More Ukraine

Our trip has a very distinct dividing line - Before Sunday afternoon, and After Sunday Afternoon. We had such a good Sunday morning - sharing in the morning service at the Baptist Church in Yalta; singing "How Great Thou Art" for them with everyone joining in the chorus; taking communion with the rest of the congregation; and being greeted very warmly.

The rest of Sunday is a bit of a blur...or perhaps just something I don't even want to think about. Harry's death, and the subsequent shock and blur of details that needed looking after... times of prayer, crying, and sharing... Not knowing what to think or do... And eventually realizing we had to go on; we had to finish, despite the huge hole in our team.

I can't say that things ever went back to 'normal' but we did attempt to finish our trip following the schedule set out for us. There continued to be moments of tears, shock, sharing, and a lot of praying together - right to the end. But we found reasons for fun and laughter in the midst of it all.


The church in Yalta and the bishop Benjamin were an incredible source of strength for us at this time.