We are back in the states trying to catch up from jetlag! Kristina did the best. She adjusted after just 2 days. Katya and I are still feeling the effects but getting close to normal. We arrived late Sunday night (March 22), gathered our stuff from storage on Monday and headed to Fayetteville on Tuesday to see the new grandbaby, Haven Grace Cooper! Katya and I have been helping Sean and Meredith with cleaning and cooking and just enjoying being together. We have been especially blessed by their church, New Heights Church here in Fayetteville. They have a great heart for missions and they are allowing us to stay in a missionary apartment while we are here helping Sean and Meredith. We are looking forward to worshiping with them at New Heights this Sunday.
While we are here in Arkansas this trip, our time to see everyone we want to see will be short :(. But we are planning on having a few “Get-togethers” where people can drop by and say hello. We are hoping that we can see many of you this way. Here are the locations, dates and contact information if you have any questions. We can’t wait to see you and catch up!
Saturday, April 18 from 1 pm to 3 pm — Dwight and Darcy Pattison, 3707 Ridge Road, North Little Rock. We will be having a drop-by with some snacks for our time of fellowship together. This is primarily for the people in the Little Rock area.
Sunday, April 19 from 6 pm to 8 pm — Carl and Debbie Gustke, 233 Staton Road, Cabot. We will be having a potluck fellowship on Sunday night at their home. This is primarily for the people in the Cabot area.
Saturday, April 25 from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm — Jake and Jami Minton, Minton Road, Ward. This will be a cookout at the Minton’s home. Let Jake know if you are planning to come. This is primarily for the people north of Cabot.
After our time in Arkansas, we will be heading to Florida to visit family and supporters there as well as take some time for a family vacation. We will be spending the last few weeks of May in Florida seeing my dad, Debbie’s parents and Joel and Alyssa and other friends. Then we will head back to Arkansas to pack up to return home to Kiev the first week in June.
While here in Arkansas, I will be working on finishing up my classes. I have papers to grade from the Biblical Counseling class and other preparations for the Research and Writing class coming up in May. We are working on finalizing my schedule for next year also. I will have teaching opportunities in Kiev and a few other cities in Ukraine. I will also be working with mentoring 2 Ukrainian teachers next year, one in the fall and another in the spring.
Before I left, we started another English Club on the Shevschenko Campus. This time, we interviewed nearly 300 students and were able to take about 175 students. Pray for the students in this ministry. English clubs are an excellent way to reach out to non-believers in Ukraine. Also pray for our friends in the Campus Ministry as they follow up with Bible Studies and personal evangelism.
As to prayer needs, our biggest need is still for a car. We are looking into getting something that would be reliable and large enough to use for our family and for ministry. We’ve already had a few people give gifts to help us with the car and we now have $9000. From what other missionaries have told us, we will need at least $10,000-15,000, depending on what we can find available. Be praying for this need. If you want to help, you can designate your gift to 1700-Car Fund.
Also, continue praying for Katya as she will be in her final trimester during our time in the states. She is due the middle of July. Kristina is doing great, learning rapidly and running around almost as fast! She is a real joy to us in every way. We are especially liking that we are now beyond formula (just milk) and that she eats almost entirely tablefoods. She is even almost potty trained! Katya is doing a great job with raising Kristina.
The situation in Ukraine is continues to be relatively quiet, because of the “ceasefire.” Basically, this means Russia is resupplying its troops for the next offensive but it certainly does not mean that the Russians have “ceased firing.” Even with the ceasefire, a couple of Ukrainian soldiers are killed every day. Pray for them as they defend Ukraine and pray for those who minister to them (we have a number of people in our church helping with the military and the refugees).
The biggest problem right now is the economy. Ukraine’s economy continues to struggle but it appears to be stabilizing right now. But we expect prices to continue to rise over the next few months. Already basic staples like flour and rice have doubled in price and heating costs are going to be increased to 2-3 times as much as last year. Please pray for the people of Ukraine. Also pray that the churches of Ukraine can be lighthouses of hope during these difficult days.
Thank you so much for praying for us. We have only been back a few days but it has already been refreshing. We are looking forward to getting some time to relax also before we head back to our ministries in Ukraine.
By His Grace,
Jim, Katya and Kristina
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