We just wanted to give a quick update on the past few months with the ministry that God has been doing around and through us here in Ukraine and Eastern / Central Europe.
March to May, 2023
In March, we finally realized a vision that we had for several months in Czechia. David worked for a long time with two different churches to plan, prepare for, and set up a Ukrainian prayer evening and concert that also had an evangelistic aspect. We originally planned to have it in Poland at the end of 2022; however, our contacts there fell through, and we finally pulled it off in eastern Czechia in March of 2023.
Katya had the amazing privilege of working with and translating for a retreat by Joni&Friends at the end of March for disabled Ukrainian military veterans in Germany. Since then, Katya has continued her relationship with that organization and is looking for other opportunities to help, especially for those that have lost limbs in this conflict.
This is a picture of David and his friend Tomasz at a Czech restaurant in Lviv. Unfortunately, the occasion for the meeting is to reminisce about our old church that closed just after the first big attack in February, 2022. Tomasz was with us in the leadership team of the church back then, and it was good to “say goodbye” to that season of life with him.
In May, David began the task of writing an entire preaching course, complete with a workbook, for the All–Ukrainian School of Ministry. It is based on Ramesh Richard’s book Preparing Expository Sermons; however, there are several modifications that David made based both on other books and his seminary studies.
June to July, 2023
God gave David the opportunity to preach, lead worship, and speak briefly at different events from May to June in a small town in northern Ukraine. We are excited about the new ministry relationship with the church there and hope to continue to serve with them in many ways in the future.
We were briefly able to serve a military chaplain in June when he came through Lviv for a short time. We were able to give him a place to rest and wash up before a trip, and our church asked him to come up, share, and be prayed for during the service.
David had surgery on our anniversary this year, removing two inguinal hernias. It’s disappointing that an attempt to make yourself healthier (going to the gym) would harm your health and put you “out of the game” for several months; however, recovery seems to be going well. Please pray for good news at his next check up at the beginning of September, as he really wants to get back to working out.
We had a wonderful, blessed time with a team from Iowa that came in late June / early July. They were amazing—servant–hearted, easy–going, and full of joy. God has continued to serve through them in the testimonies that they left behind in the hearts of the people here. Please pray for more opportunities to have teams here in the future.
I (David) am very proud of Katya and her ability to translate, even over Zoom calls. This is a picture of her translating for a seminary class in June. As you can see, she has two different computers connected, because she was also running some of the multimedia for the class.
Not all of the summer has been entirely positive. It’s actually been very hard to sleep from day–to–day, as the russians have been sending cruise missiles and suicide drones, sometimes several nights per week. This is a picture of an apartment building that was hit a couple of miles from where we live. This war is real, and it is taking a toll on us. Please pray for us to be able to handle the stress and understand how to serve and grow in the midst of it.
This is a cooling setup for David’s computer as it was compiling the video lectures that he put together for the All–Ukrainian School of Ministry. Thank God, one of our supporter families purchased a new computer for him, and that should arrive in the next few months. Please pray for us to have the resources to buy equipment like this when needed.
Also, if you would like to become a regular supporter of ours, you can click here to go to our giving page, or, if you would like more information about our vision and what we do, click here.
August and Beyond, 2023
Most recently, we had the opportunity to help a refugee single mother travel from Poland to Ukraine and back with her two kids in August. They needed to get some documents done. Unfortunately, while on that trip, her son (the little boy behind Katya) broke his leg, and they needed other help while here. Even with all of the adventures, though, we really enjoyed our time with them. Please pray for them, as life in the EU has been very rough.
One of the other adventures we had on that trip was being caught in an apparent “police trap” on the way back to Ukraine. David broke an obscure traffic law—a Polish friend even said that folks from there normally don’t pay any attention to that law. However, because of the seriousness of the fine and the points system in Poland, we aren’t sure if it’s safe now for David to drive in that country. They have a policy of taking your license from you if you have too many points, even if you’re just passing through and don’t live there. We could now get stranded far from home for the smallest traffic violation. Please pray for God’s wisdom as to how to overcome this, as we have important ministry connections through Poland.
There are other trips, ministry opportunities, and health challenges that we have either now or coming up in September / October. If you would like to stay up–to–date with our prayer needs, please sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.
Thank you all for praying and for taking the time to be interested in our ministry!
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