The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus

I decided that the best way to try and convey the full measure of our trip is to share some of the individual  moments that seem to scream out "This is why you are here."  This story does not directly concern orphans but its demonstrates the grace needed to be shared in Ukraine.

Before we left, I order copies of The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus in Russian to give out in Ukraine as the Lord lead.  One person I gave the book to was a woman named Luba.  Luba lives in a small village that used to be a vibrant coal mining town.  It is now mostly empty.  Even Luba's apartment building has few remaining residents.

The day after we gave the book to Luba, she called Ira to let her know she had been reading "that book you gave me."  She said further that the book kept referring to another book and she wanted to know if she could get one of those, too.  The Book that The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus continually references is the Bible.  And so we took a Russian translation of the Bible to Luba.

When we arrived at Luba's apartment, she wanted to tell us more about her reading of the Stranger on the Road to Emmaus.  She explained that she usually has a difficult time reading. One, because her eyesight is bad; and two, because she has a hard time understanding what she is reading.  But as she read the book we gave her, not only were her physical eyes able to see clearly but her mind was opened to what she was reading.  She told us that as she read, she got chill bumps up and down her arms.  She had told  some other residents of her apartment about the book and now they wanted to read it, too.  She told us that she would share it and the Bible we gave her with them.

Do I want to get more copies of this book and the One it keeps referring to into the hands of Luba's friends?  You bet I do!  We American Christians so take for granted the bookstore down the street and the church on every corner.  Luba and her friends struggle to find transportation to the doctor that they know they need.  Unless we tell them, they might not even know of their need for the Great Physician Himself.

Along with the books, we also gave Luba some medicine she needed and a blood pressure monitor.  She tried to pay us back with food, candy, wine, anything we would take.

All over Ukraine are people who have never seen grace.  They cannot comprehend why we do things with no expectation of repayment.  And they cannot imagine a God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills who neither expects nor requires a single thing of us except humble child-like faith.  And even that is His gift to us, that we might not boast in anything.

If you would like to share The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus with your unsaved friends or family, you can now order it from Amazon and Grace to Ukraine will receive a percentage to help with hosting costs in 2013.