Church Family Fellowship

Sunday, December 14, 2008 was our last Sunday in Gorlovka until (hopefully) March 2009. We had a good crowd for worship. Lena was baptized on Saturday and we wanted to have a little going away party on our last Sunday, so we had a fellowship after worship. The church is doing well and the feel at worship services and classes is very warm and loving. We are thankful for the blessings God has poured out on our church family.

Lena's Baptism

Seventeen members of our church family were able to celebrate with Lena today as she was baptized into Christ. Lena began attending classes and worship a couple of years ago. Lena's granddaughter, Dasha, has been attending classes and Children's Bible School for many years. It was a day of great joy for Lena and for our entire spiritual family.

Church Family and Emerging Youth Group

We had a good day of worship today in Gorlovka. It is late November and we are still waiting for our first snow (thankfully!). The fellowship at the church is warm and inviting. Today we had a birthday party for Lena, a neighbor lady who has been attending regularly for quite a while. Lena's granddaughter, Dasha, has been coming to classes and Children's Bible School for years.

We are working on building up a new youth group with young teens. They have three classes each weekend - on Friday with Olga Farkovets teaching, on Saturday with Ira Grabko teaching, and on Sunday with Kenny Payne teaching. They are still a "little wild" but they are good kids with a great deal of potential. When I teach them and play with them I always remember starting our first group about nine years ago.

Please keep the church family in your prayers. The financial crisis is hitting many of them close to home - with forced leave without pay from work, and the constant fear that pensions will not be paid each month. Of course, it is always the children, the elderly and the poor who suffer first and suffer most in such difficult times.

Church Fellowship and Party

On October 31st we had a great party for the children (I think the adults enjoyed as much as the kids!) in our church family and the neighborhood. We had a lot of games set up like Basketball Free throws, Go Fishing, Darts and Balloons, Coke Bottle Bowling, Ring Toss to win sodas, and more. We also had a haunted tent that was quite a hit. In addition we served chili and also had a small bonfire where the kids could roast hot dogs. We had nearly 70 present and it was a great event. Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

ABC Children and Caregivers

We visited the Baby Hospital yesterday and heard the great news that three of our babies found homes in Gorlovka this week. I remember the time when we rejoiced if three babies found a home in a year! Please be praying for those children and the others who have yet to find their forever families.

The staff at the Baby Hospital continue to amaze us with their love and care for the children. It is still sad that so many children are abandoned, but we are grateful to God and to our donors for being able to help these precious children.

Yalta Congregational Retreat

We had 29 people attend the Congregational Retreat in Yalta last week. The retreat was October 2nd - 5th at the Yalta Intourist Hotel. Our theme was: "So Loved..." Living In the Love of Jesus.

We had classes each morning and evening related to the theme of the Love of Jesus. Our evening worship was on the beach of the Black Sea - a truly beautiful setting. Each afternoon was left free for excursions. Groups went to the Botanical Gardens, a Palace, and we all visited the Yalta Zoo.

One highlight of the Retreat was the baptism of Victoria Mezavtfova. Vica has been attending worship services for awhile and she is the mother of Olesya - one of our college students.

Everyone was encouraged and left the retreat determined to live more securely in the Love of Jesus and to share that love with our family, friends, and neighbors.

College Class

Our Campus Ministry is off to a good start. I am teaching at the Language Institute each Thursday. I have second year students and I am in charge of their home reading assignment. We are reading the novel The Shack and discussing a couple of chapters each week. The students are enjoying it and we will soon be deep into the book and dealing with rather complex theological issues. It has been a long time since I was allowed to teach theology at the Institute.

On Thursday nights we meet at our worship room for a couple of hours. We play games, eat a meal, have a time of worship and then have a lesson. Right now we are studying the life of David. It is well attended and we hope that deep relationships will develop with some of these students.

Last Thursday one of the guys brought a cake! He said, after the good meal you fed me I just had to bring something back to you. That sense of appreciation and generosity took me back over 15 years to my first visit to Ukraine. (This young man was about Lexi's age then!).

We will have our congregational retreat this week in Yalta. Please keep us all in your prayers for safety and a great retreat.

Campus Ministry

One of our goals this fall is to work with the Language Institute and reach out to the many students who study there. Last week we began hosting a class for students on Thursday evenings at the worship room. This week I began teaching three groups of students at the Institute using "The Shack" as a textbook and planning discussions based on the book and passages from the Bible. I had a total of thirty-six students in classes this morning and we had about twenty for the class tonight. Lora cooked Lasagna for the students which - as typical college students - they enjoyed immensely.

Children's Bible School

Children's Bible School 2008 was a great success. We averaged 60 students per night, and had a lot of parents attend with the younger children. Our theme was "Stories Jesus Told: Love God, Love People." We focused on learning the Lord's Prayer and the verse to love God with all your heart, soul., mind and strength. The church family worked diligently to make Bible School a special event for the children. Enjoy the pictures...

Babushka Tea Party

As a spiritual family, our focus for Fall 2008 is to grow deeper in our faith and reach out to those who do not know Jesus. To help reach out to some of our neighbors, the Babushka Class that meets on Wednesday decided to host a "Neighborhood Tea Party." We had twenty two people present and eleven of them were visitors (ten babushkas and one diadushka). Everyone had a great time and we hope that some of our neighbors will begin attending classes and worship with our spiritual family. Please be praying that we will grow strong and larger as a spiritual family.