Searching Far To Find Community.
- joelbutts1231minis
- Mar 6
- 8 min read
Updated: Mar 7
It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. – Deuteronomy 31:8
In Kyiv they have this saying, "Sleep is for the weak!" I just push through the weariness of travel, the sleepiness, the dreariness of the damp and bitter cold of a Ukrainian winter. For me, it is worth the state of chronic weariness. I just keep moving.
Recently I returned from a long and difficult journey across Europe, Poland, and Ukraine. So far this was probably one of the most difficult simply from all the moving, moving, moving. I was constantly on the go. Let's face it, I ain't getting any younger. The older I get, the more difficult it is on my body. Perhaps I don't get along with winter months.
Last year, our friend, Valentina Kolomiets (Valya to those closest to her) asked for our help raising funds to sponsor 60-75 teens from all over Ukraine so they could go to a winter youth retreat in the Carpathian mountains. You might be thinking, "A retreat? In the mountains? Skiing and snowboarding! Isn't there a war going on in Ukraine?"
The answer is YES. War has been raging in Ukraine for the last eight years. It began in 2015 when Russian-backed sympathizers and Russian regular army staged a takeover resulting in the annexation of the Crimean peninsula and parts of Eastern Ukraine's coal- and mineral-rich Donbas and Lugansk regions. These military occupations resulted in an 8-year stalemate followed by Russia's full-scale invasion of its once-peaceful neighbor.
Why is a teen retreat important - at a time like this?
The answer is simple. Life in Ukraine is disrupted by daily, almost hourly bombings from above. Cities are terrorized by hypersonic missiles, ballistic rockets, bomb-laden guided drones. For teens, the critical social, cognitive, psychological, and emotional development that takes place in these years is disrupted. No school. No friends. No social engagement. No activity. No fellowship. Life is disrupted. These events are critical in helping teens and youth cope with the trauma of a war being waged in their communities. I would wager that anyone in Ukraine either knows someone who lost their life to bombardment or they know someone who knows someone.
Valya invited to join this year. And when Ukrainians invite you to come to something, you don't dare say no. It turned out that God always desires to give more than we ask or imagine. He can take our desires and multiply them. He provided T3O with funds to support Jewish Young. But the Lord wanted to do more. In the end, 105 teens attended and He provided for all of them through our ministry and other sources.
So I began this recent journey on the 28th of January. I flew from Nashville to Atlanta, Atlanta to Munich, Munich to Warsaw. There, I was met by our teammate, Lisa Chupryna at the airport and we hopped in a cab for my hotel. When we got there I decided to take a tumble down the steps with a 30 lb. pack on my back. Bloody knees and all I checked in.
I did get some rest in Warsaw before Lisa, her daughter Eliana, her friend Masha, and I continued to Kyiv by train. In Warsaw I was able to attend worship and Shabbat at Warsaw Jewish Messianic Congregation. Worship in these congregations is joyful and festive with joyful contemporary Jewish music and traditional dances.
As I go I keep a keen eye and ear open to what the Lord may bless me with. This trip was no different. I was listening to Lisa share a bit of testimony with her congregation. She talked about coming to worship with the expectation that the Lord will be present and that he will provide a blessing for each of us to take away, a breakthrough, or a revelation.
Lisa, the girls, and I continued to Kyiv by train and arrived mid-morning on Monday. Our schedule was to spend 48 hours in Kyiv, then meet back at the train station. We joined up with about 105 teenagers and 20 ministry leaders and staff. We traveled overnight southwest back across Ukraine to the Carpathian Mountains for a few days of winter fun and fellowship.
Near the Poland/Ukraine Border.
I was assigned a bunk in a compartment with three of the most entertaining young fellows I've ever met - Roma, Misha, and Max. These three guys were like a walking variety show. We spent several hours before "lights-out" laughing, getting to know one another, and being entertained with their jokes and Jewish rap. Yeah. That's right. Jewish rap is a thing. We even touched on some serious topics.
We arrived in the early morning before sunrise and were bussed to a mountain resort. After showers and breakfast, we loaded up in vans to head to another mountain for some outdoor fun.
Lisa and Elia on the slopes.
After skiing and snowboarding all day, we returned to the camp for a night of worship and prayer. I'm unsure what is more physically demanding; winter sports or worshipping teens. The evenings were full of energy, dance, prayer, and the Lord's presence.
On the first night I was introduced to the group and had the opportunity to share briefly about our ministry and where we get our name – Twelve3One. Jesus had twelve disciples. He grew close to three (Peter, James, and John), but He loved one (John). This is our model for walking on a discipleship journey with others.
On Saturday, the kids went again to the mountain for skiing and snowboarding. I, however, stayed behind. Valya had treated me to a massage to remedy the machines of my long journey. So, I ate a late breakfast with my friend Katya. As I was finishing, a man came to the table. His name was Andrii and he was the lodge owner, and asked if we would join him after I finished for tea and conversation. He asked me about our ministry and how we help people in Ukraine.
Andrii told us about his vision for his lodge - they help war veterans recover, and they gave shelter to refugees. He sacrificed an entire chicken flock feeding hungry people fleeing from the east. He told us of all the livestock, produce, and dairy that come from his farm. He even prepared a sample of all the cheeses he produces.
The next day, we packed and prepared for the return to Kyiv. During the afternoon worship/prayer session, I decided to go outside up on the mountainside in an open pasture to meditate and pray. As I did so, I could hear the kids inside worshipping and singing. As I sat there in the sun I began thinking of how important it is for kids to choose friends wisely and to walk away from harmful relationships. I thought about how Jesus chose his group of twelve, his "threes", and his "one" - these ever concentric circles of community.
After returning to Kyiv I had the opportunity to meet a friend whom I'd been acquainted with through social media but had never met in person. I had the pleasure and blessing of meeting Vitaliya Makashevska face-to-face. She came from Kharkiv just to meet me for coffee. I got to spend very special moments being blessed by other dear friends in Kyiv over meals and coffee.
I also spent the nights before and after the retreat in the home of my close friends, Inna and Dennis – relatively newlyweds. I slept comfortably on a cozy bed by the heater under a mountain of blankets provided by Inna. She and Dennis saw to my comfort and kept me fed. No greater comfort can be found in any fine hotel. To stay in the home of a friend is a special blessing. I believe there is wisdom and purpose in the blessing of doing so. Jesus knew this when he commissioned the Twelve to go out into the world in Matthew, chapter 10.
I was able to spare a day to go to Berdychiv to see my dear friend Zina. She teaches me Ukrainian. Her husband Vlad serves in the armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). He was called into service several months after they were married. I also wanted to visit my young brother, Vadik. He also serves in the AFU. Vadik is a husband and father whom I have grown quite fond of. I deeply cherish the journey I get to share with these precious friends. A visit that was far too short - just one night - but I treasure it just the same.
A few days later, Lisa, Elia, Masha and I met back at the train station to begin our overnight journey back to Warsaw. I finally found that sleep I needed so badly. I had about 5 nights of sleep. In Warsaw, I was blessed to join Shabbat again but also to join Lisa's prayer workshop for teens. In this workshop, she and the other leader Masha teach teens how to pray more effectively. They also discuss different types of prayer - prayers of thanksgiving, intercession, warfare, admonition, and repentance.
Lisa has a gift for prayer and caring for teens.
Lisa has a real gift for both prayer and caring for teens within her reach. We had time to talk about her vision for the coming year and how she feels led to serve and culturally integrate Ukrainian and Polish teens. There has been a spirit of cultural friction between Poles and Ukrainians that extends back for centuries. Lisa desires to break down these cultural barriers in the framework of fellowship within her youth group.
On Tuesday of the third week, I returned to Munich and was met there by our teammate, Maria, in Aalen. I didn't realize it had been a year since I'd last seen her and spent time with her. During the couple of nights we had together, she shared her desire to go to Uganda to spend some time at Havilah Mission - an orphan mission home and school.
Our teammate, Maria Yermachenkova
The Lord said, "Miriam, make coffee for me! I want you to open a coffee shop!"
In Aalen, Maria also introduced me to her friend, Miriam, who owns Eden Coffee Shop. It's more than just coffee. Miriam shared her story of how the Lord led her and her husband through the loss of a business during Covid and into coffee... and ministry. She shared with me that the Lord said, "Miriam, make coffee for me! I want you to open a coffee shop!"
"Use the gifts you've been given to serve others" - 1 Peter 4:10
But it's not just any coffee shop. Of course the coffee is smooth, robust, and flavorful accented by sweet treats and warm wonderful aromas. You'll find a little piece of heaven-on-earth there. Worship music plays softly in the background. Art with motifs of faith and spirituality adorn the walls and the soft murmur of conversation weaves its way through this peaceful atmosphere. Miriam's is an amazing story of trust and a leap of faith.
It is a place of community. A place of fellowship. These places I've visited and people I've met are community, my people. The opportunity for community comes from God. And I have found my community in odd places, in unfamiliar cities, and foreign lands. I want this community. I need this community. This is my church.
John Eldredge in “Waking the Dead” writes it so perfectly:
“A true community is something you’ll have to fight for. You’ll have to fight to get one, and you’ll have to fight to keep it afloat. But you fight for it as you bail out a life raft during a storm at sea. You want this thing to work. You need this thing to work…This is the church; this is all you have. Without it, you’ll go down. Or back to captivity. This is the reason those small house fellowships thrive in other countries: they need each other. There are no other options.”
Thank you all for supporting our ministry and believing in the good work we are doing to help people break free from the spirit of Fatherlessness in our world. Thank you for not forgetting to help us do good and to share the gospel, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. (Hebrews 13:16)
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