Every Nation - Kiev, Ukraine

Kiev, Ukraine

Devi Abraham

Devi Abraham is a Sri Lankan who grew up in the Philippines. She is a writer who loves thoughtful books, fresh vegetables, warm bread and traveling. Just recently, she went to Kiev, Ukraine as a campus missionary and she shares this report:

A Sri Lankan Missionary to Kiev

by Devi Abraham

The chilling wind that blasted my face when I stepped out of Kiev’s Borispol International Airport was not comforting, and the icy mix of rain and snow coated the pavement with a deep covering of slippery slush. At every turn there were large Eastern European men saying, “Taxi? Taxi?” and all I could think was, “What am I doing here?”

I’m a Sri Lankan who grew up in the Philippines as a missionary kid and went to university in Arkansas in the United States before migrating to Melbourne, Australia in 2005. I had never been to Eastern Europe, didn’t speak a word of Russian or Ukranian, and Kiev was not “on my heart.” Never did I think I would visit Ukraine, never mind live here for three months.

Devi in Kiev

“But God had a different plan,” I think that’s what I’m supposed to say now or another form of that Christian cliché. He didn’t have a different plan. God’s plan for the world was and has always been the same: That every nation and person would know him and glorify him forever. His plan for my life has always been the same, too: that I would play a part in bringing about His salvation in the lives of individuals all over the world.

That must have been why my heart tugged in June 2008 when I read the prayer slides for the Every Nation Kiev church plant on the Monthly Prayer and Fasting Day. “Check this out,” God said. I sent an email to Pastor Mike Watkins and a few weeks and a flurry of emails later, I committed to a three-month stint as a campus missionary with the Watkins’ in Kiev.

Reaching Out to Ukrainian Students

Building relationships with students in Ukraine is the same as building relationships with students anywhere. Hang out. Listen. Love. Each one of them looks for a person who will see something special in his of her life.

Devi and friend

I met most of the young women who became my friends through an on-campus English club at a local university. Eventually we started meeting off campus at a very non-glamorous Ukrainian buffet (Starbucks doesn’t exist in Kiev). I go to the places where students feel comfortable. It means grabbing a tray and lining up to get a bowlful of hearty, ruby red borscht and a stir-fried cabbage dish. If I’m feeling adventurous, I try dumplings made with….meat?

Our discussions are always lively and focus primarily on leadership topics. The girls are convinced that the only guy in the group, Sasha, will one day be Ukraine’s president. I believe it. “And you will be his cabinet ministers,” I tell them. They glow. All the students I work with soak up love like a sponge.

God is the unseen figure in all our conversations. He is the one who listens to them through me, he is the voice who brings prophetic insight into their issues and His words are the encouragement that their spirits need.

There is a field of leaders waiting to be harvested in Kiev and even though I don’t have a list of converts after my time in Kiev, I'm glad to have a whole new set of friends – and because of Jesus, I know that one day each one of them will be much more than just a friend.

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Love, Devi

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Kiev, Ukraine

A Sri Lankan Missionary to Kiev

Reaching Out to Ukrainian Students

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