Graduation Day

What a great final day in Ukraine for the Strategic Planning seminar! The week has gone by very quickly, but it has been great getting to know the men and women we had the privilege of teaching this week.

We decided to wear our shirts with the Ukrainian flag and symbolism on them today to honor the class since they were so kind to give them to us in case our luggage did not show up on Sunday. Jay finished up Module 4 from Thursday, and then the three of us took turns team-teaching the final session.  The material mixed with our personal experiences made for a lot of fun with the class on the last day.  There was a genuine interest in what we were teaching them, and they know we care deeply for them.  Before the day started, Anatoliy even brought us several gifts from his hometown and from his company as a “thank you” for the time we spent with him, his wife and Vasyl. We are looking forward to seeing many of them when they come to visit Winston-Salem in October.

After the session concluded, we awarded certificates to those who had completed prior courses and congratulated them and celebrated.  Afterwards, we had a great time celebrating over lunch and wrapping up personal conversations with many of the participants and interpreters.  Perry’s business experience mixed with his heart for people has clearly endeared him to the members of the class.  Jim’s teaching skills, humor and practical examples have been a big hit too. Having had a pastor in Jay lead some of the sessions provided some great opportunities to talk about spiritual things, and leading by influence when a paycheck is not the motivating factor for those you are trying to lead.  We have had a great experience this week, and our prayer tonight was that the Holy Spirit would continue to work on the hearts of those we talked with and influenced this week, that He would continue to bring back some of the Biblical principles we shared this week in a way that continues to arouse curiosity in those who do not know Christ, that He would strengthen the believers who are already in the business community here, and that our in-country contacts would continue to love and share Christ with the group as they stay in touch with them.  I know you’ll pray with us to those ends.

After a break this afternoon, we headed downtown for some gift shopping, and one final dinner before heading to Munich in the morning.  Perry has done a great job as a first-time team leader, and Jim and Jay have thoroughly enjoyed their rookie trip. As good as it will be to start heading for home, a portion of our hearts will remain here with the people we’ve befriended this week.