Posted in Uncategorized on February 13, 2016|
Looking Backward, Looking Forward (January 2016 Update)
Looking Backward …
As we enter into 2016, we have many things to be thankful for. Here are just a few (there is not time to list them all). (We have also included a few pictures from the past year too). (more…)
Posted in Uncategorized on December 19, 2015|
‘Tis the Season to be Jolly?By Jim Elliff
“‘Tis the Season to be jolly?” Well, maybe.
The business of Christmas, that is, the hard and cold commercial trade of the Thanksgiving to Christmas sales window, is a measure of how well America is doing. It’s the thermometer in our corporate mouths.
Needs are created through the media in order to entice the buyer into purchasing more this year than last. No one is to be disappointed at Christmas, after all. The manipulation is as blatant toward children as adults. And who can bring themselves to crush the psyche of anyone by not giving them all they want?
The end result of all of this is “happiness.” The receivers of the presents are happy and the merchandisers are happy. The media people are happy and the credit card people are happy. Everything is happy during Christmas. (more…)
Posted in Uncategorized on October 28, 2015|
Knocked Down but Still Going! (November 2015 Update)
In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, The Apostle Paul speaks about the many difficulties he was facing: “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.” October has been a difficult month for me physically but very rewarding in ministry. Certainly my difficulties are nothing compared to those that Paul was facing on every side. But the physical difficulties I’m having this month have made this verse very relevant to me! We are certainly “perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit.” The ministry is too important to those we serve here in Ukraine. More about the health problems later in this update …
Teaching Ministry in Lviv …
The Worship and Prayer class I taught in Lviv at Ukrainian Baptist Seminary went especially well. I really enjoyed being part of this new school. Every morning, they begin with a chapel worship time. It is good to begin each day with worship! Then we have 8 hours of class (with a lunch break, of course). Every evening, I had papers to grade and class to prepare for. I was so busy that I did not have time to leave the seminary building during the week. But the class was great! The students had very good, practical and theological questions and we covered many important topics for their local churches.
Posted in Uncategorized on September 5, 2015|
New School Year – New Opportunities! (September 2015 Update)
Classes began a week ago and I have already been through one class. The first class this year was a Worship class with our 4th year students. It is always a special joy to be with the 4th year group. They have learned so much and they are already applying what they have learned in ministry. This class was a worship class taught by Sergey Bochko. The class was entirely in Russian so I really had to concentrate to catch everything. I think I understood almost all and was able to participate (in Russian) in the many discussions that we had.
My next class will be in Lviv in Western Ukraine. I will be teaching Worship and Prayer at the newly formed Ukrainian Baptist Seminary that Katya and I helped with last year. We are both looking forward to being back in Lviv and seeing the students firsthand. Be praying for me as I finish up the syllabus and work on PowerPoints and lectures for this class that comes in the middle of October. (more…)
Posted in Uncategorized on August 8, 2015|
We Have Hope! (August 2015 Update)
On July 13th, Nadia Ehrhard entered the world. She seems to enjoy her new-found freedom from her mother’s womb and enjoys seeing mom, dad and sister, Kristina, face to face. We struggled to find a name that would “fit” our new daughter as well as be one that could be understood in English, Ukrainian, and Russian. We also wanted something that would have a good message. We finally settled on Nadia (Надя) which means “hope.” It reflects the hope we have for the future of Ukraine and well as the eternal hope that we have in Christ alone. So… we have hope – our n
ew baby girl – and, most of all, we have “a hope laid up in heaven” (Colossians 1:5). And we hope Nadia will be a constant reminder that the hope we have in Christ is one that will last forever and ever (“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” – Hebrews 6:19). (more…)
Teaching Resources International 