Learning to Walk … (June 2016 Update)
May has been a month of “learning to walk” in so many ways. Nadia is learning to walk physically, and we are learning to walk spiritually. And, with graduation in May, we had the joy of seeing our graduates “walk” and begin “walking out” their faith in their ministries! So we are all learning to walk!
Learning to Walk in Ministry …
In May, I taught the Research and Critical Thinking for the bachelor’s students. This class is always a special joy as I am able to show how these same principles are essential for preparing sermons and leading Bible studies. This course is foundational, not only teaching how to research and write but especially in teaching students how to think – which is much more important! J Like every year, the students complain about the massive amount of work they have to do, but by the end of the class, they are saying it was the most helpful class they have ever had!
My understanding of Russian is certainly improving. I’m able to converse with students and answer many of their questions now without a translator. But as my use of Russian increases, so do my mistakes! Some have been absolutely hilarious. When some of the people at the seminary asked me why my nieces were taking my class, I responded: Они хотят писать лучше (They want to learn to pee better). I meant to say: Они хотят писать лучше (They want to write better). The only difference is the accent on the word писать but it is a BIG difference! It provoked a major laugh because everyone knew what I meant to say. On another occasion, I asked for the key to the кладбище (Sepulcher/grave). I meant the key to the кладовка (storage). So with more usage comes more mistakes – and a lot of laughs!
Near the end of the month, we had the joy of seeing our students graduate. This is a special joy when we get to see our students in the bachelor’s and Master’s programs graduate and we get a chance to meet their families. Most of all, we have the joy of knowing we have invested in 4 or more years of their life which will affect their ministry for many, many years. Thanks for letting us have this joy of training these future servants of God’s Word here in Ukraine!
This weekend (June 3-5), I will be part of a church and pastors conference in Cherkassy, Ukraine. I will be teaching 3 seminars on the practice of prayer in a modern culture. I plan to teach some things about the theology of prayer in general and help them to begin learning how to pray the scriptures. Be praying for me as I teach in this conference.
Earning to Walk by Faith … our House…
If you have been following our house progress, you know that we are building a house outside of Kiev that will save us a lot of money over the rent we are currently paying. We have been struggling to see where the money will come from and we are learning again that God will provide.
Last month, we began praying for God to supply all our needs for building the house and to teach us to look for His daily bread. As we were praying, I received an email from a friend saying his church wanted to give us a gift for the house. We took that as confirmation that God would provide every need we had as the need arose. A couple of days later, we received another gift for the house! We need about $2000 each month to build over the summer and about $3000-4000 in the fall (as we do bathrooms and kitchen). God has already supplied our need for June and we are praying about our needs for July. We are learning to walk by faith in new ways and know that God will provide when the need arises. I have a friend who always says, “God is never late but He is seldom early.” It is really true. Sometimes God surprises us by giving early, but often He waits to give until we need something. We are praying for patience as looking forward to seeing God’s provisions each month!
So we are excited about this adventure and we are looking forward to see how our amazing God will provide! We’ll keep you updated so you can praise the Lord with us and see how God is providing!
We are also being diligent about finding ways to build the house with less money. Most of the time we are doing the work ourselves or with the help of a relative who is a builder. Also, we try to purchase our materials from the manufacturers when possible saving another 20-50%. For example, all the wood we are using is being milled at a local saw mill. When we can’t buy directly, we have been negotiating for discounts with major stores like Epicenter (similar to Home Depot). It is kind of fun now to go to Epicenter where the manager knows me by name, meets me at the entrance, goes with me to negotiate with the floor salesmen, and gets us large discounts on all our purchases! Not many people are building right now in Ukraine due to the economy, so we have become sort of special customers!
In the process, I’m learning a lot of about building in Ukraine which is not the same as in the US! I’m learning lots of new words and drawing lots of diagrams to show what I want. After a number of attempts, the builders usually understand and they say, “Oh, you mean …. (Russian word).” I just say, “Right,” like I understood all along J. Also, I’m often trying to show them a better, faster or cheaper way to accomplish certain tasks. Once they understand, they usually say they never thought about doing that before. So it is a learning process for us all but we are getting there.
I’m also learning that work does not get done unless I am there to check on the work. This is very different from building in America. So now we are putting together weekly task lists and I’m going daily to check and see that the work is being done.
Be praying for us as we work with the electric company to get them to agree to give us electric. These public utilities are full of corruption and they give services when they are given “gifts.” If you don’t give a “gift,” it could take 6 months to a year to get them to connect you. We have been through this with the gas hookup and we now have gas. Our next step is the electric hookup so be praying as we negotiate with them over giving us electricity. That will be our final hookup so we are excited about getting past this stage. Oh, the joys of building in Ukraine!
If you want to give a gift to help of any amount just designate it to 1700–Housing and we will use it for completing our house Inn Ukraine. Pray with us about the finances, but also for patience. We have a long way to go and the house will probably not be finished until next spring. So we are learning to walk step by step and wait on God’s timing as well as the work for the house.
Learning to Walk … Family …
One of the joys this month was seeing Nadia transition from a crawler into a walker! In the beginning of the month she was taking a few steps. Now, even when she falls, she gets back up and walks again. She rarely crawls now except when she is in a big hurry. Kristina continues to grow and she speaks Russian quite well. She even knows and uses words that I don’t know now! She just listens and repeats what she hears. It is amazing. Katya and I agreed that I need to start talking more to her in only English so she does not lose her English understanding.
Continue to pray for Ukraine…
Continue to pray for peace in Ukraine, especially in the east. It is difficult to hear from people who have been forced to move due to the war or due to threats from the Russians and “separatists” now controlling those areas. Also, pray for the people of Occupied Crimea. Russia is extremely harsh toward anyone, including children who even suggest that Crimea might belong to Ukraine. Discussions about this and even internet postings are considered “hate-crimes” and “extremist” and “danger to the Russian state.” Russia is arresting people and putting them in jail for such “crimes” and they are requiring programs of “re-education” where they are forcing children to state that Crimea is Russia.
Also, continue to pray for ministries here in Ukraine. We are training leaders here as long as the door of opportunity is open. It is exciting to see the new churches they are starting as well as their impact in various ministries. Thanks for being our partners in the gospel here in Ukraine! Pray for us as we learn to walk by faith and not by sight!
By His Grace,
Jim and Katya
Kristina and Nadia