“These things have I spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” ~ Jesus of Nazareth - John 15:11
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| TERNOPIL OUTREACH TEAM - 2011 |
Dear family and friends J
We are well into 2011....and here in Ukraine we have had the privilege of celebrating Christmas and New Year twice, along with other extended holidays in the country! We have joked that in Ukraine, the Christmas season will never end. If you can believe it we have had out Christmas tree up from the beginning of November and it is still up! For me this is a personal all time record – ha ha ha ha!
Here is a brief update from what the Lord has been doing in our midst in Ternopil, Ukraine. Please also check out the photo links to see more photos and the blog link to read more in-depth on some of the topics.
Our Team – Just the other day we said “Good-bye” to Venera, our outreach team member from Kazhekstan. She returned to her DTS in Lutsk to have their week of debriefing and then she will return to her home country. We are now adjusting to our team being four of us. We have certainly gone through some good challenges in our relationships of team life, but we are reminded that having conflict forces us to work on our “stuff” and to submit ourselves to God and humble ourselves before one another. Conflict forces intimacy J - a lesson well learned this Discipleship Training School!
It has also been a huge learning curve for me to be in a team with two wonderful people who have come from Muslim nations and backgrounds. We are learning to love one another in Jesus’ grace and I am gaining a compassion and understanding for the people of these nations and the way that they think, express themselves and relate.
Kids Camp – The ESL Bible Classes have taken off! After running a Camp during Christmas break with a faithful 15 -16 kids that came we continued to have classes on Saturdays because the kids enjoyed it so much! Just last Saturday we had 24 kids come, 4 of whom were new to the classes! We are together for 2 ½ hours each Saturday and we play games, sing songs and learn Bible lessons all in English...and the fun part...then we do language activities and exercises to improve their English language. We have seen many kids improve in the short time, simply by having native English speakers present to listen to, talk to and learn from!
Our last Saturday, February 26, we are inviting the parents to come and listen to their kids sing and do short dramas in English. My class, the beginner advanced, 12-13 age group, are learning “Happy Day” by Tim Hughes! THEY LOVE IT and for me it is tonnes of fun because I get to challenge them in class!
I have seen from this class that my students are so hungry to have me believe in them and love them for who God made them to be. I have 4 regular students, Volodya, Slavic, Tania and Marta, all of which were our English Students last spring when we were here doing our TESOL outreach. Please pray for them and their families, some are believers and some are not yet believers. Just last Saturday when the girls were leaving I was saying goodbye and Tania lunged forward and gave me a huge hug! I was shocked – THAT IS NOT CULTURALLY NORMAL!!! And I praise God for what He is doing! Homeless Ministry – GOD IS GREAT and has been blessing us with joy as we work on the streets two nights a week. This ministry is not the easiest nor the most gratifying to our “instant result” mind set, but God’s heart is for the poor and needy, of spirit and physical circumstance. We have seen God do mighty deeds on the streets, mostly through equipping and encouraging the brother who we are working with. He has been serving these people for 2 years, since he was made new in Christ. He was a criminal before that and naturally has a heart for these people. We can see God raising him up to lead a ministry team and last night we brought two young adults from another church in Ternopil who are interested in serving with him.
IT IS SUCH A PRIVILEDGE TO BE A PART OF GOD EQUIPPING HIS CHURCH TO DO THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY!! One of the greatest needs in Ukraine is true unity between Christians and churches...and we are a part of the peacemaking process!
There have also been some of those that we serve express a desire to let God change them and take them out of such a life. We continue to pray for the Holy Spirit’s transforming power to work in each heart and life! He is able to give each of us new life and freedom in Jesus Christ!
Ministry to Seniors – We are going weekly to the Senior’s home just outside of the city. This has been SO wonderful, simply meeting new people who have no visitors and who are bed ridden. We have had many great conversations, learned about their lives and just loved them, sharing the message of Christ with them. Just last week God opened a door and we are now officially working with the Home’s psychologist, who is a missionary from another region in Ukraine. This already has been so blessed, as she knows who receives no visitors and who needs spiritual care.
Last time we went to visit our “grandpa”, Sebastian Stephanavich, who is a war hero. I wrote about him in November. He was so excited to see us, just like old friends. He shared with us that he and his two friends had a wonderful time with us for Thanksgiving. He said something that really BLESSED us and is worth praising Jesus for. He said, “There was such a love and unity between all of you. We loved being with you. You all have the morality and brotherhood of the Communists!” We obviously laughed at the last sentence about Communists, but the truth is that in the USSR morality and “brotherhood” were high standards. PRAISE JESUS for this – John 17:21 – when we are one, the world will see Jesus and believe that God sent Him J!
This week we are going to the Seniors home to show the Jesus Film in Russian. We are excited to have another afternoon with our friends there!
Local Church ministry – Two weeks ago we went on a weekend trip to help a village church. I wrote about this on my blog. Please check it out, as it was an experience worth sharing more about! After being with the village church we stopped in a city called Chortkiv and ministered at a church that we have helped before. It was a powerful time of the family of God coming together. Each of our team shared about ourselves and God’s work in our lives and then a message was shared and received, hitting one of the unbiblical traditions common in Ukraine.
It was officially my first time leading worship in Russian!! Ahhhhh! I lead two worship songs and God came in great power as we lifted Him up in praise! For me that was a breakthrough as I was a little nervous to lead in Russian, but I am practicing J!
We return to Chortkiv this coming weekend to minister in the services. Their Pastor is in the USA, and asked us to help for a couple of Sundays. We love it because this church has such a love and passion for Jesus and is not bound by tradition or religious formalities. The life of God flows in this church and we are so thankful and blessed to be a part of their family for this time!
So that is the UPDATE J! For more info. Please check out the links below
NEW YEARS AND MORE: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=607156&id=741610340&l=ad7cbbb502
I will be home in just under 2 months....wow.....until then we are continuing to receive and release God's presence here in Ukraine - TRANSFORMATION time!
TONNES OF LOVE TO YOU ALL, Allison
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