Concert Tour - Jaime Jorge

I will return to Ukraine on June 11th. On June 12th Jaime Jorge, a well known Christian violinist will arrive for an all-Ukraine musical tour. Jaime was here once before and toured in the Kiev area. He is gifted in music, but also he gives wonderful testimony between each number. Please pray that the Lord would use him mightily as he travels the country with Jeff and our daughter Leah. Pray for their travel safety for that 10 days and that God would be lifted up in the hearts of Ukrainians.

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Armenia

In July Jeff will travel to Armenia to work with the "Yerevan 10." That means the ten missionaries that were selected to start new churches in the capital of Armenia which is Yerevan. He has already done several trainings with these men and the Lord blesses each time with a further bonding of friendship. Jeff is a gifted teacher and has a good way of drawing men into the whole training process so that he is not simply lecturing.

On the heels of that training, still in Yerevan, Jeff will meet with the missionaries from the underground churches of a nearby "no-access country." He has been training with these dear folks for some years now and this is their only formal training, to come out of this country into Armenia where Jeff teaches a different book of the Bible each time. This time it will be from Romans.

When Jeff is home he has many of the typical responsibilities of any pastor. He is considered the #2 pastor in the church so he preaches each Sunday plus he leads various groups and counsels. The phone and door bell are often ringing when Jeff is home. So, I ask that you will please pray for Jeff in the next weeks as he studies and prepares for what God would have him bring to the two groups in Armenia.

New Arrival - A Gift from Heaven

I am in Conway, Arkansas as I write helping my oldest daughter Sarah with her new baby boy, Tripp Morgan Jones. Tripp was born on May 22nd at 2:45 a.m. (yes, it was a late night), he was 20 inches long, 7 pounds, 9 ounces, and all fingers and toes. This is our third grandchild, but our first grandson. I can see he is going to be a lot of fun.

Given that we live so far away, there are many things we cannot do for our daughter/grandchildren, but attending the birth and helping for a month afterwards is something I can do. The children will grow up knowing grandma was there and held them after they were born. What a blessing for me.

Church in Novo Alekseyevka, Southern Ukraine

This is the beautiful little church where Jeff and I participated in a youth conference in early May. The funny thing is that the majority of the youth looked like they were our age and older. Jeff's topic was "How to find Love, Joy and Purpose in the Modern World." After the 5 hour conference we had lunch served by the church, followed by about 20 some youth and ladies who met to do the "Heritage of Faith" Scrapbooks. What a blessed time we had.
"I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember your wonders..." Ps. 77:11

Deaf ladies scrapbooking their faith

This is one of two classes I did at Simferopol Baptist Church in Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine. The pastor's wife, Judy VanSant did the sign language interpretation for me.

Heritage of Faith Scrapbooks

Not long ago I had the privilege of leading three different groups of ladies in a process of documenting their faith. These books are an expression of one's faith and a testimony for family and future generations. The great grandchildren will see pictures of you, but how will they know what you believed if you do not write it down. What an opportunity to influence future generations. We all had a great time putting in the pictures and writing about what led to salvation, their baptism, who influenced them, how they pray, their church and its various events, etc. I even had a wonderful group of deaf ladies who did this. Thank you to all of you who have supported this ministry. I have been so blessed to see the response. All three classes want me to return in the fall to do another class. I suggested a scrapbook on "things we are grateful for" or a prayer journal/scrapbook. All glory and honor to Him who gives us grace.

Training Sunday school teachers

On Saturday the 26th of April I had the privilege of training Sunday school teachers at the Simferopol Baptist Church in the Crimea, Ukraine. We had about 10 teachers and we went through the reasons for using crafts as a tool for evangelism. They were all enthusiastic and we had a great time. I think most went away with a fresh understanding of how they can use this tool to reach children in a way that just storytelling will not do. God is the master Creator and we all have some of that in us. Children love to create and a verse on everything further leads to a witness in the home for those who see the child's creation. We had a great time and I'm glad for the opportunity to share this work for the benefit of the children of Ukraine.