The past couple of weeks have been filled with God’s blessings, life’s challenges, and great adventures.
Often, people ask me, “What are some of the differences between the States and Ukraine?” Well since my last post, we had an experience that answered this question in an interesting way. The city workers in Kiev spend their summer preparing and fixing the water lines for the winter. There is much digging that goes on around every apartment building.
In the States, the city water supply enters the home as cold water. Homes have hot water heaters that provide hot water. In Kiev, the city water comes into each apartment through two lines… hot and cold water. When there are repairs to the water lines, they might be happening to only ONE of the water lines. Sometimes, you have no cold water. Sometimes, you have no hot water.
Well, a couple of weeks ago, we woke up on a Sunday morning with no cold water. Just for a moment, picture trying to get ready for breakfast and church with ONLY hot water. The shower water was too hot to use in a normal way. We didn’t have any drinking water. Very interesting morning to say the least!
Our daughter, Bekah, has started second grade. We are homeschooling again this year. The last two years (pre-school and first grade), Jenni has done all of the teaching. This year, in our new setting, we share these responsibilities. Adding to this, we have our Russian language tutor now working with Bekah three hours a week in Russian. The other day, Bekah declared, “In second grade, I have three teachers!”
I teach Bekah math, Bible, reading, poetry, and physical education. Jenni does a whole bunch of other things (organizing the teaching plans, phonics, writing, science, geography, art, and health). And then, of course, Russian. We complete her school week in four days (Monday – Thursday). So, Bekah’s school days are quite busy for her, and us.
This past weekend, I made my first trip to Russia since 2002. I traveled to Volgograd, Russia, on Friday and returned on Monday. While in Volgograd, I spoke twice at a singles’ retreat, preached on Sunday morning at one of our churches, and spoke at a couples’ seminar on Sunday night. It was great to see old friend and meet new ones. God was with us and blessed our time together in so many ways.
I want to tell you of a miracle of timing that ONLY God can accomplish! While at the singles’ retreat, I met a young man named Eugene (English translation of his name). Eugene met a Nazarene single girl from Volgograd about one year ago, named Katya. God used Katya to lead Eugene to repentance and faith, and they fell in love. After speaking the second time on Saturday, Eugene wanted to talk with me. We spent the next two hours talking about his spiritual journey and God’s love for him.
I learned about his relationship with Katya and discovered that they were one week from their wedding day. Then, if you can imagine, one week after their wedding they are moving with Eugene’s work to Australia. They are both feeling the pressure/anxiety of getting married and moving far away from the love and support of family and church.
I asked, “What city are you going to in Australia?” Eugene said, “Oh, it is a small town. You probably haven’t heard of it… Gladstone.” Well, about three years ago, there was a young couple from my former church in Houston, Kyle and Becky Sukanen, who moved with Kyle’s job from Houston, Texas, to (wait for it) GLADSTONE, Australia! I made contact that night with Kyle and Becky, and they are planning to welcome and befriend Eugene and Katya to their new city.
I shared with Eugene that God does not miss anything! A year ago, when God brought Katya and Eugene together, He was calling us to come to the CIS as missionaries. God knew all along that I would be in Volgograd, speaking at the singles’ conference where Eugene and Katya were the week before their marriage. What a wonderful God we serve!!!
I am back in Kiev now, preparing for next week’s pastors’ meetings in Kiev, Ukraine, and Rostov, Russia. This next week, I will have opportunity to meet around 30 of our pastors on the CIS field. It is a very important week for me in ministry as God opens doors of friendship and love with the pastors across our field. Would you please pray as we train them in evangelism and church planting?
We know the Lord’s daily presence in our lives. He is faithful! We trust Him and see Him working in so many ways. Thank you for your continued prayers!