CEE Story From The Mission Field
Flowers, Chocolate and Music
March 2002
International Women's Day - March 8
"The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come…" (Song of Solomon 2:12) When Solomon penned these words he wasn't referring to Kharkov, Ukraine, but he could have been. Though March 1 marks the official beginning of Spring in Kharkov, Ukraine, flowers do not usually appear quickly because the ground is often still frozen. However, they do start to appear in great numbers along the street corners, in the markets and in the metro.
Fueling the urgency of the flower vendors is the upcoming celebration of International Women's Day on March 8. Vendors selling flowers seem to multiply over night as the day approaches. Tulips are everywhere, regardless of the weather! Women's Day is a special day when all women are honored with flowers, chocolate, cards, and small tokens of affection. At the Church Planting Center in Kharkov, The New Hope Center, this special day was celebrated with a musical concert for youth and University students. A youth band from a Christian school in Kiev came to perform on Friday night, along with a professional pianist and soloist named Marina.
Approximately 175 people came for this special program. The band shared music with a message of truth in a way that most Ukrainians had never heard. Vitaliy Sorokun, the pastor of the New Hope Center church, gave his testimony and Marina sang beautifully. Everyone present heard the gospel and visibly saw with their own eyes that Christians have a contagious joy and a reason to celebrate.
Surprisingly, though Marina sings like an angel, she does not know the Lord. She has heard the gospel and rejects it, but she is coming to church at the New Hope Center to give her children the opportunity to hear about Jesus. Even her mother and husband came to the special celebration. The missionaries in Kharkov are praying that she and her family will be saved and truly have something to sing about.
The black soil of Ukraine is supposed to be the richest soil in the entire world. Pray for God's Word to be planted in the soil of Ukrainian's hearts and that new life in Christ will spring forth in great numbers throughout Kharkov.
"Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert" Isaiah 43:19.
View the photo essay of "Flowers, Chocolate and Music."