Sunday, July 8, 2012

Praising Jesus in Ukraine!


Here is a very small view of the passion and hunger for God that is present in the youth of Ukraine. What a blessing to be a part of it! Go Jesus!!


Here is my latest update....without any flavour or photos....just text!


Building Project / Staff Retreat
Kings’ Kids Camp
I’ve MOVED!
Youth Camp / Russia
Worship / Intercession

Wow, well it has already been three weeks since I have been back in Ukraine! I just wanted to give you quick update on some really awesome things that God has been doing since I have been back!

Building Project / Staff retreat:   We are building!! I have made a short video, and attached the link, of the first part of the year long building project we have begun. We first had to tear down the old building, and now have built a fence and prepared the ground for the builders to come and begin laying the new foundation. We are expanding to make room for more missions teams, training schools and general hosting capacity. The YWAM staff have been working hard here…and it has been a blessing to be here in such a foundational time!
Tuesday, July 10 we all leave for staff retreat for three days. All of the staff and volunteers of YWAM Ternopil will go away together to the country. We will camp, cook over a fire and draw water from a well….and most importantly have focused team time seeking God for vision, dreams and future personally and corporately.  I am honoured to give leadership to our times of organized worship and also will be leading a session on Encouragement and Blessing for each ministry team.




King’s Kids ministry has a vision to equip families; parents and children and everybody in the family, in ministry and missions. We have three staff that ran a weeklong Kings kids camp here at the YWAM base in Ternopil. There were a total of 13 kids/youth, ages 7 to 14, and I was super blessed in serving them by helping in the kitchen, cooking for them, and also leading them in worship. I was very touched and by God to see how He moved in their hearts and spoke to them in so many different ways.  Today one girl shared that the Holy Spirit spoke to her during worship that she needs to visit orphanages more often. Visiting orphanages is one of their ministry outreaches that they're doing in this mini-missions camp, along with receiving Biblical teaching and team building skills. This was a SUPER blessing!!


I have moved in with a dear Ukrainian lady, Totya (Auntie) Olga. She is probably in her 60s and she is going to have me stay with her at least for the summer months. One of the purposes is to put myself in a language/cultural immersion (Russian and Ukrainian). Olga is a believer and she's so excited to have me as a missionary and believer I live in her house and and become a part of their family. She has been a widow for over 20 years and has two children, both married and four grandchildren.  Her daughter worked with YWAM and is now married and living in Korea. She is familiar with our work and heart to reach out and has already shown me so much hospitality and care. She talks very slowly to me (lol!!) and I am learning more and am trusting God that this will be a time to integrate into the community and build more relationships with local people. Another highlight is that I have to walk to the base/office through a beautiful park!! This is such a blessing for me, and I just see that God is answering many of my prayers to serve and bless Ukraine, through this move and change, although I am not ignorant that there will be some challenges as well! It has already been strange and different having to go “home” at the end of the day!!

I AM GOING TO RUSSIA! Truly by God’s grace, I will be going to help the discipleship training school (DTS) staff lead a youth missions training camp and outreach to Russia with local Ukrainian churches. I have applied for my visa to Russia and was granted a tourist visa! PRAISE GOD – this is a new nation for me and I am very expectant to go and co-work with Holy Spirit!  We will go to Eastern Ukraine for 10 days to train youth at the camp. I will be teaching one session on cultural differences in missions, and one session on spiritual world/ worship & intercession. For me it is a great honour to have part in training young Ukrainian believers and walking with them as they rise up in Evangelism, outreach and missions.  After the camp, we will break into three teams and go on 10 days of practical outreach, preaching, praying, building relationships and partnering as God leads us. One team will go to a new church plant, one team will help a woman who started a new work in another city from Rick Renner’s church in Moscow, and one team will go to a new city, where there is no church or Christian witness.  Trip dates : July 16- August 6, 2012

BASE WORSHIP / INTERCESSION: I've had the privilege of leading worship to three times since I've been back already and really just so expectant to be the one to set my heart to see heartfelt worship and intercession birthed anew, here in YWAM Ternopil and also for YWAM Ukraine. I have started praying with another missionary in Kiev for YWAM Ukraine and it has been blessed. Durning our prayer time, we both realized how precious and important seeking God on behalf of the body of Christ in Ukraine is!  Also, I have made some really awesome God connections with YWAM Herrnhut, Germany. This is the home of the Moravian Church, the Moravian missions movement and the birth place of the 24/7 Prayer movement. The Moravian Church is known for its 120 years of 24/7 prayer which sparked the largest missionary movement in history. YWAM has a very active base there, and they are right now running schools of intercession, worship and school of the kingdom, frontier missions, etc. They are willing to host me for a time just to receive impartation, vision and refreshing in those areas so that I can bring that heart back here to Ukraine and see it established and implemented here at our based in Ternopil and in Ukraine at large.  Right now the tentative date for this adventure trip with Jesus is September 11 – 24…ish J!

God is good and certainly ALIVE! It is so good to be back in Ukraine and I really see a greater hunger for God growing in all of our hearts as we continue to seek Him and I get into His word. It is a time of TRANSITION here at the base and so please keep the prayer coming!  Thank you for your prayer, support and encouragement in financial giving. I am so thankful to God for His grace, His provision, His call and for the wonderful relationships He has given me in all of you. The Father God bless you all and I continue to pray for you all and look forward to hearing from you and giving you all the great reports from these different things that are taking place!