Children's Bible School

We closed out our 2006 Children's Bible School with a bang. We had parents night - inviting the parents to come for the drama presentation at the end and stay for supper. We fed 160 people! It was a great event for our church family and the community around us. Thought you might like some more pictures...

The Foster's Visit to Ukraine

Our friends, Randy and Amy Foster, from the Palo Alto church in Panama City were recently with us for a couple of weeks. They painted a room at the Baby Hospital, worked on the beautification projects in our neighborhood and helped with Children's Bible School. Thanks Randy and Amy for blessing our lives with your time and talents.

Children's Bible School

We just finished our third night of Children's Bible School. We have more than 80 kids coming each night, being taught by our 30+ volunteers. Our theme is "Walking with Jesus" and we built a large Bible to serve as the backgrounds for our Bible stories. We are having almost all of it outside in the playground so that people in the community can see what is going on. We have had a lot of adults peering in at the learning centers and watching the drama. Hope you enjoy the pictures...

Pushkin Gardens

Our teens have been working hard the past couple of weeks on community improvement projects. To earn their spot for the Yalta Retreat the kids have to work in the neighborhood around the church and make a difference in the appearance of our community. Today we completed a great project that took a lot of effort. Unfortunately I did not take "before" pictures, so those who have never been here cannot imagine what it may have looked like. Let me assure you this is a great improvement and all our neighbors can't believe the beautiful garden we have created. People walking by stop and comment about it wondering why this is not happening at their buildings. Some folks from a nearby building have started asking if we want to buy an apartment in their building.
One great result of all this work on our common space is that many neighbors have pitched in to help. Probably the greatest surprise has been the enthusiasm of two couples who used to complain constantly about the church meeting in their building. They are outside everyday inspecting what's new and getting their hands involved with the work! Pray that our gardens will prove as effective in touching the hearts of our neighbors as the playground has been.

Family Care Center Update

The work at the Family Care Center is finally moving in the direction of positive construction! All the demolition is complete and we are working hard to complete two second floor apartments. The bedrooms have been created with metal studs and most of the sheet-rock is up. The electrician has done the wiring and the heating pipes and radiators have been installed. It is so exciting to visit and be able to discern the layout of the apartment. The bathrooms have been studded and the plumbers are almost finished with all the plumbing there - each apartment has two bathrooms! (This is an extreme luxury in Ukraine). In the larger bathroom there is also going to be a washer/dryer combo. The kitchen and living areas are also moving along nicely. Soon we will begin building the balconeys. We hope to have these two apartments completed in about a month. Please keep the project in your prayers.