mo-mo's first blog entry

adoinweoiwepowe... just kidding.  were not actually gonna let her type.  we just thought we'd write down some of the things she's saying at 15 months old.  granted, this will probably only be interesting to our relatives and other young parents.  so here goes...

da/yeah - she says both pretty efficiently
no - just started saying it.... wish she didn't know that one quite yet.

eyes - sounds like ice
ears - sounds like eews ... and ushi (russian for ears) - sounds like ui
hair - sounds like care (only the r is more like a w)
nose - sounds like no (with a long o at the end)
toe - sounds like it is
pupik (russian for bellybutton) - sounds like poopa
sisya (russian for "boobie" or the equivalent thereof) - she's good as saying that one... especially when she wants to drink.

close - sounds like kwoze
open - sounds like opay
up (when she wants to be picked up) - sounds like hhhap (really aspirated)
down (when she wants down) - as is, sometimes without the n
help (when she needs it) - sounds like hewp
cuckoo (the russian version of "peekaboo") - sounds like cakoo
more (when she wants more of something) - says it like she's british (just say it like you're british and you'll understand)
vot eto (russian for "that thing"... when you are asking what someone wants) - teh to
hello (specifially when answering the phone) - awo
bye-bye - pretty much as it is.  in russian (poka-poka) it comes out like "ptaka-ptaka"

cheese - sounds like chees (with an s sound at end instead of a z)
chai (russian for tea) - sounds like kai
kashka (russian for cereal) - sounds like katka
banana - usually comes out as nana
waffle - comes out like dapple
chicken - sounds like chicka
vitamin c - usually sounds like minamina or just C
cookie - sounds like cooky (with a long oo like in moon)
juice - sounds like chooce

light (the kind you turn on) - sounds like aight
car - sounds like she's british
phone - sounds like pho
mama - got that one
papa/daddy - daddy (sounded like daduh) was her first word!  papa came a bit later
poo-poo - she's got that one down... and touches her heinie and says it when she's done it
kolyaska (russian for stroller) - sounds like kaka
ball - sounds like baw
shoes - shoo
bible - sounds like bye-bow
multik (russian for cartoon) - sounds like mooti
lopatka (russian for paddle) - sounds like  WAAHHHH!!!  just kidding.   sounds like "wapat"

she can also do some animal sounds:
barks like a dog "woof woof!"
trumpets like an elephant - don't know how to write how that sounds... just turn on the discovery channel
meows like a cat "neow!" (that's not a typo... she says neow)
used to roar like a lion (only small and cute). 

way to go, abby!  you can say over 40 words!  here's a picture of the sweet little monkey for the new year.  happy holidays to all!  (i seriously hope to put out an update on us before i leave for california next saturday).

thoughts from a public restroom

last week lena, abby and i went to kharkov to share thanksgiving with all our friends in "the armpit of ukraine" as we affectionately refer to it as, along with the hoffs coming up from dnepro.  it was a great time and good to be there and get to visit vanessa in the hospital (we are so glad you're home now, nessie!) 

well, while we were there visiting vanessa, on our way out of the hospital i had to use the bathroom.  i went into the public one on the first floor (for visitors as opposed to patients) and the trash can next to the pot was overflowing with paper covered with fecal matter, the toilet was leaking around the base with some rancid, old rag mildly containing the flow and general squalor.  now, having lived in ukraine for almost 6 years, i am used to these kinds of bathrooms.  you learn to pee while holding your breath after a while (i personally think they should make it an olympic sport :).  but what made me laugh was that in this restroom was a brand new, shiny, polyvinyl "euro-window".  now, for those in the states who don't know, this is like a status symbol in ukraine that you're moving up in the world.  as i held my breath and did my thing, i thought about the people that will walk by that window outside and think "hey!  i bet this is a nice place inside!"

what struck me about it all is how representative this little toilet-room is of how we often live our lives.  we invest lots of effort and resources into making sure that people walking by us think we've got it together, that we are on our way up.  when in all reality, inside there might be a smelly load of.... well, you get the picture.   we want to make sure people see us as those who are always at church on time, carry a large Bible with us... whatever it is that we feel will give the outward image of godliness, when in reality we neglect the real issues in our hearts.  on the inside we might be reeking.  Jesus used a similar illustration about the pharisees "you are like whitewashed tombs which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones".  i know its too easy for me to get sucked into the game of making the exterior presentable while the inside continues to rot.  may our first concern be always what's inside, what God sees.  i heard a quote a while back that i think sums it up well "much of the misery in the world would be alleviated if people were more concerned with being rather than seeming." 

in addition to my last post:  it seems that many people who've commented and others i've talked to lately about the health care issue are all for a universal system and see the benefits....  well, the fact is, its not gonna happen by wishful thinking.  now, i'm not advocating picketing dc unless that's your thing, but if you're interested, take 30 seconds to fill out the petition info at this link that will automatically be forwarded to your congressperson expressing your support HR676 - the universal health care act.  if you wanna see change, click here to do something about it. 

oh!  and a huge praise report: we've FINALLY got a facility for our church to meet in!  we are working on renovations now and hope to have the first service there in a couple weeks.  i'll try to get some pics up soon.  tom has a few small one's up at his site.  click here to see them.  keep praying for Jesus to lead us through this process and to be glorified in even greater ways!

and here a couple pics of abby trying on my winter boots... she hopped in them herself.

what would Dr. Jesus do?

imagine a place and time where if your house caught on fire a call to 911 would not be enough to give you hope.  imagine that one had to purchase "fire insurance" for one's home (and i don't mean to replace lost goods).  imagine if firefighting was a competitive business market with different providers.  and imagine if upon arriving at the scene of a fire, before letting even a drop of water fly, the firemen would first stop to check if you were insured by their particular brigade, and if they discovered that you were not insured or insured by another company, they would simply hop back on the truck and drive off into the night as your possessions roasted to a crisp and loved ones writhed to an agonizing death.  does that sound like a world you'd like to live in? 

to us in the 21st century such a tale seems cruel and impossible.  allow human beings to suffer a miserable death simply because they haven't signed up for the right company's services?  to put the dollar above the worth of a human life?  for-profit emergency rescue?  "absurd!" we cry.  quickly we recognize the attitudes and ideas involved in such a scenario as inhumane, mercenary and down-right evil.  but in fact, that is the way that things used to be in the not-so-distant past, both in the US and many other western countries. 

until the late 19-th century and early 20-th in some US cities, fire brigades were a paid service that one had to buy insurance for.  as different brigades formed and competed for business, there were even cases where one brigade would obstruct another brigade's arrival to the scene of a fire.  soon people began to see the dangerous road they were headed down and cities began to make firefighting a government service, a basic provision of life for each and every citizen. 

but have things really changed in america?  now imagine a different scenario:  a man who discovers he is dying of cancer walks into a hospital.  his situation is indeed life-threatening, but before a doctor will even step within 10 ft. of him, he must prove that he is a subscriber to an insurance company.  and if he is subscribed to a company that particular hospital does not accept, he is sent out.  and if he has no insurance?  will he be left to writhe to an agonizing death at home in his bed as the victims of a fire in less enlightened days?  protect and save human life... for profit!?!?  yet, where are the cries of "absurd"!  how come americans have come to accept this as a perfectly normal part of life? 

ah, but let's go back to our original story:  what if that same fire brigade upon arriving, finds that the house ablaze is indeed one of its clients.  yet, before expending any of its energy or water it discovers that your house had hazardous electric wiring before you bought your insurance policy.  imagine then that despite the fact that you are its client, the brigade still turns around and drives off into the night because your house had a "pre-existing condition" that you did not warn them about before purchasing their insurance. 

thankfully things never got that bad with the fire dept. but in the states people are all too familiar with that excuse from health insurance companies.  is it not just as mercenary that the insurance companies are willing to sacrifice human life to generate more profit?  is it not sickeningly ironic that places with names like "good samaritan", "st. luke's", and even "holy redeemer" are ready to turn away a dying man whose life they could easily save, simply because he cannot cough up the ridiculous amount of money they ask?  somehow i don't think that's the same "good samaritan" Jesus spoke about, who gave out of his own pocket to care for a wounded fellow human being. 

the US is the only country of the industialized nations that does not supply health care to its citizens as a basic human right.  US citizens pay the highest per capita average for health care IN THE WORLD, and yet in a 2000 worldwide study by the World Health Organization, the US ranked only 37 out of 191 countries in overall health care; beat out by even columbia, morocco and costa rica. (read the article here) 

you may have noticed on my "currently watching" michael moore's sicko which is about the health care system in america.  now, i'd like to give the caveat that i do NOT agree with the huge majority of mr. moore's political stances and generally lop-sided, partisan rhetoric.  however, the information in this movie is VITAL for every american to stop and think on.  (and he takes a swing at hill as well as george w. in the film)  if you watch it, try to forget the other things he's produced and just take it as-is and weigh it in your own mind.  the information about the fire dept. is not mentioned in the movie.  that was my own research.  this documentary simply made me interested to find out about the situation. 

i think its interesting that i've not not heard one single american evangelical christian i know talk about this issue.  plenty about prayer in schools, abortion, immigration laws and other such hot-button issues.  but doesn't callously allowing men to die, denying them the treatment that could save their lives just to make one's wallet thicker seem a crime on the same level as abortion?  if Jesus were a doctor (and indeed He is the Great Physician) would He let that happen?  there are ways to get involved and find out more.  if you're interested, google: "US National Health Insurance Act" (also known as HR676 - read full text here) - a bill in the House of Reps. now that has gained much momentum in the last few months which proposes health care for every US citizen as a basic human right provided for by the government.

i live in a country with a "universal health care" system and though there are flaws it is pretty great to be able to go to the pharmacy and know that i can purchase just about any kind of drug i need for under $6.  its nice to be able to go to the hospital whenever i feel i need to without worry about if my insurance company will cover the cost.  when we first moved to svitlovodsk i got sick with something crazy and had a fever of 104 (40C).  my wife call the "ambulance" and they came within 20min. and administered the shots i needed to bring the temperature down and gave me a prescription to get.... for FREE.  ukraine's flaws with its health care system are largely a result of lack of resources and rampant corruption in the government in genereal (both problems which are absent in the US).  and even with all its problems, the concept itself is pretty great.  watch the documentary, check out the subject matter, take a stance.  peace out.

btw, i'd be very interested to hear people's thoughts on this.

bruised reeds and profit yields

i was reading in Matthew 12 today where it quotes from Isaiah about Jesus saying, "a bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench."  those lines really hit me as i read them.  i thought to myself, "how often is that not the attitude i have, that Christians in general have?"  its so easy to relate to people with what i'd call a utilitarian christianity; a cold, mechanical and morbidly logical approach to others.  see, utilitarianism (for those who are unfamiliar with that idea) says "the greatest good for the greatest amount of people with the least amount of pain".  sounds nice, right?  but it stresses the actual "utility" or usefulness of an object, action, or person to the exclusion of other assets.  it is the basic law employed in economics and business today: an object/action's intrinsic worth is measured by its "profit yield", how much money it will make you.  and if it is an endeavor whose yield doesn't outweigh the risk of failure or justify the time/resources put into it, the endeavor is canned. 

"gee, i didn't expect to get an economics lesson out of Matthew 12" you might be thinking.  you're right: you won't.  see, that is the way that this world thinks.  it is the way that we think, whether we realize it or not.  we've been taught it since grade school and its only gotten worse from there.  especially in the profit driven, corporation-ruled 21st century in which we live it seems near impossible to even consider another approach.   but Jesus' way of thinking is decidedly different.  i'm not trying to debate one economic system/philosophy over another here (i actually hated economics in school).  the issue that  concerns us as Christians is when we allow this utilitarianism to leak over from our wallets and infect our relationships with other human beings; when this philosophy begins to dictate not merely where we put our savings (albeit also an important spiritual question) but how we treat our neighbor.

so now we come back to the words written to describe how Jesus relates to people, words spoken by the Father Himself to describe His Son: "a bruised reed He will not break and a smoking flax He will not quench."  think about those pictures in your head for a minute.  a "bruised" reed - that is, the stalk of a plant that has been crushed.  some careless passer-by has trampled it in his rough haste, or perhaps it has been rolled over by a cart carrying what some merchant thought to be more precious... or a number of other scenarios that could have damaged the tender plant.  and then picture a man coming by and seeing this bruised reed.  now, i know if this was me my tendency would be to simply, without hesitation, take that limp, crushed, barely-hanging-on-to-life stalk and snap it clean off.  after all, its highly doubtful that the reed will recover from such a blow, and to try and nurse it back to health would take an immense amount of attention, time, care.... and in the end it'd still be possible than nothing would come of it.  wouldn't it be easier to just go on to the next reed and try to do a better job of protecting that one?  really, what kind of man would go to all that trouble with such a great investment of himself and such an unsure chance of success?   Jesus, that's who.  with each of us who has been trampled, crushed, beaten aside by those who are too busy, too greedy or just not watching Jesus does not snap us off, but slowly, patiently pours over us His love and care to nurse us back to health.

the "smoking flax" - the smoldering wick of a candle or oil lamp.  it was burning bright at one point, but for one reason or another that fire has gone out.  there is now only a faint, phantom hint of what used to be.  perhaps the wind of a storm has picked up and extinguished the flame.  maybe the flame was smothered by something set on top of the lamp, or maybe its just come to the end of the wick.  now, think far back in your minds to the days before bic lighters...  even further back to days before matches.  it was not a simple task to get a smoking flax burning again.  the person who set himself to this had to blow and blow with all his might till he was blue in the face.  again, why not just let it go out?  why expend so much for what seems like such a little (and unlikely) result?  but Jesus is that Man who came and comes to each of us as the weight of the world has smothered us, as the storms of life have diminished our blaze to weak glow, when we are at the end of our wick, and He lovingly works on us, pouring out His own life till we find ours again. 

i am so thankful that Jesus does this, is this.  if He were not so nurturing and patient, i would be without hope.  but here's the question: do i pour over, pour out to others in the same way?  or in a utilitarian fashion do i just say "he's too much trouble, forget it"?  am i snapping off bruised reeds, brothers and sisters who are barely hanging on?  am i ready to just let those whose fire's gone out lose the last glow of life, or will i breathe what life is given me into them and pray they might ignite once more?  it costs much, the result is unsure if not unlikely, and if successful, the outcome is not something that will impress most people in our utilitarian society, even the all-too-utilitarian church.  not one for the economics textbooks.  but that is who Jesus is.  that is what it means to walk like He did, to experience Him working through me.  God, give me a heart to neither break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax. 

"mo-mo"

... is a mutated form of "monkey" which became our pet name for abby after she passed the "krotik" stage (if you don't know that russian word, i'm not gonna bother explaining it).  she is just over a year old now.  i figured it was about time to put up some pics of her and time to post in general..... sorry.  i've been traveling for what feels like all month to different cities and countries for reasons as varied as a being in a wedding, buying curry paste (okay, so i also did my required ukrainian registration on that trip.  i was blessed to have some sweet travelling-buddy-time with my bro, nato.  thanks dude!), and MMR vaccinations.  i'm leaving tomorrow to go up to kiev for a 3-day leadership conference that the calvarys here are doing and next weekend to teach at the church in poltava that sunday.  so PRAY FOR MY WIFE! as she is with our sweet lil ankle-biter all by her self.  here's some pics of abby.  they're from a little post-bday celebration we had with a couple from our church.

thoughts on prayer

God desires to speak to us, to meet with us at all times, in all activities.  He wants us to experience His presence in every little thing we do, to be led by His voice.  but so often we have trouble hearing amidst the racket of a noisy world.  it is not that we don't want to hear Him, but that we cannot pick out His voice amongst the myriad of other, lying voices we are bombarded with.  how can we escape this cacophony to find the One Voice which we truly thirst to hear?

God speaks to us at all times, but i believe it is in the quiet place of prayer that God tunes our ears to the sound of His voice, so that when we are amidst the noise of the world, we will be able to pick His out of the crowd.  Jesus did promise that His sheep know His voice.  a flock of sheep recognize the voice of their shepherd even amidst a crowd of other shepherds because they have come to know His voice as they roam the pastures with him, listen to him talk with them and call them in the still grasslands when there is no one else around.  then when they are brought into the city, even among all the noise, they can still recognize him. 

so often the Bible exhorts us "keep silence before the Lord", "be still".  yet how often do we pass by this frequently repeated command?  as if because it is a command to cease doing, it is any less worthy of our obedience?  and when we do come to the place of prayer, is it often with so much noise of our own.  somehow we've been led to believe that unless we are saying something during our time of prayer, rattling off some need or request, then we are largely wasting time.  i would challenge you that the truth is actually the opposite: unless we are keeping silence before the Lord in prayer, listening to His voice, we are largely wasting time. 

sometimes i think we are just afraid of what He might say if we gave Him the opportunity.  perhaps our machine-gun prayers are more evidence that we do not trust the goodness of our God, or what He might say (or not say) given the chance.  i think we've all been in a situation where we are with someone we are not entirely sure if we can trust and the conversation suddenly hits a lull.  usually we start to frantically search for some topic, ANY topic to alleviate the awkward silence.  however, contrast that with a true friend - you are totally comfortable, even happy just to sit in that person's presence without trying to force any conversation.  you could sit for minutes or even hours without a word and feel no hint of awkwardness because you are convinced of that person's love for you.  are we convinced of the Lord's love for us?  and if so, why do we deal with Him as with someone whom we are not sure about? 

we need to learn to keep silence and listen to the Voice of Love which desires to speak words of life into our hearts, to refresh, encourage, strengthen and bless us.  that Voice is speaking constantly if only we would listen, but before we can listen in the crowd, we must come to the silent grasslands and learn its sound.  anyway, just some random thoughts on prayer on Rosh Hashanah.

the serpent's trap

we all know the story of eve's temptation in the garden of eden: how satan twisted God's Word and got eve to doubt what God had said, how eve misquoted God's command, etc.  but here's something that we possibly don't often think about: what was he tempting her with?  paul writes in 1 Tim. 2 that eve was deceived and so fell into transgression, whereas adam was not deceived and chose sin willingly.  that implies that there was not a full consciousness of sin in eve's poor decision, and certainly not a desire for it.  it follows that satan could not have been tempting her with something evil or sinful, as she had no sin yet.  so what was the temptation?

satan's temptation to eve was contained in the phrase "in the day you eat of it, you will be like God".  now i think we often read that and think that satan was tempting eve to "be her own god", to cast of the shackles of the Lord's rule and rebel.  i used to assume that was the meaning.  but that doesn't fit with the idea that eve was deceived.  the deception implies that what she was doing she thought was a positive thing!  the temptation was for eve to be like God - in the sense of being god-like, or we might say "godly".  surely it is a good thing to be like God!  i believe eve's desire was not to rebel and be her own lord, but to be become more like God. 

but here is the problem, here is the serpent's subtle trap: he says, "you can be like God, and all you have to do is eat the fruit".  but the fact is, eve was already like God!  she was created in his likeness and image!  the trap was to trick eve into believing there was something else she had to do to be like God, when God Himself had already made her like Him!

satan's ways have not changed.  today he still tempts us with the same deception, one which exploits our good desires (only present by God's Spirit in us) to be more like Him.  satan slithers up and says, "yeah, you can be godly, more holy, and all you have to do is add this fruit or that fruit"  "you just need to bear this fruit in the ministry or have the fruit of doing that work, THEN you will be holy, godly, like Jesus".  the deception in this is that Jesus has already made us like Himself by the blood shed for us on His cross!  we are already made anew in His image by His grace.  we have been made the holiness and righteousness of God in Him!  but satan would have us (mind you all the while with good intentions) mistrust God's completed work by making us think we need to add something to it for it to be complete.  don't let the serpent speak his lie into your heart today.  simply be still and know that Jesus has already made you holy, godly by His great grace.  as paul wrote to the corinthians, "lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."  (2 Cor. 11:3)  so enjoy the simplicity of Christ and the beauty of His completed work!

new creations in Christ Jesus!

hey, just wanted to post pictures from the baptism we had last week.  its so awesome to see people expressing through baptism the truth that our old man is dead and we are living anew in Christ!

l to r: ben, kristina, marina, dasha, sergei, nina, alyona, tom

(and no, tom and i did not plan to wear matching shirts! )

- please pray for marina and dasha who are going off to university at the end of this month.  they are young believers who have been filled with the Spirit and are taking in the pure milk of God's Word.  pray they stay rooted and grounded in Jesus' love and make a priority of being in fellowship in their new cities (its a blessing that in both the cities where they are going, kharkov and kiev respectively, there are calvary chapels)
- pray for nina and her husband sergei (who got saved a couple days after nina!) - their son is under serious oppresion from the enemy (drug addiction, hallucinations, etc.)  pray for him to be set free.  pray also for nina and sergei as they are trying to decide where to fellowship.  after learning that they gave their lives to the Lord, an aquaintance of theirs is very forcibly trying to convince them to go to another church that has some serious false teaching.  pray for the Holy Spirit to guide their decision and not be pressured by man, but led by Him.
- pray for alyona's dad.  he was once on fire for the Lord and led a Bible study at their old church, but he is now on a drinking binge and was just taken to a state detox clinic.  pray for his restoration and God's peace in the family (who are all believers) during this time.
- pray for kristina - she is actually an orphan from the internat we go to.  she started coming earlier in the summer and actually prayed to receive the Lord at our service Jul. 15 (thanks for the bday present, Lord! )  the orphans are a very tough group and its very hard to not be influenced by the ungodliness there, but kristina desires to live for Jesus.  pray for her to be filled with His power and especially for battles with anger and help quitting smoking.


thanks for praying!

a true daughter in the faith...

true daughters in the faith nastya (l) and natasha (r)

the Lord allows us to be part of the lives of so many people, to speak into their lives, to pray for them, encourage them, to study the Word together, etc.  but every once in a while Jesus brings along someone who can only be descibed the way that Paul described Timothy: "a true son in the faith".  in our case the Lord has blessed us with "true daughters in the faith"  our "firstborn" as it were is nastya from dnepro.  the Lord allowed us to have such a close relationship and be a part of her life in a special way.  she is a true daughter in the faith (i'm so proud of you in Jesus, styushka! )  then last year the Lord blessed us with another "daughter in the faith" - natasha.  just last week she moved to the states to go to college and we miss her tons!  this entry will be her story.  (sorry styushka, i'll have to do yours some other time. )

we actually had the incredible privledge of being "in the delivery room" as the Holy Spirit birthed natasha anew.  last year, July 9th, my wife and i went out to buy sunflower seeds after sunday service (yeah, its an addiction for many in ukraine).  the store we normally go to was closed and so we walked further.  we had a mission group from america that was preparing to come and we needed translators.  as we walked i saw a girl from my english class sitting at a bus stop.  we went to approach her about maybe helping with translation.  she was sitting with her friend who had just returned from a year in the states as an exchange student, natasha.  we quickly got to talking about the Lord.  in fact, as soon as natasha heard i was a pastor she asked me flat out "what does it mean to be saved!?"  wow, quite the invitation!   so after talking for a while i asked if she wanted to be saved today.  she almost shouted "YES!"  she chose to pray in her own words (in english acutally, since that was what she had been speaking mostly for the last year).  it was one of the most sincere and whole-hearted prayers to receive Jesus i've ever been blessed to hear.  afterwards she was LITERALLY jumping up and down!  i'm so thankful for her host family who are Christians and who all that year sowed the love of God into her heart. 

natasha's baptism, august 2006

the following week, she and another girl who we just met (katya) came over to talk about getting baptised.  our good friend daniel carter was visiting from poltava when the girls came over.  we ended up talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and as they said they'd pray about getting water baptized katya asked "but can we be baptized in the Spirit right now?"  sweet!  so we prayed for them and the Holy Spirit came upon them.  the Lord gave daniel a detailed vision for each of the girls concerning what giftings He was giving them.  God put on daniel's heart that natasha would be gifted as an evangelist.  we have seen that to be so true!  a couple weeks later she was already out on the streets with us sharing her faith with all kinds of people!

natasha was literally at every Bible study and meeting we had as much as possible.  she started taking detailed notes at every study and just drinking in the Word of God.  soon she got involved with our ministry at the orphanages here.  her experience in drama team was a great help, but what was really a blessing was to ask her to share the gospel with the kids and give the invitation to receive the Lord.  the kids all loved her and could really relate to her, since she lost both her parents before she was a teenager.  but she was able to share how God has become her Father and blessed her with spiritual family as well. 

natasha sharing Jesus at one of the orphanages

over the school year, natasha led both her grandma and her grandpa to Christ (shortly thereafter her grandmother died, but now she is rejoicing in heaven!).  also, probably something like half a dozen or so of natasha's classmates received the Lord through her sharing Christ with them!  though those girls didn't start to all grow right away, there are now 4 of them who have prayed to receive the baptism of the Spirit and are an awesome part of our church (sadly for us, since they all graduated this year, they are all leaving svitlovodsk to study in other cities, but thankfully most of those places have good churches, kiev, kharkov, dnepro, etc.)  some of the girls are going to be baptized the day after tomorrow.  (i will post pics)  what a joy!

natasha would often come over and we'd spend hours just talking about the Word or what God was doing in her life.  we were so blessed just to see her fall in love with Jesus more and more and so thankful that He would allow us to be a part of this.  Natasha also started teaching sunday school for the kids fairly early on and the best part was just to see her really receive the great grace of our Lord and pass that on to the kids.

at natasha's good-bye party:
top: masha, natasha, dasha, nastya, marina
bottom: dasha, lena navarro (and david), my lena, katya
marina and both dasha's are girls that natasha led to the Lord

the sunday before natasha left, we had a good-bye party for her after church and prayed over her.  i don't think there was a dry eye in the place (especially mine! )  we all realized what an integral part of our church family natasha is and how much we'd miss her.  she was really a leader in our church in the truest sense of the word, that she was always willing to serve in whatever way and seeking to bring others closer to Jesus.  we know that the Lord has amazing things planned for her life and the church she is part of next will be getting a gift from the Lord.  natasha, if you read this, i am so proud of you in the Lord.  its been one of the most amazing blessings in our lives to see how God found you and completely changed your life for His glory and used you to bring to many people to Him.  always enjoy His grace, the only rock we stand on, and let the sweetness of our Jesus be the song in your heart daily.  we love you, dotsya! (that'd be ukrainian for daughter, for those of you who were wondering)

salvation stories

Jesus is moving in the hearts of people here!  He is seeking those who will worship in Spirit and truth.  the sunday before last, one of the ladies that comes to our fellowship, alyona, brought her cousin's daughter to church. (yeah, it was bring-an-obscure-relative-to-church day ) who was visiting from st. petersburg, russia.  the girl, katya, was very open to the Lord and afterwards came up to pray to receive Jesus!  we gave katya a kid's Bible and also a regular New Testament to get to know her Savior.  please be praying for her.  she is only 11 years old and her parents are VERY anti-christian.  fortunately, her grandparents (who also live in st. pete's) are open to God, so hopefully they will be able to take katya to a church there.  there are a couple calvary chapels in st. pete's that we want to try to hook them up with.  she's heading back at the end of summer.

alyona with one of her daughters, lada (left) and katya (right)

also, last night alyona brought a couple ladies, nina and natasha (both mid/late 40's i'd guess), to our mid-week Revelation study (way to go, alyona, you're on a roll!).  nina is the landlady of the building alyona rents for her second hand store, and natasha is nina's.... godmother?  obscure relative?  (there's a lot of those in ukraine )  we were in the part of Revelation 12 where it talks about satan being the accuser of the brethren.  the word there is not just someone who is mudslinging, but rather a formal word used of a prosecutor in court.  and its not that he's making up accusations... he's right!  he's bringing the case against us, our sins, before God, the Judge.  and the fact is, we are guilty!  but we went on to the good news that there is also a defense lawyer in the court hall, our Advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous (I Jn. 2:1) who by His wounds, without saying a word, justifies all who trust in Him.  at the end of the study i gave an invitation to receive the Lord and these 2 ladies both prayed to receive Jesus as the one who justifies the ungodly! (Rom. 4:5)  please pray for them to be rooted and grounded in grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and to begin reading their new Bibles.  between the two of them, they've got 3 sons (all roughly my age) who are very far away from the Lord and allowing satan to destroy their lives.  one of them, sasha, from everything nina told me, may even be possessed.  please pray for God to miraculously get a hold on these young men and give them new life.  thanks!

oh, and i couldn't resist putting in a pic of my favorite girlies both in yellow... like little sunflowers!

note: if you have not seen planet earth you MUST watch it!  every time i watch it, my heart just begins to worship at seeing all the beauty, variety and power of God's creation.  amazingly well filmed, edited and scored (and surprisingly rarely does is mention evolutionary propaganda... though it is there)

spring/summer 2007 update

(most of you have received the word version of this, but in case someone hasn't read it...)


The Morrison’s Update
Calvary Chapel, Svitlovodsk, Ukraine

“God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ.” –I Cor. 1:9

Our Trip to America
It has been a LONG time since we put out a newsletter.  In the middle of February we took a trip to the states for a couple months to see family, friends and share with others what the Lord is doing here in Svitlovodsk.  We were able to visit almost all of my family.  They all got to see Abby for the first time (except my sister who came here and saw her before that). We are so thankful for how the Lord used many of you to bless us during our stay: sharing your homes, meals, gifts, and plain, sweet fellowship.  As a special treat, Lena even had her first opportunity ever to ride a horse!  She was a bit scared so she was given a horse that was old and slow, but she loved it anyway.  We enjoyed the time stateside, but at the same time we were reminded that the Lord has truly called us to be here in Ukraine and we are very happy to be back.  The place the Lord has called you is always the greatest place to be!

 

The National CC Conference
Every spring just outside Kiev all the Calvary Chapels in Ukraine have a huge conference for 4 days of worship, fellowship and studying God’s Word together.  Last year we had a total of 4 come: ourselves, and our teammates the Navarro’s.  This May we had 19 people from our church attend the conference (not including infants).  It was the first time for all except our ministry team and everyone is already planning to go next year!  It truly was a special time and we are still seeing the fruit of the things the Lord did in people’s hearts while there.  We especially saw Yura get on fire for the Lord during that time (next to me in group photo).  One thing that was emphasized was growing a passion for missions in Ukrainians, and we’ve seen the Lord doing that in people in our body, too.  At the baptism 3 people from our group got baptized (Katya pictured below).  It’s always so beautiful to see people desiring to offer themselves to the Lord through this step of faith.  Thanks to those who helped cover the cost of the conference for our church!

 

Calvary Chapel Svitlovodsk at the National Conference (minus Oleg who was still packing! ☺)

Outreach
In the beginning of June, we had the drama team from CC Kharkov (pictured below) come to do street outreach.  Although they were only here for less than 48 hours, we had a very full and fruitful time doing street outreaches in 3 different regions of our city plus in one of the orphanages we go to regularly.  People in our city seem to be still very open to the gospel on the whole and a number of people prayed to get saved.  Pray they get plugged in to a good church!  We are planning to have a team from CC Zaporozhye come in late August to do some children’s festivals.  We love having groups from other cities here come because it gets the work of the ministry into the hands of Ukrainians.  In addition to the teams coming, our church is continuing to minister to the orphans this summer.  During the summer we have some 400+ orphans come stay in our city from the whole “oblast’” (what you’d think of as a state).  It is a great opportunity to reach kids that normally would be in all kinds of little villages we could never get to.  We’re doing street witnessing as well and have had some really fruitful conversations.  Pray for these people to surrender to Jesus.

Family
Abby is getting to be a lot of fun.  When Abby was 3 months old we thought all our friends that told us how much fun it is having kids were lying… turns out they just have selective memory. ☺  She is already saying “Daddy”, waving good-bye, and when you ask her “what does the lion say?” she roars, and also has recently taken her first steps.  She is a little bit underweight as of her last checkup, so please pray that she’d start eating better.  And pray for us to be filled daily with the Lord’s tender love for one another, that we would glorify Him in our family and be an example for others here.

May Jesus’ ever-generous and abundant love fill your hearts with worship!

Pray for:
- Daily filling of the Holy Spirit, for our church to walk in love and humility towards one another as we enjoy Jesus’ love for us.
- Open hearts and much fruit as we reach out to our community with the good news!
- For the orphans to know their true Father
- For unity of vision in following the Lord’s calling for our body
- For God to raise up servants in the body (and praise for how many are serving already!)
- God to bring back the wandering sheep
- For those who’ve received the Lord recently to get into fellowship and the Word
- The Lord’s protection and anointing on those who are leaving to study at college (6 young ladies from our fellowship)
- Provision of a facility to meet in (the apt. is crowded!)
- Health for our family (especially Abby) and hearts of servanthood towards one another.

In our Papa,

Benjamin, Lena and Abigail Morrison

Financial Support info:
if the Lord has put it on your heart to financially partner with us, you can make donations to:

Horizon Ministries (leave memo line on checks blank) and send to:

Horizon Ministries
7702 Indian Lake rd.
Indianapolis, IN 46236

with a note enclosed that the donation is for Ben and Lena Morrison (all donations are tax-deductible and 100% goes to us).

 

little miracles

just thought i'd post a few pictures of our sweet little abby.  today she took her first steps on her own without holding on to anything.  she really is so much fun now.  the first three or four months were all about learning to die to yourself... screaming, pooping, no sleeping, more screaming... but she is definitely worth it.  imagine all that the Lord puts up with from us as we grow in Him, but thankfully He is full of mercy and longsuffering.  

in the picture also are david navarro (left) and caleb hoff (right).  wes and wendy came out last week to hang out with us and we went to the beach a few times.  we had an awesome time with them (despite both babies simultaneously having the runs and generally feeling not so hot) and we are blessed to have such good friends.  

i'll get around to a real post soon.  its too late now.  some people from our church went out street-witnessing this evening.  we had a lot of good conversations and some people who were very open and said that they wanted to receive the gift of salvation.  they said they would pray on their own later rather than with us.  please pray for these peole, especially rita who was very open and said that she would like to come to our fellowship (however her dad is orthodox and doesn't allow her to go to any other church but his).  pray that the joyful news would truly sink into their hearts and bring them new life.

and here i held out for so long.....

well, i guess it had to happen sometime.  kinda like having a cell phone.  i held out till maybe 4 years ago.... or even less.  we figured this would be a good way to put out more frequent updates without the pressure of putting together "a newsletter".  just to keep in the know those who want to be there.  not that the blog will be only about the ministry here in svitlovodsk.... i think it will just be about our lives, and life is all about JESUS.  so i guess you know what this blog is gonna be about, now don't you?   well, i suppose i'll leave it at this for now and get around to a real post later.

OH!  but i almost forgot to mention:  today one of lena's childhood acquaintances (one year younger that she is) came to church and ended up receiving Jesus into her heart.  her name is Yulia, so please pray for her.  she was really interested and had a lot of spiritual questions and after a lot of conversation realized that she needed a new life and that Jesus by His grace offers her just that.  very cool.  so pray for her to be rooted in grace, the Word in the sweet love of God.  thanks!