My Summer Vacation … Sort of (July 2015 Update)
Normally at this time of year, we are starting our summer vacation in the US. But this year is totally different. First, we’ve already had our “summer vacation” this spring while we were in Arkansas to see Meredith and Sean’s new baby, Haven, as well as visiting friends and family. We had a busy but wonderful time there! Then, at the beginning of June, we headed back to Kiev to have our real summer vacation…sort of.
Once we arrived, we had lots to do getting ready for the event of the summer – having our second baby (expected in mid-July). That meant making more space for a baby and soon to be two children. Since more than half of Kristina’s room has been storage, we had to begin by trying to find some storage. That isn’t easy in Kiev. Most people don’t have a lot to store so storage places are few and far between. And when you find something, it is usually a small garage far from where you live. We looked and looked with no success until we saw an old sign stuck to a building outside our apartment. We called and found an excellent garage just a few meters from our apartment! Then we packed and re-sorted everything and moved it to storage. Fortunately, we now have a car which made the trips back and forth much easier!
Then we began the search for children’s furniture and started putting together the girls’ room. We are almost finished and it really looks good. Kristina is already enjoying the extra space so much that she actually plays in the room. We also wanted to remodel the balconies in our apartment to give some more space and to improve heating in the winter. Our landlord agreed to split the cost and we found a contractor to do the work at a reasonable price. That’s all done now and we are ready for the baby to come!
Ministry continues …
Also during June, I have been grading papers and reports from two classes: The Research and Writing for Biblical Counseling class from February and a similar class taught by Natasha Tereschenko in May.
Additionally in June, I taught a writing seminar for REALIS students in Vorzel, Ukraine. The students were very eager to learn and we accomplished much, even though it was only a one day seminar. The REALIS group provides a Master degree in Cross-Cultural Ministries. They met in a building on the grounds of a house where independent Baptists met illegally during Soviet times. Included is a picture of the originally house (we met in a conference center recently built adjacent to the house.
Finally, we are able to attend some baptisms in the Dneiper River when one of Katya’s nieces was baptized. Baptisms are always a special joy whenever we get to see new believers willing to stand and give testimony for Jesus! But the baptisms in the river brought back some very special memories for me of our baptisms in Lake Waramaug in Connecticut. Here are a few pictures:
In July, I will be putting together courses for the fall. I have a lot to do to re-write the classes I’ll be teach plus adding on that I have not taught before: The Theology of Worship. I will also be teaching at Ukrainian Baptist Seminary in Lviv this year so we will need to translate my handouts and PowerPoints into Ukrainian before the classes. Thanks for praying for me as I work on these tasks this summer also.
Family …
Kristina is growing rapidly. She is beginning to say many words mostly in English. It’s not that she doesn’t hear Russian enough. She hears it more than English. But the English words are almost always shorter and simpler (for example: nuts/oreshki; dog/sobaka; bike/velosiped; etc). But she understands the words in both Russian and English (better than me L). Her mobility is also increasing leaps and bounds (literally). This has brought many new challenges as well as making us more tired in the evening too! But, all in all, she is very well-behaved and a real joy to watch grow.
Ukraine …
The situation in Ukraine continues to be bad but stable. Some days as many as 10 Ukrainian soldiers die protecting the frontlines. A few days ago, the Russian and separatists mounted a major offensive against the city of Mariupol but they were repelled by Ukrainian defenders. It is hard to predict what will be next but we are pretty sure that the conflict is not over and will probably get worse. The economic situation seems more stable now without much change in the currency lately. Ukraine is still waiting on loan promises from the EU and US that should help to stabilize the economy even more. Continue to pray for the people of Ukraine. Life, always difficult, has become much harder for the common person with double-digit inflation and salaries now worth 1/3 of what they were last year. Also, pray for the refugees from the East. There are many and jobs before the war were already scarce in Ukraine. Now the jobless situation is getting worse. Fortunately, churches are reaching out to minister to those who have lost everything because of the conflict. Pray that the gospel will also spread among them during this time.
So…Summer Vacation … basically, this will be a “baby summer.” We spent much of June getting ready and July and August will be spent adjusting to our new schedules with the new baby. We’ll let you know as soon as the new baby arrives (we are still working on names). Keep us in your prayers!
Thank you again for your prayers for us! Continue to pray for us as we await the new baby. Thank you again for all your support and love for us!!!
By His Grace,
Jim, Katya and Kristina
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