God’s Provision in Difficulties (September 2014 Update)
In Ukraine, the situation appears to have become worse as now regular Russian troops have invaded in the East and the South of Ukraine. The Ukrainian economy has worsened with inflation and it looks like it will be a while before things stabilize. But more about the situation in Ukraine later. We want to tell you first about God’s provision in difficulties.
Praying for an Apartment
Before we left in June, we made a decision to move to the right bank (Western) of Kiev to be closer to school, church, campus ministry and family. Even though this would cost us $100-200 more per month, we believed the time saved in travel would be worth it. So we packed up everything and put it into storage. We tried to find an apartment before we left but we found that prices were higher and we did not want to pay for 3 months of summer rent while we were in the states. So we decided to wait until we returned at the end of August.
All summer, we kept in contact with a couple realtors who were looking for rental property for us. They kept telling us that apartments were very scarce and there was nothing available for us. We returned on Thursday, August 28th and spent the afternoon on the internet and talking with a number of realtors. They all said the same: there were no apartments available and the prices had risen to $300 more than they were in May. But even at that price, nothing was available. Because of the situation in the East and in Crimea, many refugees had resettled in Kiev.
So we wrote (on Facebook) and asked you to pray. All day Friday, we searched and called. Everything that was listed on the internet had already been rented and, when we asked if they knew of anything similar, the answer was always, “No but we can call you if we find something.” Near the end of the day, Katya found something on the internet. The apartment listed was twice the size of our old one and only $100 more than we paid on the left bank! I told Katya that it had to be a mistake or an older listing that had not been removed. She said, “No, it was listed just today.” So we called and went to see it right away.
When we saw the apartment, we were shocked. It was totally remodeled, quite large and beautiful with a view overlooking all of Kiev. When we asked why the price was so low, the realtor said it was because there was no furniture or appliances (very rare in Ukraine) and because it had been empty the whole summer). We later learned that the owners had purchased this apartment, lived here a short while, then built a house and moved everything to the house. She said they had another potential renter who was willing to pay 1/3 more ($300 more per month) if the owners would put furniture in it. The owners had limited cash flow so they rented it to us!!! So — we have a beautiful apartment that has twice the space of our old one for only $100 more than we paid on the left bank!
There is no way to describe how beautiful this place is. It does not look like anything I have ever seen in Ukraine. It is certainly more beautiful than any home I have ever lived it. The apartment is on the 23 floor of one of the tallest buildings in Kiev and it is situated in the middle of one of the biggest parks. So we are literally surrounded by a forest. From our living room window, we can see all of Kiev, including The Motherland statue and the Dnieper River. From the apartment, we are about 5 minutes from church and ministries with Campus and I am about 30 minutes from school (instead of 1 1/2 hours!). Needless to say, we are happy to be here and amazed at God’s provision through the prayers of his people!
Ministries this Fall
Right now, all our focus is on emptying boxes and getting the apartment ready to live in. And I have already started back with Russian classes. I have a very heavy teaching schedule this Spring so I will only be able to take Russian this fall. So be praying for me to stay focused on Russian.
But we also are excited about ministry. The last week of September and the first week of October, I will be teaching English Clubs for Campus Ministries at Shevchenko University. The clubs meet every night for 3 hours for a week. The last time we did these clubs, we had over 300 students apply but we could only take 200. This year we are doing two separate weeks to reach more students. From these clubs, we follow up with English Bible studies and English movie nights. Be praying for us as we prepare for this major outreach!
In the coming week, we will be planning and preparing for Church ministries also. For sure, we will be involved in small groups and other opportunities. Be praying for us as we look at what we can do and what is needed in the church.
New Opportunities
There are also a couple of new ministry opportunities for us. Probably in early October (we are still working on the dates), Katya and I will travel to Lviv to provide some help for a new seminary, Ukrainian Theological Seminary. This new school is bringing together a few smaller schools and they are hoping to develop a school similar to Kiev Theological Seminary. We have been asked to come and give some assistance to the school. The president has asked if Katya can come for a few days to help set up the Registrar’s Office and train their new Registrar. I will also be meeting with the president to talk about teaching and academic issues. Be praying for us as we travel there and help this new school get started.
At Kiev Theological Seminary, I have been asked to consider creating and administrating a B.A. program at the seminary. We had such a program a few years ago but time constraints pushed the B.A. program off the schedule. Now with 3 Master’s level programs, the seminary needs to have accredited B.A. level degrees so that our own students can enter these Masters Programs. The program also needs to be available to graduates who did not receive the full B.A. but now want to turn their degree into a B.A. so that they can do Master’s level work. I have already been working on some ideas, but there is a lot to do to put this program in place so we can begin offering this to our students and graduates. Be praying as I present ideas to the Executive Council at the Seminary.
The Situation In Ukraine
It is difficult to know what to write about the situation here because things are constantly changing. In April, pro-Russian terrorists (with Russian help) took over most of Eastern Ukraine. From June through August, Ukraine had retaken almost all the territory and had surrounded the terrorists in a few enclaves. But at the end of August, Russia sent massive amounts of armor and troops into Ukraine (estimates are between 10,000 and 20,000) and they have retaken most of this territory. The US and EU continue to refuse to provide any military help or even weapons. It appears that Putin will be allowed to do whatever he want with Ukraine.
The big question is: What does he want? No one really know but here’s my guess. I think his main goal (even before Maiden) has been to keep Ukraine subservient to Russia by keeping it weak. I don’t think his main goal is to annex more territory to Russia (like he did with Crimea) because it would drain Russia’s resources to control these areas (Crimea is costing Russia billions of dollars). But he wants to keep Ukraine unstable so that it cannot benefit from Europe and so that it will always be weak. In short, he wants to punish Ukraine by showing it the consequences of moving away from Russia’s sphere of influence.
What does this mean for us and Ukraine? Again, I am guessing because even experts can’t figure out Putin’s aims. First, it will mean living in a constant state of not knowing what will happen next. Second, it will mean inflation and higher prices (we have already seen nearly double on some items). Third, it will mean more refugees, fewer jobs, and limited housing in Kiev. While it currently does not look like we are in any danger, that could also change at any time.
Pray for the people directly affected by this conflict. We have many students and graduates in these areas and their families are hurting. I saw one girl at church Sunday and asked how the general question, “How are you?” She responded, “Bad.” I asked why, and she simply responded, “I’m from Lugansk.” She didn’t need to say anything else. She and her parents are temporarily living at the seminary while they look for jobs and an apartment. I found out later that her father was a pastor in Lugansk. The pro-Russians came and asked him to support them and he said that he was not on any side; that he only wanted to present the gospel. They told him, “If you are not for us, you are against us. If you are still here tomorrow, we will kill you!” He and his family left. This is just one of many tragic stories from this conflict.
Pray for the gospel to go forth unhindered. Pray that God’s people will see this crisis as a time to increase their ministries to hurting people and that many will come to know the Lord.
Pray for peace. Pray that something will happen to stop Putin from dividing up Ukraine according to his own desires. Pray that the new government of Ukraine can survive this crisis and that the country will rebound. Pray for those who have lost sons and daughters in this war and pray for those who have lost everything they own.
Thanks for keeping us and Ukraine in your prayers. We cannot express how much we appreciate your support for us, especially during these times. But we know that God often provides some of his most amazing blessings in times of adversity!
By His Grace,
Jim and Katya and Kristina
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