Nikolaev, Ukraine 19-20 November, 2011
James 1:16; Hebrews 12:1-3
Yesterday (Saturday)- we walked to a park so Isaac could run his wiggles out. At this park there was some military equipment, which Isaac and I climbed all over. After arriving home, we prepared and went to meet with the boys at the Boys' rehab center. We had a great time with them- I was the only one who knew Russian and English (MISSED YOU GALINA!!!), but it was good for me to be under that type of pressure. They shared what they would like to do when they get out of school. Some want to be mechanics, construction workers, pottery makers, and a boxer. One thing they all had in common was that they want a loving family. It was encouraging to see their wonderful respect and desire to read the bible (David and Galina gave them each a bible - which they showed us with much joy). We shared with each other much of our lives and spent some time discussing truthfulness and trust.
In the evening we met with Olya and her friend Dima. Isaac and Olya made us Ukrainian desserts!
Sunday (today) we had 13 gathered to worship God! Twelve of them stayed for the potluck afterwards. It was great for Isaac that Nastya (11 years old) was there for him to spend time with. We had a great time of encouragement. Olya helped me translate the sermon, which was encouraging to see her use her knowledge of English for God. Afterward Olya and Nastya came over to visit until 5 p.m. In an hour we will be meeting with Kesha and Nadya once again before we leave on Tuesday. Thank you for your prayers- we had some very encouraging and deep visits with all those we met on this trip.
2 comments:
Hi, Mike. I am a preacher's wife from Hamilton, MT and we all originally Ukrainians. We moved to work with the church here in April 2011.
I am thankful for the work you are doing in Ukraine. David shared your link on Facebook.
I just wanted to say how hard it was for us to leave the orphan children we worked with every time we had to go home. We couldn't stand it so much that finally we just adopted one of them (Alex was so much younger though - a year and a half). Our friends Viktor Semikoz and Stas helped with the work in Nikolayev too. So it was good to hear about your trip.
God bless you in all possible ways,
Nataliya Parakhina
Hi Mike!
Thanks for the blog, which I just discovered via Jan T.'s email to WEI teachers.
I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you yet, but I have been following David and Galina's adventures in Magadan and Ukraine. I am going to have to come over and visit at EastSide sometime. I attend church with Dick at Metro and have worked with the WEI team for several years now. I sincerely appreciate you and your wife's efforts in Nikolayev.
Steve F.
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