|
A MIRACLE WORK
True stories of faith, hope and inspiration
by
Donald N. Miller
INTRODUCTION
It was May 1993. I was about to lead a “roots”
tour to Ukraine. For years I had been interested in my ancestral
heritage in the former German villages in Russian Volhynia.
Shortly before I leaving the Holy Spirit prompted me to start
a Good Samaritan work in Ukraine. At the time I was a member
of the International Board of Directors of Good Samaritan
Ministries and its current chairman
Before I left I asked Bettie Mitchell, founder and executive
director of GSM, for counsel as to how I was going to accomplish
that. I didn’t know anyone in Ukraine. I didn’t
speak the language. And I had never done anything like this
before. Bettie answered bluntly, “Ask the Holy Spirit
and He’ll tell you.” Well, I had already been
praying and for the new few weeks prior to departure, I continued
to pray. Nothing. I went on tour and I prayed every day, but
there was no answer. Finally on the last day of the tour,
I was riding in the bus when a tour member, a woman sitting
next to me, said, “Well, Don, tell me, ‘What is
Good Samaritan Ministries anyway?’” I had been
telling her about this remarkable ministry and now I had a
chance to tell her more. I ended by saying that when we act
out the Good Samaritan story, Bettie often asks us, “Now,
what did you learn from this story?”
The woman looked at me in astonishment. “Why that’s
interesting,” she said. “Just last night a group
of young people from Germany acted out the Good Samaritan
story in the lobby of the third floor of the hotel, and when
they were finished, the leader of the group, a young woman,
asked the group, ‘Now, what did you learn from the story?’”
The moment I heard that, something jumped in my spirit, and
I knew it was the Holy Spirit telling me to take note. In
the interaction that continued with this tour member, I learned
that the “key lady” on the third floor where the
drama took place, was a new believer. Later that evening,
I was able to meet with Galina Bidenko, supervisor of the
third floor in the Zhitomir Hotel where we were staying. I
told her about Good Samaritan Ministries and what God had
put on my heart. As I did, her eyes lit up and she said, “For
over a year now, I have been asking God for something special
to do.” At that point I was prompted to ask if she would
consider starting a small work with widows and orphans in
Ukraine. “But before you answer,” I said, “I
would like you to pray about it.” Galina was on her
break at the time and left immediately to find a quiet place
to pray. When she returned, she was weeping and said, “I
think this is of God. I would like to do it.”
We had only a few remaining minutes before she had to return
to duty. Quickly, I gave her the few dollars I had brought
along for seed money. It was less than $100. I then laid hands
on her and prayed that God would bless the work. When I finished,
the tour lady sitting nearby reached into her handbag and
added $40. to the money I had given her. At that moment, out
of my mouth flew these prophetic words, “This is going
to be a miracle work, and you have just witnessed your first
miracle.” And so it has been, just one miracle after
another, of lives being touched and changed by this God-ordained
work.
Over the years, I have collected some of the stories of faith,
hope and inspiration of Samaritan Ministries in Ukraine. All
of the stories are true. They really happened. In telling
and re-telling these simple stories, I hope that they build
up your faith and inspire you to similar action in whatever
setting you find yourself.
MIRACLE STORIES
NO LONGER ASHAMED
Yura is the main man in the house. The only man, even though
he is only14 years old. He lives together with his penniless
mother and aging grandmother in a small shack. They attend
the Baptist church in Korosten. Recently Yura became very
nervous and irritable, especially when someone came to visit
them at their home. He was ashamed of his shabby living quarters
and grubby pants. Sensing a need to do something about the
situation, our Samaritans did some minor renovation on their
house and bought Yura a new pair of pants for Christmas. For
the first time in his life Yura was proud of himself and their
little shack. His eyes just shone with gratitude. Yura is
now preparing himself for baptism this summer. He is no longer
ashamed.
FROM FEAR TO FAITH
Lena was scared to death. The Mafia was after her. She had
been selling watches for them and owed them $50. They threatened
her life. In despair Lena came to one of our Samaritans for
counsel. Lena had a rebellious spirit, which originally led
her into this problem. She repented and through faith in Jesus
Christ the Lord vivaciously began to transform her life. When
we saw her a year later, she was married and her husband was
studying at a Bible school in Korosten. She herself is active
in Sunday school working with children.
A CAMP FOR UNBELIEVERS
Alex, our field director, had a bold new vision: a camp for
unbelievers. There would be lots of fun and fellowship, but
the main thing would be a “user-friendly” discussion
on How to become a Christian. Surprisingly, 13 people signed
up for the weekend. Hour after hour they worked their way
through a prepared guide, checking out Scripture and applying
the Word to themselves. At the conclusion, Alex said to the
campers, “This is the time when we can become one body.
It is the time to overcome our sin: our fear, shame and pride.
We can make a choice right now. This is not about SMU or me.
It is about you and God, repenting of your sins and letting
Jesus come into your life. I will read the prayer and if you
are ready your heart to Christ, please repeat after me in
a low voice.” After the prayer, Alex asked the men and
women who invited Jesus into their hearts to raise their hands
as their first act of public confession. Seven people raised
their hands, among them a “one time” avowed atheist,
a criminal trial lawyer, a doctor, a teenager and an alcoholic.
After the moment of decision, Alex prayed with them and gave
each of them a Bible. In recounting the experience later,
Alex said, “This is the first time I ever led anyone
to Christ. Maybe I missed something, I don’t know, but
I thought it was great. Later I told them about my own experience
three years ago when I invited Jesus into my heart during
a mission tour. For almost a year I lived my life the same
as always. Then God sent me the circumstances and the right
people who helped me overcome my sins and addictions. I told
the new converts, ‘This is the process of sanctification.’
Everyone liked the camp a lot. There were several other groups
at the camp. One group started drinking in the morning and
by early afternoon they were drunk. It was a lesson sent from
God. The guys could see the difference between the old way
of life and the new.”
A CATCH 22
One day while at the hospital in Zhitomir, Alex spotted a
man lying on the sidewalk outside the building. At first he
thought he was just another drunk. He was about to pass him
by when he noticed the man was an invalid. Both his feet had
been amputated. The man was covered with rags and smelled
to high heaven. Alex said, “I asked him what his name
was.” He answered, “Victor.” Victor was
about 45 years of age. He had been lying out in the rain without
food or shelter for two days. The hospital refused to have
anything to do with him because he didn’t fit their
categories for treatment and the Social Services didn’t
want to mess with him because he didn’t have the appropriate
documents. It was a catch 22.
Alex got him some food, clothing, blankets and bedding and
then mobilized his team of Samaritans. They traced his brother
down in Solodyri, a remote village 30 km away. The brother
rejected him. “If you bring him here to me,” he
said, “I will feed him to the pigs.” They then
found Victor’s former wife who was reluctant to have
anything to do with him, but she eventually gave Alex the
man’s passport information. Putting their meager resources
together, the Samaritans managed to collect around $30. to
pay the hospital to keep Victor for a week or so until they
can determine what to do with him. Victor is obviously a “throw
away” in that society, but to our Samaritans he is a
human being who is worth saving.
A week later Alex and his Samaritan friends went to the passport
office to see if they could get the man a new passport. They
got the standard Ukrainian runaround. The person at the desk
sent him to the woman in charge. The woman in charge sent
him to the local registration office. The local registration
office sent him to the regional office in Wolodar-Volynski
50 km away. Our Samaritans want to help this man -- and they
will – but in the meantime the State regards him as
a nobody not worth the time of the day.
BABY IN A TRASH CAN
It was in the middle of winter. Someone was going through
a trashcan in Pulin looking for food when they found a newly
born baby, another “throw away” in a disposable
society. They were aghast. The baby was still alive. It was
a miracle. The baby was taken to the local hospital where
a social worker was called. The social worker in turn took
the baby to Nina, director of our Samaritan center “where
I know it will be well cared for,” she said. The rescue
was a matter of life and death, another miracle. In this case,
it was life.
PIGS FOR JESUS
We were there on a mission trip. The Samaritans in Skolobov
showed us their huge pig farm. We were astounded to see the
former broken down barns just a few months earlier now transformed
into a walled compound, with not one but a number of newly-constructed
brick buildings. In barn after barn, we viewed well-fed contented
sows with their snow- white piglets, while in one barn we
were shown a half dozen or so undernourished hogs that had
just been dropped off from an abandoned collective farm. We
dubbed them “the demon possessed pigs” because
they were dirty, dark, skinny, wild, ornery and cantankerous
in contrast to the other pigs. The farm is expected to provide
employment for a number of villagers, generate income for
Samaritan Ministries and feed the poor. They are pigs for
Jesus.
DEFENDER OF WIDOWS AND ORPHANS
Galina, one of our Samaritans, owns a small kitchen garden.
It’s less than an acre, but large enough to feed her
family of four and share generously with those who are less
fortunate, especially widows and orphans. One day a man with
a huge tractor and plow from the nearby collective farm began
plowing the field next to her property. He kept getting closer
and closer to the boundary line and finally began encroaching
on her land. Galina stopped him and spoke kindly to the man,
thinking that perhaps he didn’t know where the boundary
line was. He knew very well and when it looked as though he
was going to continue victimizing her, she took authority
in the name of Jesus Christ.
She said, “If you don’t stop right now, I’m
going to report you to my Father.” The man sneered at
the simple peasant woman and said, “And who is your
father? “What is his name?” Galina answered, “He’s
a well-known judge in this city who specializes in defending
widows and orphans.” “What’s his name?”
the man repeated. “Where does he work?” Galina
looked him in the eye and responded evenly, “His name
is God and He works out of His office in heaven.” The
man looked at her in disbelief, slowly put his hand to the
plow, and vanished without a word. It was a small miracle,
but worth the fight.
AN UNFINISHED STORY
In Yasinuka I was told of woman who lives on the edge of town
with her two small children. “She an alcoholic,”
Victor said. “The roof of her house needs repairing.
You can see daylight through it. Summer or winter, there is
no covering. None. She has no money. Can you help?”
When I asked how much he needed, he said, “$200.”
Without hesitation, I reached into my neck pouch and pulled
out the necessary funds. I needed to ask no more. I trusted
Victor. Victor thanked me for the money and said that the
brothers from the center would repair the roof in the next
few days. “You can see the house on the edge of town
as you’re leaving, “ he said.
We found the house. It was nothing but a broken down shack,
with overgrown blackberry bushes around it. I wondered how
she managed in the middle of the winter. Two boys, approximately
eight to ten years of age, were playing outside near the door.
When we approached them with candy, pencils and balloons,
they disappeared in the bushes like frightened wild animals.
About that time the young alcoholic woman appeared at the
door. She was angry and cursed us. We told her we meant no
harm, but that we had come to tell her that the brothers were
going to fix the roof of her house. She looked puzzled. Dazed.
She was obviously drunk, though it was not yet noon.
Five days later, we returned to the village. As we passed
the house, we noticed that a beautiful new wooden roof had
been installed. We later learned that when the brothers came
to repair the roof, the woman in her drunken stupor, despised
them and chased them away, knowing that the kindness of God
often leads to repentance. (Romans 2:4). The men waited until
she left, then quickly roofed the house, and went on their
way. We have no idea what the woman’s immediate response
was, but something in us tells us it’s an unfinished
story.
BREAD FROM HEAVEN
While walking on the street in Zhitomir with Galina, a Samaritan,
we met a young woman with a child. The woman was an acquaintance
of Galina. When Galina asked about her welfare, the woman
said they were struggling. “I don’t even have
25 cents to buy a loaf of bread,” she said. Since the
conversation was in Russian, I had no idea what she said,
but I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to give her $10.
The following day, Galina again met the woman on the street.
Her face was shinning. “I was so surprised,” she
said, “when that stranger with you yesterday gave me
that money. I thought I met God. It was bread from heaven.
We were down to our last crumb.”
A BIG SACRIFICE
We were sitting in the sanctuary of the Baptist church in
Ivanovka with the pastor and several members. Ivanovka is
a very, very poor village. We wondered how we could help without
making them feel like a charity case. One of our team members
noticed a beautiful white crocheted tablecloth on the communion
table. He asked if someone could make another one like it
in exchange for a donation to the church. The woman who made
it happened to be sitting there with us and sadly said, “That
would be fine, but I have no wool.” She then told us
that in order to make that one, she had to unravel her only
sweater.” Many of the people in the villages are in
that kind of a survival mode. They have nothing, yet they
often sacrifice everything. It may not seem like much, but
for her it was a big sacrifice.
FROZEN TO DEATH
It had been a hard winter in Ukraine. Lots of snow and very
cold. Many people in the villages struggled just to stay alive.
At the director’s meeting, Tatiana, our Samaritan team
leader in Tschernjachov, reported this tragic news: “Two
women from our village, a mother and daughter, froze to death
last week. They were alcoholics and simply didn’t have
the money to heat their home. As Samaritans, we gave them
a decent burial.” Later, we bought a chain saw, which
the Samaritan team uses to cut wood for the poorest of the
poor. We are determined that this should never happen again.
THE GOAT LADY
They called her “the goat lady.” She was mean
and ornery and lived with her grown invalid son and a she-goat
in a small house in Korestyschev. The woman kept the goat
in the house because she needed it for milk and she had no
other place to keep it, lest it be stolen. Our Samaritan leader
often stopped by to visit her. Always, she greeted him with
anger and cursing. He finally gained her confidence and built
a small shed for the goat. The woman changed overnight. Now,
instead of greeting him with “Damn you, get off my property,”
she invites him in with the words, “Why don’t
you come in and pray with me?”
I WAS A STRANGER AND YOU TOOK ME IN
They found her living in a hole in the ground, one of about
25 babushkas living in Tschernjachov. Her name was Lydia Zander.
She was old, sick and half starved to death. She had no money,
no food, no medicine, no friends and no family. Nothing. Though
a complete stranger, our Samaritans took her in. They gently
fed her, washed her, put clean clothes on her and took her
a State run home for the aged. But the State run homes, too,
are limited. Often there is no heat in the middle of winter,
no medical care and no Christian companionship. That is why
we are looking to buy simple homes in the villages and renovate
them with the help of volunteers from America. Two or three
widows could live in such a home, work their kitchen gardens
and be a loving support and encouragement to each other. All
it takes is a bit of love, sweat and money
MY LAST HOPE
Olga lives next door to our center in Vigoda. She’s
about 35 years old and has two small children. Her husband
is an alcoholic and regularly beats her until she is black
and blue. In desperation one day, Olga sought the help of
family, friends and neighbors, but no one seemed to care.
Finally, she made her way to our mission house. There she
received counsel and financial assistance. Now she’s
just shinning with the love of Jesus. Many of the problems
with her husband remain the same, but she’s beginning
to find the resources to cope with them. In expressing her
appreciation to us, she said, “You were my last hope
and you didn’t disappoint me.”
THE SAMARITAN HORSE
The widows in Cholosno had no wood. They were too old and
weak to get it for themselves and they refused to bribe an
alcoholic with a bottle of Vodka get it for them. So there
they sat in the cold. Oxona, our Samaritan director prayed
and pondered their predicament. One day she was struck with
an idea. Why not get a horse and have one of the team members
get it for them? But where was she going to get a $100. for
a horse and what would they do for a wagon? When I heard about
it, I gave her the $100. and one of the “brothers”
in the church made the wagon. Now the widows are amply cared
for and the Samaritans are happy for “the Samaritan
horse” which assists in the work.
FROM ROBBER TO SAMARITAN
Kolya was an evil man. A robber. When the law finally caught
up with him he was sent to prison. There God got his attention
and through a series of remarkable circumstances, he accepted
Christ. When he was released from prison, he joined the Baptist
Church in Tschernjachov. He was determined to restore what
he had stolen and figured the best way to do that was to become
a Good Samaritan. “People can’t believe that everything
we do is free,” he said, “but they can’t
argue with it. It draws them to Christ.”
COMPETING WITH A CAT FOR FOOD
It was early in the morning, bitter cold in the middle of
winter. There was snow on the ground. From our sixth-story
apartment window, I watched her, an old woman, dressed in
a heavy brown coat, rummaging through the garbage bin in search
of her breakfast. Though it was still early, a mangy alley
cat had beaten her to it. The next morning the woman was there
again. This time I was prepared. I had fixed a bag of foodstuffs
and took it down to her. Without a word, she took the bag
and disappeared in the large apartment complex.
MISTER, WE’RE ALL SICK
Northwest Medical Teams in Portland donated 40,000 packages
of vegetable seeds to us for distribution among the poor.
We made the rounds in a van in some 15-20 villages. Each family
received an assortment of some 20 packets of seeds lovingly
stashed in zip lock bags by our Samaritans. At the conclusion
of one point of distribution, I asked the people gathered
if anyone was sick, as I wanted to pray for them. An elderly
man piped up and said, “Mister, we’re all sick.”
A REASON TO LIVE
Her name is Mashila. Her house is on the edge of the village.
Behind the house there are acres of dry grass and miles of
forest. Every spring the family is in danger of loosing their
home due to the old grass that is set on fire by the villagers
so new grass can grow. It is especially dangerous when the
wind is blowing in the direction of her house. “So,”
according to our Samaritan worker, “every spring I go
to her home and burn a protective ring around her place so
that the flames will not come near her house. That way the
family, an 82-year old woman and a 56-year old invalid son,
can be at rest. I go to their home by bicycle.
Yesterday I went again. I sighed with relief when I saw the
bent figure of the old woman. When we were within arm’s
reach, she smiled. ‘I knew you would come,’ she
said. ‘And how did you know?’ I asked. ‘Because
I prayed,’ she said. When in the evening this difficult
task was done, Mashila said to me, ‘Because of you,
I am beginning to believe in God.’ For the sake of this
it is worth living and working.”
HELPING PEOPLE TO HELP THEMSELVES
Nina (not her real name) had no income. There were no jobs
in the village where she lived, even though Nina was a professional
dressmaker. In desperation she came to our mission and asked
for a business loan of $100. With it, she bought a sewing
machine and registered herself as a private entrepreneur.
Now she makes a profit of $30./month and is able to feed her
family. In gratitude to God, she tithes part of her income
to the mission. Eventually, she will be in a position to return
50% of the loan so that others can help themselves in the
same way.
THE SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL
Loaded down with a huge leather bag of New Testaments, Galina
and her husband, Dimitry, made their way by foot to Alexufka.
It was over eight miles from their home. Going from house
to house, they shared the Gospel. Before the sun set that
day over 20 people, including an alcoholic, invited Jesus
into their hearts.
A SAMARITAN STOPS
While driving home from work, Alex, our field director, noticed
a man lying by a pond. He was dead drunk, dirty and smelly,
though he was quite nicely dressed. Alex said, “Before
I became a Samaritan, I wouldn’t have given him a second
look, but now I just couldn’t pass him by.” Alex
picked him up and dragged him to a dry spot. He asked the
man where he lived. “”He told me his phone number,”
Alex said. “I called the number. His brother answered.
When I suggested that he come and get him, the man said he
was an invalid and couldn’t move and his mother was
too old to do it. It was too cold and heartless to just leave
him there and so I put him in my car and drove him home.”
THE LITTLE SAMARITAN
“Where is Yuri?” I asked Victor. Yuri was 12 years
old and the son of one of our Samaritan directors. “O,
he’s out in the field,” Victor said, “plowing
the field of an old babushka.” Later that day, I saw
Yuri unhitching his Dad’s prize team of horses. He had
done a day’s work for Jesus.
A WIDOW’S HEART SIN
A little old lady, scarily four feet tall, shyly made her
way to my side. With tears in her eyes, she told me her monthly
pension of $20. was scarily enough for food, yet alone rent
and utilities? What was she to do? I was touched by her plight.
I thought, “What if this was my grandmother?”
I reached into my wallet for the few grivnas I had with me
and pressed themGS into her hands. She wiped away the tears,
smiled and thanked me. You would have thought I had given
her a million dollars. As she walked away, I thought I heard
her heart sing.
A HOLY MAN
Victor is a Baptist pastor with a Samaritan spirit. He lives
in Yasinivka, a remote village in Ukraine. He is the only
person in his village with a car. People frequently ask him
to take them to the hospital or to help them out in crisis.
One night three men were driving in the area when their car
broke down. It was late at night and they were far from home.
They tried to flag down a lone car that happened to pass by,
but the driver feared a hold-up and refused to stop, so the
men began to push their vehicle down the road. After pushing
for several hours, they became totally exhausted. They didn’t
know what to do.
Suddenly one of the men remembered something he had once heard
and said, “I know a holy man who lives in the next village.
If he won’t help us, no one will.” He walked the
several miles in the dark to the pastor’s home and got
him out of his warm bed and explained the situation. Without
a moment’s hesitation, the pastor pulled on his trousers,
got in his car, and towed the broken down vehicle to the owner’s
home. The three men were astounded and could not stop spreading
the word. His name was unimportant. All they knew is that
he was “a holy man”and deserved to be honored.
THE POOR HELPING THE POOR
Maria is an elderly widow. In all her lifetime she couldn’t
make a place for God in her heart. One day while working in
her kitchen garden, she became very tired and asked her daughter
to bring her a cup of cold water. Her daughter refused and
spoke rudely to her. In the evening, tired and broken, Maria
came to Galina, one of our Samaritans, and began to weep.
She lamented that her pension was very small and the utilities
very expensive. She wondered where she was going to get the
next meal.
The Samaritan, a widow herself and short of food and money,
went home and gathered together some macaroni, cereal and
tea and gave it to her. Maria left with the food without even
saying thank-you. An hour later, Maria returned to Galina,
her eyes red from weeping, and said her own daughter wouldn’t
even give her a cup of cold water, but she (Galina, the Good
Samaritan) had given her last meal. Only then did she realize
how generous and loving God is. She thanked Galina and Samaritan
Ministries in Ukraine for their good deeds and kindness. Slowly,
she is beginning to make room for Jesus in her heart.
WON WITHOUT A WORD
A few months ago Anton accepted Christ. Recently he told how
that came about. “It all started,” he said, “when
a mission team came from America. One of the team members
was Dieter, a welder and machinist from Milwaukee. I worked
hand in hand with him welding iron benches for a sports field.
At the time, I didn’t know much about Jesus. Dieter
didn’t speak a single word to me about Jesus, but his
attitude and love and care spoke volumes to me, much more
than words. That was the turning point in my beginning adventure
with Jesus Christ.”
SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER AND BETTER
He was the third highest-ranking officer in the Communist
Party in the Zhitomir region. When he had an affair, he tried
to get rid of his wife. At first he tried to poison her. When
that failed, he tried to have her committed to a mental institution.
When that also failed, he divorced her and married the other
woman.
Fifteen years later, his first wife, still bitter from the
experience, made her way to our dental clinic in Vigoda to
have her teeth fixed. But God had something else in mind,
something much bigger and better. Providentially, he led her
to Louise, one of our Samaritan workers on a two-week mission
tour to Ukraine. Louise quickly discerned the woman’s
bitterness and heaviness of heart and led her to freedom in
Christ. The woman forgave her husband and invited Jesus into
her heart. She was truly free and her face showed it. The
next day she came with a beautiful embroidered tablecloth
and presented it to Louise in gratitude for her new–found
freedom. She had been up all night putting the cross-stitches
together.
A PERFECT PAIR OF SHOES
In a village there lives a Christian brother. Once he had
a wife and nine children. Now he is old and is all alone.
One of our Samaritans had mercy on him and invited him home
for dinner. He was elated, but complained that he had no decent
shoes. They were torn and his feet were always wet and cold.
Our Samaritan worker had him try on a pair of shoes she had,
but they didn’t fit. A few days later, a container of
clothing came from America and in it were many pairs of shoes
to chose from. He found a pair that fit him perfectly. The
man was so happy he couldn’t thank our team enough.
“Now I know God loves me,” he said. “I look
at Him with different eyes.”
A CONTAINER OF LOVE
Two little children in Tschernjachov were picked up by the
authorities and dropped off at the local hospital due to parental
neglect and abuse. They were at risk. The hospital called
Tatiana, a Samaritan, for help. Tatiana said, “I visited
the children. They were dressed in rags, barefoot in the middle
of winter and covered with scabs. It was horrible. The hospital
washed them, dressed their wounds and gave them medicine.
But that’s where it ended. It had no clothes, no food,
no bedding or no toys to give the children. From a huge container
of love -- food and clothing – sent by our American
friends, we were able to help these neglected children.”
OUR DAILY BREAD
In Neudorf some Christian “brothers” set up a
bakery. They distribute bread to neighboring villages. A loaf
of bread costs about 30 cents in Ukraine, but some people
can’t afford it. This in what was once “the breadbasket
of Europe.” So one of our Samaritan women buys bread
and then either gives the bread to those who are unable to
pay for it or sells it to them at a reduced price. “Now
none in our village goes without bread,” she says. “When
I give it to them, we pray together, and thank God for our
daily bread.”
THE CHRISTIAN MEDICINE MAN
Paul is 51 years old and works part-time at the Grace Baptist
Church in Korosten. His wife is a nurse. They live in the
little village of Kupche, seven km from Korosten. They are
poor. Dirt poor. But they are rich in love. When their five-year
old son suffered an accidental death, life turned into a living
hell for them. They were at wit’s end. Then someone
told them about Jesus. They confessed their faith in Him and
now they are Samaritans.
Paul and Maria, his wife, care about others, especially those
who can’t help themselves. On one occasion an old man,
nearly blind, went to the village doctor for help. But he
was turned away because he didn’t have any money. At
that point, Paul sprang into action. He decided to cure the
old man’s blindness with herbs. Day after day, he rode
his bicycle to the man’s home and applied “herb”
bandages to his eyes. Then he took the old bandages home and
washed them for use the next day. In time the man’s
eyesight returned. What the doctor refused to do, this “Christian
medicine man” gladly did!
TWO ANSWERS WITH ONE PRAYER
For months Alex, our field director, had been wondering how
to use some heavy-duty equipment that had been donated to
our mission. Then one evening when Alex was on his way to
a meeting, he got a flat tire. Unfortunately he was not able
to unscrew one of the lug bolts. He was in despair, fearing
he would be late for the meeting. He prayed for help. Suddenly
a man appeared out of nowhere and when he saw the problem,
returned to his nearby home and brought the proper wrench
to unscrew the lug bolt. In appreciation, Alex said to the
man, “That was a very Samaritan thing to do.”
As it turned out the man was a Christian businessman, a welding
engineer, who makes iron security bars for doors and windows.
When Alex learned this, he told him about our desire to establish
a similar business. The man not only offered to help set up
the business, train several workers, but said he would share
some of his customers. “Sometimes I have too many orders,”
he said, “and I can give you some.” As Alex went
on his way rejoicing, he pondered the mystery of having received
two answers with one prayer.
THE BEST THING
One evening our Samaritans in Zhitomir sponsored a banquet
at a local restaurant. It was primarily for new Christians
and unbelievers. During the course of the evening, a new believer,
Shasa the shoemaker, was asked publicly in response to having
won a prize, “What is the best thing that has ever happened
to you?” Without hesitation, in front of a roomful of
unbelievers, he unashamedly said, “When I accepted Jesus
as my Savior.”
Shasa is a baby Christian, only six months old, yet he is
already leading a Bible study with his boss and buddies, a
number of whom are drug addicts and alcoholics. Sasha is also
apprenticing several street children in the shoe repair business.
His faith is real and vital, a testimony to the saving power
of Jesus Christ.
SAVED BY A FENCE
On the outskirts of Pulin, there lives a house full of women.
No man. Most of the men in the village are alcoholics, about
80% of them. This house was no exception. Since there was
no man in the house, there was no one to build a much-needed
fence to keep the neighbor’s cows out of their kitchen
garden. When our Samaritan team saw their plight, they bought
the necessary building materials and in single day built a
wooden fence to keep the cows out. Now there is food to eat
in the winter. It has been a lifesaver. A year later, I was
preaching in a church when after the service, a woman identified
herself to me. She said, “Do you remember me?’
I didn’t. Then, she said, “I’m the woman
who didn’t have a fence around our kitchen garden and
your team came and built us a fence for us. At the time, I
was not a believer. But that single act of kindness turned
my heart to God and now I am going to be baptized and join
the church.”
HOME FROM PRISON
Our team was ministering in a little out of the way church.
At the conclusion of the service, a number of people, young
and old, lined up for prayer. Among them were a husband and
wife. The wife was crying. She said that her husband, just
home from prison, wanted to accept Jesus and be delivered
from alcohol. They laid hands on him for deliverance and led
him in a prayer of repentance. Soon the whole congregation
was in tears.
HELP, LORD!
It brought tears to my eyes. I'm 70 years old. I've seen a
lot of ministry over the years. But I'm always amazed at how
wonderfully God works when we cry "Help, Lord!"
I was in the village of Vigoda. Across the street is an abandoned
Club House, left over from the Communist era. We were hoping
to buy the building as a community center. We had already
put in a soccer field and we were now getting ready to pour
the concrete slab for the basketball court. Alex, our field
director and I were inside the building talking with the village
administrator and his wife. Outside two of our “white-haired”
mission tour members were busy making final preparations for
the cement truck, which was expected to arrive at any moment.
The village administrator was as hard as nails. He saw us
Americas as a “golden goose,” an opportunity to
make a lot of money. We were getting nowhere in our discussion.
Suddenly my heart groaned with these two simple words, "Help,
Lord!" I didn't even speak the words. Moments later I
saw the administrator's wife looking out the window at our
two senior citizens hard at work. No more than a few seconds
after that, she burst into tears and spoke something in Russian.
I was taken back and asked Alex the reason for her sudden
emotional outburst. He said she was so touched that "these
two old men would come all the way from America to help the
Ukrainian people" that she couldn't help crying. At that
moment, tears well up in the eyes of the hardened village
administrator, as well. Then, mine.
THE BICYCLE MAN
I could hardly wait to see the Good Samaritan Business Center
in Pulin, a town of about 5,000. This is a recently renovated
two-story building comprised of 20 rooms. It houses a candy
shop, a barber shop, a shoe repair shop, a flower shop, a
clothing repair shop, a Christian reading room, a counseling
room, a dental office and a Christian café.
The first man I saw as I entered the building was "the
bicycle man" cutting the hair of a steady stream of customers.
The bicycle man is really a barber. I call him the bicycle
man because two years earlier I stood in the living room of
his threadbare home and listened to his story. He was sick,
broke, unemployed and in debt up to his ears. All he had to
his name was a bicycle. His debt was only $200., but to him
it seemed like a million. I recall he leaned against the wall
of his home and quietly wept. He had nowhere to turn for help.
But Good Samaritan Ministries had compassion on him and came
to his rescue. We prayed with them, then paid off the man's
debt and called his wife to become the director of the GSM
center in Pulin. Today the bicycle man is happily employed
at the business center and is himself a Good Samaritan. His
entire life has changed.
HAPPINESS IN JESUS
The Christian café at the business center in Pulin
provides a free meal twice a week for the poor and needy,
approximately 30 people at each sitting. The day I was there,
I watched them, as they slowly filed in - old, ragged, tired
and hungry. Some had no teeth and wore no socks. They gobbled
their food down in silence. At the conclusion of the meal,
the pastor, Waldemar, sat down and talked with each one individually.
Then he read a few verses of Scripture for them and prayed
with them. The men were given bags of fruit and vegetables
to hold them over until the next meal. I was struck by the
writing at the front of the café, which reads "Happiness
in Jesus."
DOBRYI! DOBRYI!
Who would ever have thought that a 15-minute massage by our
American chiropractor would feel so good? When Dr. Herb from
Indiana suggested that he might be of some use on one of our
mission teams, I was reluctantly optimistic. I knew the Ukrainians
had a lot of aches and pains, but it never occurred to me
how much they could be helped in just a few minutes of gentle
massaging of their muscles.
Herb ministered to 299 patients during the two-week period
he was there. But one patient alone, an old babushka, was
enough to convince me of the need to take a chiropractor with
us every time we go to Ukraine. I remember her very distinctly.
She was short and sort of roly-poly. But what really struck
me about her is that when she came out of Herb’s makeshift
massage room, her face was lit up like a Christmas tree. I
watched her as she enthusiastically told her waiting friends
how good it felt. When I asked, "Dobryi?" meaning
good, one of the few Russian words I know, she beamed "Dobryi!
Dobryi!"
THE BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT
On Sunday morning, July 21, 2002, my 70th birthday, I preached
at the Grace Baptist Church in Korosten. There were approximately
300-400 people present in their beautiful sanctuary. At the
conclusion of the service, I gave an altar call for salvation.
One man, about 50 years of age, responded with tears in his
eyes. The pastor met him at the altar, knelt down and prayed
with him. As he got up to return to the platform, suddenly
a woman came for salvation. Again the pastor prayed with her
as she repented of her sins. Then there were two. We all rejoiced.
The pastor was about to return to the platform, when he turned
and suddenly there was another person at the altar seeking
salvation. Then another and another and another, until there
were eight people who found the Lord that morning. It was
very moving. Later, a small group of people had a little birthday
party for me upstairs. I received a number of cards and gifts.
I treasured every one of them, but the best birthday present
I received that day was what happened at the altar downstairs.
It was as if God said, "O, I've got something for you,
too." It was the memory of those eight people kneeling
at the altar. I will never forget it. It was the best birthday
present of all.
A SMALL MIRACLE
One evening after supper, our center in Vigoda came alive
with excitement. A motorcycle pulled up with a teenager girl
on the back, screaming in pain. She had just dislocated her
knee. Gery, an American doctor from Milwaukee, Wisconsin happened
to be working in our First Aid clinic. Gery had never dealt
with anything quite like that before and never under such
adverse conditions. He prayed. Then did the best he could.
He stretched and pulled on the knee. The girl continued to
scream. Suddenly the knee popped in and two days the girl
was back on her feet again. It was a small miracle.
RELIEF AFTER 20 YEARS
My mother was born in the little village of Alexufka. One
day some of our Samaritans were asked to visit in the home
of a 24-year old Maxim. Maxim has been bedridden for 20 years.
When he was a young toddler, he was taken to the doctor for
some corrective surgery. A nerve was accidentally cut and
he was left paralyzed for life. Maxim has a big gash behind
his ear, a large hole in his stomach and his arms and feet
were twisted. He is unable to walk or talk. He continually
thrashes about, chews his fingernails and has epileptic fits,
usually two a day. When Maxim's parents learned what happened
to him, they decided to give him up, but the grandmother thought
differently. They decided to take him into their home and
care for him. They have been doing this now for some 20 years.
When our team entered the room, they found Maxim in rags on
a cot. A foul smell hung in the air. It seemed so hopeless!
The Samaritan team prayed for him. Later our chiropractor,
Dr. Herb, gave him a cranial massage, while our team prayed
and sang,"Jesus loves me." As all of this was happening,
you could see the young man's muscles relax. He began to smile,
and then make funny noises. Gratitude filled the grandmother's
eyes. Having learned to recognize the sound, she said, "Oh,
he's laughing."
The next morning, the grand mother came over to the little
medical clinic where we were ministering. She was ecstatic.
With tears in her eyes, she said, "This is the first
time in 20 years he slept through the whole night." The
following day, she came with the same encouraging message.
Later Maxim's parents came to see their son. They, too, were
elated. Our team returned to the home a third time and left
some money for diapers, food, clothing and medicine. They
also left with the wonderful feeling that they had touched
a human life with the love of Jesus.
THE NIGHT THE HEAVENS OPENED
One evening at one of our centers an alcoholic man threatened
the children playing basketball. When Nancy, my wife, stepped
in between him and the children, the man directed his anger
at her. He let go with a long string of expletives. He was
obviously very angry. Nancy stood her ground. She firmly looked
him in the eye and prayed silently. After a moment, the man
lowered his gaze and slunk away into the darkness.
Nancy asked Yarik, one of our interpreters, what the man had
said. He answered, "He said you have no business being
here, then cursed you and threatened to burn the center down."
The man was serious. He was ready to go into action. Moments
later, lightning flashed, thunder roared and the heavens opened.
Suddenly we had the biggest downpour you can imagine. The
crowd dispersed and the man was gone. It seemed that in a
moment God had taken care of the situation.
HOPING TO BE ADOPTED
Our team spent the last couple of days in an orphanage outside
of Zhitomir. There are 300 children there. It was a real heart
breaker. The children were so lonely and needy. They hung
on us like monkeys from a tree -- longing to be touched, crying
to be loved and hoping to be adopted. They would not let us
go. Even when we left at the end of the day, they ran along
side of the bus, shouting and waving their hands.
Most of the children in the orphanage are not "real"
orphans. They are there because of parental neglect, physical
abuse and social abandonment. Hopelessness abounds in Ukraine.
The administrator cited one little girl who was brought there
because her father stabbed her mother to death and then hung
her brother. In another instance, a little boy was there because
his father was an alcoholic and his mother had died. The boy
was found wandering on the street with nothing to eat or wear.
Others are there because Ukraine has a policy of "total
literacy," which means that if a child fails two years
in a row, they are placed in an orphanage where it is presumed
they will be properly educated. The children were very open
to prayer and frequently requested prayer for their brothers
and sisters who were left behind.
The orphanage is woefully over crowded, under staffed and
under funded. It's pathetic. Hopefully some day we will be
able to alleviate the situation just a tiny bit by having
a Christian home of our own in Vigoda.
FOUR FRONT TEETH PULLED
Most people in the villages where we work receive limited
dental care. They are often in pain for months. One lady came
to us thinking that perhaps she needed a filling or two. Instead
her four front teeth were so infected that they needed to
be pulled. When she was informed, she wept. She was only in
her 30s. But there was no choice.
After her teeth were pulled, she kept her hands over her mouth
when she talked. She was so ashamed of the way she looked.
Our Samaritan team surrounded her with prayer and together
collected $130. for her to get a partial plate. During the
four weeks our dentists from America were there, they saw
over 200 patients, approximately 60% were children, who had
never been to a dentist in their lives. Often the work went
on in a small, over-crowed room with the aid of a flashlight.
One patient was so impressed with the gentle dental care he
received, he kept saying, "He has golden hands. He has
golden hands."
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Go to our Website: gsmukraine.com or contact us at (503) 647-5858.
Our address is Don and Nancy Miller, 12814 NW Bishop Rd.,
Hillsboro, OR 97124.
|