After returning from a mission trip to a small town in the Ukraine, Williamston pastor Brad Bardin believes that decades of oppression and economic hardship have left their mark on a people who "find it hard to trust someone else, even a God who loves them."

"The people have been hurt and disappointed so many times, you can almost see the hard shell they have developed in order to deal with life," said Bardin, pastor of First Baptist Church, Williamston.

Nevertheless, the people of Ivanovka and surrounding villages sense, innately, that there is more to life than their spartan existence. "They know there is something more," Bardin said, "but they are uncertain what it is."

Bardin's trip was made possible through a gift from church member Lynne Ridgeway and her recently deceased husband, Ray. (Ray Ridgeway was a former trustee of The Baptist Courier.) The Ridgeways had traveled to Ivanovka on three occasions and "had a passion" for another mission trip to the town but were unable to go for health reasons, Bardin said. "They asked me to go for them, and I was delighted to be able to travel there."

There is one Baptist church in Ivanovka, a town about the size of Williamston. In fact, there are only two churches in the entire town, the other being an Orthodox church. Bardin said the Baptist church in Ivanovka has "similar beliefs" to Southern Baptist churches. "However, the idea of a personal growing relationship with God is a radical idea to many in the Ukraine, and therefore the Baptist church is looked upon as strange."

It was in that environment that Bardin spent 10 days ministering. On weekdays he traveled to surrounding small villages and shared the gospel and gave his testimony outside convenience stores or beside a tree in a public gathering area. On Sundays he preached sermons at churches in the area, some of them house churches.

Bardin said every person's yard was a vegetable garden ("the region had the richest soil I've ever seen"), and many had chickens, geese and turkeys running around. Villagers who were a little wealthier might own a bull. About half the homes had running water; everyone else got their water from pumps on the street. A few houses might have an indoor shower.

Despite incomes that are about a tenth of what Americans earn, many people in the villages have cell phones, and about a quarter own a car. Still, most ride the bus or walk.

While the people of Ivanovka and surrounding areas might have less than most Americans in terms of possessions, "I saw the same need for the gospel of Christ in people's lives," Bardin said. "I saw people wanting to trust something new, but they are still uncertain."