Missionary To Ukraine Heard Voice And Had To Act
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By DERON SNYDER
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — Tania Martin was on a bus to the airport after her third missions trip to Ukraine when God said He wanted her to stay a bit longer. She continued to spend time in the Scriptures when she returned home and was led Genesis 12:1-3, where Abraham is instructed to leave his country and family for a land that God would show him.
“After I read that, I knew God was speaking to me,” says Martin, currently on sabbatical from Ukraine, where she has been a full-time missionary for First Baptist Church of Glenarden (Md.) since January 2009. “That Scripture kept showing up everywhere. I might have been reading a book and it was there. It was in the sermons at church. God had spoken to me in a whisper when we were leaving Ukraine, but now He was speaking to me through His Word.”
Through prayer and discussions with Reverend Belynda Gentry, department head of the FBCG Missions Ministry, Martin concluded that a stay of four or five years was God’s plan for her life. But she was uncertain about the destination.Uruguay was a thought – “I always wanted to learn Spanish” – until she was led to Jonah’s story in the Bible. When she heard Pastor Jenkins preach about Jonah a couple of weeks later, she said: “`OK, God. I understand. I’m going to Ukraine.’”
Even though Martin previously had spent up to five weeks on several mission trips to Ukraine, about year passed before she really felt at home. But she still misses some things from home, primarily people who are dear to her. “Things to me are secondary,” she says. “Sometimes people say they miss the food. Sometimes I miss my car. Some of the conveniences I miss, but more than anything I miss my family and friends.”
Martin says Ukrainians generally are very hospitable, putting out the best of everything they have when visitors call. On her first short-term trip, Martin realized that her hosts gave up their beds and slept on chairs that were pushed together. “They’ll give you all the food and they’ll just eat whatever,” she says.
Life over there tends to move slower because most Ukrainians don’t own vehicles. They walk a lot, which means it takes longer to get places, or they use public transportation, which sometimes breaks down. Handwritten documents are considered more authentic than printed documents. There are no checks and no online bill payments; you go to the bank or the creditors’ place of business and stand in line to pay your bill. Also, “Ukraine is a lot more flexible in terms of when things happen,” she says. “If you’re late or if you make plans, you know something might change.”
Her notion of missionaries has changed since she became a full-timer. Along with other women on her short-term trips, Martin dressed very modestly, like “long skirt-wearing, Bible-toting missionaries,” she says. “That was my perception of what I had to be as a missionary.” But God showed her the importance of being authentic in order to reach people. “Ukrainian women are very fashionable,” Martin says. “God knew who I was when He called me and I just need to be myself as far as what I wear. I don’t need to fit the stereotype of what a missionary is because I wouldn’t be able to relate to the women He’s called me to make disciples of. They would be like, `You’re weird.’”
She says Jesus came to earth as a Jew, dressing like they dressed and eating what they ate. Being a missionary is along the same lines, going out and seeing what the people are like. What do they wear and how do they live? “You try to take on some of those things,” Martin says. “If it’s not sin, it’s OK to adopt some of the culture so you can relate better to the locals.”
Most of her days are spent preparing for church ministry in some way. She meets with women and students and builds relationships. She hosts a group study in her home on Wednesday evenings and a women’s discipleship group on Thursday evenings. On Fridays her church has a movie center for teenagers. English school is on Saturdays, when three levels are taught using the Bible and Bible stories for the text.
“That’s basically my schedule,” she says. “Sometimes on Sundays we have a meeting just together and build relationships with the teens or something like that. From time to time I share my testimony during Sunday services or give testimony at a different church.”
Not everyone is able, or willing, to pack and uproot for multiyear stints in foreign countries. When Martin wanted to make her first mission trip the process was too far along. But she prayed for the team that departed and helped one member with a financial donation. Those are two forms of support that allow people to join the effort without catching a flight. There are other ways to assist, too.
“The amazing thing about America and especially the D.C. area is there are millions of international people,” Martin says. “We don’t do a very good job of reaching out to them and making them feel more at home or reaching them through the Gospel. So if you’re not called to go make disciples on foreign soil, there are plenty of nations here at our doorstep.”
