Volunteers and tillers help spread the Gospel in Ukraine
Susanna takes control of the tiller and shows her team how it's done
It appeared to be a polite gesture as Susanna Mizell, the only girl on the team of five, was asked to be the first to use the tiller. She grabbed the handles and went to work. “The guys decided I should give the inaugural push with the tiller, trying to convince me it was because they wanted me to have the experience before they got caught up in being ‘men playing with power tools,’” she said. “Really I think they wanted me to show them how it was done–which I did.”
Susanna is part of the Life Quest team led by Darrel Hathcock in Kiev, Ukraine, who purchased the tiller for ministry use, at the prodding of the Holy Spirit.
“This was an act of obedience, and continues to be one of faith,” Darrel said. “I think it is a practical ministry tool that can be used to break down barriers, and show others that believers care.”
On this day, the team traveled to the small town of Volodarka to assist Ukrainian church-planter Andre Markov who had been given a portion of land by a local church to use for his church’s benefit. The Life Quest team tilled this land in a fraction of the time it would have taken Andre.
Susanna and another team member, Andy Still, cleared some of the large roots out of the soil and helped get some of the seed potatoes in the ground. It was Andy’s first time to operate a tiller, but he had great perspective.
“I think that tilling is a great ministry opportunity because it not only allows us to meet a physical need, but the church can use it to open doors in their community,” he said.
Assisting in this way is more than one-dimensional. It helps supplement the income of a church planter and another church, it frees time for Andre and his friend Sasha to spend more time planting churches in that area and it opens up communication and relationships with neighbors.
Another pastor in Kiev, Ali, just purchased a dacha (farm home) in the small town of Milki. Darrel took a team of five adults and five children to clear dead bushes, remove weeds, till the soil, chop wood, plant potatoes, and a dozen other odd jobs to get the dacha up and running.
In this small village of elderly people, community witness is vital. There is no church yet, but Ali and his wife are building relationships. The work of Darrel and his team has resulted in curious neighbors walking by and looking in, a few stopping to talk for a while. One of these had been praying for someone to move there. Ali shared the Gospel with her and she became a believer that day.
Obedience and an investment of $700 is helping to plant both physical seeds and preparing the hearts of onlookers. The pastors in Ukraine are praying for an abundant yield on their gardens and in the hearts of those around them. For more information on Darrell’s ministry and ways you can be a part of it, contact him at darrell@pobox.com.
Posted by Michael Clifton on May 11, 2009
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