An Impromptu Thanksgiving Meal
Illustration
Stories
The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not regretfully or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written, ‘He scatters abroad; he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’ (vv. 6-9)
Maia Mikhaluk, of “The Message of Hope Church” in Kyiv, Ukraine, tells about an impromptu thanksgiving meal shared by an old woman in a war ravaged village who spread a table with all she had as a thank you for guests bringing aid packages. Maia writes:
“When we travel to Chernihiv region with humanitarian aid we go there to serve, to help. Our hearts break for people who have lost their homes and who were robbed by Russian invaders. Every time we enter a village people quickly call each other and gather around to receive food packages. Sometimes if we have local contact we can give them an advance call. This was what we did coming to Budy. We called our new friend Anna and let her know that we would be arriving at noon. People gathered and distribution was quick and efficient.
“Our first surprise was a gift of a big jar of honey from Nadia, whose home was completely destroyed by Russians. She used to have a honey business but most of the bee hives were burned during the Russian occupation. To put things into perspective, the cost of that jar of honey (at least in Kyiv) is probably close to 25% of her retirement! It’s honey that she could probably sell, but Nadia insisted on giving it to us in spite of our protests. We can’t wait for our church to taste Nadia’s gift next Sunday!
“Then we were invited by Anna into her home and were treated to the most delicious lunch! We were humbled by that invitation. Anna has two more people staying with her — Martha, Anna’s 84-year-old aunt, and Luda, her cousin. Both of them lost their houses and had nowhere to stay, so they moved in with Anna.
“We were wowed by Anna’s little house. It reminded us of our grandmothers from childhood and their village homes! Anna made vareniki with cherries and it was delicious! She also had potatoes, cucumbers, fried eggs, and sausage on the table. We know Anna, Luda and Martha are surviving, their lives are very hard, but they wanted to show us true Ukrainian hospitality which would not be considered hospitality if it was not sacrificial! No doubt it was sacrificial — they shared with us not out of abundance, they shared all they had!
“The food was better than any Ukrainian cuisine restaurant in Kyiv because it was made with love and because they grew it all with their own hands! They also gave us more cherries, dill, garlic, and zucchini to take to Kyiv. To say we were humbled is to say nothing. We brought some food to them in those food packages that we packed in our church yesterday, but they gave us so much more, like the widow in the Bible story! (Mk 12:43-44)
Maia says, “If you are in the USA and want to be a part of this help, you can donate through this website https://ipministry.org/donate/.
Maia Mikhaluk, of “The Message of Hope Church” in Kyiv, Ukraine, tells about an impromptu thanksgiving meal shared by an old woman in a war ravaged village who spread a table with all she had as a thank you for guests bringing aid packages. Maia writes:
“When we travel to Chernihiv region with humanitarian aid we go there to serve, to help. Our hearts break for people who have lost their homes and who were robbed by Russian invaders. Every time we enter a village people quickly call each other and gather around to receive food packages. Sometimes if we have local contact we can give them an advance call. This was what we did coming to Budy. We called our new friend Anna and let her know that we would be arriving at noon. People gathered and distribution was quick and efficient.
“Our first surprise was a gift of a big jar of honey from Nadia, whose home was completely destroyed by Russians. She used to have a honey business but most of the bee hives were burned during the Russian occupation. To put things into perspective, the cost of that jar of honey (at least in Kyiv) is probably close to 25% of her retirement! It’s honey that she could probably sell, but Nadia insisted on giving it to us in spite of our protests. We can’t wait for our church to taste Nadia’s gift next Sunday!
“Then we were invited by Anna into her home and were treated to the most delicious lunch! We were humbled by that invitation. Anna has two more people staying with her — Martha, Anna’s 84-year-old aunt, and Luda, her cousin. Both of them lost their houses and had nowhere to stay, so they moved in with Anna.
“We were wowed by Anna’s little house. It reminded us of our grandmothers from childhood and their village homes! Anna made vareniki with cherries and it was delicious! She also had potatoes, cucumbers, fried eggs, and sausage on the table. We know Anna, Luda and Martha are surviving, their lives are very hard, but they wanted to show us true Ukrainian hospitality which would not be considered hospitality if it was not sacrificial! No doubt it was sacrificial — they shared with us not out of abundance, they shared all they had!
“The food was better than any Ukrainian cuisine restaurant in Kyiv because it was made with love and because they grew it all with their own hands! They also gave us more cherries, dill, garlic, and zucchini to take to Kyiv. To say we were humbled is to say nothing. We brought some food to them in those food packages that we packed in our church yesterday, but they gave us so much more, like the widow in the Bible story! (Mk 12:43-44)
Maia says, “If you are in the USA and want to be a part of this help, you can donate through this website https://ipministry.org/donate/.
