The Hitchhikers Guide to Ukraine

As some of you may remember, we visited Kaharlyk this summer as we were seeking the Lord in regards to where He wanted us to move. The Lord closed the door for us to move to Kaharlyk (He told us to go to Ternopil instead), but we had a chance this past weekend to go back and visit Kaharlyk. We were happy to be back there and it was a great weekend... and a good adventure came out of this trip as well.

Kaharlyk is about 80 Kilometers south of Kyiv. It's a small town (about 15,000), so it doesn't have a regular public transportation route to get there. So, at 2:39am, we jumped on a train in Ternopil for Kyiv. We were excited to have a chance to travel some more and break up our routine a bit. At this point, we are unsure of how we would actually get to Kaharlyk from Kyiv, but we're feeling pretty adventurous.

Attempting to "catch" a ride

I get a message from Pastor Wayne (CC Kaharlyk), telling me the metro stop in Kyiv that we need to get to, which would then lead us to the highway that goes in the direction of Kaharlyk. In his message, he tells me to "catch" a ride down to Kaharlyk. Wait a minute Wayne? Do you mean hitchhike... in Ukraine?! He says yes, all we need to do is flag down a car and ask them where they are going.

Are you going to Kaharlyk?

Our first thought is - "oh man, we're going to get kidnapped and mugged." We were always taught not to hitchhike. Hitchhiking is always associated with escaped convicts, right? And now we're planning on hitchhiking in a foreign country where we can barely speak the language? The anxiety and the nerves began to really set in. I could hardly sleep on the train - I just kept praying for the Lord to protect us once we arrived in Kyiv and begin the hitchhiking adventure.

We arrived in Kyiv and rode the metro over to the highway where Pastor Wanye told us to catch a ride. We come out of the metro station to a bus stop. Our first thought is, "I'm sure there is a bus going to Kaharlyk here!" After waiting for a while and never seeing a bus with the beautiful word "Kaharlyk" in the window, we faced reality and realize that Wayne must be right, we have to hitchhike.

Calvary Chapel Kaharlyk. We made it!

We begun to pace around the underpass area of the highway (see point #3 on our post, "Just Laugh About It" to learn our history of pacing) and see a number of cars and vans sitting there. We start asking each driver if they are going to Kaharlyk. After a few tries, we find someone headed in that direction. With our poor language skills, we somehow (and accidentally), bargan with him to drop the price down to 40 hrivnas for the ride. We jump in his car and are releaved to see that two other passengers are already in there, waiting to leave. "At least we won't be the only ones getting mugged today," is what we were thinking in our heads.

From the long night of traveling and stress, Emily immediately falls asleep as the car begins to move. I'm too paranoid that the driver is going to take us out into the woods and kill us, so I stay awake, with my google maps app open, ready to bail out if there is any sign that the car isn't going to Kaharlyk. Emily woke up every few minutes and I secretly gave her the thumbs up to let her know that we're still headed the right way - To the promise land - Kaharlyk, Ukraine.

We eventually made it, with no problems. The driver ended up being really nice and we even hitchhiked back to Kyiv once the weekend was over. It's funny how we stress out about things and always envision the worst case scenario. But the Lord is always faithful to protect us and go before us, when we're doing what He's called us to do.

Byron teaching on Sunday morning (Olya translating)

Our time in Kaharlyk was so encouraging. We got to catch up with Pastor Wayne and his wife Olya. We were so encouraged by their faithfulness and their commitment to that town and church. Wayne also asked me to preach on Sunday morning, which was an honor for me. Of course I was nervous, the first time I've taught in a church service and using a translator - but I pray that the Lord spoke through me and blessed the church. I encourage you to take a moment and pray for their church. The Lord is doing a good work there - but they need your prayers! Learn more about what they are doing at calvarychapelkaharlyk.org.

After we left Kaharlyk, we were able to spend an evening with our old Colorado friends, Reese and Bekah. They live in Kyiv and have been missionaries there since June 2012. They, just like us, are new on the mission field and going through a lot of the same struggles, emotions, and ups and downs that come with the first year on the field. The Lord has really blessed us with them in our lives and it was super encouraging to spend an evening talking and praying with them.

After all of the excitement over the weekend, we actually had a really nice, uneventful, safe train ride back to Ternopil. We even got to have a conversation with a babushka sleeping near us on the train. She was really sweet, and we were so encouraged to be able to communicate with her in Russian/Ukrainian. It really helped us have the desire to keep working hard with our language studies.


So, with all that being said, God bless you guys - and remember, if you ever find yourselves hitchhiking in Ukraine, you know who to call for advice :)

Byron