Greetings from Ukraine! It's been a very long, cold winter!
Proverbs 28:27
This is the verse I was meditating on the morning of Dec 27 when my doorbell rang. There was a gypsy with his hand on his stomach. "I'm hungry", he pleaded. I paused, then went to my kitchen and brought him back some fruit. He sat down on the stairs and began eating. So many times when people are begging I ask myself, is he telling the truth? Is he going to sell what I give him? Is he going to buy alcohol? But I don't want to hide my eyes, and I believe this was a test the Lord was giving me that morning. He was hungry and I could share my food with him. I told the man the food was from Jesus and he looked above with thankful eyes.
At our weekly team meeting I shared what the Lord was speaking to me and how I wanted to reach out to the people in the city. Pastor George shared that the Lord had also been speaking to him about this very need. We decided to take a thermos of hot tea to the train station following our prayer meeting Tuesday night, just to see if this would bless them. The temperatures at night are below freezing and a cup of hot tea would warm and comfort them. We discovered about 20 people who sleep in the train station . The tea was a very welcome gift. "Do you have any food?" many of them asked. We had to respond with sorrow, knowing our church didn't have the funds to support a food ministry. The following week, one of the leaders in our church, Aleksiy offered to bring food to the train station for the homeless. He and his wife wanted to help. The Lord says He who gives to the poor will not lack, we were stepping out in faith. This time we took food and hot tea. They were so thankful. We told them of Jesus' love for them and His gift of salvation is the greatest gift we can offer them. The joy we all felt was great, and by faith, we agreed to continue bringing what we could when it was provided.
The following morning I received a phone call from Gayla, a woman in our church. She and her husband are returning to the states after 16 years of ministering in Ternopil. She explained that she had been feeding 75 elderly people every week and they come for a Bible study. Would our church pray about taking this ministry over when they leave? The answer was clear. God was leading us to reach out to the poor. These are the pensioners. Those that grew up during Soviet times and were forgotten in the changes of government and new opportunities for Ukraine. They receive about $100 a month or less to live on. As Ukraine has become more and more expensive just to meet basic needs, that is just not enough money. As missionaries, we have watched our grocery bills double, then triple, in the last few years. Utility bills have gone way up and it's just not cheap to live here anymore. For the elderly, there is nothing they can do but work to survive on the little they receive from the government.
Again by faith, we agreed to take over this ministry. The most exciting part is they come for Bible study before the food is distributed. They don't have to, but about 50 of them do. I went once to observe how they do all of this in order to prepare for taking over this ministry, and was so blessed. They love the Bible study and are learning the basic truths of God's Word. Most of them were raised in the Catholic Church and Ukrainian traditions. They are receiving God's Word. I was also blessed by the ministry as a whole and the way the food distribution was organized. A bakery delivers 75 loaves of bread and Gayla's co-worker, Nicolai passes out bags of grains and pasta to the elderly. The ministry has reviewed government records in the Ternopil in order to assure that each person there qualifies for help. It is well organized and bursting with God's love.
A few weeks later, after weeks of battling a treacherous cold, I returned to observe the food center ministry. Afterwards, Gayla and I went into the house and she began telling me how the landlord was selling it for $50,000. Say what? This is an unbelievable price! We quickly started talking about the possibility of the church buying it. We have no money, but God was leading. I was there because God led me to this place. We were being obedient to help the poor. Could it be, God would provide for this building that included a remodeled garage that holds a weekly Bible study for 50 people? The kitchen is fully stocked and the appliances are included, the attic is huge, the backyard could easily be used to extend the main room of the house to build a sanctuary. We could move in and use the building right away. This is unheard of. But this is God!
The furniture will stay and we can use this room for moms and babies as well as ministry meetings
The kitchen will be left fully stocked including appliances. We can prepare meals here right away.
The bathroom has been remodeled with a large shower. We could host guests here in the future, but we will need more bathroom facilities to accommodate the church
So, again by faith, since I do the accounting for our church, I called George. "We had our baby this morning!!!" he was shouting into the phone. George and Sharon had just welcomed their fourth little boy James into this world. "Congratulations George! That's great! But I also have something exciting to tell you!" It's pretty funny now, but time was short. I was also shouting into my cell phone. I'm not sure if it was from the excitement or the noise on the street. I went home and wrote out an email explaining the situation to George. He gathered us for prayer and took some of the team over to look at the house. We truly believed God led us there and this building was for us. Our church would finally have a home. A place for the church, along with our 30 children, a place for the elderly to have Bible studies and a food center, a place to prepare food to feed the homeless and a place for any future ministries God directs us into. Thank you God! It took six days, from the time we first looked at the house, to get the papers signed and the down payment paid. Glory to God!
Now by faith, we will make the complete payment by the end of April. We covet your prayers and if you would like to help financially, there is an account set up at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. You can contact me and I will give you the information. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the meeting room for the Food Center/ Bible study. I will get one soon.
One half of the attic. It's a huge room. We are hoping to remodel it for children's ministry or meeting rooms. We need an architect to help us make plans.
View of the yard. We have plenty of space in the yard to extend the room in order to make the church sanctuary
This is an exciting time for us and we look forward to this new venture in faith as the Lord has provided a building for us. May we be faithful to use this building according to His purpose and His glory.
Many blessings to all of you. I thank you so much for your prayers and your financial support so that I may continue to serve in Ukraine. To those of you in the west, may your celebration of Jesus' resurrection bring glory to Him and touch the world around you. Ukraine will be celebrating His resurrection May 5th. God bless you all!!!!
Praise God!
- For leading and providing for our new church building
- For the blessed opportunity to minister to the elderly and homeless in Ternopil
- For my week in Vajta, Hungary where I was able to share with the students in the Missions Training Program
- For the privilege of serving Jesus!
Prayer requests
- Healing for one of the ladies in our church. She needs surgery and it is quite serious.
- For the remaining funds to purchase the new church building
- For finances and workers to help with remodeling the new building
- For healing and strengthening of a tired and weary body. I have some health issues, but it doesn't seem to be too serious, but I need a few more tests.
- For God's provision to continue living and serving in Ukraine
- For wisdom in leading the food center. Aleksiy will help with the food. I will be teaching the Bible studies
- For Ukrainian men and women to be raised up as leaders in the church
