June 2000, Ukraine
“The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble; And those who know Your Name will put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You” - Ps. 9:9-10
We had been asked in 2000 to come to Ukraine and Russia to be a help to the fundamental churches there. We were so happy to have our son, Patrick, join us on that trip. Because of his great interest in history, he especially was interested in seeing Russia and the Kremlin.
We landed in the city of Kiev and were in difficulty almost as soon as we got off the plane. The Ukrainian man, who was to meet us, was not there and the Ukrainian officials were refusing to let us enter the country with our equipment. Customs! It has been somewhat of a thorn in our side on many trips but also a place where we are very dependent on the Lord to make a way for us. This trip would be no exception.
We were held up for three hours as the customs officials passed our paperwork from one to another refusing to stamp it and let us through. Our contact was still not there. We had a list of all of our equipment and supplies and the officials requested to see our dental cement. So we searched through the trunks for the tiny tube and found it but that didn’t change our situation at all. They wanted our contact to show up and so did we! And what they really wanted, we found out later, was a bribe. We wanted to call the contact person but the officials refused to let us use their phone. This was the time before cell phones so Jack had to get permission to leave the customs office and go to the post office which was nearby in the airport to try to use the phone there. Patrick and I remained behind in customs with our luggage and equipment.
Jack finally located the pay phone but it required a special card that had to be purchased. This required exchanging money to purchase the card. Almost no one spoke English and Jack did not know any Russian. The whole process was becoming exceedingly difficult. It was one of those “Now what am I going to do?” moments. Out of nowhere came a taxi driver who spoke English and seemed to have nothing else to do right then than to help Jack through the process of exchanging money and purchasing a phone card. It would not be the last time in our years of ministry that God would provide “an angel” to provide the help needed right at the right time. And maybe he wasn’t an angel but just a taxi driver who was hoping we would need a taxi in the end but it has happened to us so frequently that we have seriously wondered if these helpful people were of heavenly origin.
Finally, Jack was able to call our Ukrainian contact and tell him it was Jack Mitchell calling. The contact said “Patrick Mitchell?” “No, this is Jack Mitchell” “Patrick?” “No, Patrick is my son!” “Where are you?” our contact asked. “We are at the airport, where are you?” “I’m at the airport,” our contact said. This was not going well. Jack told him about our trouble in customs and then hurried back to where he had left Patrick and I. Our contact arrived shortly after. He spoke briefly with the customs agents and we were free to go with our equipment and documents. Feeling tremendously relieved we drove off to meet our host family and begin treating people in need. Little did we know what adventures the Lord had in store for us!