Gennady and Mina Podgaisky | Poland, Ukraine
I (Gennady) met Bill 20 years ago. He came to the Village of Hope Foster Families Ministry Center in Bucha, Ukraine, with the first team of volunteers from North Carolina. They came to help to rebuild the former youth communist camp which was abandoned and in a state of disrepair. The camp was closed after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. This was Bill’s third trip to Ukraine. He, along with several other men, had come to Ukraine before on scouting trips, looking for a suitable property for the foster families’ ministry center.
Bill was a family man, who had raised several children and who had a long and successful engineering career which had taken him around the world. He worked hard and provided for his family as well as being active in his local church. Bill was not a preacher or a teacher; he was a hands-on kind of person. He showed his faith and dedication to the Lord through practical deeds of love and service to others. He has lived his faith by coming to Ukraine 19 times in the past 21 years.
He spent his time being instrumental in managing the rebuilding of several buildings and making the whole property of the Village of Hope operational. He served as a “construction consultant” and helped to receive/lead/manage dozens of volunteer teams and hundreds of volunteers who came to the Village of Hope in the summers. In the years prior to the war, three foster families with up to 24 foster children lived at the Village of Hope. Bill saw his efforts coming to fruition, and he met and maintained a relationship with a number of the foster children who had come to and who grew up in the foster families residing on the property.
He was not used to being idle and doing nothing. Upon his retirement, he wanted to be useful and spend the rest of his life by serving others, utilizing his life and work experiences. He did it so well. Often just his presence, even with no words, encouraged and inspired others to do better whatever they were doing or to get involved in service to others. He was there when we needed him. He promoted the ministry of the Village of Hope stateside and spoke in many churches, recruiting volunteers and raising funds on behalf of the ministry. That was his life purpose, and he was a faithful servant in God’s hands. I want to be Bill when “I grow up.” Thank you, Bill, for your faithfulness, your example and your inspiration; you did well.
Several years ago, my wife and I came to the heartfelt realization that we will never be able to retire, even if/when we reach retirement age. Regardless of where we will be living, there will always be people in need, hurting people, people who will need counseling, words of wisdom, encouragement, spiritual guidance or just our presence. We have been called by God to this type of ministry. We have been faithful to our calling, and God has not withdrawn that call upon our life. We will never be without “work.”
We want to be like Bill, going and doing whatever he could, until he could do it no more. Bill passed from an illness on March 21, 2023. I know that when Bill met his Creator, he heard the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matt. 25:21)
