Category: David’s Posts

Moving tomorrow!

DavidLeave a comment

Tomorrow, my friends are coming over to help me and Katya move all of our stuff from one side of L’viv to the other. This whole process of packing up and moving over to Katya’s parents’ apartment has been a big reminder of when I just moved into this apartment.

It’s an odd feeling. Katya is away at a conference, I’m packing up, the apartment is getting and feeling emptier and emptier, and I’m having those butterflies, that queasiness that comes with moving to a new place.

There’s something, though, that I’m praying the Lord will help me keep in mind:

Leaving one thing is always coming to something else.

All of this is in preparation for our trip to America this winter. I cannot wait to step through the doors of my old church with my wife on my arm and show all of my friends the gem I found in Ukraine. I cannot wait to go over to my dad’s house and my mom’s house with my wife and spend Christmas / New Years with them. I cannot wait to travel from church to church to church to church telling of the good work that God has done through Katya and me here in L’viv, Ukraine.

We cannot wait to see all of you.

That’s the vision. That’s the excitement. That’s what makes the pain of moving worth it.

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P.S. – If you would like to see my blog posts from when I just moved in, click here. If you would like to see pictures, click here.

Missing my wife

DavidLeave a comment

Katya is going to be gone all this week translating at a conseling conference called “Coram Deo” (that’s Latin for “face to face with God”, I think). While she is gone, I’ll be finishing up packing and will move us over to her parents apartment. Please be praying for her especially, because she will be translating there from English into Russian, and, though she speaks Russian very well, it’s far from a first language for her. She is a little nervous. 😀 I know she will do a great job.

Y’all can also pray for me. I don’t really like being a bachelor again for a week, plus the pressure of moving. 😛 I’m gonna miss her.

There is a lot to do for this next month. We are waiting for Katya’s passport, working on her visa, looking for tickets, doing ministry, Katya is working, I’m taking a seminary class… Busy bees. It’s good, though. I love having a purpose, working toward a goal, accomplishing things… Believe it or not, there are times in ministry when you don’t feel like that, but you just have to keep on trucking, just like the rest of us, seeking The Lord and trusting Him.

we still need transportation, a place to stay, and part-time temporary work while we are in the States. If any of you hear about that or want to help with that, please let us know. (You can just comment blow.)

God bless!

What is true beauty?

DavidLeave a comment

katya-beautifulbarbie dollToday, as I was waking up and Katya was still lying there beside me, I was thinking about what true beauty is. My wife is beautiful, and I try to tell her that every day. One of my nicknames for her is “Beautiful.” I think, though, as a global culture, we’ve gotten away from the celebration of true beauty in a person.

I’d like to invite you to look at these two images and ask you to think for yourself, “Which one of these is a beautiful woman?”

If you answered, “The one on the left,” you are correct. Any other answer raises something fake to the level of a beautiful masterpiece made in the image of God.

No, my wife doesn’t always have her hair perfectly made, her makeup on (actually, I think I’ve only seen her in makeup 4-5 times), and a perfect tan, but that is not what makes her beautiful. Why is it that we miss the beauty of a woman because she doesn’t live up to the standards that the world sets for us?

Here’s my second point – the images on TV, on magazines, on billboards, etc., etc. – those are all just as fake as a barbie doll! If your standard of beauty is comparing women (especially your wife) to images that have been touched-up a thousand times by some graphics artist, then you will always be disappointed.

If, instead, you choose to look at them as the masterpieces that they are (Ephesians 2:10), created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), and fellow heirs in grace of God (1 Peter 3:7), you will respect them for who they are and see them with their true beauty! Jesus purchased her from her own sin and death, just like He purchased you – so her identity is in Christ, not in the shape of her body or the clothing / makup she wears (1 Peter 3:3-4)!

She is God’s masterpiece.

I intentionally picked a picture that wasn’t exactly the best of my beautiful wife (sorry honey!) to show more of the contrast here.

Picture credit for the doll – Funk out Yasmin after acetone cleaning by Saffy on Flickr.com, some rights reserved

Packing up!

David2 Comments
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Katya packing

Katya and I are getting ready to move over to her parents’ house to save some money for plane tickets. Please pray for us during that time. I’m excited for it (and Katya’s parents are really excited for it – they love having us both near! 😀 😀 ), but it’s also going to be a lot less space and less privacy for us.

It’s been good to go through all our stuff, though. We’re throwing away some stuff that we don’t need, giving a lot of other stuff away, putting a bunch of stuff up at Katya’s parents’ apartment, and taking a few things back to America with us. We won’t have much room at all when going back to the States, so I guess another thing you guys could pray for is wisdom for us as we’re packing.

Can't forget Katya!
Can’t forget the most important thing – my wife!!!

Katya, of course, has been a big blessing to me in all of this. 😀 I love watching her bounce around the apartment, listening to music, and packing. Please be praying for her – being in the States will be a bigger transition for her, as this will be her first time there. I just don’t want her to go through culture shock.

Thank you to all of you that are praying for us, that have been sending us encouraging notes, etc.! Keep it comin’! 😀 😀 We LOVE hearing from you guys!

P.S. – Please be praying for Katya’s visas and for our tickets! Those are the two big things that could keep us from being there for Christmas / New Year’s, and I really want to see my family and be there for Christmas. Thanks a lot!

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