Quote Originally Posted by Basil77 View Post
Please, keep in mind that missionaries, especially missionaries of weird American quasi-Christian sects are very unwelcome in this part of the world. Don't be surprised when you will encounter a hostility from locals.
Thank you for the warning. I certainly am not a "quasi-Christian" and I can see why they would be very unwelcomed. We have had Mormon and Jehovah's Witnesses missionaries stop at our country home and we invite them in, sit down and open our Bibles up - to share the truth with them. Needless to say, they don't visit very often!

The American missionary with whom I will be working with has never mentioned any sort of hostility from the locals and he has been living in Ukraine since 1992. He "wasted" his round-trip ticket by not returning to America because there was such a high level of interest from the locals that he decided not to leave. He married a Ukrainian girl and presently is on furlough...his last one having been 7 years ago. So, I'm sorry, but I think I will be very surprised if there is 'hostility' from the locals. I do know that there are some people everywhere that frown upon missionaries, and this from experience - even in America.

On the side, I wish to say that, of all the Christians in the world, of all that I have read about (and that is a lot) I admire the Russians' faith the most. It is incredible. I have not seen such faith, no, not in America. There are a number of Russian churches in our area and I have been to one of them several times. The whole service is in Russian and none of the three pastors speak English. They are all from Ukraine. There is not a single American church that I have been to that has as large of a number with many, many youth and young people in the attendance.

I am greatly looking forward to this trip and hardly think I will be disappointed.