Your prayers and support made our trip to the peninsula from January2nd to 9th real. During the entire trip, we (Sveta K., Sergei P. and Ira P.) felt a prayer support and the hand of God that guides us every day.
Some difficulties connected with this trip began long before its start. You know “that” territory is temporarily occupied by Russia, so when entering there, you need to execute a migration card. A month before the trip on the Internet spread rumors that from January 1 entry is only possible with foreign passports. That was a problem, because we do not have these passports. Another problem was not so big, but still we needed costumes of Santa Claus, because we were going to spend a holiday with Muslim children, and we could not directly tell them about Christmas. That`s why, on our holiday that was done by Santa Claus and Snegurochka. I started calling everyone in order to borrow the costumes somewhere and to find out something about the passports. No one could give the costumes, because that was on the eve of the New Year. And with passports that was unclear. We could buy a costume, but that cost 1 000 hryven′ that we did not have. I began to doubt: maybe, God is not willing us to go and I started to pray a special prayer. I told God that if there is His will that we go to the Crimea, let us have the costumes. Perhaps, this could be wrong, but our God is merciful and sympathizes with us when we need it most. One sister, who traveled with us, works in social services and there they have different costumes. She asked if they could give it to us, and they agreed to give it against signed acknowledgement. It was a sign of God for me that we are bound to get into the designated area.
On that problems did not end. From December 24 all trains to the peninsula were canceled in order to ensure safety. Trains run up now only to Novooleksiivka, and then – it is not clear how to get there. But I was confident that God will go ahead of us and that He will pave the way for us, as for Moses and the people of Israel. On the Internet was uploaded an approximate roadmap, all my friends on the peninsula wrote that they were also talking about it. In general, it was possible to cross the border, but very expensive. I asked God to send us more finances for this journey. If we took into consideration all what had been written on the Internet about the way there and back, then we needed 2 000 hryven′ more. I know that for God nothing is impossible, that He “somehow” will solve this problem. We continued to pray and prepare for the trip.
And then the miracles began. On January 31 we went to the New Year`s celebration in Zalissia. There were wonderful worship, skiing, a good time to socialise with friends and even there we could talk a little bit about our service in the Crimea. On the January 1 in one of the calls to prayer, Artem said that if someone wants to help us financially in our trip, they can do it right here at the conference. I can say with confidence that if God works a miracle, He does it unexpectedly for us. Through all of you, God has sent us more than we expected. It was a great encouragement for us all.
On January 2nd began our road to the peninsula. We took the train Kovel – Simferopol in Zdolbuniv and hit the trail. We were on-site on January 3 at 9:30 am, the train doesn`t go further. 10 more people got off on the platform with us. They were immediately “caught” by taxi drivers. We also got into the car and drove to Chongar. Everything around was gray, there was no snow, wind was blowing, everyone was quietly thinking about his own. A distance around 40 km. We got out of the car. The Ukrainian checkpoint was in front of us. When a group of 7 was gathered, we were taken to the window of the passport control. Passports were checked quickly, and we went on foot through the buffer zone in the direction of the “sea”. It was windy, the snow was falling, with us were going other people, everyone was silent. It was a bit depressing, but my heart rejoiced because one boundary had been passed and we were closer to our goal. White van stopped near us and offered to give a lift to the Russian border. We agreed and got into the car. Talking with the driver, we found out that he was going to “capital” and could bring us, if we agree with the payment. We passed Russian border also quickly, something around 10 minutes, then waited another 20 minutes until the cars drove through and drove off ourselves. It was getting colder, later it began to snow, but we were sitting in a warm car, and I thank God for that.
In the “capital” our dear friend was waiting on us. We were so happy to see each other. Eating with him in the car, I thought that it is not scary to go somewhere with God, even if you don`t know how it will be. He foresees the way, the benevolence of people, material resources – everything.
In the evening of January 3 we collected gifts for the kids. It was fun. We felt as if we were little helpers of Santa Claus. Everyone thought about the future of the holiday and the joy that it would bring to children.
On January 4th we went to one of the churches in the “capital” because it was Sunday. That church was large, on that day there was a Holy Communion. I later found out that this church didn`t support missionary views. We should pray to God for impelling the local churches for missionary service. After the lunch, we went to the store to buy some candies for gifts. It was interesting to buy them, because we didn`t know how they taste. Thanks to you, we bought more than we expected, and we still had finances left. Then in the evening, we packed candies into bags and prayed for those children who will get these gifts.
The next day, on January 5, early in the morning we went to the neighboring village to meet with the head of the village. We had to take his permission for the holiday tomorrow. At 8:30 a.m. we were already in the village, but the village council was closed. In the nearest shop people told us that the village council would be closed until January 12. I was confused because without authorization of the head of the village we could not celebrate our holiday – such laws are “there” now. We decided to go to his home. I live in a big city, and this idea seemed to me unreal at all. I thought: how can we find the house where he lives? We stopped and asked the people where the head of the village lives and eventually found his apartment, but he was not at home. We prayed and went back.
At home, we had the idea to simply bypass the neighbors in the costumes of Santa Claus and Snegurochka and give them gifts, but then we would not be able to tell them about Christmas. Then our friend called his friend, who offered to celebrate the holiday in another village, not far from Bakhchisarai. There were a good relationship with the village council and the director of the community center. We were invited to celebrate the holiday on January 8. It was an answer to a prayer.
On January 6 we gathered at home of our friend, invited our friends and acquaintances, and had a small celebration. There were about 20 children and 15 adults. They all were Crimean Tatars and once had already heard about Issa (Jesus), and some were believers in Christ. We showed our program, then drank tea together and had a conversation. At the end, children received gifts. The celebration of the holiday was in another format, as usually it goes. It started at 10:00 a.m. and ended somewhere at 15:00. Our program took only 40 minutes, and all the rest of the time we were talking and drinking tea. It was more like a big home group with a sketch first. It was a good time.
The next day, on January 7, we went to the festival of Christmas in the church. It was a very cold day, the temperature dropped to -17 °С . Outside there was a blizzard. In the morning, we were late for the train, then waited for the bus, then became cold at the station, and finally got to the church. It was so pleasant to celebrate Christmas with friends. We sang a lot, children read poems and showed sketches, then sang the chorus. There was a wonderful sermon. We sang a song “Silent night” in Ukrainian and the audience sang along with us. After the worship, everyone came and asked how we managed to get here and weren`t we afraid. Then we decided to take a walk in Bakhchisarai. For the first time I was on the peninsula in the winter, and probably for the first time this winter I saw so much snow. We went up into the mountains, watched the sun go down. Everything was like a fairy tale. It was said, that so much snow here was long ago. I am sure that God worked this miracle for us. In the evening, the temperature dropped to -25 °С, we were late for the bus again and therefore had to walk 5 km on foot. As we walked, I thank the Lord that I had somewhere to go in such a cold and prayed for those who have no home. We arrived at the bus station, where we froze a little bit more and then went home. I prayed that no one got sick, because the following day we had to act.
On January 8 the sun was shining outside, the frost was -20 °С. In the morning, when I read the Bible, I was praying for that the parents were not afraid to let the children come to festival. We packed up and got in the car. But the car had summer tires, so we were praying even more for that God kept us safe and sound on the way. We arrived at the village where we were to celebrate the holiday. It was a bit warmer in the community center than outside. The kids began to come, we learned that some kids had to come from the neighboring village, but the bus was broken. There were about 30 kids at the festival. We acted out our entire program, gave out the gifts and the calendars in the Tatar. When we were about to go home, we had the opportunity to go to that village, where children had to come, and celebrate the holiday in the store in the afternoon. We agreed and went to dine in Bakhchisarai. After lunch, we went to the village, where we were waiting for the children (the store was full). The mistress of the shop came as well, and it was chock-full of adults. We performed our program faster, because it was very cold, and then told the children about Christmas and explained who Issa Masikh is (Jesus Christ). The children were glad that Ayaz Dede’ve Karkyz (Santa Claus and Snegurochka) came and brought them presents. During the program, we could talk a little bit with adults, and they did not mind listening. Besides, we handed out Bibles to children and parents, who were glad to take.
I thank God that He gave us the opportunity to celebrate three festivals instead of one and to have little talks with parents. But that was not the end of our program. We also visited children with disabilities and their families. We stopped in three families. I will never forget how pleased they were, how they shouted and clapped with joy, hugging us. In each family, we drank coffee and talked about Christmas, then gave gifts. This Christmas was probably the most special to me, because God was with us everywhere, in every place and He performed miracles. I believe that all of this has strengthened the faith in many hearts (and in mine as well).
The next day, on January 9, we started our way back to Ukraine. I didn`t worry because I knew that the Lord would lead us. This time we set off by car from the “capital” to Chongar, passed passport control at the Russian border, and then went on foot to the Ukrainian. We walked 4 kilometers down the road, I was looking around and reminiscing that there was a time when I passed it all in the machine, swam in the channel, where now no water is. I thought about how things had changed. Everything has changed. But God, He is always the same. Approaching the Ukrainian checkpoint, I saw the flag of Ukraine for the first time during the week. I smiled. Then there was the train station, where we were waiting on our train for 6 hours, but it was not so important, because with God we accomplished that for what we had come.
Pray for more could go to the South and preach Issa to those who want to hear. Pray for the children and their parents, who have heard the Good News, pray for the faith in their hearts. Pray for there be more people who would like to share this News.
Ira P.
