Teaching Resources International

More Conflict in Ukraine … and maybe more to come! (May Update)

The situation in Ukraine has become much more intense the few last weeks and should continue to worsen over the next 3 weeks.  The reason is that we have national elections scheduled for May 25^th and Russia has made it clear that they don’t want these elections to take place.  Additionally, the next week should be our toughest challenge.  Pro-Russian forces in Eastern Ukraine have already set May 11^th as the date when they will vote to separate from Ukraine.  Russia has acknowledged this date and will try to create more violence to create a reason for Russian “peacekeepers” to enter Ukraine and “protect” the May 11^th elections.  The past few days have been increasingly violent with over 40 killed in Odessa and unnumbered more in Eastern Ukraine.

Right now, Ukraine is trying to remove the heavily armed forces occupying government buildings in 10 cities in Eastern Ukraine.  Ukraine has set troops to fight against these terrorists who are armed with anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.  In response, Ukraine has sent its army to remove these men (clearly they are Russian operatives in Ukraine, just like in Crimea).  Russia has demanded that Ukraine remove its troops from Eastern Ukraine while they are increasing their troops on the borders of Ukraine and threatening to invade to “protect” the people of Ukraine from the “Fascists” in Kyiv!

Please keep praying for Ukraine!  The situation here is becoming very serious and we expect the next week will be some of the worst violence as we move toward the elections.

Changes and Plans …

Right now, we are planning to move to the right bank of Kiev when we return at the end of August.  We currently live on the left bank which is considerably cheaper than the right bank.  But I travel 1-1 ½ hours each way (2-3 hours a day) every day.  We also travel over to the right bank at least one more time every week for church and ministry.  This means we spend 12-18 hours a week simply travelling on mass transportation!  By moving to the right bank, we can cut the travelling time down to about 5-6 hours a week saving over 10 hours a week (40 hours a month!).  It means we will probably need to pay about $100-200 more per month for an apartment but we think the time and energy saved will be worth it!  I’m not getting any younger and I need to save all the energy I can.

Also, we believe this will give us more opportunities to be involved in ministry with the Campus ministry here since they are also on the right bank.  And we will also be able to participate more in Church ministries, especially in our small group which is also on the right bank.

Finally, we think it is time to consider getting a car in the fall.  This is a difficult decision because we don’t have the funds to purchase a car.  But what we have discovered in the last few months is that missionaries without cars have been evacuated while those with cars were permitted by their agencies to stay in Ukraine.  Their reasoning was that, in the event of an attack, airports would be shut down but the possibility of escape by car would still be there. So, we have also been looking at the prices for used vehicles. They are about the same as in the US (I don’t know how Ukrainians can afford them)!  So we are looking at around $8000 to purchase a 6-10 year old car that will be a reliable vehicle.  (If you want to help, you can designate funds to 1600 Car Fund.)  Be praying for us… May will be a hectic month packing up our apartment, teaching class, going to Russian classes and waiting to see what will happen with Russia.

Things are still safe for us right now in Ukraine.  We don’t know what will happen in the coming days and, the last few months have been stressful, especially not knowing what will happen each day.  We continue to be involved in our ministries.  I will also be teaching in May (Research and Critical Thinking).  This is a very important foundational class for our students and we usually have over 40 students in this class.  I will be co-teaching it with Natalie Tereschenko (one of my former Talbot students).  Be praying for us as we teach this class.

Summer Plans …

With all this turmoil in Ukraine we are excited about coming back to the US for the summer.  Our general plans are to spend early June seeing friends and supporters in Connecticut and then most of June and July in Arkansas.  We will head to Florida to see supporters and my father and Debbie’s parents at the end of July.  Then, we will head out to Colorado to see Joel, Alyssa and Lucas (they moved to Colorado this winter).  We hope to be able to camp a little in Arkansas and maybe even Colorado but our camp time will be small this year with so many people to see and visit.  But we are looking forward to seeing everyone and maybe even resting some!

Pray for Ukraine …

There are many things to be praying for Ukraine this month (they are basically the same as I sent out last month):

1. First and foremost, pray for a miracle to stop Putin from sending troops into Ukraine.  If he does, it will make life in Ukraine very dangerous!  Pray for the servicemen of Ukraine who are standing firm even though they know the odds of stopping Russian troops are very slim. Pray for the people of Russia to rise up against Putin and show him that they do not agree with his policies.
2. Pray for the government of Ukraine.  We have new elections coming up May 25^th.  These are very important elections and Putin wants to stop them from occurring so April and May will be very critical months for Ukraine.  Daily, Russia has been sending in saboteurs (over 10,000 in the last few months) to create instability in the country so that Putin can say he brought troops into Ukraine to stop the “Nazis” for creating terror in the streets.
3. Pray for unity in Ukraine.  Really, before the situation in Crimea, Ukraine was pretty unified.  There were not the strong regional and language differences that Putin claims.  But, as the elections approach, all Ukraine needs to work together even though many parties will be competing for seats in the parliament and for the position of president.  Pray for unity.
4. Pray for the people of Crimea.  We have many friends, former students and current students living and serving in Crimea.  Life in Crimea is becoming very difficult under Russian control.  The economy of Crimea will be hurt very badly since it depended on Ukraine for about 80% of its economy and energy.  Also, Russia’s laws are very oppressive, blocking all Western TV and internet and, after May 9^th, it will be illegal to even say that Crimea is part of Ukraine – punishable by 5 years in prison!  Pray for their safety and for them to be able to continue to minister under these conditions.
5. Pray for the churches of Ukraine.  It has been amazing to see multiple pray rallies in the major cities drawing thousands of people to pray for Ukraine and to pray for peace.  Pray for the gospel to continue to go out without hindrance too.
6. Pray for us too.  The last few months have been stressful, waking up each morning not knowing if Russian troops will be here or not.  However, the last few weeks, Russian rhetoric has calmed down so we have had a little more peace.  But economically, we will see many struggles in the next year.  Russia is blocking Ukrainian products (as much as 50% of our imports go to Russia).  Russia has already said they are doubling our gas prices.  We expect that we will see high inflation and difficult financial times ahead.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support!  Please do remember to be praying for Ukraine, especially over the next few weeks! Many have asked if we are leaving but we plan to stay as long as we can. With so many missionaries returning home because of the crisis, our ministry here is needed more than ever in Ukraine.  We don’t know what the future holds for us and for Ukraine but we are here in God’s time to do whatever He would have us do.  Thanks for helping us minister here in these times!

By His Grace,

Jim and Katya