Belarus, Poland, Greece!

Welcome to Belarus 🇧🇾

We only had 10 days in Belarus and the time has been flying by so fast. 

Each day has been so full.

Since the minute we got through the border we have seen favor.

From not knowing where to go, and pulling over asking the police for directions and with no way to communicate in Russian they decide to lead the way for us. 

It was so funny seeing God’s favor in getting us a police escort around Belarus. 

We have been so blessed to be in contact with a Ywam couple here that is apart of the base in Minsk.

The first day we arrived we were greeted by them with goodie bags made personally for each one of us with. 

During our time here we have been staying at a hostel with all 8 of us sharing the same room it’s been a good time of bonding and coming closer together as a team.

Since this is a closed country we were there on tourist visas. 

We got the tour of the capital Minsk our first day by our contacts here.

They have been so good to us in guiding us everywhere. 

We don’t have any phone service here in the country, so every time we drive around our contacts would lead the way to and from  guiding us back to our hostel in the city. They have been so gracious to us, and even took us to some great spots around the city to check out. 

Ministry in Belarus 

Since Belarus is a closed country we were given a run down on what’s allowed and what’s not allowed here in the country. 

It’s forbidden to do street evangelism or read the Bible or pray out loud in the country. 

We weren’t allowed to share the gospel or about God much, but we were told of ways around it. Simply by sharing our own personal stories about what God has done in our lives and not necessarily sharing the gospel directly. 

Because of this it’s made our time here very personal and relational with the people.

We worked with a lot of orphans visiting two different orphanages during our time here one of them being for children with special needs. 

It was so much fun to get to hangout with the many kids and play games with them. One girl was translating for me on behalf of another orphan girl and she told me I was the first American she had ever met. When she shared that with me I then fully realized that we were in Belarus..

We were also able to connect with a local church here and worked with them several times. 

We got to encourage the church and share stories with them on how God has been moving in the nations we have been to already. 

One night especially the church hosted a “French” themed event for anyone in the local area. They hosted us by having us plan most of the nights events. 

Two of my friends on the team are from France and they performed some French style music. We played some French trivia games and some other girls on my team gave a dance and another one shared her testimony. They also did a questions panel for the youth about what it’s like living in France by having an American, Canadian, and French person answer questions. 

So many people loved the whole event and it was really fun for our team to be apart of.

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When God speaks, you change direction.

One of my favorite times in Belarus was actually when our van broke down. 

We were on the way to a youth group night at the same church. 

Thankfully we were given rides to the church by our contacts taking two trips to get us all to there that evening.

As we drove up we went down a small dirt path and down a hill behind a car lot towards some train tracks. They shared with me that this building used to be for sorting recycling and now they use it as a church. (Later on that night I found out that it was an underground church because it wasn’t technically registered)

Before the event started our group prayed together as a team for our van to get fixed the next thing I know God spoke to me “Poland” three times during our prayer. I thought it was super random so I didn’t think much about it but shared it with the group anyways. 

Most of us felt like something bigger was going on with the van breaking down and that God was trying to get our attention. 

Thank the lord during the same evening someone was able to look at the van and fix it for us while we were sharing stories with the youth about all that God has done in different nations. It’s so incredible how we don’t have to worry when we follow after God’s plan for us.

Over all with the van breaking down twice while we were in Belarus. God changed our direction and plans. Instead of going to Italy after Greece we will now be driving back to Paris to finish our outreach.

Since it is a new base we will be helping with setting up the bedrooms, painting walls, and whatever else is needed to get the new base with YWAM Paris central set up.

We had a plan and knew God was speaking out us going to Greece. but we didn’t know how that would work driving with the van breaking down so much.

Poland 

Next thing we knew we had booked plane tickets from Warsaw Poland to Athens Greece.

So we left Belarus and drove to Poland and stayed three days there before our flight to Athens. (The exact thing that God was speaking to me about when we were praying for the van, and I thought was so random He was telling me “Poland” three different times while praying)

We were welcomed into Warsaw and had connection with a YWAM couple that was out of town at the time. They thankfully let us stay at their apartment for free in Warsaw.

It was beautiful. We also got one full day to do street evangelism in the old town of the city.

It was amazing during our day there it was Polands Flag day and many Polish people were in the city for the whole week of holiday vacation.

It was so refreshing to be in a place where we could talk freely about God to people and so we did just that. Many of the people I met were very open to conversation and prayer.

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Greece

After leaving the van in Poland, taking many buses and sleeping in the airport. Taking a flight to Athens and then a Ferry boat over night to Levos. Our team finally arrived!

We are currently staying in the Ywam base here on the Island of Lesvo’s. The actual base is a boat called “next wave”

My team and I are all staying on the boat. Its much bigger then it looks from the outside and I’m loving it.

We have a room on one of the bottom floors along with many other people. I’m surprised at how much this boat can house.

It’s been so fun to see how the lifestyle on the boat works.

We arrived this weekend and have been getting used to being on the boat with members that are apart of the crew.

We will be here for three weeks and working with the refugee crisis here on the Island during our three weeks. Since 2016 thousands of people have fled to this Island from Syria through Turkey in hopes for a better life. We will be working on the camps where all of these people are living, serving in whatever ways are needed in the crisis being the hands and feet of Jesus.

That's all for now.

Thank you for reading this far. I will try and keep updating more when I get the chance so I wont have as long of postings to read. 

Please keep us in your prayers as we are working these next three weeks in the regfuee camps.