A Historic Gathering of Widows
By Serhiy Basarab
I call it ''historic'' because it happened after a very long break. About 170 widows showed up for our Bible lesson on August 6.
I was glad I had the opportunity to address them briefly. I began by reminding them that in the middle of March we agreed to meet again on April 9. We made some firm plans, but our ''firm plans'' were thwarted, and there was nothing we could do about it. What we can and should do is turn to God and His Word for encouragement and guidance.
And we did just that and immediately turned to 1 Thessalonians 5. I quoted three verses from this chapter:
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
I expressed hope that all of them pattern their lives after these verses. Personally, I have been thankful to God for protecting us throughout the quarantine. I have been thankful for the opportunity to meet them all. And I have been thankful for our American brothers and sisters who, in spite of a difficult situation in the US, have continued to support our widows faithfully.
In closing, I drew their attention to a verse from The Lord's Prayer, “Give us today our daily bread”, and encouraged them to be grateful for what they get today, and not be anxious about the future. The Lord will take good care of them.
To end our meeting, they all stood up and together we recited The Lord's Prayer. My short speech was followed by a good Bible lesson taught by Irina Donchenko, which she will share about below.
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By Iryna Donchenko
I want to say “HOORAY!!!” This was our first full Bible lesson after the strict quarantine. Initially, we made a decision to divide people into two groups. One group (180 people) came on Thursday, August 6, and another will join on Thursday, August 13. The lesson went well and was harmonious.
At the entrance to the hall Vika took everyone’s temperature, Sasha sanitized hands, and Ihor helped to seat people. Valentyna stayed at her post and noted participants of the lesson and she was ready to distribute food cards after the lesson. People were sympathetic to the new rules—they kept social distancing and all participants were wearing masks. The general atmosphere was unusual to see, but we were grateful to God for the chance to meet all together again!
At the beginning of the lesson, Vika expressed words of gratitude to all people for their patience and understanding. Serhiy was thankful to people for that as well. He also told them about all challenges that Music Mission Kiev went through during the quarantine and the challenges we’ve overcome to serve our congregation! He prayed The Lord’s Prayer with them. Looking around the room, I could tell they missed each other and their fellowship!
Doctor Vadym shared information about the virus and its current condition in Kyiv. He encouraged people and invited some of them to appointments after the Bible lesson.
I was leading the lesson. The topic of the lesson was: The assistance is in the Lord. I think that such a topic is relevant for people in our current circumstances. We touched on the quarantine topic and the topic of our comfort. When we read Psalm 121, I told them that God is our assistance! Some of the people had tears in their eyes. I myself almost cried as I felt the gratitude to God for the opportunity to serve the elderly, who are physically weak and, unfortunately, some of them are weak spiritually. I’m grateful to God that we can serve people, who may have children and grandchildren, but they still feel lonely. From many, our Mission has become a second family with very great support! We prayed to God together and thanked Him for His assistance and we asked for forgiveness in times when we don’t appreciate His help. We asked for His assistance and we prayed for those who are faithful in serving MMK parishioners. It was a warm, family meeting!
After the lesson, slowly through the rows, people went out and received food cards. I had the pleasure of talking to those who were still in the hall and I read a poem to them. Some people, wiping their tears, just came up to the stage and spoke to the microphone about how grateful they are to God and our Mission for taking care of them! We were finally able to speak to each other without hurry.
Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord! All the glory and praise to God!
