God changing hearts (Part 1)

07 May 2007


Anyone who has ever been involved in Christian rehabilitation centers and ministry, knows the reality of the awesome work of God in changing lives of people bound by addiction. I first saw the work of God in the rehabilitation of broken lives during our work with Good Samaritan Ministries of Zhitomir in one of their centers last year. For our most recent outreach we were partnered with "Life" Center, a Christian rehabilitation center for men on the outskirts of Kyiv.

During their time in rehabilitation the men of the center reside in a beautiful, brand new building. Though many of the rooms are not completed, and there is still much work to be done, it's a beautiful facility. Some of the funding for the center is generated by an onsite CTO (auto service center). The service center has two complete bays, one with a hydraulic lift, and another with a modern bay reminiscent of my Jiffy Lube back home. Their location on a major Kyiv highway insures a constant stream of clients, not to mention word of mouth. Work at the service center is part of the rehabilitation process and teaches the program participants a trade. While on location at the center we were treated to wonderful meals and fellowship with the men in residence. They gave us the one gift they could for our time caring for their dental needs?they serviced the engine and performed maintenance on the Mercy Truck. They blessed us immensely and refused to accept a single Kopec (cent) for parts or for their hours of work.


The men themselves were a blessing to us, and told us the most amazing stories of God's healing them of drug and alcohol abuse and disease, restoring their broken families and turning them from lives of crime. Combined with the realities of their difficult lives were the added pressures of living in a post Soviet country with a depressed economy, corrupt government and no social services or help for chemically dependent men and women. These men who were saved and healed by the work of God, exhibit a light that shines through their scared faces and bodies. A light that shines through eyes that have seen too much of the darker side of life and have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. What a blessing to be able to see the life changing power of God.

God changing hearts (Part 2)


But as titled, this blog is more about God changing hearts. Not only the hearts of those we serve, but also the hearts of the servants. One of the things I have come to appreciate most about ministry work over the past two years in Ukraine is seeing God work in those who serve. I was blessed once again to see his hand at work in one of our own. Though our main focus of Mercy Trucks Ukraine is to serve the most needy children, God has presented us with unique opportunities to stretch beyond that focused calling into other parts of society here. Such was the case when we were approached by the ministry of "Life" Center. As we met to discuss and prepare for the outreach it became obvious that Dr. Ina was less than excited about the upcoming trip. Who could blame her? This is not our regular type of outreach. It comes with some unique and very difficult dental needs and dangerous risks to the team's health.

Unfortunately drug abuse takes its toll directly on bones and teeth causing the dental situation to deteriorate significantly. Extractions become time consuming and difficult searches for tooth shards as the teeth seemingly just crumble during extraction. In addition, some of these men have contracted some of the scariest contagious diseases known. Herpes, hepatitis, TB and HIV are potential risks for us all. As a team we take extra precautions to protect ourselves, including double gloving, double masking and added wet and dry suction. Above all we operate with the protection of the Lord over our work and us.

However, Dr. Ina made it clear that she would prefer to leave this outreach to Dr. Richard and me and she would be happy when we returned to the orphanages. But despite her fears, Dr. Ina was there the first morning ready to begin. As our work progressed, I noticed her conversations with the patients getting lengthier and more emotional. Then after a short period I could hear the obvious Russian words for "God" and "Jesus." Soon Dr. Ina was handing out Russian copies from our book cabinet of Loren Cunningham?s Is That Really You God?. Between the patients Dr. Ina would share with Dr. Richard and me bits and pieces of her conversations with these former addicts and her amazement at their openness of their love of the Lord. After all, these men have been saved from almost certain death and are very obviously new creations. Hearing them speak of the Lord is such an open and convicted manner had a huge impact on Dr Ina. She went through a heart changing time during outreach. She was instrumental in pushing for getting the guys into the Opperation Blessing CBN Clinic for additional and ongoing work. This is huge, because like Mercy Trucks Ukraine, the CBN Clinics focus is children. They had made an exception in their policy to accept these men. Dr. Ina now has a heart for these men and seeing that their dental needs continue to be met between Mercy Truck visits. Indeed, God has once again changed a heart.