Alexandria, Indiana, and in graphics design and marketing at the international Wesleyan church headquarters in Fishers, Indiana.
She started the Clay Purl yarn store in Nashville in 2011.
The Hayes’ opportunity for mission work arose when the Soviet Union broke apart, and the church got word of a businessman passing out Bibles in Kyiv, which turned into a makeshift church with 100 people meeting at a school. David was sent to Ukraine in 1992 as a pastor and compassion director.
David and his family lived and worked in Ukraine for two years, during the chaotic years just after the breakup of the Soviet Union, a time and place sometimes known as the“ wild, wild east.”
A typical factory worker in Ukraine made the equivalent of $ 8 a month at the time David and Shelly did mission work there. Life was rugged and the streets were dirty. Lightbulbs were routinely stolen from hallways and even elevator panels.
“ We were robbed five times the first seven months we were there,” he said. Practicing in front of a mirror, he learned not to smile at others on the streets, to avoid becoming a target. But he noted that much has changed for the better since those early days of Ukrainian independence.
photo by Bob Gustin
Shelly and David living in Ukraine, 1992.
“ Living in Ukraine in the early 1990s can be easily described with the Charles Dickens line—’ It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,’” Shelly said.“ We walked into a beautiful, yet very run-down city, nothing was familiar to us, everything seemed backwards to our way of thinking, food was scarce, the currency was in free-fall, and everything was fearful and chaotic.“ Yet, we met beautiful, proud, hospitable, well-educated people who loved their country, who loved their city, who loved being‘ Ukrainian,’ and who were beginning to taste freedom from centuries of oppression,” she said.
“ You would go into homes and get to know people” David said.“ There was a depth in that culture that you loved.“ They had so little, but they had deep love,” he said. He left the mission over concerns for the health of his family and the hardships of life in general. After that, he served as pastor in Chandler, Arizona, as well as Alexandria and Westfield in Indiana before returning to Parkview. But he continued to make visits to eastern Europe and never lost contact with some of the people he met there.
“ We left Ukraine in 1994 and didn’ t return until 2010. What we saw was nothing short of amazing. The city was truly beautiful, people held their heads high, we could see that the business climate had greatly changed. We were so excited to reconnect with our friends,” Shelly said.
“ Then we were able to spend extended time in Ukraine between 2016 and 2019. I believe the biggest observation I had during this time was that things had continued to move forward. We sensed the freedoms that they treasure, we saw the national pride increased( this was post Revolution of Dignity, 2014), we witnessed a free election when President Zelensky was elected, and we also saw the evidence of the continuing war taking place in the east.”
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May / June 2022 • Our Brown County 27