An inside view
One perspective from the choir's trip to Ukraine
February 6, 2008
Thomas Bergen
For those who didn’t already know, over the Christmas break a group of 30 former and current students from Trinity Western University choirs went to Ukraine to serve on a cross-cultural music missions trip. Those of us who went experienced a rich time in Kiev working alongside the Music Mission Kiev (MMK) staff and singing with the Kiev Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, witnessing the historic beauty of Kiev and building friendships with one another.
According to Orthodox tradition, the apostle Andrew (brother of Peter) prophesied that a great city would be built next to the Nieppe River where Kiev lies to “shine forth the grace of God.” Today, in the central square of Kiev, there is a statue commemorating Andrew, the first apostle to the geographical region of Ukraine. Princess Olga, the first royal convert to Christianity and Cyril and Methodius who were the first missionaries to the Slavic nations.
Ukrainians are starting to rediscover their Christian heritage, which was violently uprooted during Communism in the 20th century. Now, that the doors of ministry have been opened in the formerly closed Soviet satellite state, the work of MMK has been used greatly by the Lord to spread the knowledge of Jesus Christ through music—the language closest to the heart of Ukraine. This language now being robbed from the culture because of the subsuming spread of an artistically assimilating virus otherwise known as MTV.
Ukraine is a needy country with rampant problems of economic inflation, alcoholism and broken families. While we were there, we had the opportunity to witness both the affluence of opera halls and the desperate poverty of homeless orphans and abandoned widows.
In James 1:27, we read that “religion which God our Father accepts is this: to look after widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” This is exactly what MMK is doing in dynamic ways. On one occasion, we went to visit elderly widows. Although they live isolated lives in very humble housing, often without any family to care for them, they are profoundly joyful because of their relationship with Jesus Christ. Without the work of MMK, many of these neglected widows would simply die of both natural and spiritual starvation.
Please pray that God’s “dawn of redeeming grace” we sing about at Christmas will rise to noon-day glory as more people put there hope in Jesus Christ in Ukraine. All of us who went on this trip were greatly inspired by the incredible vision and self-giving spirit of Roger and Diane McMurrin who are the founders of MMK (if we honoured saints as the Eastern Orthodox Christians do, this couple would definitely deserve saintly status.) Building the first Christian university in Kiev is the next step they want to take in their vision to bring the knowledge of Christ to Ukraine and beyond and we as a group from TWU, were honoured to be a part of it.
Now you go...
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