Children's Ministry

One of our little performers in the church. We are blessed to have people who work with the children and give them wonderful training in music and drama.

Life in Ukraine

We still have snow on the ground, but milder temperatures are melting some of it. This picture shows how some live here. Though the snow is leaving us, there is still plenty of heating weather left for a number of months yet (May/June). Some still heat with wood, and many, due to economic recession, have gone back to heating with wood. So much of the population here is without transportation beyond bicycles and walking. Thus explains the three men working together to bring their wood back home. Another unfortunate outcome of this situation is that more and more trees are being cut. Whereas many roadways were lined with trees, they are thinning considerably. All I can say is thank you Lord that I have a car and a warm house. Let me not take these things for granted.

Imprisoned

Not long ago I wrote about friends who have been imprisoned for their faith. If you would like more information on these people and more pertinent details than what I can write about you may go to the link below. There is no new news other than except that someone led the police to them when they were arrested. This person needs praying for as well.

http://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue8903.html

Sergey and Vica in Oleksandrivka

Jeff returned on Sunday from Armenia and we are grateful for the Lord's loving protection in bringing him home. Tomorrow he leaves again to go from our area of central Ukraine to western Ukraine. He will be visiting our BMA missionaries Sergey and Vica in the village of Oleksandrivka. They have a ministry to children that is spreading well beyond the borders of their village to surrounding towns and village. It is my privilege to be able to send them craft materials for this work that is lovingly supplied by the folks at First Baptist Church of Carthage, Texas. Please pray for Sergey and Vica's ministry and for Jeff's protection as he travels to and from there in what is still freezing winter weather. We are ever grateful for you who lift us up before the throne of grace that through your prayers we are enabled to serve with joy. Thank you for your love and kindnesses.

Youth in Bethany Church

This is some of our girls performing in the church. They often do skits and songs as part of our services. From left to right is Liza, Tanya, Lesya and Tiya. They are high school and college students. We are grateful for their hearts of service.

Sunday in Yerevan, Armenia

Jeff had the honor of being the preacher at this service on Sunday morning in the Armenian church. He said it was a time of joy and fellowship with other believers and a sense of God's presence permeating the church. Four people came forward to make professions of faith just before the above picture was taken. In Yerevan they have communion at the end of their worship service. This is Asatur, Tigran (Y-10), and Andronik (Y-10) thanking the Lord for giving his body to be broken for our sin and for shedding his innocent blood for our forgiveness. We are rejoicing and praising Him for the new souls that have come into His kingdom in the week Jeff was gone. Please pray for their growth.

Nightly Meetings - Armenia

Here's a report from Jeff in Armenia: We have had very good meetings with the brothers in every way, sensing God's presence. During the day I am studying the Word and in the evenings I go to their various meetings. Some until late in the night. God has been speaking to me in so many ways.

We had a wonderful meeting today. Aram is the name of the leader of this group. One of his members felt led to open his apartment for meetings.....nightly. Amazing how sometimes we in American churches complain about going to an "extra" mid-week service, yet they meet nightly, gathering in song and worship, simply for the joy of being altogether. God works in so many different ways in people. Some try to over organize and say church planting must be done "this way," but there is only God's way and it can vary considerably. This meeting was the real essence of Christianity, very down to earth, rubber-meets-the-road faith in action. It was just a time blessed by the Lord. I was privileged to give a word of encouragement to all. The time was so blessed by the Lord. Three people came to salvation after I preached. Its been a very gratifying time for me.

FAITH

Just wanted to share this with you.

Faith never knows where it is being led, or it would not be faith. True faith is content to travel under sealed orders.

J. Oswald Sanders

So often we want to know what is next in our lives. What does God have in store for us. We fervently seek his will as if he was just ready to send us an email and spell it all out. Faith is a matter of trust. Trusting that whatever the future holds, the Lord, our God, has us in mind. He loves us like no other and wants the best for us as does a father for his little child. So the keyword of faith is trust. Leaving it all in his hands is trusting. Are you ready to give it all over to him today and trust in his future for you?

May your day be blessed.

Yerevan 10 Pastors

These are the Yerevan Ten Pastors (Y-10) that Jeff is visiting this week. One of the meetings Jeff visited with Camu and his group. Jeff said the room seemed full of children, but there were also teens, young couples and older folks. It was truly a time of celebration for all. Jeff said Camu is a very inspiring teacher and it was a joy for him to listen and also to share the Word himself.

Later that night Jeff was treated to an Armenian culinary delight at the home of Asatur and Jasmine. Asatur is the head of the Baptist Union in Armenia and he and Jeff are long time friends.

Winter in Ukraine

Here's the big tree that fell on our garage from the heavy snows this winter. If you look way up in the top of the left tree(upper picture)you can see the whiite where it broke off. You can also see how it damaged the tree down below it. The amazing thing is how God protected us. If we'd have been home then the tree would have landed on our car. The bend in the tree caused it to fall arching over our picket fence and doing NO damage. It did poke a small hole in the garage roof and we had to change out a couple panels and one of the facing boards, but that was it. We were praising God for his mercy on us. Now we only have two more trees to be concerned about, but we are trusting in Him.

Belichi Tent Camp

This is just a reminder to ask you to pray for this church camp. There are already people from America preparing for the trip and arrangements are underway in Ukraine. Pray that those folks will be able to raise the money they need to come. This will be a family camp so we need to pray for those families the Lord wants there. We are ever grateful for your love and care in lifting up the needs of this mission.

Imprisoned

I am writing this letter with a saddened heart as two of our dear ones in Christ have been imprisoned for their faith. I can not say names or from what country, but God knows their names, where they are and what they are suffering now. This is a husband and wife who have brought many from their country, many times to meet with Jeff (my husband) for training in the Word. The chances are without doubt that they could suffer torture and abuse at the hands of their captors so please lift them up before the throne of grace and ask the Lord for mercy on their lives. We must pray that they will not be detained long so they can continue the work the Lord has given them. They are in a place now where believers are being persecuted for their faith much as what happened in the former Soviet Union before it collapsed. Pray that this country will also loose the ties that bind people's freedoms, that believers might openly share their hearts of love and the path to salvation.

A Letter from the Church in Nikolaevka, Ukraine

Dear Ones,

We greet you, dear Jeff, brothers and sisters, with God’s love.

Thank you very much for your prayers and material help which you have
already given us. God will grant you many blessings.

It’s been already 13 years of our prayers about the House of Prayer,
as all this time we have been moving from one place to another without
our own place. Since 2000 we started our land acquisition and we got refusal time after time. The local authorities of the village said that we wouldn’t get the land here and they don’t need a church. We had to apply and fill in the forms
several times as the applications went around. That was the time of desperation and the testing of our faith. But God has been with us, because it’s His land
and it’s His church and he prepared this land for the church, although
we have come across many troubles. But the Lord has led us in a
wonderful way and today we already have 0, 25 hectares of land. We
got the land in the center of the village. This is somewhat of a
resort place at the sea coast; the land is very expensive. Who knew
that in 2009 there would be a law that could give the land to the
churches in permanent usage? This is the big testimony for us that the
Lord helps us. Our village is of resort type and in our plans we want
a place for Sunday school and on as a base for spiritual
rehabilitation health center for orphans, with whom we have been
cooperating for several years. And that will be the center for the
children from poor families which are on welfare as well. We help such
families.

Now we have started the building of the House of Prayer (church) in
the village of Nikolaevka. There are 15,000 people living around here.
The village is growing very quickly, many houses are being built.
Moreover, in summer many people come to our church to worship. They
are tourists from different cities and different countries. In some
countries there are persecutions. And here people can come to worship
thanks to God and the religious freedom in our country. There have
been cases when people came to salvation and accepted Christ, then
going back to their homes. This is a big benediction because we can
talk about God in such way. There were many troubles for the beginning
of the construction and we didn’t have money but the strong hand of
God’s was with us. We started ourselves and each member of the church
took part in it. The project of the church is for 150 people. Today we
need some help, although we did much ourselves. If the God allows, we
ask you to take part in the building of the House of prayer. Please
read 2 Corinthians 9:8.

With love,

Brothers and Sisters of the Nikolaevka Church

Armenia, The Building of Churches

This is the stunning Mount Ararat as viewed from Armenia where Jeff is today. After years and years of traveling there to work, on one visit Jeff finally caught a clear picture of this, our Creator's masterpiece. He arrived yesterday to visit with the Yerevan 10 (Y-10) missionaries that he trained over the last several years. All ten of these brothers spent the last 3 years coming to seminars on church planting so that they could build up the churches in the capital city of Yerevan, Armenia. They have been asking Jeff to return and see the works the Lord has given them so he was pleased to get this opportunity to do just that. Pray that this will be a time of encouragement for all the missionaries because I know it will be for Jeff. Continue to pray for those missionaries and the building up of their churches.