was needed.

Matt: Your encouraging nature and your strong desire to protect those around you was a vital part of this trip. Thanks for watching out for my girls and for insisting on carrying someone’s bag when it was too heavy for them, or rallying a group of people together to get a job done.

Joey: You absolutely floored me this trip with your leadership and your sensitivity to those around you (amongst a million other things you floored me with). You have completely gained my trust and I appreciate what you have done for each team member. This team could not have come close to completing all that they did without you.

To my girls:

Tori: It has been a great honor to see how God has stretched you and brought you out of your comfort zone. You are always willing to serve and step in when needed. Even though you were the youngest on this trip, you never let that get in your way of you doing what God called you to do. Keep that up.

Melissa: I can’t believe I had to suffer so long not knowing you! It was a privilege to laugh, cry and share life with you. Continue using your encouraging nature to impact those around you, and allow God to keep working in your life.

Jenn: I am so proud of how you have stepped up during this trip in ways most people don’t even know about. Your constant prayer over every task has made a huge difference and has challenged me. Continue to rely on God in every aspect of your life.

To the leaders:

Joel: I am so glad I had a chance to get to know you. Your honesty and strong desire to grow others in the Lord is evident and I appreciate how you are not afraid to take a step of faith. Stay strong, keep studying, and keep using the fabulous gifts God has given you for Him.

Jeff: Your passion is evident in everything you do, and I am grateful that God has brought you on this trip. Thank you for your boldness in sharing with strangers and thank you for showing me how you can truly impact someone without letting the language barrier get in the way.

Pastor James: It has been such an honor to serve alongside of you. Thank you for constantly staying strong even when things didn’t always go according to plan, and for demonstrating to me what it truly means to lead a group of students to serve. I have learned so much from you and I hope we will be able to do this again!

I apologize for the lengthy comments, but I am truly grateful to the Lord for how he has worked in each person’s life. As I head home tomorrow, I will not forget this country that holds not only my heritage, but also my heart.

Press on,

Faith

Oh yeah…“What fun would it be if everything went smoothly?”

Works of God

Written by Lucas Pereira

The days have been spectacular but most of what I can think can not be written down. Words themselves are in capable of reaching deep it to the soul, spirit, and mind. Yesterday was an experience that no manner of ill meaning or harsh talk may even stir our minds from the unfathomable love, peace, and joy that abounds in the works of God. Yesterday before the sun began to fall in the west sky our team entered what I heard from someone as holy ground. I can not remember who or when but I heard someone say today God will claim lives for his glory for his kingdom because he loves us. The Lord our creator is a just and righteous God.

We found ourselves in the midst of a massive compilation of college dorms mostly strewn apart in a most random order. Buildings eight stories in height surrounded us in front. And behind us, something I can only describe as a green walled room with a pair steps leading down from its doors. The setting was almost like standing in a stadium, once the program started people began pouring out of all the buildings. Hands, feet, and legs were hanging out from every balcony. Even eight stories high people were listening and watching intently the procession in front of them.

We started the program in praises to God; from a child’s song to deep and seasoned praise to God. It never ceases to amaze me how God moves in and through people’s lives using people as instruments carefully plucking each string and crafting our lives in to a master piece only he sees. We lightened the mood a bit with a pair of hilarious skits. Tori shared her testimony and the gospel was preached. God gifted each individual with talents that were specifically ordained for this precious moment in time.

Early this morning we played soccer with the international students from multiple colleges each studying different subjects striving for different majors all wish to make a purpose in the lives. But as their time passes their purpose seems almost vain. We give the message and plant a seed hoping to capture their hearts with the love of God so they may find their purpose to live in peace an harmony with god an to preach his word to the corners of the earth.

On the subject of time, I seem to running out of it. We need to return to present another program. I wish to finish with these words; Of the hundreds we have spoken to if just one soul acknowledged God, if just his spirit was made alive in the holy spirit and his life was changed to the following of Christ for the rest of his life and into eternity, the trip would be more than worth all of our time.

Mid-Week Excitement

Written by Caleb Lee

Privet! Hello again! The time since our last update on the blog has been filled with a multitude of events and experiences. After watching our daily evangelism videos at around 3:00 p,m, Ukrainian time we headed towards a hostel community where a majority of the residents were university students. With the leadership of Pastor Vitali we headed towards the community by way of the downtown trolley and metro system. We were fearful of the potential rain that seemed inevitable and as we were riding the subway down towards our destination we prayed that when we emerged from the subway the rain would cease because if it did not our program for the evening would be cut short. The faithful prayers and hope prevailed as when we emerged from the station the rain had indeed ended. We walked for about a mile to several “stops” that might be potential places for gathering and along the way many Ukrainians glanced and stared at our large entourage of people with backpacks and guitars. We stopped in front of one hostel where we were given permission to worship and give praise. The hostels in these locations were high rise buildings and as we started to sing praises many residents of the buildings looked onward in curiosity. Pastor Vitali and others from New Hope church called out to them to come downstairs and join us. Many passerbys often stopped to see what was happening. We drew in about 20 people, including our group of about 25, totaling around 45 people. As you can imagine 45 people standing in a circle drew a lot of attention. After praise and worship our group did a doctor skit where we portrayed a man receiving everyone’s sickness and one part involved a man who had a syndrome where he acted like a chicken. This part was played out by Pastor James Nolette and if you know Pastor Nolette he can be loud. Despite the amazing comedy and reaction from the Ukrainians the manager of the hostel we were performing in front of told us to leave. This however did not stop us from evangelizing and it just made us want to perform even more and draw an even greater crowd. We transitioned across the street so that those that were watching us from the street and in the apartments could continue to enjoy what we had to offer. Across the street we decided to sing more praise and worship and our first song involved walking in a circle like a train. Our loud singing and noises drew even more attention and cars driving by slowed down and stopped just to watch us. Tyler Jett then shared his testimony while Lyosha our good friend translated. After his very personal and powerful message we decided to give the spectators another one of our funny skits. It involved a mock tennis match where someone was hurt and the ambulance was called. This skit drew SO much attention and laughter from the crowd! The crowd loved us and more and more people stopped to see us. Pastor Vitali then shared his personal childhood and testimony and then after the international group from New Hope church also performed a skit. We remained for about another 15 minutes after that just to congregate and introduce ourselves.

We then said goodbye and took the subway to our restaurant for dinner. Upon arriving at the place we were to eat, it turned out that they did not have anymore food. So instead we went to McDonalds. Before entering McDonalds may I note that Joey decided to pet a stray dog that was in the street. After a deliciously healthy and nourishing meal at McDonalds we headed home.=) As we exited the restaurant we started to walk down the street when out of nowhere we see the dog Joey had petted run onto a main intersection just to chase a taxi. The dog survived and followed us until the subway station. All along the way we had food with us for some members of our team back at the dorm and the dog kept following us. The dog had its episodes where it would run straight into the intersection just to chase taxis and cars. A total of three times, the dog came to within inches of being crushed but instinctively dodged the car. Mr. Borick I quote said that “It’s not as dumb as you think, its street smart.” I was surely convinced though that the dog had multiple car accidents under its belt. Well as we approached the subway station which was the hub center of Kharkov, the dog finally lost our scent and could not find us. As we walked and snuck the other direction, we noticed the dog walking down the steps towards the busy underground station. We finally returned to our dormitory and after debriefing we went to bed.

The morning ran as usual. As we arrived at church, we were told we would not be evangelizing in the park as usual because of the rain. So instead we watched Pirates of the Caribbean. After lunch we continued to watch Kirk Cameron’s The Way of the Master video series. All is going well and we’ve enjoyed the rest that we’ve received today. Please continue to pray for us as we head out to another dormitory.