“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Ps. 8: 3, 4).

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with astronomy. However, I never expected it to turn into anything more than a hobby. One day, as I was talking with my wife about ideas of how to connect with our local community in Ukraine, I surprised even myself when I said, “What if we bought a telescope and started an astronomy club for children?” I don’t know which of us was more surprised, but we decided to give it a try.

God worked providentially in our ministry, and we were blessed to meet an influential man who not only got us the perfect meeting place for free, but also brought the children in. It’s hard to describe my joy at being able to sit with 20 children and talk about the moon, stars, planets and constellations. The children were very enthusiastic, and, for the first time in many months, so was I. In the astronomy series, the children learned some facts about planets, enjoyed some night-sky observation and passed all the quizzes. Some of them also brought their parents and friends. In the end, we had an astronomy-themed three-day trip to Romania, which was the perfect end to a great adventure.

The astronomy club was a real success and exactly the barrier-breaker we had prayed for. It was also a challenging time because the devil tried very hard, in many unexpected and heartbreaking ways, to bring us down and destroy everything. But in the end, one of the kids came to me and said, “No one else has ever done such a thing for us.” With a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes, I bowed my head in a silent thanksgiving prayer to God. He can use anybody, anything and any circumstance to do His work. We just need to be willing to use our gifts, strengths and even our hobbies for His glory.

As we look forward to launching to Georgia, we would like you to be able to share in our joy. Will you join us in this new adventure?

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