Happy New Year

Today the teens created 24 fruit baskets and distributed them to members of our church and other folks in our neighborhood. It was a great time of fun, giving, and sharing love with the elderly people who live around us. We sang to each person and Kenny and Lexi dressed up as Deed Moroz (Russian "Uncle Frost") and Snigorichka (Russian "Snow girl" his niece). Everyone enjoyed the visit from the kids and sang along and one babushka even danced along! Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Winter Has Arrived

We have enjoyed unseasonably warm weather this fall - until about 10 days ago. It snowed a little and stayed cold. Then last night during Bible study time it started snowing and has not stopped yet. It is a winter wonderland or a nightmare, depending on whether you have to be out in it, or if you just want to get out and play. Many schools have closed again due to a recurrence of the flu epidemic. I took some pictures while I was out today of the main street in town covered in snow - I was surprised that the authorities had not been able to clear the streets! Enjoy the pictures...

ABC Update

I visited the Baby Hospital today and saw our precious kids. It was shortly after lunch and right before they fell asleep for their afternoon naps. It is always an emotional experience to visit the kids because you want to take them all home and give them all the love they are missing, even though that is not possible.

We currently have 20 children in our care. Please keep them in your prayers that God will bless them with forever families. Also please keep the staff at the hospital in your prayers as they continue to provide care and love for these precious children.

At the end of this month we will complete our tenth year in providing for the children. Some of you have been sponsoring children the entire time, others have just recently begun providing support - either way, thanks for giving so that the children can have their basic needs provided. Your sacrifices are making a tangible difference in their lives.

Update and Happy Thanksgiving

As you may have seen on international news, Ukraine has been under a quarantine to attempt to halt the spread of the flu epidemic. The kids were out of school for three weeks and all large public gatherings were banned. We are working on renovating an apartment for storage and guests who visit and decided to let the kids help us with some wall removal. They worked really hard for a couple of days and wanted to be rewarded with a lock-in. Last Friday night I gave them their wish. We all had a great time together and did not get much sleep (because the kids wanted to talk all night long). The quarantine is finally over and the kids have returned to school (much to the joy of their parents)!

Our church family is doing well despite several folks who have had the flu. We began a new mid-week class on Christian Identity in a Pagan World (Lessons from 1 Peter). All our children's and teen/college age classes are going well, too. If you are celebrating Thanksgiving today (as we are) we hope that you will praise God for the many blessings he has given to you and your family. Thanks for being such faithful ministry partners.

Halloween Party

We had a great Halloween Party tonight. We had a hayride, played lots of games, roasted hot dogs and had a haunted house. The weather turned cold this week forcing us to have most of the activities in the worship room rather than outside as originally planned. There were a lot more kids than workers so we did not even manage to get a good count of those who attended. It was a wonderful time and everyone had a lot of fun and got a bag full of candy and prizes.

Repairs and Classes...

We are in the middle of a major repair project in the worship room. We have had a problem the past few years with the sewer system backing up and we decided that we would remove that system and run separate pipes only for the worship room. There has also been some settling of the foundation creating problems in the sub-flooring of the worship room that we wanted to repair. For the past week I have been working with the plumber everyday on this project. We have had all the classes and worship on Sunday at our house. Here are some pictures from the children's class on Saturday and the adult class tonight. Please continue to keep us all in your prayers.

Family Retreat in Yalta

Our second annual congregational family retreat in Yalta happened last weekend, October 2-4. We had 36 folks present, with 5 who had to cancel at the last minute due to illness. Our theme was "New Creations: How the Spirit of God Works in Our Lives." All ages were represented at the retreat and we all truly enjoyed each others company. On Sunday morning we had a sunrise service, although the sun did not cooperate very well. The weather was great for both Friday and Saturday and a little while on Sunday afternoon. Please be praying for the seed that was sown in the hearts of the visitors (two folks who have only attended a couple of services and one man who has never attended yet) will bear fruit for Jesus. Enjoy the pictures.

ABC Update

I visited at the Baby Hospital today and saw some beautiful babies! I was also given quite a surprise when the staff told me that someone had donated new windows in three of our rooms for ABC children. A man whose child had been in the hospital until his death of an incurable disease noticed that new windows would be nice and recently came and made the donation. May his tribe increase! Please continue to keep the babies and their care providers in your prayers. Your gifts are making a real difference in the lives of these precious children.

Teen Lock In

From the moment we arrived back in Ukraine the teens started asking about having a lock-in. Since I had jet lag anyway I decided to go ahead and do it last Friday night. We had a pizza party, devotional, and a lot of play time. As always the kids just loved being together. Enjoy the pictures.

Back In Ukraine

The Payne family spent the past 25 days in the U.S. renewing our visas, visiting with family, producing the Cross Culture annual report, and having a family vacation. We returned to Ukraine Tuesday night September 15. Tonight our church family hosted a meal and surprise welcome home party for us. The teens sang a song they composed in English, presented us with a couple of posters, and started asking about when the next lock-in would begin. We had a delightful time of feasting and fellowship. Enjoy the pictures.

Teen Self-Control and Bowling Week

We had our last Friday Fun Day for the summer. Today we learned about self-control - "making wise decisions based on God's will not our feelings." We also took the baby blankets we made to the Baby Hospital. Dr. Sergei Korotya, one of the members of our church family and the head doctor on the first floor, welcomed us and gave us a tour of his floor. Sergei said that he and his head nurse were just discussing yesterday that they needed more blankets for the babies. The kids were impacted greatly by their visit to the hospital and the realization that these children need parents. After visiting the hospital, eating lunch and working on our scrapbooks we went bowling.