{"id":42121,"date":"2022-04-26T14:00:09","date_gmt":"2022-04-26T05:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=42121"},"modified":"2022-04-26T14:57:03","modified_gmt":"2022-04-26T05:57:03","slug":"vomk-report-202","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2022\/04\/26\/vomk-report-202\/","title":{"rendered":"UKRAINE: WOMEN AND CHILDREN REFUGEES \u201cREBOOT\u201d CHURCH"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”42106″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Olesia is a pastor\u2019s wife. Normally she and her husband serve a church in a small town in western Ukraine. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][vc_column_text]However, these days, <\/span><\/span>nothing is normal<\/span><\/span> for Ukrainians.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Olesia\u2019s<\/span> husband continues to live in the family\u2019s home, helping refugees who pass through as they head out of the country. He hosts as many as he can in the two school buildings the couple used to operate. He also travels back and forth to the east with his van packed with humanitarian aid. He sent <\/span>Olesia<\/span> and the couple\u2019s three children to Prague for safety.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]But in Prague <\/span>Olesia<\/span> found more than safety. She found a need for ministry.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Olesia<\/span> said she didn\u2019t want to \u2018waste time\u2019 as a refugee, so she worked with a Russian language church <\/span>to start a school and day care center for Ukrainian refugee children in Prague,<\/span>\u201d says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr<\/span>.<\/span> Hyun Sook Foley.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”42110″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Czech government estimates that more than <\/span>300,000 refugees arrived in the <\/span>country as of the end of March.<\/span> Almost half are children, and <\/span>80% of the adults are women<\/span>.<\/span> \u201cSince the women <\/span>are busy taking care of paperwork and other requirements, there was a natural need for day care and education for their children<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foleys says that as<\/span> Olesia<\/span> began to care for the children, <\/span>some of their needs were expected<\/span>, like <\/span>helping them<\/span> deal <\/span>with trauma, homesickness, and <\/span>restless energy. But other needs surprised her.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cW<\/span>hat is amazing is that children actually don\u2019t know the Bible<\/span>,\u201d says <\/span>Olesia<\/span> in an interview with Serge, one of the US missionary organizations who <\/span>is <\/span>provid<\/span>ing<\/span> housing and aid to Ukrainian refugees in Prague<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Olesia<\/span> found that she needed to start from the beginning<\/span>, borrowing an English language children\u2019s picture Bible for her lessons.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We are very glad that God is using us, you know, and we are hoping that these seeds will grow, and the hope of salvation,<\/span>\u201d says <\/span>Olesia<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>In the way most of our churches think, <\/span>Olesia<\/span> and her children <\/span>are classified as <\/span>refugees<\/span>, <\/span>and <\/span>the <\/span>goal is <\/span>assumed to be getting them back home <\/span>and <\/span>returning <\/span>everything to normal<\/span> as soon as possible<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>But <\/span>Olesia\u2019s<\/span> description of the children as \u2018seeds\u2019 is a reminder that God <\/span>is always <\/span>doing something bigger than what we can see or understand.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”42116″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Olesia is pictured with her husband, Pastor Joseph and her three children while she was still in Ukraine.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that the \u201csomething bigger\u201d<\/span> bears many similarities to the missionary <\/span>\u201c<\/span>surge<\/span>\u201d <\/span>that launched Ukraine\u2019s <\/span>remarkable <\/span>church growth <\/span>in the <\/span>first place in the <\/span>period from 1989 to 1999.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that time<\/span> as the Soviet Union collapsed<\/span>, <\/span>Ukrainian <\/span>m<\/span>en <\/span>were leading the underground church back out into the public square<\/span>. <\/span>So<\/span> it was primarily women and young people who <\/span>answered God\u2019s summons to travel in some cases a thousand kilometers from home, to establish some of the first evangelical churches <\/span>across the former Soviet countries <\/span>in places like Siberia<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span>.<\/span> \u201cThe<\/span> Ukrainian church had not yet acquired a missionary vision, and there<\/span> were no seminaries or missionary training programs<\/span>. The Holy Spirit simply moved some young Ukrainian Christians, many of them women, to<\/span> go far away from home and evangelize. <\/span>Since the missionaries were women and young people without titles or training, the churches often consisted of even younger people<\/span>,<\/span> as well as outcasts.<\/span> In the midst of<\/span> the chaos of the collapse of the Soviet Union, God used these unlikely, untrained, untitled church planters to \u2018reboot\u2019 the church.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that <\/span>she sees a similar movement of God at work among <\/span>Ukrainian Christian refugees like <\/span>Olesia<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cI think wom<\/span>e<\/span>n like <\/span>Olesia<\/span> should be thought of not just as refugees but as church planters<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d says Representative Foley. <\/span>She suspects that God may be using the conflict with Russia to<\/span> \u201c<\/span>reboot<\/span>\u201d<\/span> the Ukrainian church<\/span> and, with it, the Christian communities of Europe <\/span>with <\/span>whom the Christian refugee women <\/span>will come in contact. \u201cAs the scripture shows, sometimes it is when we are away from our home and country that <\/span>our children <\/span>first learn the Bible.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”42113″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”This young Ukrainian refugee attends Olesia\u2019s classes in Prague. She gave him a Bible as a gift. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley <\/span>has received a request from her organization\u2019s <\/span>sister mission<\/span> in the region<\/span>, Voice of the Martyrs Poland, <\/span>to <\/span>travel <\/span>to the refugee areas along the border to provide Christian trauma recovery workshops <\/span>to <\/span>Ukrainian Christian refugees. Previously, Representative Foley has delivered the workshops <\/span>for <\/span>traumatized <\/span>Christians <\/span>from Eritrea, <\/span>Cameroon, <\/span>China, and North Korea<\/span>.<\/span> She says she is<\/span> encouraged by the report of VOM Poland that there are many <\/span>women like <\/span>Olesia<\/span> among the refugees.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Olesia<\/span> did not simply flee to the <\/span>Czech Republic <\/span>out of fear<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cAs she says, she had <\/span>a desire not to waste her time<\/span> when the war broke out, but instead to serve. <\/span>And it turns out that <\/span>how <\/span>Olesia<\/span> is serving the Ukrainian refugee children is exactly how trauma recovery happens.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley employs a <\/span>multidisciplinary <\/span>trauma recovery <\/span>method called \u201cSFCR\u201d<\/span>, which stands for \u201c<\/span>Strengthening Family Coping Resources<\/span>\u201d.<\/span> The method, <\/span>developed by <\/span>Laurel J. Kiser<\/span>, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland, <\/span>has been adapted by Representative Foley especially for use by Christian participants. She <\/span>says that the process of trauma recovery and church planting are <\/span>surprisingly similar<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Trauma occurs when people\u2019s routines are disrupted far beyond their coping mechanisms<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>The best treatment for trauma is to \u2018reboot\u2019 those coping mechanisms<\/span> within the traumatized person\u2019s household or sphere of influence<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span> For Christians, <\/span>according to Representative Foley, <\/span>that \u2018reboot\u2019 <\/span>takes the form of daily household worship.<\/span> \u201c<\/span>What we see with traumatized Christians is that w<\/span>hen <\/span>even <\/span>in the midst of<\/span> their trauma they <\/span>set aside a regular time for prayer, singing, <\/span>and <\/span>reading the scripture<\/span>, not just by themselves but<\/span> with those <\/span>they live with or those around them, <\/span>there is a measurable reduction in <\/span>the hormones associated with stress.<\/span> Family household worship is God\u2019s scriptural method of recovery from trauma.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”42119″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”The refugee children in Olesia\u2019s class are not only receiving trauma care, but they are learning about the Bible for the first time. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cIn many ways, the church planting surge by Ukrainian women and young people at the time of the Soviet Union\u2019s collapse was a <\/span>form of trauma recovery<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201c<\/span>The simple daily coping mechanisms of prayer, Bible study, and singing worship songs filled the gap left by the collapse of Communist ideology<\/span> and<\/span> daily life in the Soviet Union.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that w<\/span>hether <\/span>Ukrainian Christian<\/span> refugee<\/span>s return home<\/span>, migrate <\/span>to another country <\/span>permanently, or stay as refugees for some time<\/span>, <\/span>she believes that <\/span>the same <\/span>mechanisms that help them overcome trauma<\/span> will help the Ukrainian church to <\/span>\u201creboot\u201d as well.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too bad that churches around the world are regarding their work <\/span>with Ukrainian Christians <\/span>as done <\/span>now that <\/span>humanitarian aid has been provided,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cReally<\/span>, the <\/span>work of the church around the world <\/span>to support Ukrainian Christians <\/span>is just beginning. <\/span>That work is <\/span>about <\/span>equipping <\/span>Ukrainian <\/span>Christians <\/span>to rebuild their churches household by household,<\/span> even as their <\/span>ordinary <\/span>households are disrupted.<\/span> It\u2019s about finding <\/span>all of<\/span> the \u2018<\/span>Olesias<\/span>\u2019 and equipping them with the vision and tools to seeing themselves as <\/span>God-sent <\/span>church planters and seed planters, not just refugees.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that Voice of the Martyrs Korea is continuing to administer its Ukraine Christian Emergency Relief project to aid Ukrainian churches and Christians with their ministries. VOMK is also continuing to distribute Families of Martyrs funds to surviving family members of Ukrainian Christians who are killed in the act of Christian witness. Those who are interested in making a donation to either fund can do so at <\/span>www.vomkorea.com\/en\/donation<\/span><\/span><\/a> or via electronic transfer to:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\uad6d\ubbfc\uc740\ud589<\/span> (KB Bank) 463501-01-243303<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\uc608\uae08\uc8fc<\/span> (Account Holder): (<\/span>\uc0ac<\/span>)<\/span>\uc21c\uad50\uc790\uc758\uc18c\ub9ac<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Please include the word \u201cUkraine\u201d or \u201cFamilies of Martyrs\u201d with the donation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”42106″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Olesia is a pastor\u2019s wife. Normally she and her husband serve a church in a small town in western Ukraine. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][vc_column_text]However, these days, nothing …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":42107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[857,235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russian-special","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}