Psalm 105:2 "Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts."
We had our second English club this week, and thanks to God it was a success! This time we were praying that God would bring more students to club, and that the students would not reject our conversation topic: Noah's Ark and the Flood.
Oles and I thought for a long time about what the topics should be, and finally, after much prayer and consideration, we decided on famous biblical events. For our next two English clubs this month, we will probably focus on the Exodus and one other topic from the Bible, or potentially world view.
The way we conducted this past club was based on discussion groups. We started by telling the condensed story of Noah and the flood from the Bible to give them background information for what happened. Then we split the students into two groups. Each group was given historical and archaeological information about Noah's Ark and the flood.
One group's goal was to use the information (Biblical, Historical and Archaeological) to prove their point that the Ark was real, and that the flood did happen, just as it says in the Bible.
The other group's goal was to prove the exact opposite: that the Ark didn't exist and the flood didn't occur.
What was interesting about the groups, is when we split them up, there was one Christian in the "prove it didn't exist" group and 2 non-Christians in the "prove it did exist" group. We gave them 30 minutes to read 1 page of information and then form a 2 minutes speech about their viewpoint.
After the groups did their speeches, they decided who had a better argument, and the group who was trying to prove the Ark and flood existed won the discussion.
We ended club around 9 pm and stayed to talk with our students afterwards. Many of them have very different ideas about the world, and from what we can tell, most of them are non-religious.
We're excited to see what god will do in the future with this club. Since I'm staying in Ukraine longer than 3 months, I'll go to get a Ukraine visa in about 3 weeks, and then return, with the hope to continue this English club and ministry here in Ukraine.
Please pray for this ministry (and also that I'll be able to easily get a visa to stay here!)
Christ is the only source of true happiness in this life. This is my blog all about life as Christians and GCM missionaries in Ukraine.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
English ministry!
Isaiah 55:10-11
"As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
God has done some great things over the last few weeks with the English ministry!
One of my English students, who I privately tutor as a part of both of our jobs in the church, has massively improved in her English skills. That's surprising to me, because I'm in no way a professional English tutor. In fact, she and I have had many frustrating lessons because I don't speak much Russian and her English was about as good as my Russian.
I remember our first meeting was really hard for her, because she didn't understand barely anything I said to her. We used google translate almost completely to talk to each other. (which is difficult because Google translate is often wrong for our purposes).
Well, we've had 5 meetings, and on our 5th meeting, she told me, in broken English, how God has given her motivation to learn English and how she sees it as important for her ministry too. I thought, "WOW, praise the Lord!" She had previously been very unmotivated with learning English because it's so hard for her.
That was a few days ago, and I gave her homework to do since then. This morning I got an emil from her with sentences she wanted me to check for correctness (she's studying some of the irregular verbs now). This wasn't part of her homework, she just decided to do this on her own to help her study more! I was amazed by God's work in her heart and this change in her attitude :)
......
The other thing that God has done with English ministry is to help us start the English club for non-believers. Our first meeting was this past Thursday and we'll have 3 more meetings, and hopefully more after I get a new visa and stay in Ukraine.
This English club is based on conversation to help promote conversation about God and the gospel. We got to know our students through an informal interview style. We reviewed some new words for them, helped them with some common English sounds, and we reviewed some grammar as well.
After the meeting I could tell the students liked it by the looks on their faces. They thanked me a lot for putting on the club and they look forward to our next meeting.
Praise the Lord! His word does not return to Him void! He does as He pleases, when He pleases, and all His purposes are good!
I am so encouraged by my relationship with Christ, and the things He has done in my life and ministry lately that it all greatly outweighs any suffering I have experienced here in Ukraine.
Stay tuned for more updates!
"As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
God has done some great things over the last few weeks with the English ministry!
One of my English students, who I privately tutor as a part of both of our jobs in the church, has massively improved in her English skills. That's surprising to me, because I'm in no way a professional English tutor. In fact, she and I have had many frustrating lessons because I don't speak much Russian and her English was about as good as my Russian.
I remember our first meeting was really hard for her, because she didn't understand barely anything I said to her. We used google translate almost completely to talk to each other. (which is difficult because Google translate is often wrong for our purposes).
Well, we've had 5 meetings, and on our 5th meeting, she told me, in broken English, how God has given her motivation to learn English and how she sees it as important for her ministry too. I thought, "WOW, praise the Lord!" She had previously been very unmotivated with learning English because it's so hard for her.
That was a few days ago, and I gave her homework to do since then. This morning I got an emil from her with sentences she wanted me to check for correctness (she's studying some of the irregular verbs now). This wasn't part of her homework, she just decided to do this on her own to help her study more! I was amazed by God's work in her heart and this change in her attitude :)
......
The other thing that God has done with English ministry is to help us start the English club for non-believers. Our first meeting was this past Thursday and we'll have 3 more meetings, and hopefully more after I get a new visa and stay in Ukraine.
This English club is based on conversation to help promote conversation about God and the gospel. We got to know our students through an informal interview style. We reviewed some new words for them, helped them with some common English sounds, and we reviewed some grammar as well.
After the meeting I could tell the students liked it by the looks on their faces. They thanked me a lot for putting on the club and they look forward to our next meeting.
Praise the Lord! His word does not return to Him void! He does as He pleases, when He pleases, and all His purposes are good!
I am so encouraged by my relationship with Christ, and the things He has done in my life and ministry lately that it all greatly outweighs any suffering I have experienced here in Ukraine.
Stay tuned for more updates!
How can I keep from singing your name?
Psalm 106:1 "Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."
I am reading through the book of Psalms because lately I've found that I need some encouragement.
Today started out as any regular day here in Kiev, Ukraine, but several things happened that were interesting.
I spent the morning reading scripture and preparing for my English club on Thursday. My fiancee Oles, asked me to meet him for lunch, so I managed to find my way by the metro (the long way but the easiest way) to meet him near his office.
Evidence of God's grace today #1:
When I got there, we sat on a bench in a park and talked for about 20 minutes before he had to go back, and we thanked God for the wisdom that He gave Oles in deciding to start this job. Just last night Oles had to decide between jobs at two companies, and each had their own risk associated with them, and he felt so broken and in need of wisdom from God. When e woke up this morning, prayed and read scripture he flipped a coin three times, and got the same answer three times. So, he went with the answer god gave him and chose to stay at the company he's with now.
In case you're wondering, in Ukraine, companies can easily cheat their employees and pay them less than they deserve, so we are praying that this company will be honest and we trust God that He will protect Oles from harm.
Evidence of God's grace today #2:
On my way back home I got on the public transportation bus, which is about $0.20 and the cheapest way to get around.
Here's a picture of the bus:
About half way on my trip some guy tapped me on the shoulder and asked me something in Russian. He signaled to me to give him something, but I was listening to worship music and didn't understand him anyways. Then he showed me a badge, and I was a little surprised. I thought, "maybe he's one of those traffic cops, except he checks to make sure people have paid for their bus ticket." Anyways, I instinctively pulled out my ticket, which I had paid for and made the "stamp" on to prove I had paid for this trip on the bus. He looked at my ticket for about 5 seconds and made a small tear at the top and then gave it back to me and moved on to the next person on the bus. I was so relieved and confused about what was happening, and all I could think about was "Thank you Lord that I didn't have any trouble from this guy!" The rest of that bus ride was uneventful, thank the Lord.
Here's what the public transportation tickets look like here:
Evidence of God's grace today #3:
So, after that had happened, I was in an excellent mood. I was beaming with happiness and thankfulness to God. On my way home, I decided to stop at the store and pick up some milk. Upon entering the store I forgot that I had bought a water bottle earlier at lunch, and here in Ukraine you have to put any previously bought products in a locker. It seems to me that they believe everybody will steal food or products if they have the opportunity.
So, I got in line to check out, and I've never had any problems until today with a cashier. After she rung up my products she pointed to my shoulder bag and asked me something. I didn't understand her, so I just said "Niet" which is the phonetic way to say "no", in Russian. She didn't understand why I was saying "no" to her, and she had this very serious look on her face.
THEN, I realized she was pointing to my water bottle, which had about an inch sticking out of the top of my bag. I thought "Oh my gosh, she probably thinks I am stealing this from their store."
So anyways, I told her I don't understand, and she realized I didn't speak Russian and called over a manager. Well, he didn't speak English either, so they had me wait at the register for about 5 minutes while they tried to get someone who spoke English.
In my broken Russian/English (I call it "Ranglish") I tried to tell them I bought it in the metro earlier.
Eventually they said I could go, and the cashier had a good laugh at the situation and probably smiled for the first time today. (No body smiles here, everyone is so sad looking all the time because they probably don't have God in their lives).
So after that, I praised the Lord, that He AGAIN protected me from a potentially bad situation. On the way back home I listened to this song by Chris Tomlin "How can I keep from singing your name?" I was so happy and so joyful, I just couldn't stop smiling and praising God.
Here's the lyrics:
There is an endless song
Echoes in my soul
I hear the music ring
And though the storms may come
I am holding on
To the rock I cling
How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing
I will lift my eyes
In the darkest night
For I know my Savior lives
And I will walk with You
Knowing You'll see me through
And sing the songs You give
I can sing in the troubled times
Sing when I win
I can sing when I lose my step
And fall down again
I can sing 'cause You pick me up
Sing 'cause You're there
I can sing 'cause You hear me, Lord
When I call to You in prayer
I can sing with my last breath
Sing for I know
That I'll sing with the angels
And the saints around the throne
...
The words "I know I am loved by the King, And it makes my heart want to sing" just kept ringing in my ears and resonating in my heart.
Everyday I feel pressures from this culture, these people, these languages (Russian and Ukrainian) and ministry responsibilities. But God constantly lifts me out of despair. He even prevents me from really getting to the point of despair! God is so amazing, and because I am loved by the King, my heart is singing all the time of his awesomeness!
It's days like this that I realize how much God wants me to be here, and how much He is taking care of me here in this strange place!
I'll update more soon about what's happening in ministry! :)
I am reading through the book of Psalms because lately I've found that I need some encouragement.
Today started out as any regular day here in Kiev, Ukraine, but several things happened that were interesting.
I spent the morning reading scripture and preparing for my English club on Thursday. My fiancee Oles, asked me to meet him for lunch, so I managed to find my way by the metro (the long way but the easiest way) to meet him near his office.
Evidence of God's grace today #1:
When I got there, we sat on a bench in a park and talked for about 20 minutes before he had to go back, and we thanked God for the wisdom that He gave Oles in deciding to start this job. Just last night Oles had to decide between jobs at two companies, and each had their own risk associated with them, and he felt so broken and in need of wisdom from God. When e woke up this morning, prayed and read scripture he flipped a coin three times, and got the same answer three times. So, he went with the answer god gave him and chose to stay at the company he's with now.
In case you're wondering, in Ukraine, companies can easily cheat their employees and pay them less than they deserve, so we are praying that this company will be honest and we trust God that He will protect Oles from harm.
Evidence of God's grace today #2:
On my way back home I got on the public transportation bus, which is about $0.20 and the cheapest way to get around.
Here's a picture of the bus:
Here's what the public transportation tickets look like here:
Evidence of God's grace today #3:
So, after that had happened, I was in an excellent mood. I was beaming with happiness and thankfulness to God. On my way home, I decided to stop at the store and pick up some milk. Upon entering the store I forgot that I had bought a water bottle earlier at lunch, and here in Ukraine you have to put any previously bought products in a locker. It seems to me that they believe everybody will steal food or products if they have the opportunity.
So, I got in line to check out, and I've never had any problems until today with a cashier. After she rung up my products she pointed to my shoulder bag and asked me something. I didn't understand her, so I just said "Niet" which is the phonetic way to say "no", in Russian. She didn't understand why I was saying "no" to her, and she had this very serious look on her face.
THEN, I realized she was pointing to my water bottle, which had about an inch sticking out of the top of my bag. I thought "Oh my gosh, she probably thinks I am stealing this from their store."
So anyways, I told her I don't understand, and she realized I didn't speak Russian and called over a manager. Well, he didn't speak English either, so they had me wait at the register for about 5 minutes while they tried to get someone who spoke English.
In my broken Russian/English (I call it "Ranglish") I tried to tell them I bought it in the metro earlier.
Eventually they said I could go, and the cashier had a good laugh at the situation and probably smiled for the first time today. (No body smiles here, everyone is so sad looking all the time because they probably don't have God in their lives).
So after that, I praised the Lord, that He AGAIN protected me from a potentially bad situation. On the way back home I listened to this song by Chris Tomlin "How can I keep from singing your name?" I was so happy and so joyful, I just couldn't stop smiling and praising God.
Here's the lyrics:
There is an endless song
Echoes in my soul
I hear the music ring
And though the storms may come
I am holding on
To the rock I cling
How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing
I will lift my eyes
In the darkest night
For I know my Savior lives
And I will walk with You
Knowing You'll see me through
And sing the songs You give
I can sing in the troubled times
Sing when I win
I can sing when I lose my step
And fall down again
I can sing 'cause You pick me up
Sing 'cause You're there
I can sing 'cause You hear me, Lord
When I call to You in prayer
I can sing with my last breath
Sing for I know
That I'll sing with the angels
And the saints around the throne
...
The words "I know I am loved by the King, And it makes my heart want to sing" just kept ringing in my ears and resonating in my heart.
Everyday I feel pressures from this culture, these people, these languages (Russian and Ukrainian) and ministry responsibilities. But God constantly lifts me out of despair. He even prevents me from really getting to the point of despair! God is so amazing, and because I am loved by the King, my heart is singing all the time of his awesomeness!
It's days like this that I realize how much God wants me to be here, and how much He is taking care of me here in this strange place!
I'll update more soon about what's happening in ministry! :)
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Priorities
The last week was crazy. I barely had enough time to sleep and entered the weekend extremely tired, physically. Why? Well, God blessed Oles and I by our engagement and we had to run around Kiev last week trying to fill out paper work in order for me to stay here in Ukraine past my 90 days.
So we were doing all the paperwork and traveling on top of all the normal stuff I do every week here. I was also thinking a lot about English clubs and how to prepare for it, how to conduct it etc, and it was exhausting, just thinking bout where to start.
Last night I expressed to Oles all my concerns about my schedule and confusion about how I should prioritize my time here in Kiev. So, we got out my phone and made a list of how my priorities should be so that I can most glorify God with my time. So far today, I have referred to several times to check myself and how I'm using my time.
Priorities:
1. My prayer life and time in meditation - listening for the Holy Spirit and what he's telling me to do.
2. Reading and learning scripture (basically just as important as number one, because they always go together).
3. Filling any free time with preaching, reading christian books, other spiritual things that will help me to grow in my relationship with God.
4. Quality time with my parents and sisters. I need to schedule regular times each week when I can just meet with them individually to talk and spend time together, because before I am married, they are my next priority in relationships next to God. Make sure to pray about them everyday and tell them I am praying for them.Ephesians 6:1-4 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord"
5. Care about my roommates and their physical and spiritual needs. They are my closest neighbors, and the bible says I should care about my neighbors. Mark 12:31 "The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”"
6. Care about Oles, my fiancee, and his needs.
7. My personal time of rest - specifically caring for my physical needs
8. All of my ministries - including English clubs, orphanage visits, children's ministry
9. Time spent with other friends and planning my life (wedding stuff specifically)
10. Learning Russian
This might not be the perfect order for everything in my life, but generally, on the level of importance for growing God's kingdom and storing up treasures in heaven, I think this is how my priorities should be.
The last few weeks I've realized that my priorities are not right most of the time here in Ukraine. I think this is due partly my sinful nature as a human being, partly my personality, and partly my American culture clashing with Ukrainian culture. I try to put God first always, but everything after that can often fall in any order of importance in my mind, and it usually causes me stress when I realize I haven't done something that is important. It's a daily challenge to figure out the best way to manage my time, especially when I'm still experiencing cultural shock every day (language, people, transportation, culture, food, etc...)
Today I prayed that God would fill me first with the longing for him and his word, and second that He would fill me with the love for others, more than the love for myself.
Please pray for me, that I will continue to seek God first above all things and make Him the highest priority and the most precious relationship in my life. He is indeed worthy of my time and my affections!
Matt 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
So we were doing all the paperwork and traveling on top of all the normal stuff I do every week here. I was also thinking a lot about English clubs and how to prepare for it, how to conduct it etc, and it was exhausting, just thinking bout where to start.
Last night I expressed to Oles all my concerns about my schedule and confusion about how I should prioritize my time here in Kiev. So, we got out my phone and made a list of how my priorities should be so that I can most glorify God with my time. So far today, I have referred to several times to check myself and how I'm using my time.
Priorities:
1. My prayer life and time in meditation - listening for the Holy Spirit and what he's telling me to do.
2. Reading and learning scripture (basically just as important as number one, because they always go together).
3. Filling any free time with preaching, reading christian books, other spiritual things that will help me to grow in my relationship with God.
4. Quality time with my parents and sisters. I need to schedule regular times each week when I can just meet with them individually to talk and spend time together, because before I am married, they are my next priority in relationships next to God. Make sure to pray about them everyday and tell them I am praying for them.Ephesians 6:1-4 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord"
5. Care about my roommates and their physical and spiritual needs. They are my closest neighbors, and the bible says I should care about my neighbors. Mark 12:31 "The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”"
6. Care about Oles, my fiancee, and his needs.
7. My personal time of rest - specifically caring for my physical needs
8. All of my ministries - including English clubs, orphanage visits, children's ministry
9. Time spent with other friends and planning my life (wedding stuff specifically)
10. Learning Russian
This might not be the perfect order for everything in my life, but generally, on the level of importance for growing God's kingdom and storing up treasures in heaven, I think this is how my priorities should be.
The last few weeks I've realized that my priorities are not right most of the time here in Ukraine. I think this is due partly my sinful nature as a human being, partly my personality, and partly my American culture clashing with Ukrainian culture. I try to put God first always, but everything after that can often fall in any order of importance in my mind, and it usually causes me stress when I realize I haven't done something that is important. It's a daily challenge to figure out the best way to manage my time, especially when I'm still experiencing cultural shock every day (language, people, transportation, culture, food, etc...)
Today I prayed that God would fill me first with the longing for him and his word, and second that He would fill me with the love for others, more than the love for myself.
Please pray for me, that I will continue to seek God first above all things and make Him the highest priority and the most precious relationship in my life. He is indeed worthy of my time and my affections!
Matt 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
Monday, September 3, 2012
Practicing patience
Part of my ministry here in Ukraine is teaching English to the church staff. When the pastors proposed this idea to me about 8 months ago it sounded great! I would be helping the church a lot by this service and it would help them to serve in many of the church's ministries!
Well, little did I know exactly how difficult it would be to meet one-on-one with a non-English speaking person to talk about English grammar!
For instance: My student the other day told me (through google translate :) that she can't pronounce the "th" sound in English. I thought to myself, well...I certainly can't tell you how to pronounce it! It's just one of those things that's natural to me, but not to her. I found this cartoon on the internet that looked a little like what we were trying to accomplish (but no teeth falling out lol) :)
The most difficult thing for me is when they just don't get it, and no matter how many times I try to explain or translate, it just doesn't work. I feel like I have failed them sometimes, and this was especially hard to cope with the other day. I felt like, because of our language barrier, we couldn't be as productive in learning English. That certainly is true, but I don't think I was giving God enough credit for the power that He holds over this situation. And, it was sinful for me to become discouraged over that situation. I am remembering now more than ever that: "“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me." 2 Cor 12:19
Please pray for the English ministry here in Ukraine. So far the lessons with the staff are going fine, but it's challenging for sure, and takes a lot of patience and encouragement from God. We're likely going back to the orphanage this weekend to visit the kids again, but please pray for this also so that we may continue spreading Christ's love to them!
Well, little did I know exactly how difficult it would be to meet one-on-one with a non-English speaking person to talk about English grammar!
For instance: My student the other day told me (through google translate :) that she can't pronounce the "th" sound in English. I thought to myself, well...I certainly can't tell you how to pronounce it! It's just one of those things that's natural to me, but not to her. I found this cartoon on the internet that looked a little like what we were trying to accomplish (but no teeth falling out lol) :)
The most difficult thing for me is when they just don't get it, and no matter how many times I try to explain or translate, it just doesn't work. I feel like I have failed them sometimes, and this was especially hard to cope with the other day. I felt like, because of our language barrier, we couldn't be as productive in learning English. That certainly is true, but I don't think I was giving God enough credit for the power that He holds over this situation. And, it was sinful for me to become discouraged over that situation. I am remembering now more than ever that: "“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me." 2 Cor 12:19
Please pray for the English ministry here in Ukraine. So far the lessons with the staff are going fine, but it's challenging for sure, and takes a lot of patience and encouragement from God. We're likely going back to the orphanage this weekend to visit the kids again, but please pray for this also so that we may continue spreading Christ's love to them!
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