The Conga during Ukrainian church service?!
Слава Богу! Ukraine? Really – well I never expected to go there!
For getting on for two years Rick Thomas, until recently leader of Worcester City Church has been asking me to join him on a trip to a group of churches in Southern Ukraine led by a guy called Viktor [maps.google.co.uk/maps]. There was a group of pastors there hungry to improve their leadership skills. When, finally Rick arranged a four-day conference to fit in with my diary, I knew I had to go. Photo: Mother Motherland statue, Kiev, Ukraine. 62 m tall
My Man Boris!
So on 10 November 2009 I found myself in Kiev. I had a 36-hour stay in a church flat with a personal manservant, Boris, who was billeted with me to look after me! Happily, he was an excellent cook and we had a great deal of fun trying to understand each other in Czech and Ukrainian, both languages from the Slavic family. (I quite liked the arrangement. Any offers for the permanent post will be accepted!)
The next day the team from Worcester arrived; Rick, Andy, Tim and Rachel. We got on very well and I think we worked well together. My role was to teach on the Trinity [listen to sermon also given in England penistonecommunitychurch.org.uk/recent-sermon-downloads/]. I feel that God blessed my study and the four hours of teaching was well received and I believe, blessed of God. The younger team members had a youth programme and during that time six young people came to saving faith. (I can’t say that we had the same effect on the pastors!)
Trust Me -I'm a Preacher 
It was also a fun packed time. Some of the events are a great deal funnier in hindsight!
- Such as the great idea Rick had for demonstrating trust by jumping into the arms of Andy and a pastor called Sasha, both big, tough guys. Unfortunately, as he landed on them their heads collided. Result – one black eye and one bloody nose.
- Or being put on the wrong train in Kiev and needing a two-hour bus journey to correct the problem. The microbuses run every three hours. We just happened to find the bus station two minutes before one left.
The Conga During a Church Service?!
One of my lasting memories was visiting a church of people with ex-problems (prisoners, drug addicts and so on, all transformed by Jesus). There were about thirty in the congregation and I was their first foreign speaker. They were proud of me and I knew I had to do a good job. I was surprised that, as soon as the very good music group of three instrumentalists struck up, they almost all started dancing. Now I am no stranger to dancing in worship, but line dancing? Barn dancing? The Conga? It took me a few minutes to say, ‘Why not?’ As they were clearly praising God in it. In any case, I was grabbed and had little choice. So I skipped around the room like the rest.
But how does the first foreign preacher make a suitable mark on the life of the church? Despite my advanced years, I still can do a few gymnastic tricks. Unconventional, but they loved the cartwheels!
Will I be back in Ukraine? I loved the people and working with them, but we have a very heavy schedule in the Czech Republic next year, so I don’t know. If I am invited, I shall be asking you to pray for guidance!
Dennis Nov 2009