Angels We Have Heard On High!
I am blessed to connect and communicate with our Ukrainian ministry partners. Sometimes the cross-cultural component of these connections can be hilarious!
For example, I recently spoke with my counterpart in Ukraine's Odesa Oblast and requested fresh photos of the vetted ministry families for whom we are raising support. Because my family and I served for many years in a post-Soviet era context with many similarities to Ukraine, I probably should have expected what occurred, but I got blindsided! When Alexander, the Regional Presbyter of the Odesa Oblast, sent me a photo of the Krasko family, I burst out laughing in disbelief. With my wife as a witness, I was literally crying. It was perhaps the most classic Ukrainian awkward family photo I have ever seen.
The Kraskos are a large blended family with kids ages three to 18. Having both been previously widowed, Oleksei and Inna have now been married for four years and have one young son together. Like many two and three-year-old boys, their son sometimes and mysteriously rejects clothing. For small-town Ukrainians, this is no big deal, and even a rather expected occurrence from time to time. Perhaps other parents of boys can relate. Awkwardly and just as their young boy was obliviously streaking through the house, they decided to take a family photo. Then, when their Regional Presbyter asked them for a family photo, the Kraskos sent this one, which was then forwarded to me. When I received the picture, it opened on my device in a zoomed-in size, so I did not initially see the entire photo but only the individuals one at a time.
As I slowly scrolled across the photo from right to left, I thought, "Ok. Well, this certainly is a nice-looking family, and everything seems...What in the world?! OH...MY...WORD! What is going on with this little guy at the end!?" As I burst out laughing, I began to wonder if this little dude was even human. I mean, it's like he had dropped into the photo from a Micheal Angelo painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel! Perhaps a heavenly cherub had come down and gloriously graced this priceless family photo?!? Was this some type of angel sighting caught on camera?!? Though the embarrassed and laughing mother in the picture suggested otherwise, I still shook my head in wonder.
Now, I dare not share the original family photo sent to me. However, I did inquire with the Regional Presbyter for a different photo or at least for some help as to how I might possibly use this awkward family photo with our district congregations. That is when he sent me back a G-rated and photo-shopped version of the Krasko family photo. His statement was, "Well, maybe this will work?" And with a few angel-inspired enhancements, I present to you the approved Krasko family photo!
The Kraskos are a hilariously imperfect family, just like yours and mine. Even in challenging circumstances, real life happens, and they maintain moments of family humor and levity. At the beginning of the war, and after their pastor left the country, Oleksei Krasko, a church deacon, was asked to step up and formally shepherd the congregation in Shabo, Ukraine. Though the war has left him unemployed, and though they could also have fled the country, the Kraskos have stayed in their community and ministered well in the face of dire need. A district church has adopted the Krasko family, but some unadopted families remain. Due to frequent power outages, we have also sent them funds for a church generator with 150 liters of fuel. And to heat their home, we have helped them buy two tons of coal and one cord of wood. The Kraskos, along with many other Ukrainian ministry families, are so very grateful for your support. According to my conversations with our district-supported Ukrainian ministers, and regardless of how we might interpret streaking boys in awkward family photos, please know the ongoing support you provide to Ukrainian ministry families in need, such as the Kraskos, is like hearing from angels on high!
Merry Christmas!
