Living in Ukraine

I spent the first week of the month of July in Ukraine. This is was a normal 4ish day trip where we left on a Tuesday morning, drove to a city in Ukraine, stayed the night, & then drove to another city to drop off food the next day. We dropped off our van loads, brought bags of food to a distribution center where they shared the gospel, and handed out the food to those in need of it. 

The next week they asked if we would be willing to move/stay in Ukraine. Rather than 3 days of driving to drop off 3-5 van loads of food and returning to Romania to do it again, we would be staying in country, unloading 10-20 ton box trucks & then making & delivering bags in the other time. We moved the second week of the July. It was a couple days of driving, but we ended at a house towards the border of Moldova. The church we partner with is located in the South East of Ukraine. It has been one of the most hit places since the war began. Since February, they have had very very few quiet nights without shelling.

While in Ukraine, my team and I spent most of our time making bags of food. These bags had oil, sugar, flour, rice, canned meat, grains, beans, and a few other various items. The food was either given to us by Samaritans Purse, or bought by people who donated to A Jesus Mission. After we would make the bags, we would either bring them to a distribution center in the city, or drive it into villages in need. These were extremely humbling times. They left me filled with gratitude in realizing that I truly am in need of nothing. The Lord has spared me from ever needing to worry about if Im going to be able to eat or if my family or friends will be alive next week, even if I’m safe in my own home. 

The Church is activating in a way I haven’t really seen before. It’s beautiful. They stay together in their office, working together to get things done. They are using their space to house us, store food, and still have church. They never fail to have nightly worship together. Wether it’s 3 of them on a Tuesday night or 35 people on a Saturday morning, they never fail to have worship on the tip of their tongues. “????? ????” (slava Bogu). It means “Glory to God” You could maybe spend 2 minutes maximum in the Church without hearing this phrase. Everything they do is for the Glory of God & everything they have is because of the Glory of God. A group of people full of gratitude and peace from the Lord. They have the kindest hearts that so clearly reflect in their kind eyes. You won’t go anytime without hearing them praise the Lord through words, as well as, through actions. The church and AJM are going to continue to do runs into villages for the foreseeable future. Pray and consider donating to AJM as well as volunteering. The icon directly below this paragraph will have a link to donate to aid relief. 

I leave for CGA in just under a week. I have to meet a goal of $2000 by the 12th of August. I have raised $1,225 so far, leaving me $775 away from meeting my first deadline. Thank you to those of you who have been praying/donating/sharing. I still have to raise $4,625 to meet my total goal of $5,950. This is the cost of housing as well as schooling. I would love for you to pray about becoming a monthly donor, or even a one time donor. I’m asking you to pray about investing in me and what the Lord is doing in and through me. If you donate to my online site (kaylinstanley.theworldrace.org) it is a tax deductible donation. you can also paypal or venmo me @kaylinstanleyy 

I am doing CGA because I believe the Lord has so much He wants to teach me. To learn to lead myself, to lead others, to be better equipped to missions long term. I believe this season will be one of rest, revival of the fire I have for the Lord, and deep community. After moving every 1-3 months for the past 2 years, I am more than excited to be stateside, attend English speaking church, get a job, rest, and grow in my dependency on the Lord. I want to learn to live missionally regardless of if I am on a trip or in my home town.