Grace and Blessings Abounding! (May 2015 Update)
The Blessing of Fellowship
What a joy it has been to be back in the US seeing friends and spending time with family! We have been to Fayetteville, North Little Rock, and Cabot in Arkansas. We have visited with dear friends in Memphis, TN, Phenix City, AL and Atlanta, GA. And we are still on the road, on our way down to Florida to visit with friends and family there.
During our first 3 weeks, we spent most of our time in Northwest Arkansas (with weekend trips to Little Rock) helping Sean and Meredith with baby, Haven. What a joy to be with them and to see this new gift from God! Also during our time there, we were especially blessed by New Heights Church. They allowed us to stay those 3 weeks in one of their missionary apartments. It was so wonderful having “our own” place and being just a few minutes from Sean and Meredith!
Our second 3 weeks, we spent in central Arkansas staying with Joy and her family. Kristina loved being the center of attention and especially loved spending time with Joy’s triplets who are now 10 years old! On the weekends, we got to visit some wonderful churches (Cabot Bible, Urban Harvest, Cornerstone, Summit, and Grace Baptist Church). We were also able to go on an outing with International Friendship Partners to Petit Jean. We also had some wonderful times of fellowship with some gatherings hosted by Dwight and Darcy Pattison, Carl and Debbie Gutske, and Jake and Jami Minton. We also had an old Home Group reunion at Lauren and Patrick Byrns’ home in Ward. In short, we were reminded of how blessed we are to have such a wonderful family in Christ!
Our last 3 weeks will be spent relaxing some before heading back to Ukraine. We saw friends in Memphis, Alabama and Georgia. We also found a ministry called Missionary Care Ministry that provided us with a week of rest near Athens, GA. We were surprised to find that we are not the first from Ukraine to stay here — Todd and Kelly Marshall from Kiev Theological Seminary were one of the first families to stay here in the late 90s! This is really a blessing for us. We get to stay in a really beautiful place in the country and just relax a little before heading south to Florida.
In Florida, we will be visiting friends in Hobe Sound, and my dad in Port St. Lucie. Then we will head to Sarasota to spend time with Debbie’s parents and Joel and Alyssa who moved there last fall. Also, Joy and her kids and Sean and Meredith with be joining us there. SO we will all be together in Sarasota for our last full week in the US. Be praying for my father and for Debbie’s mom who are not doing well physically.
The Blessing of Provisions
One of our needs for this coming year was to be able to have the funds to purchase a used car for us in Ukraine. We were told we would need about $15,000 for the car. In just 3 months, God provided us with $16,000! We were often humbled (and did not know what to say) when these gifts were provided for the car. We were also greatly blessed by one of my students in Ukraine. We learned that his business is going to Amsterdam and buying cars in auctions and bringing them back to Ukraine. We contacted him and he found a car last week and already purchased it for us. His company takes care of all the paperwork and customs so that, when we arrive in Ukraine in June, the car should be ready for us! What a blessing!
But that is not the only way God has provided for us! While we are here in the states, Katya needed to have a 28 week check-up and tests. But with no insurance and the possibility of getting an ob-gyn to see a lady for just one visit is really difficult. But someone reminded me about Cornerstone Clinic in West Little Rock. She was able to get an appointment in a day’s notice and get all the tests done! And we had the joy of talking with one of the nurses there that had been on a mission’s trip to Kiev. Also, I developed a “belly-button hernia” suddenly on the trip. I also needed to see a doctor quickly and get set up for surgery before returning to Ukraine. One young man who grew up in the Bible Church of Cabot is currently a surgeon in Little Rock. And – he specializes in laprascopic surgeries. And – he worked me in right away and I will have surgery the Monday before we return! God’s provisions and timing is always amazing!!!
The Blessing of Ministry
It is a really special joy for us to be able to be free to minister in Ukraine! But that means work – even while I am here in the US. I am working on grading papers from my February Masters in Biblical Counseling Class (actually, I am late getting these done 😦 ). When we return, I will be getting to work on preparing for next year’s classes. Also, I will be mentoring 3 Ukrainian professors in classes for next year.
The situation in Ukraine is continues to be relatively quiet, because of the “ceasefire.” But it appears that Russia is preparing for a new offensive near Maripol soon. Pray for the troops 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).
Thank you so much for praying for us. We have been blessed far beyond what we could ever imagine! We are enjoying time with friends and family and getting some time to rest as we prepare for returning to ministry in Ukraine.
By His Grace,
Jim, Katya and Kristina
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