YANA INTERNATIONAL PROJECT
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. -James 1:27-
Director of YANA Ukraine
조영연, 정선희
Introduction to the ministry
After arriving in Ukraine, I first served as a professor in the Department of Korean Language at Kyiv National Linguistic University for 8 years. At the same time, I started a Korean language and cultural ministry, with the goal of evangelizing university students in the Korean language department. When I first began, due to financial constraints, I used a room in my apartment as both a classroom and a worship space.
Then, in September 2015, I rented a space on the first floor of the university dormitory, where I continued teaching Korean and holding worship services for the young students.
Today, some of the students who were evangelized during their first year at Kyiv Linguistic University have graduated and are working with me as teachers at our Korean language school. Since then, I have helped build churches in two regions, Vyshchev Vyzyvets and Radekhiv, which are 180 kilometers away. These churches have since been passed over to local pastors. During the process of building a third church, the war broke out, so the construction is currently on hold. During holiday seasons, we also conduct relief work for the less fortunate in areas served by the local pastors.
Missionary Journey
I am currently working with my disciples to teach Korean to young students and adults, while also striving to share the gospel. This year, I began teaching Korean again at Kyiv National Linguistic University, providing more opportunities to engage with Ukrainian youth. About 25% of my students have fathers or brothers who have been conscripted to the war, and many of them are dealing with the loss, disappearance, or injury of their loved
ones, so I am doing my best to offer comfort and support. I am also collaborating with local pastors in rural villages to carry out continuous relief efforts for struggling residents. In particular, I focus on helping widows and children who have lost their fathers due to the forced conscription of poor rural men into the military.
Additionally, I support Sunday schools at partner churches, helping local children become more involved. Sometimes as a teacher, sometimes as family, and sometimes as a missionary, I will continue to support, uplift, and serve each precious soul.
Vision for Future Ministry
Together with the disciples currently working with me, we are gradually expanding our Korean language teaching efforts, reaching young students to working professionals. Through cultivating relationships, we aim share the Gospel and broaden this outreach. We are striving to promote healthy Christian marriage culture among the younger generation, in a country that ranks first in divorce rates in Europe.
Our goal is to establish a healthy model of Christian families. While the youth ministry remains a priority, supporting faithful local pastors in different regions is also a key part of our future ministry. We are working to provide assistance—whether through ministry support, financial aid, or relief supplies—at least partially. After 19 years of missionary service, I have come to truly understand that people are the true treasure.
It is my hope that our family will be used as a tool to raise up faithful Christians, one person at a time. The wounds of Chernobyl and the ongoing attacks from Russia have caused political and economic instability, driving many young people to leave Ukraine for Europe. However, for those who remain here, we aim to share that the Lord is the only true hope.
Through worship and ministry, we seek to create warm, familial relationships where they can experience genuine love and connection.
Ukraine Vision Center 한글학교
Ministry Introduction
In 2004, I was sent to Indonesia. After spending a year studying the language, I moved to my current mission field, Purbalingga, where I taught Korean for about four years as a means of evangelizing Muslims.
In 2009, I received government approval to establish an orphanage, which I have been running ever since. I named the orphanage Boaz to reflect our mission of helping those in need, much like Boaz supported Ruth.
When we began the orphanage ministry, we started receiving newborns abandoned by single mothers. Initially, I had no plans to take in infants, but a hospital contacted us, asking if we could care for a newborn. Though I was initially hesitant, after prayer, I became convinced that this was God’s will, and we began accepting newborns. We also welcomed children who could not be adopted through adoption agencies.
In Indonesia, children automatically inherit the religion of their parents at birth. The mothers of the children who come to Boaz are Muslim, but by coming to our orphanage, they become children of God. In this way, God is using our orphanage to save and nurture these children.
Currently, we have 32 children, ranging in age from 3 to 17, living in our orphanage. To ensure that they receive a proper biblical education, we established a school within the orphanage, offering classes from kindergarten through high school.
All of our children receive their formal education within the orphanage. In addition, they participate in extracurricular activities outside the orphanage, such as Taekwondo and music. Our goal is for each child to learn at least one musical instrument. They are learning the violin, cello, and guitar. Moreover, they are studying Korean and English.
Our vision for future ministry
is to continue receiving abandoned newborns and raising them in the love of God. Additionally, we aim to nurture the children of Boaz to become individuals equipped with spiritual maturity, competence, and physical strength for the expansion of God’s Kingdom and the evangelization of Indonesia. We are also preparing to launch a ministry for single mothers. Just as Boaz helped the struggling Ruth, we hope to continue seeking out and supporting the modern-day Ruths—orphans and single mothers—in their times of need.
