Ukraine
Challenge
UPDATE 3:
June 30-
July 6, 2003
“On
this rock, I will build My church”
Like the little boy who came with his lunch in the story of
the feeding of the five thousand, a boy named Fyodor (Theodore) from Savenka
stood in front of the club with his Bible and waited an hour and a half for
others to arrive to begin the first service of the new church in this small
village. Nineteen people gathered to
form the first congregation—four or five children who had been in the camp the
week before, two Americans, a young translator and her husband from Kiev, a
curious man with no shoes who had come to the bar in the next room, two pastors
from another village and seven or eight others.
And Jesus said, “On this rock, I will build My church.”
Sunday afternoon two teams arrived at Borispol airport—a camp team and a
medical team. The medical team is
Dr. Angela Mickey, (dentist), the
Clark
family-Joey, Gina, Ryan and Megan, and Howard and Malinda Foster.
They set up their clinic on Monday and began to see patients on Tuesday.
They have been in Zdvishivka this week but will move to a nearby
village
of
Nova Zalissia
next week. Melissa Atkins, a new
ISC missionary who is a dental technician, joined them two days.
(Melissa and her husband, Brad, are originally from NC and are the new
volunteer coordinators for the International Mission Board.
They have been in
Ukraine
only a few months but are doing a great job.)
Jack and Joyce Burgart are team leaders for a small team from NC and AR
who are breaking new ground in a village called Rasosha about four hours south
of
Kiev
. The other team members are Beth
Nichols, Linda Haynes, Karissa Bracknell and Norm Abell.
They are working with children and youth in this small town of
approximately 5,000. This is a first
for the town and for all these team members except Beth who was the resident
camp leader for two months last summer and six weeks this summer.
Ron Zedick’s team came yesterday (Saturday the 5th.).
After hot showers, a good Ukrainian supper, and a stroll through
Shevchenko
Park
and the underground mall (seeing the old and new), they boarded the train for
L’Viv, an overnight ride of nine hours. More
of their story will come with the next update.
Continue to pray for wisdom and energy for each team member.
Pray for the medical team as they move next week into new circumstances
and minister to many new people, some of whom will be the children from the
orphanage. Pray that the camp
team’s supplies will hold out until the last day.
We pray for you as you gather to worship today and for your ministries.
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