Richard’s thoughts from his trip to Ukraine

Last week, Richard, SOMA UK’s National Director, together with a friend from University, drove a van to the border between Poland and Ukraine loaded with necessary provisions for the Ukrainian refugees arriving in Poland. In the blog below Richard shares some of his thoughts from the trip.

SOMA UK is not exactly an aid agency, it’s a bit more like the spiritual equivalent of some medics Dan knows who are crossing into Ukraine and training locals how to administer first aid. If SOMA was a military organisation it would be the Paras flying in on the winged horse back of the Holy Spirit but tending to the nervous system of the body of Christ with spiritual weapons rather than live ammunition.

You see SOMA UK is a learning organisation. We’ve heard the call to be where God’s people are hurting, but we’ve also read the Book. In the Book we see that God is close to the broken hearted, that Jesus tends to the poor in spirit and the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness, so when we go weak, not relying on ourselves and meet with the poor in spirit and broken-hearted, there we will meet with God.

I’m sitting on the ferry enjoying a club class cabin that is cheaper than a hot meal downstairs, listening to my travel companion say how he’s met with God this week. He’s even made a video.

So we’ve discovered what people do short-term mission trips like this almost always discover. We get far more out of it then we put in. It turns out we’ve gone to learn. We’ve met God and Jesus in our weakness where He always said he’d be.

Of course there are many other things we’ve learnt as well and I’ll do a second part of this when I’ve had some rest and can be more coherent!

If you would like to read more about his trip then please check out Richard’s blog, Your name is like honey.