We have been wanting to update everyone about all the exciting things happening here in Ukraine, but we've been so busy that we haven't had time to write about anything in the past 6 weeks! Although we've been MIA from the blog-o-sphere for a month-and-a-half, in the coming weeks, we're hoping to be more present to share some more about what has been going on in our lives and ministry. We wanted to dedicate this first post-hiatus blog post to an incredibly exciting event that took place in L'viv last weekend after nearly a year of planning - the Festival of Hope!
Planning for a Successful Event
Last weekend, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and local Protestant churches of Western Ukraine put on the Festival of Hope in Arena L'viv, a 35,000-person soccer stadium built for the Euro 2012 championships. Festival staff and hundreds of volunteers have been coordinating and planning the event for the past 8-10 months - nearly the whole time we've been in Ukraine. In addition to church members inviting their friends and family, the organization put on a mass advertising campaign (billboards, posters, ads, etc.) to tell people about the free festival as well.
The week before the festival, a British team came to help hand out flyers and do street evangelism in L'viv's historic city center. Along with a team from the U.S. and volunteers from our church and another church, we helped this team spread the word about the festival. We handed out thousands of flyers to passersby, and our team had many conversations with people about the Lord and about the festival. The British team performed songs, shared testimonies, and shared the Gospel on the street. It was wonderful to see God open people's hearts; several people trusted Christ through this ministry on the streets.
The week before the festival, a British team came to help hand out flyers and do street evangelism in L'viv's historic city center. Along with a team from the U.S. and volunteers from our church and another church, we helped this team spread the word about the festival. We handed out thousands of flyers to passersby, and our team had many conversations with people about the Lord and about the festival. The British team performed songs, shared testimonies, and shared the Gospel on the street. It was wonderful to see God open people's hearts; several people trusted Christ through this ministry on the streets.
The Program
After months of planning and weeks of advertising the festival, June 20th finally came! Weather was gorgeous during the week leading up to the festival, but the night before and the day of the festival were very dreary and chilly. We prayed for the weather to improve and especially that it wouldn't rain, since Arena L'viv is an open-air stadium. During the first part of the festival, we felt a few sprinkles, but after that, it never rained, and halfway through the event, the sun was shining, accompanied by a blue sky with non-threatening clouds. Praise God! And actually, it was probably better for the crowds to be a little chilly than to be sweating the whole time!
The program included performances from several American musicians (including Michael W. Smith), performances from several Ukrainian musicians/musical groups, and a gospel presentation and invitation by Franklin Graham. Maggie's cousin Bria performed a song entitled "Надія" ("Hope") that she wrote for the festival as well. One incredible aspect of the festival was the choir, which was made up of over 2,800 people from all over Western Ukraine! This choir performed several songs - some with the featured musicians and some with the full symphony orchestra on stage. Everything about the event was done with excellence and professionalism. Participating in the festival was a great experience!
Combining Cultures: Avoiding an "American" Event
One of the challenges undoubtedly faced in planning this event was the cultural and language difference of the locals versus the American festival staff. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has put on other festivals like this one elsewhere in Europe, but Ukraine has a much smaller English-speaking population than most Western and Central European countries. With so many performances and the main message given by Americans, we felt that there was a lot of potential for the evening to feel like an American event simply translated for Ukrainians. But we were very impressed with the balance struck between the two cultures. All speaking, aside from Franklin Graham (e.g., introductions and transitions), was done in Ukrainian, some Ukrainian musicians performed traditional Ukrainian Christian songs, and the choir sang hymns in Ukrainian. In fact, in his first song, Michael W. Smith didn't even sing; he simply played piano to accompany the choir, which sang in Ukrainian. One of the highlights of the evening occurred during the performance of an American couple who sang a few duets in English. Halfway through their last song, to everyone's surprise, they broke out into Ukrainian (with very good pronunciation, I might add)! The stadium erupted in cheers and applause, because it meant a lot to everyone that an American couple would take the time to learn and perform a song in their language. Overall, while still including some American influences, the event was culturally sensitive, rather than being overly American for the Ukrainian audience.
god's Work and the Path Forward
All the planning and advertising paid off; the stadium was packed out over capacity with over 39,000 people in attendance! Nearly every seat was taken, people were standing behind each seating section, and event staff even opened up the field for people without seats to sit and listen. At Franklin Graham's altar call, about 2,000 people came to the front of the stadium! It was an incredible and moving sight to see so many people indicating a desire to start a new life through a personal relationship with God through Christ. Hundreds of people from various local churches who had been trained in counseling prior to the festival also came to the field to speak with these people, answering any questions they might have, talking to them about placing their faith in Jesus Christ, and pointing them toward local churches for the new believers to get plugged into. In all, over 1,500 people placed their faith in Jesus at the festival! Praise God!
Many people in western Ukraine come from either an Eastern Orthodox or Greek Catholic (sort of a mix between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox) background. Although incredibly devout, many of those who come from a more traditional faith background have never read the Bible, trusting their priests to read and teach it to them, because they view it as sacred and not able to be understood by common man. These traditional faiths are highly suspicious of protestant churches, and typically view them as a "sect" (more or less a cult). Several of our friends who have become believers in Jesus have faced intense reactions from family members, ranging from severe anger to the silent treatment to threats of committing suicide on account of the disappointment they have caused by going against their parents' beliefs. Undoubtedly, many of the people who began a personal relationship with God through placing their faith in Jesus at the festival will encounter similar reactions from family members and friends. Please pray for them: that the Lord would give them strength to bear up under the challenges and struggles they will face and that He would connect them with strong, Bible-teaching local fellowships so that they can begin to grow in their faith and knowledge of God. The wonderful thing is that even though the Festival of Hope has come to an end, it is only a piece of God's great work in Ukraine, so it's just the beginning! We hope and pray that God will use these new believers to reach their friends and families (even those who are initially resistant) with the Good News of the Gospel - that our sins can be forgiven and we can have relationship with the One True God!
Below are more photos from the event! If you are viewing this in an email, click here to view the blog entry, with the slideshow in your browser.