With the elders and my closest brother's blessings we went to Kiev and joined in a celebration the likes of which I hadn't seen in over five years.

Over the last couple of months so many changes have occurred in our congregation that I thought nothing would surprise me anymore. Then, surprise... Mike Taliaferro invited Lisa and me to join them at the International Leader's Conference in Kiev, Ukraine. I told him that I really appreciated the invitation but would have to decline. Neither my personal financial ability nor this congregation's could afford such a trip, regardless how worthy an endeavor it may be. Then a few days later he surprised me. " I want you to come to Kiev with us, " he said over the phone, calling from his office in San Antonio. I responded that I'd love to but as of yet hadn't learned how to spin straw into gold. "You don't understand. It only took one email and several brothers around the world want you to come and be with us. They have bought your tickets and paid your expenses. Please come join us." Wiping away the tears I think I said something like "why not" or "sure"...I was so taken off guard and overwhelmed with not just the generosity of the gift to Lisa and me but the idea that brothers I hadn't seen in several years wanted me to be with them at this conference.

So, of course, with the elders and my closest brother's blessings we went to Kiev and joined in a celebration the likes of which I hadn't seen in over five years. I still haven't heard the reports of how many people were there...most of the events were held in the Palace of Sport, a Rose Garden type arena with seating capacity in the thousands...and it was also broadcast live over the internet. Every main event I think can still be seen on a web site somewhere (note to self, tell Robert Galofre to link portlandchurch.org to those websites...it would probably be encouraging) but I believe over 3000 attended the Sunday morning service. The whole Kiev congregation which numbers nearly 2000 members as well as the conference participants from over 50 different nations...representing churches in 140 plus countries...worshipped together in services translated sometimes into English, sometimes into Ukranian, sometimes into Russian, as there were over 800 brothers and sisters from Moscow and the other Russian congregations.

But for Lisa and me the conference wasn't about services or speeches or events. Like many of our meetings over the past years most of our time was spent face to face in fellowship with elders, evangelists and women's ministry leaders. We've probably been around the world several times in our lives now and so often it seems like we see the same hotel room over and over again. Kiev is beautiful, I suppose. We saw it from the bus going to the hotel from the airport and we were treated to a river boat ride and a soviet dinner the night before we left. The sights we cherished most, however, were the faces of friends we had not been in touch with for years. And they all wanted to come to Portland to help us build up the church.

Peter and Laura Garcia from Los Angeles want to come help the Galofres with the Latin ministry. John and Karen Louis from Singapore want to come and help us get involved in foreign missions; to spread out to places which have yet to ever have a Christ-focused church planted. Mark Ottenweller, formerly from Johannesburg, now Philadelphia, wants to come help us help other people everywhere through HOPEworldwide. Randy and Kay McKean, now leading a congregation in northern Virginia in the D.C. area, will be coming in just a couple of weeks to lead our marriage retreat. And everyone expressed a desire to help our campus students both evangelize their campuses and get involved in the hundreds of campus ministries co-operating around the world now.

Steve Johnson

Portland Church of Christ

www.portlandchurch.org