July 2012

Greetings from Ternopil!

Tanya, Vita, Nadya and Marilyn- Easter morning

We're experiencing a lot of changes right now in our ministry team. The Pomeroys have returned to the states for the birth of their fifth child. Please lift them up in prayer for a safe and healthy delivery. Please also pray for God's will and provision for their return to Ukraine. The Bible studies in Lutsk will resume in the fall and hopefully the Pomeroys will return to continue with the church plant there.

Another big change is the church plant in Vinnitsya. Tim and Christina Emerson and their two little ones, Leah and Caleb have joined with Daniel and Janette Carter and their two children, to plant the Calvary Chapel in Vinnitsya. It is so exciting to see the Lord answering prayer and putting a team together for Vinnitsya, but it is also sad because I have been so blessed to serve here in Ternopil with the Emersons. But such is the life of a pilgrim. We see many of our coworkers come and go, but one day we will all rejoice together in heaven. Until then, I will have to make a point to visit Vinnitsya. Please pray for the new church plant, wisdom for Daniel as the pastor, and for their team to be Spirit- filled and unified.

For the past month Jon and Stephanie have been in Hungary working on their new visas. So, with the Pomeroys, Emersons and half of the Markeys gone, our team is much smaller than usual. Many in our church are also gone for the summer. One group went to pick strawberries in Finland to earn support, and most of the students have either gone back to their home countries or are traveling to other cities and countries during the summer months. Because of the Euro 2012, the students were encouraged to leave the country.  I miss them already and am looking forward to September when everyone will return. I am very happy to say that Euro 2012 is over and it seemed there were few problems, for which I am very thankful.

 

Me with some of the girls at the National Conference

In May we had the Ukrainian National Conference in Kiev. In June, I was able to to attend the Foundations Conference in Vajta, Hungary. Both conferences were such a huge blessing. Often when making preparations to go, it can be challenging with changing my ministry schedules, traveling on the trains, finances, crossing the borders and praying there won't be problems, but this is my battle: trying to hang on to my comfort zone. But when I get to these conferences and I am with all of my brothers and sisters who I've been growing up with spiritually over the years, it is such a time of joy.  We were so blessed at both conferences to be taught by Phil Metzger, Phil Twente, John Chubik and Pam Markey. Wow! Such great teaching and needed encouragement. In Vajta we were also blessed with the teaching of Jim Gallagher,  Rich Chaffin and their wives. It was one of the most amazing conferences I have ever been to on Leadership in the Church. You can listen to it online if you'd like at www.ccbce.com  

For one of the women's sessions I was asked to share a short encouragement with the ladies and my heart was filled with memories and awe of what the Lord has done in Europe over the last 20 years. To look back and think of the small group of missionaries who were preaching on the streets of Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia with their guitars and a heart to share the gospel, it's truly a miracle to see all that is happening now. Many of the youth who were saved 20 years ago are now pastors and leaders in their churches. What is also amazing is to be a part of the work in Ukraine that was started at the same time and to see how the Lord has brought us all together as a family. That's why it's so good for us to come together and encourage one another. It opens our hearts to renew the Lord's vision for the work He's called us to. It's such a privilege to be a child of God. I'm looking forward to what He's going to do next!

Our group from CC Ternopil at the National Conference

Fellow Bible college students from the Castle in Austria 1993
Zsuzsa & Snowy are now serving in Serbia

 

Silvana- serving in Romania and Isabella- serving in Hungary

July 23rd to 27th CC Ternopil will be hosting the 3rd annual Ukrainian Worship Conference. This will consume my time for the next few weeks as I will be helping with the preparations, housing and menus. Please pray for wisdom and clarity of mind. 

Worship at a Church Picnic in May

English club will continue through the summer on Wednesday nights. We have become very close to several of the people. Please pray for their salvation. Some have come to our church picnics and are asking when the next one will be since they had such a great time.  I just pray they would want to come to church. Our picnics do combine the church service with a barbecue, so praise God they are hearing the message. I pray that one day soon they will become a part of God's family.

I've started doing tea time again with a children's summer English camp. I go in for 30 minutes and we have tea together and speak in English. It's a flexible schedule so I can go when I have time. I enjoy it. The kids are so cute and I've met new people, mostly teachers. Please pray for opportunities to be a light for Jesus at the school.

Thank you for your prayers and support. God bless you! 

Marilyn

Ternopil

Please pray for the Lord's provision, healing and strength

Please pray for Jon Markey and myself as we make preparations for the  worship conference July 23rd- 27th. We need God's wisdom, vision and provision! 

Please pray for God's will and provision for the Pomeroy family to return to Ukraine and pastor the church plant in Lutsk. Please also pray for a healthy birth of their 5th child.

Please pray for the Carters and the Emersons as they are planting a CC in Vinnitsya. For God's wisdom for Daniel as the new pastor and for unity of their team.

Please pray for English Club that it will be fruitful and we will see people get saved.

Please pray for our students who are scattered all over the world this summer. That they will be in fellowship and be witnesses for Jesus. 

Please pray for new opportunities for outreach and ministry in Ternopil.

Calvary Chapel Ternopil Ministry Team

 Left to right: Me, Stephen & Vanessa Pomeroy, Tim & Christina Emerson, Sharon & George Markey, Stephanie & Jon Markey

It's hard to believe three months have passed since my last update. Please believe me, I didn't plan it that way. I need your prayers and encouragement and it is my desire to keep you updated. I had hoped to give you a beautiful blog with lots of pictures, but alas, it didn't turn out that way. After experiencing a lot of computer and internet problems over the last two months, I lost all of my pictures from 2009 to 2012.  Last night 2009 and 2010 reappeared on my computer, so I'm hoping the last two years will do the same :) My computer and internet are now working great, after the help of a friend. I really hope we can recover the rest of my pictures. 

In January I was able to spend time in Kiev. I attended a women's retreat hosted by Calvary Chapel Kiev and taught by Pam Markey. It was a great time of encouragement and also a wonderful time of fellowship with many of the sisters and I hadn't seen in a long time. While I was there, I also had the privilege of playing flute in a trio at my friend, Anya Shevchenko's wedding.  I enjoyed staying with Cara Denney for 10 days during that time and was blessed by her hospitality. It was also a well needed time of rest. Cara lives in a village outside of Kiev.  If my pictures reappear I'll show you how beautiful it was.  The temperature dropped to 20 below 0 C while I was there and there was lots of snow. The temperatures stayed that low for several weeks, even after I returned to Ternopil. But praise the Lord, we were fine and most everyone in the church had warm apartments.

Some of the Sisters: Pamela, Khrystina, Nadya, Valya, Tanya (my roommate) and Me

Tanya: 

While praying about the need to reach out to the younger women in the church, God put on my heart to invite Tanya, who had attended our Missions Training Program, to move to Ternopil where I could disciple her for women's ministry. She is living with me now and has been a huge blessing, as more girls are coming to the house to visit and we get together here after church. I can't deny the fact that I am a lot older, so I think the girls just feel more comfortable coming around with Tanya here. Whatever the case, the Lord is bringing them and I am so excited. They are coming for Bible studies and discipleship and sharing a lot of their personal issues with me for prayer and guidance. This is a total answer to prayer. Please pray for Tanya to be raised up in women's ministry and service in the church and for me to be Spirit- led and to be be a godly example for her.

Women's Ministry:

In February I hosted a Valentines party for the single girls. I taught from Song of Solomon and talked of being content in our Beloved Jesus. Following that night I began a verse by verse study in Song of Solomon at the Friday night Sister's study and have also opened up the study to all the ladies in the church. In the past it was a study for the African sisters in English, but I could see that it was time for a change. Most of the African Sisters attend another church, so it's awesome to come together to study the Word and have fellowship. I think it is a great opportunity for them to open up and  seek to understand each other better, as their circumstances are very different. But our hope in Christ is the same. My prayer is that we will all fall more in love with Jesus and commit ourselves to being ambassadors for Christ to bring glory to God!

International Women's Day:

Our church hosted our yearly celebration for Women's Day. This is a huge holiday in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Schools and businesses are even closed. This year was very special for us because in the past, Sharon Markey and I have always shared. But this year, we asked two ladies in our church, Pamela and Tanya Melnyk, to step out in faith and share. It was so wonderful to hear them open up their hearts and encourage the ladies. Pamela is a medical student from Nigeria and was able to share how the Lord has encouraged her in her faith and trust in Him as a single woman. Tanya is a third generation Christian in Ukraine and shared with us the miracles God did to provide for her family during communism. The theme of the conference was 1 Tim 6: 6 "Godliness with contentment is great gain." I pray there will be more opportunities for these and other women to teach because we were so encouraged by what both of these ladies shared.  I was reminded of my purpose in being here: to raise up women in the church to encourage and teach others. Please pray for me to finish well and be an encouragement to the ladies to step out in faith and use the gifts the Lord has given them.

Worship Team Last Sunday

Church: We survived the freezing cold temperatures of winter in our cement, refrigerator-like building where we meet. After installing 7 wall heaters, and covering the windows, ceiling holes and entrance in plastic, we were quite comfortable with our coats, hats and and a cup of hot tea in our hands. We didn't lose any people to the cold and now that the weather is warmer we're looking forward to a much more comfortable spring and summer. However, last week at the end of the service, when I picked up my flute to play,  it was like blowing into an icicle. Praise the Lord, the little discomforts are not a discouragement, but something that seems to bring us closer together as a church. George and Jon have been teaching through the Book of Matthew and we have been studying the crucifixion and resurrection. It's such a perfect time, as our hearts are being prepared to celebrate the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ, as we celebrate Easter in a few weeks.   

 

Fellowship after church

Spring is here and we have teams of people going each week to our new church plants in Lutsk and Vinnitsya. I'm scheduled to go to Vinnitsya this Saturday to lead the English Club. I try to go once a month. It's a long day and journey (4 1/2 hours each way) but they are the dream English Club. We can talk about the Lord and they love to have discussions.  Tanya will be traveling with me. Please pray for a fruitful time.  

Thank you all for your prayers, encouragement and support. Love and blessings to you in Jesus! 

Happy New Year! 

Christmas is celebrated Jan 7th in Ukraine, so we still have all of our decorations up. It seems that I have spent a lot of time baking and decorating the past couple weeks because we are having so many celebrations. Our church celebrated the birth of Jesus our Messiah and Lord last Sunday. The church choir was wonderful. I know they spent a lot of time preparing for this day and it was such a blessing to see and hear. The children gave an adorable presentation. Afterwards, we had a time of fellowship with lots of baked goodies. We are so blessed with a very sweet and loving church. Unfortunately, some of our students were taking an exam this Sunday. They will be taking exams all the way up to New Years Eve.  The church will be celebrating NewYears together with worship and communion. 

Ternopil Main Square and Theater

Ternopil's main square is decorated for Christmas and New Years right now. Most weekends there is some sort of concert, political booths or children's entertainment set up in the square. It's a pleasant place to walk and see what's going on in the city.

This is something I never thought I would see in Ukraine: a police band playing in the square last Sunday..... and they rocked!

I'd like to take this opportunity now to sum up the last two months of the year. At the end of November, our Missions Training Program (MTP) came to an end. Our five graduates have now gone home and are praying and seeking God about where He would lead them to serve. Vova will be coming to Ternopil and help with the church plants in Lutsk and Vinnitsya.  This is a picture of the team praying for the MTP students at their graduation.







Also, in November there was a leadership conference for all of the Calvary Chapels in Ukraine. I had the blessing of sharing with the single women in leadership. I have known these young ladies for years now and it is such an encouragement to see how they love the Lord. Most of them are involved with children's ministry. Please pray that they will continue to be an example for all of the women in Ukraine. Please pray for more women in the churches to be raised up as teachers of the Word.

CC Leadership Conference Kiev

As my health has been steadily improving, ( and I'm FINALLY losing weight since my thryoid medication seems to be where it should be), I've started traveling again. Since we have two church plants that our church is actively involved in, I've had the opportunity to travel to both in the last few weeks. 

The Bible study in Lutsk is two to three hours away, depending on who is driving. I've been there three times now. I'm blessed to see a committed group of believers who are seeking to understand the grace of God. Please pray for their freedom from the law and to rest in the Lord's grace. There are also two Iranian sisters who attend the study. One already knew the Lord, and the other sister received the Lord two weeks ago! Please pray that they will get the resources they need in their language to grow in the knowledge of God's Word. Another big praise report is that Stephen Pomeroy and his family have moved to Ternopil. Stephen and his family will be moving to Lutsk to lead the fellowship there. Praise the Lord!

I also had the opportunity to go to Vinnitsya and help with the English club and be there for the Sunday service. Please pray that  a pastor will either move to Ukraine or be raised up within the country to lead this new church plant. In Ukraine, truly the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Our pastors are traveling to two different cities in addition to leading the church here in Ternopil.  Hopefully it will work out that I can go once a month to Lutsk and once a month to Vinnitsya. Please pray for a pastor for Vinnitsya and for Spirit filled teams to live in minister in Lutsk and Vinnitsya. 

Lunch with the church in Vinnitsya

At the beginning of December I was asked to share at the first Women's Retreat at Calvary Chapel Lviv. Mike Pratt is the pastor in Lviv and his wife Michelle hosted the event in their home. We had an amazing brunch prepared by Michelle, and then I shared with the women about "Staying on the path with God" It was such a precious group of young ladies to be able to minister to, but it always seems that I am the one that gets the most encouragement. The Pratts have also been a huge blessing to me as we've traveled together to Poland to keep out visas current. 

Another big blessing for me these last few months has been hosting "English Immersion Night" with three YWAM Students from the base here in Ternopil. They are in a five month program called "English for Missions. "Once a month they come to my home and we prepare a meal together. They are required to speak in English the entire time. Marichka and Oksana are Ukrainian and Marina is from Russia. Please pray that their English skills will improve as their desire is to use English as a tool for missions. All three of them have been serving the Lord for about 15 years and are seasoned missionaries. We have such a wonderful night of fellowship and they are a great inspiration for me as we share our stories of what the Lord has done while serving on the mission field.

English Immersion Night with Marichka, Oksana and Marina 

Last night we had a Christmas party with the English Cafe. We sang Christmas Carols and watched Greg Laurie's video, "RED: the color of Christmas." It was a great opportunity to share the gospel as usually we play word games and most of our witness is through the relationships we build with the people. Please pray for those that don't  know Jesus, that their hearts will cry out for Him!

English Cafe Christmas Party

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support. 

Happy New Year and may the Lord bless you beyond what you could have ever imagined! Remember, the Lord is on the throne!

God bless you, Marilyn

Please pray for the Calvary Chapel Leadership Conference in Kiev this weekend, Nov. 10- 12. I will be sharing with the single Women in Ministry. Please pray for wisdom and anointing to encourage the ladies. We will be few, but the Lord is strong! Please also pray for the Lord's protection as we travel to and from Kiev. The weather is getting foggy and snow is on the way. I will be driving with Sharon Markey and her three little boys. Please also pray that we will be refreshed from the conference and ready to minister Sunday morning at church after we return from Kiev Saturday night. 

I'll be posting another update after the conference. Thank you for your prayers!

This is my first attempt at a blog. Hopefully it will be a way that I can share my experiences, prayer requests and updates as God is leading us at Calvary Chapel Ternopil, Ukraine.  It's a beautiful fall day. The air is cool and leaves are floating past my window as I look out over the street. I like this time of year. Now, what to write.

I walk past this flower market daily... I love it!

Summer was filled with a lot of ministry activity. We hosted the 2nd annual Worship Conference in July attended by 60 musicians from all over Ukraine. Our guest speakers were Mike Payne, the worship leader at Calvary Chapel Budapest, Hungary,  and Pete Nelson,  pastor of White Fields Community Church, Colorado and former member of the band The Kry. We were blessed with incredible teaching through their wisdom and experience. We are planning to host the 3rd annual conference next summer. As a person obsessed with good service, based on my background in the restaurant business, it was my job to make sure everyone was served and fed with as few problems as possible. With the skill of Dima, our amazing cook from Youth with a Mission, the help of Janice from CC Lviv and Vanessa from CC Boryakonka, along with our brothers and sisters from the church in Ternopil, everyone was fed and happy.  The Lord provided abundant help through our family in Christ, and the food was delicious.

Our next big venture in faith was to begin a Missions Training Program. It is a 12 week program designed to train and equip those with a heart to go out into the world to preach the gospel. Classes began August 29th with 5 students, Ludmila, Vova, Kristina, Roma and Tanya. We've had terrific guest speakers come to teach the students. Regular classes are Tuesday through Friday with outreaches each week to the cities of Lutsk and Vinnitsia, and children's festivals each Saturday morning here in Ternopil. The students Tanya and Ludmila are living with me, so this is a great opportunity to spend time with them and hopefully be an encouragement in their desire to serve the Lord.

                                 Sasha Andrieshnya teaching the Missions Training Program

                                 Tim and Sasha leading the children in songs at the Children's Festival

At the end of summer we had our church service followed by a picnic. It was such a huge success we are going to have another one Oct. 2. I'm sure this will be the last one of the year, since the weather's getting cold. I invited the English Club and it seems that many will be coming. Hopefully they will come early to hear the church service. 

Church Picnic

The Sisters Bible study is continuing. It's so good to have the girls back who were gone for the summer. We're continuing our study on the Holy Spirit. The girls have a heart to study the Word and my prayer is to see all of us grow in our love and faith in the Lord. Each year I have to say good-by to one or two of the girls who have graduated and are returning to their home countries. This year we said good by to Tolu who was such a blessing to our fellowship. Please pray for Tolu, that she gets the teaching, fellowship and study of the Word she longs for in Nigeria. She has discovered Calvary Chapel radio and I'm blessed knowing that she is listening to the Bible studies so she can get good solid teaching. 

 

      Sisters Bible Study. We miss you Tolu!       

Prayer for Ternopil

• The Missions Training Program: for the students to be filled with the Spirit and to step out in faith to serve the Lord where ever He may lead them. 
• The children's festivals to be fuitful. The school where the festivals are held have opened up their facilities to use during the winter. They are also going to allow classes on drug and alcohol abuse given by Zhenya from our church. 
• The church picnic Oct. 2nd: Please pray that the group from English Club comes with their families and will hear the message. Please pray for their salvation
• The Sisters Bible Study: to grow in our love and faith in the Lord. For the Holy Spirit to fill us to overflowing!
• I have two English classes at the high school starting this week, Please pray that I will be a good witness for the Lord and will be used to draw people to him. I've also been asked to start a class at the Technical College. Please pray this will work out only if it's God's will. 
• Please pray for my health. If it's not one thing it's another. The Lord is teaching me patience and humility in dealing with hypothyroid disease. I took a blood glucose test and I'm pre diabetic. This is actually a blessing because it's forcing me to eat better and that also helps with the thyroid issue. I actually feel better now than I have in three years, but I do get really tired when I push myself. 
• Please pray for financial provision. As with all of you, things are a little tight right now. But I know the Lord is faithful. "When God guides, He provides"

Praise

• The Lord has sustained me for almost 19 years on the mission field. I praise Him for His love, grace and faithfulness to reach out to the lost and hurting. 

Thank you all for your prayers and support. You are equally a part of this work here in Ternopil. The Lord bless you! Marilyn

                    

Calvary Chapel Ternopil, Ukraine