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Carelinks | Ukraine Bible School
but we persisted, believing God had sent his
angels to guide our journey. Late that night
we arrived in the general vicinity of the
Soviet-style ‘collective farm’ that Alexei and
his grandmother live on. The farm was
located in the middle of nowhere. With no
streetlights or street signs we were fortu-
nate to have limited access
to a mobile WiFi and could
vaguely find barren country
roads using Google maps.
Eventually we found Alexei
flashing his flashlight at a
crossroads in the middle of
farm fields where he led us the remaining
miles to their apartment, in the worker’s
accommodation of a crumbling collective
farm.
Bro Alexei was encouraged to research
Christadelphians by Messianic Jews, whose
doctrines he disagreed with. He discovered
the Bible Basics website and read through
the book slowly using his cellphone. He was
baptized in August 2014 by Bro Maxim and
has since been teaching the Truth to Tamara,
his grandmother. Thankfully, he has now
purchased a very old computer (intact with a
floppy drive!) where he is able to Skype with
other brethren and sisters and join in
breaking bread online in Russian. Sis Tamara
welcomed us into their one-room flat and
provided us with a bowl of mashed potatoes,
beef and sweet-bread. After discussing her
convictions, she was baptized in a tub of
warm water in their bathroom. We then
shared in a breaking of bread and were
inspired by talking to Bro Alexei about his
enthusiasm for the Truth and the ecclesia he
dreams of developing in that remote place.
He is isolated from other Christadelphians in
Ukraine and has little means to travel
around. He is, therefore, very excited to now
have his grandmother to break bread with
and share the Truth.
After 2am it was time to leave. We drove
home, dodging potholes like we were playing
a computer game. Then, just as the sun
began to rise, one of our front tires collapsed
after hours of pounding on the bumpy, unlit
roads. We managed to change it for a spare
and find a 24hr tire repair shop to see if we
could salvage the tire. Around 11am we
arrived back at the Bible Centre. We were
very excited that Sis Tamara and Bro Alexei
are baptized. God had blessed our journey
and the persistence of us all. Given the
current uncertainty in the
Ukraine, we don’t know if
this would be the last
chance to baptize our new
Sister. Alexei as a farm
worker and with health
issues currently has been
exempted from military service but that
could easily change as the demand for young
men becomes more acute.”
Bro Nathan Badger
Bro Alexei was so full of joy as he welcomed
his grandmother into fellowship
The joy of sis Tamara and her
grandson bro Alexei was so
great it turned from deep
smiles to tears of joy ...
We don’t consider a trip to Ukraine unduly
dangerous as long as one doesn’t go near
the front line nor into the East. We plan to
continue with the July Bible School, God
willing, and to afterwards go visiting our
brethren and sisters and practically assist
them with things like repairing homes
against the Winter, and simply encouraging
them. This would be a great adventure for
younger folks especially - do contact us if
you’d like to come.