Spring Ministry Updates

There are several ministries my husband and I are involved in here in Ukraine.  Here's the major ones:

1. English Ministry

2. Mercy Ministry

3. Evangelism ministry

ENGLISH MINISTRY

We have several aspects of English ministry for Almaz: English Clubs, private English lessons for the staff, and kids English ministry.

English clubs have been going pretty steadily since the fall 2012, but with final exams here and summer approaching, we're not sure what will happen with our students in the next few months.  May, because of many holidays, caused us to cancel a few English clubs because there were no students around.  June is almost here now and we've started a new topic: Miracles Jesus performed during his ministry.  Our first week was last Friday, and we're very excited to see how it keeps going after a good first English club on this topic.  Please pray for the hearts of the students to see Christ and how glorious He is!

Private lessons continue to go well since the fall 2012, and I'll be adding another staff member to my teaching schedule soon.  It's a difficult ministry, because I speak so little Russian, but God makes all things possible!  Please pray that the staff will learn quickly and not become discouraged because of difficulties in the English language.

Kids English lessons after the church service is a new ministry my husband and I have been doing for the last 1.5 months.  It's going really well so far in many ways: 

1. The kids are learning English

2. The kids enjoy our lessons and we have more kids now than ever

3. The parents and pastors support the ministry and believe it is useful

Please pray that we will have more servants from the church for this ministry in the future when I am unable to lead the lessons because of our new-born baby.  Also, pray that more non-believing families will be attracted to God and the church because of these free English lessons for their kids.

MERCY MINISTRY

This ministry now is especially focused on people in the city clinics (alcoholics, drug addicts, homeless, mentally ill, poor, elderly etc).  However, the ministry team also makes trips to elderly nursing homes and orphanages about once a month in order to carry out the biblical mission of James 1:27.

The ministry is small, but growing quickly, and many people in the church are becoming more involved with this ministry than ever before.

Primarily functions of this ministry are to bring gifts of food, clothing, medicine, etc and to share the gospel, talk with the people about God and encourage them.  Please pray for more servants in this ministry, since we must often step out of our comfort zone in order to help people in need.

EVANGELISM MINISTRY

This ministry is new and growing.  Currently my husband and a staff member are working together to build the team of street evangelists, and make the plan for how to carry out sharing the gospel publicly in Kiev.  It's not an easy task and many people in the church are not willing to share the gospel publicly.  

Please pray that we'll gather a team of evangelists soon and get started on the many plans we have for sharing the gospel with the public in Kiev.

Also, there will be a team of 5 Americans coming in June to join us in street evangelism, and I'll be the 6th American on this team (although I'm a Kiev dweller now :).  This project will last 1-2 weeks, so please pray for it to prosper and enhance God's kingdom!

That's the majority of what I can say quickly about ministries we're involved in here in Ukraine.  Pray for us that God will lead us and give us strength and courage in all our ministries, and that we will glorify Him with all we do and say.

Thank you and God bless!!

Here's some pictures from our most recent kids English lesson. Picture thanks to one of our friends :)

Reflections from Proverbs 15

In my daily reading of scripture this morning I was reading Proverbs 15 and noticed a few verses with the same theme: reproof.

About 1-2 months ago I tried to lovingly reprove a friend, but as an unfortunate result of my reproof, we are no longer friends.  It was a very sad moment for me to lose a friend, but I realized through reading the scriptures again and again that my reproof was biblical, and that the result of this reproof is only disastrous to the person who rejected it.

Here's some verses generally about reproving that I have meditated on today and thought about over the last 2 months.

Verse 5 "A fool despises his father's instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent"
Verse 10 "There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die" - This one seems especially harsh for me...a clear warning of how important reproof is for our spiritual health and life.
Verse 12 "A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise" - Some people just don't like to hear that they are doing something less than perfect, this would include myself sometimes, and by God's grace I'm working this out.
Verse 28 "The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things" - This is really interesting, how many times have you said something without thinking that you regretted later, or that caused damage to a relationship with another person?  I know I have done this sometimes, and it has been done to me many times as well.  It's wise counsel that we should be slow to speak and anger, especially when someone is reproving us.
Verse 31 " The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise" - Did you notice that? "Life-giving reproof" - In the moment, reproof can feel like it sucks the life right out of you, but in the end, it is really giving life to your soul, especially if you take heed and follow wise advice.  I need to tell myself this when my husband or someone else reproves me for something.
Verse 32 "Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listen to reproof gains intelligence." - This simply speaks for itself!  Even though it's so contradictory to what we feel in our hearts, how true it is, that if we accept reproof, even unloving reproof, how much more do we gain from this than lose?

I know myself well enough that I know I am not the best at handling a harsh reproof.  It's mostly emotional for me, I feel like I have failed myself, or God, or something like this.  Other people have other reactions, but this is my unrighteous reaction sometimes, and I need to repent for it every time to gain the wisdom that God is trying to teach me through someone's reproof.  I haven't talked with my friend who I reproved for over 2 months because my friend refuses to make contact with me.  It's very sad, but I have to face the facts and look at the scripture.  God said we are wise and gain life if we listen to reproof, and only bad things come from rejecting it.  Therefore, I pray for my friend, and for my own heart too, that when reproved by someone we will be able to recognize any sin we have in our hearts and destroy it, so that we may gain wisdom and righteousness.

Five Ways Our Home is a Sanctuary of Peace

Before we got married, I read the book for Christian women "The Excellent Wife".  The book covered the basics and more or biblical womanhood and how to apply this to married life as a wife.  
One piece of advice from the author that has stuck with me in my marriage now is...make your home a place of rest, a sanctuary, where your husband and children can come home and find rest no matter what the world has thrown at them during the day.

1. I realized that the peacefulness of my home is a result of some things I can do, but is mostly a result of the peacefulness of my soul. This peace comes from trusting God, and knowing that know matter what we go through God is working all things for our good. We try by God's grace to make our home a place of rest, peace and love, and by that grace, God has given us such a home. I pray we will continue to have peace in our souls by trusting God even once we have kids in the house too. Isaiah 26:3 "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."

2. Preparing my mind and attitude so that when my husband comes home I am eagerly waiting for him, and cover him with my love.  This is important, and if I'm in the house when he gets home I drop everything to run to the door and greet him with hugs and kisses.  He needs this after long, hard days at work.  No matter how hard my day was, I pray to God for strength to reflect God's love to my husband, especially when we are together. 1 John 4:10-11 "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

3. I do what I can to help him with necessary things in life like finances.  For me, this means keeping track of our food budget, since I do all the cooking.  It helps him a lot, and if our food budget is in line we don't have to worry that we won't have enough food to eat at the end of the month.

4. I try to maintain the house so it's at least a little clean, and, at minimum, acceptable to look at.  This is harder and harder as time goes on, but I realize that if I get the cleaning done earlier in the day it means more time we can spend together and with God in the evening.

5. I do what I can to serve him as much as possible when we're together.  Some simple things are having dinner ready when he comes home (usually that means I need to cook something in the morning or afternoon before i go to work for a few hours), making him tea or massaging his feet, making sure he has clean shirts to wear the next day, packing lunch for him the night before or morning of, etc...
Service reflects the true heart of Christ...
Mark 10:44-45 "And whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

I hope you are encouraged by this to strive to make your home a place of rest for your family.  Wives and Moms have a huge influence on the peace and love in their family, probably more than they know! :)

God bless!

Do Not Forsake the Lord!

We watched part of the history channel "The Bible" series yesterday and after seeing such an amazing depiction of the exodus from Egypt it still amazes me that Israel forsakes God for idols, and they do it constantly throughout the Bible and history. Yet, I ask myself how easily I can be just like them! God gave the Israelites a strong warning...Do Not Forsake Me, Do Not Go After Idols, Lest I Destroy You! 

Deuteronomy 6:10-15
"And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth."

Nevertheless they lust after idols and forget their covenant with God and today we see their consequences today.  This makes me remember that I should never forget the goodness, holiness and worthiness of God, and that I should honor Him every day of my life, for He has made an exodus in my life too, bringing me out of slavery from sin. 

Here's a picture from the movie, where God brings the waters of the sea down on the Egyptians after the Israeites have passed to safety.  Amazing movie so far, I recommend it.  While it only tells some of the most important stories of the Bible, they are done fairly well and true to scripture.

Feeling lonely?

I sure do sometimes.

This morning I went to the clinic with my husband, but he had to leave for work before it was my turn to go in to one of my appointments.  

In Ukraine, there is no appointment system at the doctor office, you just show up when they are working and wait in line.  Sometimes you wait for hours just to see the doctor for a few minutes.  For pregnancy, women need to see many doctors and get many tests done, and this is overwhelming for Ukrainian women, so imagine how I feel...American, don't speak Russian/Ukrainian, and don;t understand the culture fully.  

So this morning I had to wait for about 30 minutes for the doctor, and meanwhile about 10 people come up to me and start asking questions in Russian or Ukrainian and I can't understand anything these people are saying to me.  I get this look of confusion on my face, and sometimes I can't manage to say anything at all.

Finally it was my turn to go in to the doctor, and I was able to get my husband on the phone to talk with the doctor.  I was only in the office for about 1 minute and the left again.  I had the option of going to another office to draw blood, but I didn't have the strength or courage to wait in line again and go through all the confusion.

It was incredibly hard, but everything worked out and thankfully that doctor wasn't mean or rude to me (sometimes it happens). So I praise God for that, but I just realize more and more how much I need to know Russian/Ukrainian, and it is currently next to impossible for me to take the time to study seriously. ( I work, have ministry and other responsibilities that take all my time)

I am still struggling emotionally and spiritually sometimes to get past the fact that I don't understand people most of the time. I know I need to trust and hope in God, but it's sometimes very difficult.

Some of my family members in America, and friends, struggle with depression and loneliness.  I understand what they are going through now that I'm in an environment where most of the time I have almost no communication with anyone all day except for my husband and some of the kids I work with.

When I first moved to Ukraine I felt extremely lonely, and I felt that no one understood what I was going through here.  I realized that Satan was using, and still is, these circumstances to lie to me and make me believe I'm alone.  1 Peter 5:8 says "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."  Since that time, I have started to fight back against my despondency and hopelessness with the truths of God and the Bible.  The foremost truth that I believe is that my God will never leave or forsake me.  The psalms are filled with this truth.  This morning at the clinic, I read Psalm 139:7-12 

"Where shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!If I take the wings of the morningand dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,even there your hand shall lead me,and your right hand shall hold me.If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me,and the light about me be night,"even the darkness is not dark to you;the night is bright as the day,for darkness is as light with you."


There are many other passages I can think of that talk of God's constant presence in the believer's life, but this one has captured my heart and mind for today.

I hope that if you feel lonely, despondent, depressed or hopeless that you will read these words for the psalms and know that you are not alone in your struggle.  Even if every person on the earth abandoned you (which is unlikely for most of us) God will still be there, and He is more than enough for our souls!  It took me a long time to realize this truth...that when I feel completely alone in this world and I have nothing earthly to hope in (ex: culture and language skills) God is the one who cares for my needs no matter what circumstances I'm in, and His love never fails me.

A Day the Hokies Will Never Forget

On April 16th, 2007 a tragic, massive shooting occurred at Virginia Tech, in which 32 people were murdered as a result.  Now 6 years later, the school has received healing from the horrific events that affected the whole campus and the whole world.  Over the years, there were other horrible events at Virginia Tech, which always left people wondering "why us?"

I was not present on the campus on April 16th 6 years ago, but I still remember the pain that showered the campus for a while afterward.

I used to ask God, "why do you let people die in such a horrible way?"

Well, after many years of growing in faith in God, I surely haven't come to an amazingly clean cut answer to that question.  However I do know a few things from the Bible that explain why there is such suffering in the world, and how we can handle it.

1. Sin is the cause of death - The Bible says in Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  People will all die, physically and some people eternally, because of sin.
The only way to escape eternal death is to be born again, through the gift of life and faith in Jesus Christ.  This is a free gift of God, of which no person can do anything to deserve.

2. God will provide relief from our suffering through faith in Jesus Christ, now and in the future - Matthew 11:28-29 "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

 Revelation 21:4 "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

3. The suffering does not last forever - 1 Peter 5:10 "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you"

4. Our pain and suffering is actually working for the good of believers - Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

5. Born again Christians can expect that they will suffer in this world,because of sin and because of their faith, but they should take heart, because God will not put them to shame - 
John 16:33 "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”"

2 Corinthians 4:8-10 "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies."

 Romans 8:18 - "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us"


Today I am praying specifically for the families and friends of those who died, who are still experiencing the pain or grief of loss, that they will be comforted by the God of all comfort.  I look at such circumstances as these, and always pray and trust God's plan.  His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and everything, even horrible things, work together in the grand scheme of His plan for the world to bring people to Him.

May God bless you to know Him today.

Happy April Fool's Day

Every April 1st, I specifically remember  back to a story I read about 3 years ago:

In Florida, an atheist became incensed over the preparation for Easter and Passover holidays and decided to contact his lawyer about the discrimination inflicted on atheists by the constant celebrations afforded to Christians and Jews with all their holidays while the atheists had no holiday to celebrate.

The case was brought before a wise judge who after listening to the long, passionate presentation of his lawyer, promptly banged his gavel and declared, "Case dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling and said, "Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? Surely the Christians have Christmas, Easter and many other observances. And the Jews -- why in addition to Passover they have Yom Kippur and Hanukkah... and yet my client and all other atheists have no such holiday!"

The judge leaned forward in his chair and simply said "Obviously your client is too confused to know about or to celebrate the atheists' holiday!"

The lawyer pompously said "We are aware of no such holiday for atheists, just when might that be, your honor?"

The judge said "Well it comes every year on exactly the same date-- April 1st!"

"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'"
Psalm 14:1, Psalm 53:1

If you ever doubt that God exists and that Jesus is the only mediator between God and man, then I recommend today that you think again, and pray about your understanding of God and who he is.  This is a life and death matter for you!  I've copied some texts below to help you get started.

Romans 1:18-25 God is angry about the sin of people
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen."

Romans 3:10-18 No one is born righteous, and everyone is condemned naturally because of sin

 "As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;

there is no one who understands;

there is no one who seeks God.

All have turned away,

they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.”

“Their throats are open graves;

their tongues practice deceit.”

“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”

“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

ruin and misery mark their ways,

and the way of peace they do not know.”

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”"

Romans 3:23-25 Christ took the punishment for all people's sins

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith."

Romans 6:23 - the cost of our sin

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 5:6-8 Christ died for the ungodly

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 10:8-9 The only way of salvation from eternal condemnation in hell
"But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

Galatians 2:16 There is no way to work hard and do good to get into heaven
"know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified."

May God bless you on this day to know, love and fear Him in reverent fear!
God Bless!