Ok, guys you MUST read this. No exceptions. Rosalynn Prough is one amazing lady, as you are about to find out. She is a missionary in Ukraine, and she agreed to do an interview for me! She has one amazing testimony, so be sure to read all the way to the bottom!
-SM
1. What were your plans before you became a missionary / How did you know God wanted you to be a missionary?
For me personally, this is one of the most exciting things to look back on in my life – to look back and see how God is molding and shaping us long before we even realize.
I can still remember with extreme detail the Sunday morning when I was seven years old and my Children’s Church teacher told us the story of an orphan boy in China who lived on the streets and slept in a trash bin. The only love he ever knew was when he met Jesus through missionaries who helped the poor and shared the gospel. The little boy died at the end of the story, but he went to heaven and lived forever with Jesus. I sat there with tears running down my face, my heart broken that there were little kids in the world just like me but they didn’t have parents to love them. However, even more than that, I learned that telling people about Jesus could change their lives for eternity.
So when did I first know God was calling me to be a missionary? It happened on a Sunday night at church when I was 12 years old. There was a missionary from Norway sharing about his ministry and the specific need for more missionaries in Europe. I had never heard of missionaries to Europe. I had thought missionaries only went to third-world countries and lived in grass huts or remote jungle villages. A seed was planted in my heart to not only be a missionary but one in Europe.
It’s not easy being 12 and having such a strong calling from the Lord. There was a fire in my soul that I couldn’t really act on yet. I was too young to go on youth group mission trips. I actually cried when teams would return from Mexico or Philadelphia simply because I hadn’t been with them.
Eventually I entered high school and was old enough to go on the week-long summer mission trip. After years of waiting for my chance, every dream I’d ever had of going to a place where people were in need and serving them, telling them about Jesus, and experiencing another culture was fulfilled. I knew this was the life God was calling me to.
Now most sane people would look at this story and have serious doubts.
How could a kid doing Bible school for Haitian migrant workers’ kids or mixing cement by hand for church building or walking dusty streets praying for people in places like Belle Glade, FL, Matamoros and El Mezquital, MX for just six days each summer know that this was the calling God had for her entire life?
“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 2:14
God’s ultimate plan for our lives is so much bigger than anything we could ever come up with on our own, and I know looking back in my own life that He prepared a path before me.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
So to perhaps finally answer your question, I always “planned” on being a missionary but I never knew exactly how that would look.
In high school there was a lot of pressure from teachers and guidance counselors to figure out “who you want to be” - what college you will attend, what major you will pursue, and what career path you will head down.
Every time I got called into the guidance counselor she would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I didn’t really have any idea. It never occurred to me to say a missionary because I didn’t consider that a job. I considered that to be who I was, and besides I wanted to be a missionary like Paul in the Bible who had a job and did ministry on the side – a term known as tent-making. Plus I loved academics and had an aptitude for them – especially writing and history. I figured I would get some cool job and use that as a stepping-stone to move to a foreign country.
During my senior year I finally thought I knew what God’s path for me looked like. I had an amazing government teacher who also taught a foreign policy class. I feel in love with politics, especially international relations. I was able to intern over spring break for a congressman in DC and felt that people with that sort of power could really make a difference.
I decided to go to university and major in government-journalism and minor in Russian language. The minor came out of an obsession with Russian history I’d had since seeing the cartoon movie Anastasia. My plan was to graduate and enter the US Department of State’s Foreign Service and move to Russia where I would become acquaintances with many of Russia’s top officials and from there be able to open the door for missionary work to be carried out on a large scale.
My dreams and aspirations were BIG. There was no stopping me. I worked toward that goal with extreme focus and dedication during my university years. I was convinced that I was doing exactly what God was calling me to do until – BAM. My last year of school the door was slammed shut to enter the Foreign Service as a summer intern.
I was completely broken. I was so angry with God. For several weeks I refused to go to church, to even acknowledge His existence. All I could do was scream at Him in bitterness, asking why did He make me waste four years of my life in university for something that would never even happen? Was it all for nothing?
For the first time in eight years my summer did not include a mission trip. I was stuck doing my government internship at the state capitol instead of in a foreign embassy. But as always, God knew what He was doing.
I spent my free time that summer completely immersed in God. I read the Bible and thick books by Piper, Tozer, and Spurgeon. And as far as my internship, I was able to share the gospel with a co-worker – something I hadn’t imagined happening in a thousand years.
And from all the trials, heartache, questioning, and acceptance, God taught me one of the greatest lessons every missionary (i.e. follower of Christ) must learn – no matter where God calls you or what He calls you to do, the most important thing is your relationship with Him. When your relationship with Him is first then you will find the joy, peace, and contentment you long for.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
2. Could you briefly explain your ministry?
Sure. I’m a missionary in Ukraine. There are around 30,000 kids currently living in orphanages in Ukraine and another 250,000 in the system considered street kids or under watch by social services. [statistics provided by Ukraine Without Orphans] These kids are mainly “social orphans” meaning they actually have parents and families but their parents are in jail, alcoholics or abusive and therefore unfit to retain guardianship.
God has placed me in Ukraine at a unique time when there is a major social shift on the way these children are viewed. Previously any child living in an orphanage was considered to be a future criminal and incorrigible, a view sadly even Christians here agreed upon. However, within the past five years there are major campaigns by both churches and the government to provide better lives for these kids – mainly through domestic adoption and foster-care.
I have spent the past five years working with Christian foster-care families in Zhytomyr, Ukraine who are raising social orphans as their own. What started with one family is now three and what started with five children is now fifteen. Fifteen little lives that for the first time know what a stable, loving family looks like. Fifteen lives that know they are loved unconditionally not only by two parents but by a Heavenly Father who created them and gives the hope and joy they have hungered for all their lives.
3. What does a typical day look like for you?
Well in my experience, being a missionary is nothing like having a regular “nine-to-five” job. Every day in my week is different. On Mon. and Tues. around noon I go out to the village where our foster-home we call Father’s Home is located. I’m usually there until 10 or 11 p.m. I spend time talking to my ministry team-mates (a.k.a. the moms) and then when the kids arrive home from school I rotate between age groups and families helping with English, math, and geography homework. I avoid the reading subjects since everything is in Ukrainian and I speak Russian. On Wed. four or five girls come to my apartment in town after school around 1 p.m. to do homework, eat, and hang out before they have to go to church choir practice in the evening. On Thurs. I usually have a day to get work done at home which means writing updates, cataloging finances, doing laundry and stuff like that. On Fri. I go out to Father’s Home again and later bring a few kids home with me to spend the night. Then on Sat. I take those kids to the park or ice-skating or somewhere fun and we spend the day together. Sun. I go to church and spend the afternoon recovering so I can start it all again on Mon. Then there are always things that come up that I don’t plan for – like I’ll have some kids from the orphanage show up at my door or visit the homeless kids’ shelter or do a Bible club. You have to be flexible and willing to jump in when you’re a missionary.
4. What has been the biggest challenge in your ministry?
Wow, good question. It’s kind of hard one because after five years in a new ministry there have been so many challenges. I guess I’d say learning how to deal with the kids.
Like I mentioned earlier, you are dealing with kids who are all various ages – the youngest were four when they came and the oldest 15. The oldest three when they arrived were 11, 12, and 15. And out of the 15 foster-kids, 11 were seven and older when they arrived. My point is that these kids have spent their formative years in abusive, neglect, fear and chaos. That is a lot of baggage to carry with you.
So when we have these kids come into our families they are literally learning for the first time what most of us take for granted – how are parents supposed to treat their children, how are brothers and sisters supposed to treat each other. They push their new parents to the edge, testing them to see if they will still really love them if they steal, lie, and hurt them.
These kids have spent their entire lives building up hard walls around their hearts to keep anyone from hurting them and now we are trying to pour out love to them, show them how precious they really are, and in return they try and hurt us. It’s not easy to give all you have and then give some more, just to have the kids turn around and slap you in the face (metaphorically speaking).
When we started we knew there would be trials and struggles. Many of my teammates had worked years with orphans and street kids. But nothing truly prepares you for all the challenges that come from working with traumatized kids.
God has been so gracious and patient with all of our parents and me, teaching us through experiences, through conflict, and through wise-counsel that this is a marathon, not a sprint. We may want to see evident results, real change in our kids’ behavior, but that only comes through time and God’s grace in their lives. We are just His stewards. In the end, these children He’s entrusted to us are His and only He can truly change their hearts.
5. What is your favorite thing about living in the Ukraine?
Ok, let me address something real quick to your internet audience because this happens ALL THE TIME. When speaking about the country of Ukraine please don’t ever say “the Ukraine”. You will make anyone who lives/works there cringe. We always have to retort, “Would you ever say ‘the Russia’ or ‘the France’?” It’s not really your fault, but it’s an old thing from the Soviet days showing how Ukraine isn’t as mighty as her eastern neighbor. The only thing worse I get is “Hey, Roz! How’s Russia?” REALLY?! *end rant*
So what do I love most about Ukraine – the people. I love the Christian believers I have met. I love the street kids and orphans I work with. I love the babushkas (old ladies) who sell cakes on the street corner. I love the taxi drivers and college students. Most of all I love my Ukrainian family, the team I work with in ministry who has adopted me as a sister, aunt, daughter, and friend. I am truly blessed.
6. What are some ways God is working in the Ukrainian church?
I kind of hinted at this earlier. God has really been transforming hearts and minds of believers here when it comes to reaching the lost. I think ten years ago the prevailing attitude of the Ukrainian church when it came to ministering and outreach was “Oh that’s something those nice Americans and Westerners do. We’re very thankful they come and do it, but it’s not something we could do. We are too poor to even feed our own families, how could we ever look after anyone else?” Now through the amazing work of Ukrainian believers who stepped out in total faith, believing that God would provide, the Ukrainian church is seeing that when they answer the call God has given the church, He does as he promises – provides and blesses.
One really cool example is the church where two of our foster-families attend. When our first couple took in five street kids five years ago there were no other families in the church who had adopted domestically or become foster-families. Five years later there are half a dozen families that have adopted – not five but one or two. Church members are constantly coming up to our foster-parents and telling them they can’t believe the changes in our kids – physically and spiritually. Through the faithful actions of a few, many more lives are being changed today.
7. What is your favorite Bible verse and why?
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Dude, this world sucks. There’s not really a better way to put it. Sin has ruined everything. There is nothing more disturbing to my heart than injustice, and every day I am surrounded by the effects of injustice.
My heart is heavy with questions. Why do parents choose alcohol over their children? Why do parents hurt their children? Why do adults molest children? Why does the government hinder those trying to help? Why do children get put in institutions and are then forgotten about? Why doesn’t anyone come when a child cries out? I just want to scream, “Where is the justice?”
But despite the darkness and evil that has touched everything in this world, there is the hope that comes from Jesus Christ alone. God is not unaware or apathetic to the injustice and evil perpetrated every single day in every single corner of this world. He sees every person, every heart, and every deed. The wicked will be held accountable for what they’ve done.
As for those who have been the victims of injustice – who have been abused and abandoned, who have experienced more pain in their tender years than most people will ever know in an entire lifetime – they can take heart. Things are not hopeless. There is a love far greater than anything they could have imagined or dreamed of. They were created in the image of their Father, and He has been with them since before they were even born.
So instead of crying over all the wrong in the world, God has called me to focus on eternity – to take the saving message of the gospel and the hope of Jesus to the lost. Only He can bring joy and healing, only He can bring peace and love, and only He can fill the greatest void in our lives, the need for a savior.
8. What would you say to someone else who wants to be a missionary?
I’d say, “Dude, that’s so awesome.”
Oh you mean what advice would I give them? I definitely recommend going on a few short-term mission trips through a youth group, church or a mission agency. Make sure you find out what you’ll be doing on the trip and what is expected of you. Then when you are on the trip discover if you really do love it. Do you love being in a different culture where the food isn’t like yours and you can’t even speak to anyone because you don’t know the language? Is the schedule constantly changing and you never know what’s going on?
Those things can be really frustrating and legitimately so but the real question is how do you handle that stuff? Do you complain and speak badly of your trip leaders or host family? Do you harbor bitter feelings of being useless? See, the truth is you can’t control the circumstances, you can only control how you react and that is going to reveal if the craziness of missionary life is for you.
I’d say the biggest things I’ve had to learn to survive as a missionary is humility. I didn’t come to Ukraine with the idea that I’m here to change things because I’m an American and therefore I know what’s best. I kid you not. I have met people in missions just like that. They believe that the only right way to do things is like they do back in their home country and you can imagine how this can create tension and conflict when working with natives.
You have to respect the culture that you’ve come into. It doesn’t mean you have to ignore things that are unbiblical or not speak up if you disagree with the way something is being handled, but you at least have to take into consideration those factors when you are working with people from a different culture. I’ve found the greatest thing about being in a different culture is that despite all the differences – language, history, mindset, traditions, etc – for those who follow Christ, He truly has made us one in purpose.
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:2-6
9. How can we as Christians pray for you and your ministry?
Foster-families: Please pray for our three foster-families in Father’s Home
Sergey and Anya Slad have seven children: Maksim (16), Ruslana (13), Masha (11), Marina (10), Igor (9), Andrey (4) and Mark (9 months)
Gena and Lida Yanchenko have 10 children: Anya (15), Deanna (12), Ira (11), Snizhana (10), Igor (10), Vika (8), Valya (8), Alosha (7), Kristina (2) and Evangelina (1)
Ura and Alona Lanovuk have two children: Timur (9) and Olya (6)
Specifically pray for each child’s spiritual condition – that they would repent and follow after Jesus. Pray they see their faith not as something they have to pretend to do because their new Christian parents do it, but because they truly have the Holy Spirit in their lives. Pray it would be their choice and desire to follow after God.
Pray for government to approve the documents for another little girl, Olya (12) to come into their family. She is spending the summer with them, and they pray the documents will be done before school begins in the fall.
Pray for the Lanovuks who just moved into Father's Home and just got their two kids three days ago. They have a long summer of bonding and growing ahead of them.
As for me, pray God will give me the wisdom and strength to continue serving and ministering in whatever roll He would have for me in the coming year. I am truly blessed and thankful for all those who support and pray for me. I never feel alone knowing there is an army of believers around the world lifting me up before the Lord. I have to continually pinch myself getting to live the dream God planted in my heart so many years ago.
Rosalynn has been a missionary living and working in Ukraine since 2006. You can learn more about her ministry through her blog at http://russianrose83.blogspot.com and follow her on Twitter @russianrose83
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