RowlandsnUkraine: April 2010

One of the questions we get asked the most is – How did you start going to Ukraine, why Ukraine?
About seven years ago I had the blessing of going to Ukraine on a volunteer mission trip for about nine days. HOW? One of the members of our Church had a customer to come in his business one day and Jeff, our church member, began to talk with this man about Christ. Soon they discover that they were fellow believers and began to talk about what Christ was doing in their lives. Before Guy, the customer, left he asked Jeff if he knew of anyone who would be able to go to Ukraine to work with youth on a short term mission trip – through much prayer and Divine conviction . . . . That youth worker turned out to be me. Little did I know how that mission trip to Ukraine would be used by the LORD to impact my life, as well as the life of my family.
A few months later I found myself sitting on a plane in Memphis, Tn headed for Ukraine. I was scared to death. I’m just a country boy from Mississippi who had never wanted to spend the night anywhere, except my bed at my house, I had never flown before much less been out of the country. The first two days in Ukraine were miserable to me. I wanted nothing more than to be back home with my wife and kids. I felt like I was completely useless and nothing was going according to plan. It was some of the most intense spiritual warfare I have ever experienced. But just like my salvation experience, when I came to the end of my plans, my strength, my way, I began to see the LORD work in a way that I had not in the past. God began to place a deep love and burden for the people of Ukraine in my heart. HE did it, HIS SPIRIT began to draw me to see missions in a way that I never had before. I could share many stories of HIS GRACE in my life and how HE has blessed my family and I in Ukraine.
One trip turned into two, only on this one my wife Felesha came also. God began to work in both our hearts about Ukraine and we began to pray for more open doors there. One of the key people that GOD has used to put us in Ukraine for the summers is our pastor, Bro. Randy Hamilton. Bro. Randy could sense how the LORD was working in our lives and he encouraged us to go for that first summer. He is one of the most unselfish people that I have ever met. How many senior pastors are willing to give up their youth minister, especially in the summer months? But he was, he and our Church family (Springdale Baptist Church) have made enormous sacrifices to put us in Ukraine for the past four summers.
Bro. Ken – that’s all I’ll call him for now. He is like the superman of missions in my book. He heads up our Mississippi Baptist missions mobilization. I’ll never forget driving to Grenada, Ms to meet him and discuss where and how we could be used in Ukraine. The LORD has used him so much in our lives. As we began to talk I heard another name that would become very precious to me and my family, the Mike Ray family. Bro. Ken put us in contact with the best missions person in Ukraine, Mike Ray. Mike and his family have been in Ukraine for about 15 years now and have unselfishly served the LORD there with all their hearts. Mike is the one who decided that Poltava would be a good place for us to serve for the summer. It didn’t have a full time IMB person there and there seemed to be many open doors there, especially for youth and college age outreach. He also shared about the warmth and love of the local believers there. The LORD has used and continues to use Mike and his family so much in our lives. He was absolutely right; Poltava Ukraine has become such an important city to the Rowland family. The people and experiences that the LORD has given us there have been some of the greatest memories in our lives, while at the same time some of the hardest. Anyway, I will share more in post to come about some of these. Sorry this one was so long but it takes awhile to explain how just a regular, not so important family ends up serving GOD almost halfway around the world. It is truly HIS HAND, HIS direction and we are so thankful and in awe that HE gives us the privilege to be on mission with HIM. GOD bless!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17 (NKJV)