Bearing Fruit … (June 2017 Update)
Colossians 1:10 says that we are to walk “in a manner worthy of the Lord, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” May is a month for classes and also for graduation. It is a time when we get to see some of the fruit of our labors at the seminary. Colossians also reminds us of the central important of helping these students grow in knowing God better. We pray that our labors will be fruitful for God’s kingdom – not only this year but for many, many years to come!
Teaching in May …
In May, I taught Research and Critical Thinking 1. This is a required course for all 1st year students. It covers using logic to develop clear thinking and communication skills. It teaches students how to research and analyze everything. Through the years, many students have told us that this was one of the most helpful courses they had while at the seminary. Natalie Tereschenko was able to help with some of the classes and it was a tremendous help to me.
It was a great week with the student coming up with great writing topics related to their ministries. Some students researched and wrote about the importance of adopting children as a ministry. Others wrote on questions about worship in a modern context. Still others choose biblical topics, including the ministry of angels and the importance of biblical ministries. One student used a number of Puritan resources to write about biblical repentance! In all, there were many good topics and some very good papers. Most of all, the students learned that good research is an essential element for good biblical teaching.
May is also graduation. This year we graduated students from a number of the former Soviet republics including a couple of church planters from Armenia. One student, Artur Rafaelyan from Armenia, shared the following about his experience at KTS:
I especially enjoyed theology classes since they focused on issues that are needed in small churches…. It changed my understanding of God and the Bible – it turned out that I had some false doctrines and wrong understanding of various issues…. The turning point (for me) was the hermeneutics class…. It became hard to listen to some sermons because I understood they were contrary to the Bible…. Doctrines are important not only for church leaders and pastors, but for every person. What we believe is important so that we may live and act accordingly…. (Translated from KTS interview).
One lady from our Biblical Counseling Program shared a similar experience: “Thank you for your sacrificial commitment in making biblical counseling training available around the world! It has changed my life; I am a better woman, wife, mother and friend because of God’s truth working in me. I have a passion for God’s Word like never before. To God be the glory!”
We also had masters degree graduates from Talbot Theological Seminary in our Talbot Extension and from our Biblical Counseling Programs. This year, our Talbot extension celebrates 10 years of theological education in Ukraine (The Biblical Counseling Program celebrated 11 years of overseas instruction; 5 years in Ukraine). Thank you for allowing us to be part of seeing fruit from our labors through teaching here in Ukraine!
We are also excited to be able to support a number of missionaries around the world, including some here in Ukraine. In Ukraine, we work often with Campus Ministry to reach out to University students primarily through English ministries, Bible Studies and discipleship. We have a friend who began a work at the universities in Kharkiv, Ukraine last fall after a number of years of working here in Kiev. Here is a picture of them and the team they have assembled to reach out to non-believing students in Kharkiv.
Fruit at Home …
May is also the month when we begin to see some fruit from our trees and garden. But not this year. Our last frost is usually May 1st so we planted everything only to be hit with a snowfall May 10th! We enjoyed the snow and even started a fire in our fire pit and sat back to enjoy. Being new to farming, we didn’t realize that all our vegetable plants and most of our fruit blossoms on the trees would freeze and we would be left with black leaves. We replanted the vegetables but it looks like we will need to wait until next year to have cherries and apricots (The apples had not blossomed yet). We can see why farmers watch the weather carefully and pray often!
We are still working on some small details about the house. We will need to wait and save up money to buy some wardrobes and then to put insulation on the house and buy a woodstove. Our hope is that we can do these things at the end of the summer or early fall before the winter cold begins to set in.
Family …
Right now, we are enjoying having Sean, Meredith and Haven Cooper visiting with us. We are mostly relaxing and enjoying being together. The kids love being outside playing together. We will do some sightseeing and Sean will be preaching this weekend. But it is just good to have them visiting with us!
Pray for Ukraine …
Please don’t forget to pray for Ukraine! Attacks in the east are increasing in number and intensity and the rest of the world seems to have forgotten that Ukraine is still at war. Even most of Ukraine seems to put this conflict on the back burning since it is not having any major impact on daily life (outside of in Eastern Ukraine). This is sad and we need to remember that soldiers are dying almost daily in this conflict. Please pray for the country and for the soldier and for those who minister to them on the frontlines and in the refugee areas.
Be praying for our finances too. Our last two months have been the lowest I have seen in many years. Fortunately, the Lord knows our needs better than we do and we had a couple of people give special gifts last month that kept our salary at the normal level. But do be praying with us. We need to add 3 new families to our support team so that our support level can stay constant. If you are not a regular supporter of our ministry, please pray about coming alongside us and helping us so that we can continue to see God’s fruit here in Ukraine!
By His Grace,
Jim and Katya
Kristina and Nadia
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