Archive for January, 2009

How it went last night

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

As Mondays come around each week, we begin preparing for English Club and ABS. Sometimes it’s not without an inward sigh, especially considering other all-consuming to-do’s that have to be set aside. And then Tuesday night rolls around and we come home blessed, encouraged, and excited. It is so great to be a part of what God is doing in the lives of these people. We are truly coming to love and appreciate each member of our group, and pray that they will know Christ!

From left: Bryan, Roman, Taras, Joshua, Jessie, Roman.

From left: Bryan, Roman, Taras, Joshua, Jessie, Roman.

Meet Taras and Marian. (Do you know how unusual this photo is? Ukrainians hardly ever smile for pictures.)

Meet Taras and Marian. (Do you know how unusual this photo is? Ukrainians hardly ever smile for pictures.)

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This week in L’viv

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

With the arrival of a new team member, preparations for this summer’s outreach, the ongoing development and upkeep of our correspondence Bible course (CBC), and two growing little girls, our family is keeping pretty busy these days! Here’s a quick news update to fill you in on the latest.

Bryan Shufelt
When Bryan got here on January 16, he hit the ground running. For the time being, he has been living at our ministry center and has busied himself by handling some of the paperwork related to our correspondence course. This includes things like putting together “starter packets” for new students in the course, and packaging up full versions of Good and Evil for mailing. I recently gave Bryan the crash course on how we track our CBC students using a web-based application called CBC Admin. While much of the course management requires a knowledge of Ukrainian (such as answering letters or grading lessons) there are several things that Bryan can assist us with right away. And what a blessing that will be!

Joshua and Bryan work on grading Bible lessons which we recently received in the mail from some of our students.

Joshua and Bryan work on grading Bible lessons which we recently received in the mail from some of our students.

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We have a one-year-old!

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

It is hard to believe that our little baby girl is already one year old! Her actual birthday was on Saturday, the 17th, but we were so busy we didn’t celebrate until last night. At least when they’re this little they don’t know the difference!

Our little Rebekah Praise

Our little Rebekah Praise

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Welcome Bryan Shufelt!

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

This week, we are excited to announce the arrival of a new ETO team member: missionary Bryan Shufelt. Bryan served here in Ukraine with us during CMO 2006, and proved himself a capable and faithful minister of the Gospel. Bryan is sent out Fairpark Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

Bryan Shufelt

Bryan Shufelt

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Keeping Busy!

Thursday, January 15th, 2009
Standing (from left to right): Jessie, Evelina, Kelsie, Taras, Roman. Sitting: Joshua, Bohdan, Marian, Roman, Anya.

Standing (from left to right): Jessie, Evelina, Kelsie, Taras, Roman. Sitting: Joshua, Bohdan, Marian, Roman, Anya. (Click the picture to enlarge.)

After breaking last week for the Ukrainian Christmas (here in Ukraine they celebrate on the 6th and 7th of January), we prepared for English Club and ABS (Audio Bible Study) this week with anticipation. Over the past few weeks attendance had dropped due to the holidays, and we wondered if people would return. We had seen some good momentum and interest, but would it continue? On Monday we called our contact list, reminding people that we were resuming the meetings after Christmas. Everyone seemed excited to hear from us and promised to come. Sure enough, on Tuesday evening, the majority of our core group arrived with enthusiasm!

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Caroling for Comics

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

Here in Ukraine, it is common for children to go door to door and sing Christmas carols. This year, we had a couple of kids come to our door to sing, and after giving them the customary couple of grevenas (the equivalent of a few cents) we decided to offer them a copy of Good and Evil Short. Unfortunately, we only had one copy at the house on that day. (We store the bulk of our literature at our ministry center.) So we gave them the one we had and told them that if they or their friends wanted more, they could come by again later.

The next day, guess who was at the door? One of the kids had already read his copy of Good and Evil Short and now the others wanted one. We showed them the full version of Good and Evil, and explained how they could mail in the form at the back of Good and Evil Short to receive a copy on the mail. Then we gave them all their own copies of Good and Evil Short and they went happily on their way.

 

The boys who came to carol at our house show off their new copies of Good and Evil.

The boys who came to carol at our house show off their new copies of Good and Evil.

We are very excited about the Good and Evil project in Ukrainian and are already seeing very positive responses to this powerful book. If you are interested in purchasing copies of Good and Evil in Ukrainian for friends, churches, missionaries, etc. please contact us for details. We can ship the books to any address in Ukraine or the US.

About Love Relationships

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

With well over 300 Ukrainian students enrolled in our Chronological Bible Course, we get quite a lot of mail. Most of what we receive comes in the form of completed Bible lessons which are first graded and then returned to the student with the next lesson. But often we receive letters covering a broad range of topics. We have been asked everything from “Is it wrong to pray to icons?” to “Do I have a guardian angel?”

Recently, one of our newer students, a young lady named Maryana, wrote to us with the following question:

Can a girl who attends an evangelical church be involved romantically with a young man who goes to an Orthodox church? Please explain to me if this is permissible, and if it is done at all.

Due to the nature of the question, we decided that it would be best for Kelsie to answer this. Kels wrote the girl a three page letter, and when I had read it, I was again reminded of how blessed I am to have a prudent wife who loves the Lord. (Note to single guys: Look for a prudent wife who has a deep relationship with Christ. It will bless your life like you can’t imagine.)

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