ONE BREAD

Recently we just returned from Romania and Ukraine. What a wonderful trip to minister in many Churches, a Bible School, and to feed three war-torn hopeless, starving villages in Ukraine. Now feeding the villages was not on our radar when we started out for Romania and Ukraine, but as the old Jewish saying goes, “man makes plans and God smiles.” Our plans were to yes, minister in churches along the way and at the Bible School in Agigea, Romania, and travel a very long way to Cherkasy, Ukraine to visit stage one of “New Life” a prosthetic lab and rehabilitation center for land mine victims, and visit Dr. Joe warehouses. Last year we traveled over 2,600 miles visiting six cities in seven days while holding high level meetings with Ukrainian Generals, Mayors and State leaders, and senior medical people from the civilian community. Out from these meetings we put together lists that Dr. Joe gave his friends who bought and collected the items on the list, containerized, and shipped to Gdansk, Poland. But, due to the change in the footprint to the battlefield in Ukraine Dr. Joe felt it would be best to hold the 15 containers on station in Gdansk till things calm down in Ukraine then he can push them forward, do the country clearance with his guys, and deliver the containers safe and sound to his warehouses near the cities where we had the meetings. A great plan that did not happen, so the containers are now sitting in Gdansk. Sounds like we will have to make another trip to Ukraine sooner than later. No problem. One thing I keep learning is the words from my Teacher Charles Haun the last time we talked on earth, “just go along for the ride.” And I find when I do just that, “go along for the ride” God can open up to me some of the most amazing experiences in my life. So, Karen and I traveled to Romania and for four days Pastor Luke Rotaru and his wife Elizabeth took great care of us ministering in a few churches and visiting old friends. Then Monday Pastor Florin Strugariu picked us up at the Bible School in Agigea at O dark 30 and we headed for Ukraine. First stop was Izmayil. The plan was this: Izmayil, Kherson Nikolaev, then lastly 693 miles from Izmayil the City of Cherkasy where “New Life” is. Well, by then the word came from Dr. Joe that he would hold things on station in Gdansk so I told Pastor Florin we may not be going to Cherkasy. I think he was relieved. Pastor Florin is a great man of God. Not because he has a wonderful church in Cernavoda, Romania or because he has been to Ukraine 24 times maybe more, oh no, Pastor Florin is a great man of God because he loves God deeply and he loves God’s children. There are very few people alive, that I have met, that has a greater love for evangelism, especially in the villages, than Pastor Florin. He was our driver also last year and greatly impressed us then and on this trip. But before we left Romania (here is where the title comes alive) Pastor Luke’s wife Elizabeth gave Karen and I some Cozonac, a very tasty Romanian sweet bread (with other very tasty things) to take on the trip to Ukraine. Well, I put the Cozonac in my backpack and forgot about it. So, we arrived to Izmayil and met Pastor Costica Voinov our new straw boss. Pastor Luke was our straw boss in Romania and worked us like a rented mule. After meeting Pastor Costica he said to us, we look tired take a two hour nap and we will come for you. So, we did what we were told to do, being obedient was the least we could do. After two hours Pastor Florin came to our room (we stayed at the church: Skinia the Meeting Tent or Tabernacle) and off we went to the local supermarket to pay for the $1,500 of food Pastor Costica and his Youth Department picked from the shelves. It was all hands on deck as we loaded 14 baskets of food and fixings into a very large van, then back to the church compound for the unloading, sorting and assembling off wooden pallets. The calvary arrived, the ladies from the Youth Department. It was plain to see that this was not their first rodeo. They (the teenagers) knew their parts well and worked as one team with a smile on their face. Pallet to pallet they laid everything out and then the seeming endless walking around the pallets until we put together 170 parcels (of 8 items per bundle) to be loaded into an even bigger van for a 3:45 am departure, seven hour ride, to Nikolaev and three villages. Pastor Costica feeds 14 villages every two weeks. WOW, every two weeks they do this. Every two weeks they bring food and the word of God with hope and love to 14 villages. No one makes them they just do it out of their love for God and their desire to see men, women, and children come to Christ. So, the team was Pastor Costica, Pastor Florin, Alexander (the driver who Pastor Florin says is a better driver than he), Youri, John, Anatolii (all three musicians), and Karen and I. Now here is where I am a bit puzzled. Someone made a switch in towns. The plan was Kherson then Nikolaev, but someone, not really sure who, made a change to our plans. In retrospect I know now who made the change in plans. So 3:45 am sharp we left for Nikolaev. Pastor Florin was right Alexander was a great driver, but I think Pastor Florin has him beat, but I am biased. We arrived too our first village outside of Nikolaev, Partizanskhe. There we met Mayor Eva, Karen and her really hit it off, toured what was left of the destroyed village, off loaded 60 parcels of food, the singers sang, Pastor Costica preached, and I prayed over the village. What really caught my attention was the feeling of despair and hopelessness. Mayor Eva had a list and if your name did not appear on her list you did not eat (or had to get food elsewhere) for two weeks. It was humbling to watch grown men and women reach out and take the parcel of food donated by the wonderful folks who supported this trip. Next, we were off to the village of Hardat, but before we got there we stopped by a bridge and saw the memorial to 28 Ukrainian, soldiers, defending the village, who were executed by the Russians. Everywhere we looked were red signs with a white skull and cross bones signifying a live land mine, live ordinances (MLRS Missiles, 3.4 mm Tow Rockets, even live small arms ammunition) were buried in the ground some were just laying on top of the ground. They were everywhere. We were told stay on the road and you will live get off into the grass and you will die. Well, they did not have to tell us twice. We left and entered Hardat and repeated the same routine, but in this village, which was much smaller, had aid workers from England. Mayor Eva was also the Mayor of Hardat, but I am not sure if this was a good thing, because the aid workers hated God and the Mayor. There was a church there, but it was a Mennonite Church that the English aid workers called a commune and a cult, and said was a bigger enemy than the Russians. There was a bad spirit in this village. So, we off loaded 60 parcels, sang, Pastor Costica preached, I prayed over the village, and moved on to the last village, Smighiriovca. This village was the biggest of the three villages and had a Church well established and a better level of prosperity and outlook, which is due I am sure to the Church and their faith in God. Our routine changed. We off loaded the remaining parcels, had a Church service, then ate supper. The singers sang, Pastor Florin played the guitar and sang, John played the accordion and sang, Pastor Costica preached, and before I preached and prayed over the village, I found out why God changed our plans. Suddenly a man came busting into the service and reported the town of Kherson was just rocketed, by the Russians, and the Church I was to be speaking in right now, in Kherson, was totally destroyed and many people were killed and many injured. There is a lot to be said about the grace and mercy of God and His plan for our lives. It was easy preaching after that. We had Church! After the service we had a great supper, said our farewells, and settled in for our seven hour ride back to Izmayil. After a brief stop in Odessa where we saw the Odessa Staircase or Steps and about 40 to 50 Russia drones striking ships in the port, an amazing sight indeed, we headed for Izmayil. It was now late, maybe 11:00 pm and everyone was asleep. I remembered the Cozonac in my backpack so I dug it out and asked Karen if she wanted a pull of bread? She said yes. So, I opened up the Cozonac and the aroma quickly filled the van. Lights behind us switched on and I heard sniffing. Karen got her pull of bread and I passed the Cozonac back to the singers. They quickly pulled some bread and passed the loaf back to me, which I in turn passed to Pastor Costica seating in the passenger front seat, he pulled from the load and gave it to the driver then got a big handful of bread for himself and passed back to me. Suddenly my eyes filled with tears as the verses in 1 Corinthains 15-17 filled my mind and heart. Paul writes, “I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. 16The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.” I passed the Cozonac loaf back again for another round and something even more amazing happened. The singers in the back seat started singing traditional hymns of the Church. What three part harmony, wow! Songs like Abide with Me, Come Thou Fount, It is Well with My Soul. Karen and I joined in. Pastor Florin and Costica joined in, I think the driver Alexander also joined in. So, here we are driving down the road at 80 miles an hour, eating Cozonac, and singing hymns. What fellowship what communion we had. They then asked me if I knew the history behind these beloved hymns, so I shared what I knew of these hymns. Oh, how it thrilled our soul. What a presence of the Spirit of God filled the van. What joy filled our hearts. As things died down the LORD shared with me the communion and fellowship with the “many” started not with the passing of the load or the singing, but with each sacrifice of the Saints: with Pastor Luke and Pastor Jacob in Romania all along the way with each life we touched, with each smile, with each “God bless you,” “is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” My eyes filled the more. You know it is not aways the big things God is looking for in us, but the little things, like Elizabeth giving us the Cozonac. Who would of thought? Ah yes, the little things like a loaf of bread of which we all are a part. Written by David Stahl