Short Video on Baryshivka

Fundraising at Port Orange

This Saturday we went to Port Orange to fundraise money for our mission trip. It was a very hot and beautiful day. We thank everyone who blessed us with their donations. May God bless you abundantly!!

Please visit our Facebook page, we accept donations online :) facebook.com/lighthousemissionarygroup

We're almost at reaching our goal! $$$

A Bit About Baryshivka

Geography

Baryshivka is a beautiful little town that is located on the right bank of Trubizh River and on the left side of Dnipro River. Locals call it a village of city type, which means Baryshivka is not a city neither a village, but something in between. It is 6km north of the main highway of Kiev-Kharkov and 66km southeast of Kiev and with a total area of 5km square. Baryshivka is the capital of Baryshivkan region; the region has 39 villages and 1 village of city type.

Transportation / Population

Baryshivka has a great transportation system; it has its own railway station as well as many buses that they call “marshutki” that travel every hour. Marshutki are a common transportation for residents that do not own a vehicle. The population of Baryshivka has really grown over the past years. In 1959, there were 6,000 residents. However, 42 years later in 2001 there were a total of 11,178 people. The number continues to grow today.

Landmarks

There are two secondary schools, a “House of Culture” also known as a community center that includes a choir, orchestra, dance teams and many other activities. Baryshivka has two libraries, an after school program for children called “Mriya,” and a stadium where children can play soccer. There is also a Youth Arts Centre, and Taras Shevchenko Museum.

Lifestyle

Baryshivka is a quiet environment, but at the same time a very busy town. In the morning, people are normally in a hurry. Children go to school, parents go to work, and the market place is enclosed with people from surrounding villages that come to sell their good’s or buy. Train stations are crowded with people as well as the buses that go to Kiev.

Many people work in Kiev and young adults go to Kiev to receive a higher education. During the daytime, it is usually very quiet in the town, but later on it becomes busy again; children come from school and parents from work. In the evening, the youth spend their time in the local park located in the center of Baryshivka while other youth hang out in the center of town on Friday and Saturday nights. A lot of the times the youth come home on the weekends after being in school for a whole week.

On Sunday morning some people go to church, but not many because on Sunday mornings the whole region is a selling complex called “bazaar.” Many people from near by villages come to sell things and buy. Because of the busyness of the their schedules, people often are not interested in attending church. A lot of the people are empty inside and try filling their void. Even though, they realize that they need something more, not all of them search and do something to change their life.

Barishivka is potential town, it is very beautiful and it has all the access that is needed. There is great capability of the church growing because the population is growing steadily. 

Who We Are?

Lighthouse is a missionary group composed of seven young adults from all over the US, with one mission in common: to serve those in need and spread the ‘good news’ of Jesus Christ. Last year, a missionary group traveled to Baryshivka, Ukraine and worked there for about 5 months, and this year our group will return to Baryshivka to continue the work that was started there.

The reason to why we are called lighthouse is simple: a lighthouse is a tower displaying or flashing a very bright light for the guidance of ships in avoiding dangerous areas, in following certain routes, etc. In Matthew 5:16 it says, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven". We want to be the light to those who are in darkness and lead them to God who is the only source of eternal light.

During our time in Baryshivka, we will be focusing on three areas. We will work with children, youth, and the small church that already exists there. Our plan is to set up a children’s camp for a week and afterwards continue weekly gatherings with the children that will be planned with fun activities and biblical lessons. Our hope is to build genuine friendships with the youth and get to know them personally so that we would be able to share the gospel and be of any help to them. We plan to do this by having bonfires, movie nights, picnics, sport tournaments, etc. Our last focus is working with the church. There are currently fifteen members that attend and are mostly older women and a few men. Our prayer is that we would be an encouragement and blessing so that they would continue to grow spiritually and so the rise of membership would increase in the house of the Lord.

Please pray for our group so that we would be the lighthouse to Baryshivka and walk in God's will. Thank you for all the support!