MISSION BITES

VILLAGE OF HOPE

By Gennady and Mina Podgaisky

We came to the States in December of 2021 on a scheduled off-field assignment. We were planning to go back to the Ukraine on March 12, 2022. But, due to the war, we could not return.

About a week after the war started on February 24, we received the sad news that the Lighthouse, the first restored building at the Village of Hope, had been destroyed by shelling. The day we received this news, was one of the saddest moments in our ministry, bringing the reality of war really close to home.

Praise God, at the moment of the bombing, nobody was in the building or at the Village of Hope property. All the foster families had moved away or evacuated the premises earlier. In the previous years, the Lighthouse was home to two foster families with up to 21 foster children, as well as the offices of the Ukrainian Christian Cooperation Center.

On September 11, we were visiting and speaking at First Baptist Church, Dunn, N.C., We had known pastor Len and his wife, Kathy, since 2006 when they had brought a short-term volunteer team from their church and helped us in the renovation and rebuilding of the Village of Hope, especially the Lighthouse building.

Before: Volunteers from First Baptist Church Dunn, N.C., finishing landscaping around the Lighthouse in 2006. After: The Lighthouse in 2022, after the shelling and fire destroyed the interior. No one was at the building during the destruction.

FBC Dunn had sent teams to Ukraine for several years, and we have kept in touch. We kept the church updated about the developments and the progress at the Village of Hope.

During our recent visit to the church, we shared about our current efforts on behalf of the Village of Hope and Ukraine. We included memories about their visits and the impact they have made for the future of Ukrainian children through their time there. We shared stories and remembered friends we made while serving at the Village of Hope.

We had a special meeting with the people who had come to the Village of Hope. It also saddened them to see that the property had been destroyed. However, they have resolved to come again when the war is over to help to rebuild the Lighthouse or a new building.

The Village of Hope has hope in its name, and there is an eternal hope which we have in God. Despite the war, death, destruction, loss, pain and suffering that reveal evil in the world, we have hope. Someday we will celebrate the end of all evil.

With the help of many people, there will be a new Lighthouse, or maybe even two new Lighthouses at the Village of Hope.

Gennady and Mina Podgaisky serve as Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel in Kyiv, Ukraine, where they facilitate the ministries of the Village of Hope, lead Bible studies, provide counseling and organize family seminars and retreats.

BLESSED BIRTHDAY

By Sue Smith

We arrived at the migrant shelter along the Mexican border with the United States just in time for the party. Miguel was celebrating his fourth birthday that day, and we had stopped with the leadership team from the shelter at a supermarket to pick up a birthday cake and soft drinks—a real treat for that day. Miguel was beaming as everyone gathered around to sing “Happy Birthday” and to wish him well. There were no presents, balloons or banners. But today, cake and Coca-Cola were enough. A gathering of his makeshift migrant shelter family and friends all shared hugs and best wishes as his mom bustled around serving birthday cake to everyone.

Marcos, Miguel’s dad, stood to the side, with his nine-month-old son riding on his shoulder. Marcos couldn’t stop the flow of tears. “We had nothing—have nothing—for Miguel’s birthday,” he said. “It was going to be just another day, but look what’s happened, how happy he is. We’re so blessed!”

The family had fled their home in Honduras nearly a year ago, seeking safety and security. They have been waiting in Mexico for their opportunity to enter the U.S. Marcos’ two teenage sons, Miguel’s half-brothers, are already in the U.S. seeking refuge. One of them was kidnapped and

Miguel helps his mom cut his birthday cake as he turns four-years-old at his party at a shelter along the border.

tortured before leaving Honduras, leaving his face severely disfigured. It bothers Marcos that he was unable to keep his older sons safe in Honduras, and he prays that Miguel and his younger brother will never have to know this type of violence. He hopes these little boys will know only birthday parties, the love of parents and the kindness of strangers who come together to serve God by feeding and housing migrants along their journey. That will make all the hardships they’ve endured worth it.

“We left Honduras with around $180 U.S. dollars. By the time we crossed into Mexico, we had exactly eight dollars left. That was it,” Marcos said. He recalls seeking shelter in churches and sleeping on hard wooden pews. The couple’s second son was born along the journey, somewhere in Mexico. As the tears leak from Marcos’ eyes, he can’t stop praising God for taking care of his family throughout the journey, for bringing “good people” into their lives at crucial points when hope was easily lost. They take things just one day at a time.

Now, Marcos has hope. The residents have just received word that the U.S. will soon begin allowing refuge-seekers, who have been waiting patiently to be processed, to enter the U.S. “We have a number, so it won’t be long now!”

Today, Miguel is beaming as he celebrates his birthday. His mom serves birthday cake to everyone while his dad and baby brother stand off to the side, and there’s plenty of Coca-Cola as well. God is good.

Sue Smith is a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel serving the first-generation Latino immigrant community through LUCHA Ministries, Inc., located in Fredericksburg, Va.

The Bouloses’ varied ministry includes refugee assistance, church planting, orphanage support, “Celebrate Jesus” rallies, Christian conferences and Christian family relief.

TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED

By Chaouki Boulos

The last leadership training retreat was unlike the previous retreats. It started on Friday afternoon. That Friday night, as well as on Saturday night, a number of the people stayed behind at the chapel and prayed until 5 a.m.

During these two nights, we experienced many great things. The focus of the prayer was on unanswered prayers. We started to pray with 40 people. As the prayers were lifted up to the Lord, we could feel God’s presence among us. Many people started opening up and praying with tears. Some people renewed their trust in the Lord and committed to obey Him. Others shared personal matters and asked the group to pray for them.

The retreat ended on Sunday afternoon with two women getting baptized. We praise the Lord for the time we had at this retreat.

Chaouki Boulos is a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel ministering alongside his wife, Maha, in Lebanon and the Middle East through evangelism, leadership training and refugee aid.

PERSISTENT PLANTING

By Jessica Hearne

Who knew it would be so difficult to grow watermelons? Isaiah certainly didn’t know when he started planting them on the Urban Farm five years ago. We can grow cucumbers just fine and, since watermelons are kind of like cucumbers, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Maybe it should be easy to grow watermelons, but for the last several years, Isaiah and I just haven’t been able to get it right. There were one or two years when the vines didn’t really thrive. About three years ago we had vines, and the vines had melons on them; but we returned to the farm one day to find all of the melons had exploded. Too much water? A rare exploding watermelon gene? Either way, it was another year without watermelons. Isaiah was ready to give up and who could blame him? Growing watermelons occupies an entire garden bed, so why would we continue to use all of that space for no benefit?

Isaiah has been a leader in our garden since before I took over as manager five years ago. When I talk to partners about the importance of the “community” portion of a community garden, Isaiah is one of the folks that I have in mind. He has been present nearly every Thursday workday in those five years. He has also been one of our most consistent prayer partners, learning how to navigate the complicated process of calling in to a Zoom meeting on a cell phone in order to join us for Sunday prayer services while socially distancing.

Isaiah’s persistent presence in my life and in the life of Grace and Main, as well as other garden and neighborhood leaders like him, is how we are able to keep going in hard times like the last two years. These leaders pray with us, keep us updated on other folks in the neighborhood and help us make decisions about how best to use our time and resources to make life better for those around us here in Danville.

When it comes to growing watermelons, maybe the key is persistence. Isaiah and I decided to give the watermelons one more try. We planted the seeds, then protected them with natural pest repellents that I have been learning to make at home (keeping the plants free of chemicals). We read about watering and how you’re supposed to turn the irrigation off in August to help them ripen. We also read about how to tell when they are ripe, hoping to avoid the heartbreak of two years ago when we picked a beautiful 15-pound watermelon, only to cut into it and find that the inside was completely white.

A Grace and Main Urban Farm volunteer sprays a homemade pest repellent and nutrient spray on a pumpkin plant. Urban Farm’s focus on sustainability led them to avoid chemicals and work with natural resources that are readily available.

All the hard work, the constant presence in the garden with Isaiah and persistence finally paid off this year as we harvested our first ripe, sweet, delicious watermelons. In the 2022 growing season, we harvested over 185 pounds of watermelons. We gave them away to people in our food desert neighborhoods for families to enjoy.

And Isaiah finally got to share his hard-won, home-grown watermelons with his grandchildren.

Jessica Hearne is a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel based in Danville, Va., where she serves with and through Grace and Main Fellowship.