Family Blessings … (July 2017 Update)
John said, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (3 John 4). John was speaking about spiritual children in this passage. But the same is true about our earthly children. There are few blessings better in the world than having a wonderful family! I have really been blessed with great children who have great families. I have watched them go through many difficulties and walked through them honoring the Lord and coming out stronger. It has also been a great joy to see how they have served the Lord in various capacities. One of my great joys has been watching Sean and Meredith serve as missionaries through the Traveling Team in the US. We were able to have this joy doubled as they came to visit us in Ukraine under the month of June.
Also, one of our greatest joys is to see our students walking in the truth as well! It is an amazing experience to work with students for 4 short years and then to see how God is using them in their ministries. We get to see this often and it is a real encouragement to us. It is a struggle to know we miss so much time with my physical family (kids and grandkids) in the states, but that sadness is replaced when we see our students ministering here in Ukraine! “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
Most of our update this month will be some pictures and short commentaries about Sean and Meredith and their time with us in Ukraine. What a great time we had together! Many of you keep asking me for more family pictures. Well, here they are. But first we want to give you some prayer needs.
Prayer and Ministry Needs …
- English Camp Outreach – Our major focus this month will be our church’s English Camp. This will be my first time ministering at this camp (Katya has worked in the camp for many years before we were married). It will also be our first camp together with the girls. Be praying for us – for our family and for the students and non-believers that we will have a chance to share with during this week. (Also pray for Campus Ministries – they will also be having English camps this summer as part of their outreach to non-believers).
- Finances – We have been mentioning the last few months that we are in need of adding 3 or more families to our support team. Our monthly giving has been below what we need for the last few months. Each year, a few families have to reduce or stop giving simply because of their own family needs. But God’s timing has been great (as usual). We have really been blessed the last two months by some extra gifts from regular supporters. But it is really important that we add a couple of new families for regular support. If you would like to help us at any amount, we would greatly appreciate it!
- House – We are nearly finished with the house but we still need to insulate and buy a woodstove before the cold weather returns. We anticipate everything costing around $5000-6000. We are trying to save up enough money to complete these tasks. We were hoping to do this in August but it looks like we will need to wait until October. If you would like to help with a special gift to help us finish, just designate it to 1700-Housing.
- Ukraine – Don’t forget to pray for Ukraine. It is easy to forget that we are still living in a country at war. A few soldiers are dying to defend our country every week. Millions of refuges have had to leave their homes and relocate elsewhere in Ukraine. Many of our students and friends are serving in the army, serving as chaplains and also ministering to the many refugees. Please pray for peace, but also that the gospel will touch many during this difficult time.
Family …
Here are some family pictures. What a great joy it is to have such a wonderful family! We wish that all my children and grandchildren could come and visit us because we miss them so much. But we will use Skype and look forward to our next trip home in about 1 ½ years. Here are some pictures of our time with Sean and Meredith and Haven here in Ukraine.
Thank you for your prayers and for your support! Thank you for helping us raise up spiritual children who will also raise up spiritual children who will walk in the truth!
By His Grace,
Jim and Katya
Kristina and Nadia
