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Evangelism in the Ukraine

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...” Mat. 28,18-20

„You will receive the power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses.... “Acts 1,8

These Bible verses encourage us. They tell us that Jesus has power. He wants us to call people to follow him. He will be with us every day. If we do what he commanded us to do he will give us the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus we can’t stop talking about the gospel news – at home, in our neighbourhood, all over the place and even abroad. He has assured us of his help. And for this reason we have spent the last few years visiting the Ukraine each summer for evangelistic efforts.

Our evangelistic meetings in the Ukraine are conducted like a Bible camp. During several past years a camp was rented which could accommodate about 200 people. The Ukrainian pastors invite interested people to attend the camp. Adventists can only come if they bring friends with them. And so we have a group of people coming together for 10 or 11 days who will hear two lectures in the morning, have leisure time in the afternoon as well as meet in a small group with a pastor. The participants study the Bible correspondence course lessons as well. In the evenings there is a varied program. At the end of the week people are called to make their decision to follow the Lord in a baptism on the last Sabbath of the camp.

It is wonderful to help people find their way to God. Last year a lady came one evening and told the participants how happy she was that she had been baptized the year before. It was the best decision of her life. She had got to know Jesus as her personal Saviour and had experienced the best year of her life.

In the lectures we present we speak about relationships between people, particularly in a family and marriage setting. But at the same time we speak about our relationship with Christ, who is our creator und who loves us and wants our best. The topics proceed from the human relationships to our relationship with God. Thus we can show people the way to a happy life here on earth, but what is even more important, to eternal life on the earth made new.

In the meantime we have grown together to form a real ream – we, the speakers from Germany, our translator and the pastors and organisers from the Ukrainian West Conference. Especially important for the participants is the good catering by the kitchen staff. Every one does his part to make the effort a success.

When I came to the Ukraine the first time I noticed that the people were interested to see the wife of the evangelist. They were curious to hear what I would say. It is very interesting how attentively they listen. The women like to hear what another woman says because they can identify with her experiences. But the men are also attentive because they have to check our what ideas she will put into the heads of their wives. It is wonderful to work together as a team.

In the course of an event during which people stay together for 11 days relationships are built up. Group dynamics develop. Affection grows between people. In spite of the language barriers we feel the love of the participants. It is always hard to part.

We have special experiences with God every year. Once it was the river where we were to conduct the baptism that caused a problem. At the beginning of the week it was peaceful. But after a few days of rain in the Carpathian mountains it flooded and became a raging torrent. How would we be able to conduct a baptism there on the Sabbath? We all started praying that the water would recede. A prayer chain was organized for the Thursday night and God heard these prayers. The water began to recede. On the Sabbath we had the best of conditions for the baptism.

These evangelistic efforts are financed by freewill gifts. One of our brothers saves a considerable sum from his pension each year for this work. He says: “When Jesus comes again, I don’t need a briefcase full of money and a big savings account. My riches are the souls that are won for God’s kingdom.”

We are again preparing for our evangelistic series at the end of July in the Ukraine. I am looking forward to new experiences. It is interesting for me that these evangelistic meetings are not exhausting for us. God gives us the strength we need to proclaim the message. And we come back home motivated and full of energy.

A few years ago the West Ukrainian Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists was able to purchase a camp situated on a beautiful lakeside in Novyi Rozdil. Unfortunately the buildings had been stripped of everything that could be removed. This valuable camp is now to become a centre for evangelism and a training centre and other activities like retreats und camps for children and young people will also be held there. We are looking forward to using these facilities already in the summer for our next evangelistic camp. But there is still a lot to be done.

It is a large project. We need support from as many people as possible so that the financial burden can be laid on many shoulders. You can help to make this project possible. Through the work at this camp many people will be able to find Christ as their Saviour.

Hannele Ottschofski

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