MH17

I know many of you, if not most of you, have seen a lot in the news about Malaysian Airlines Flight 17. Most people are blaming the rebels in eastern Ukraine, and blaming Russia who has been supplying them with weapons and training for this horrible act. It always grieves me to think of any loss of life. Life is so valuable, so precious and 298 lives were taken in just a second. I don't need to tell you much more about this as I am sure you all have already heard a lot about it. I just encourage you to think about life in general.

God gave it to us. It is short, and it can be taken away in an instant. Don't waste your life. Don't wait until it's too late to tell a friend, a neighbor, a family member about the love and saving grace of Jesus Christ and what he did for us all on the cross of Calvary. Please pray for the family members and loved-ones of those who died on MH17 in this senseless act of aggression. And please remember the more than 300 Ukrainian servicemen and hundreds of Ukrainian civilians who already have lost their lives in this conflict in eastern Ukraine. Please pray for peace for Ukraine. I just returned this week from a youth camp. It was a great and encouraging time for me serving with other Ukrainian believers, and it was a blessing to be a part of. I was amazed to see God working in the hearts of these young people and really saw a change in many of them as camp progressed. Please pray for them, that they would remember what they heard at camp and that God would change their hearts. They are the future of Ukraine and I pray continually for God-fearing leaders for this still young country. Also please pray for me tomorrow as I head east, closer to the conflict zones, to help with another camp in Kherson. There we will be doing a lot with very little resources and we will have mostly poor children from the small towns and villages in the area. Please pray for our safety as we travel around 20 hours on train to this area. Also pray that God would use us in an amazing way as we help a church in the area with this camp. We pray that through the children we can help this church to connect to these families in this area, and be able to witness to them and show them the love of Christ. And also of course that they would hear the Gospel and respond to it. We know God desires that all men be saved, and again I encourage you to value every life, every soul around you. Remember that there are more important things than some of our everyday problems that seem to consume us sometimes. Think on eternal things! May God bless you all this week. Thank you again sincerely for your prayers and support for me and our work here in Ukraine.

Presidential elections

If anyone is following closely the situation in Ukraine you will know about this but for the rest of you I will give a quick update. As you probably know the revolution took Victor Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine, out of power and an interim president was elected.

Elections were moved from next year to May 25th of this year. There were many fears of pro-Russian interference in the elections, but besides some problems in the east where voters were prohibited from voting or poll stations closed or prevented from opening, the elections went smoothly. A successful businessman and pro-European candidate, Petro Poroshenko won the election. (photo on the left) Please pray for him that God would give him wisdom do deal with this broken country and with the unstable situation in the east, as well as a devastated economy. The east is still in turmoil and there is serious fighting there between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian militias. The day after the elections these militants tried to take over the Donetsk airport and the Ukrainian military responded in force killing more than 50 of the rebels. (photo on the right) It is even rumored that fighters from Chechnya, the infamous region of unrest in Russia, have joined the pro-Russian forces.

Please pray for Ukraine, that the country can get back to normal after these elections. Pray that there would be peace in Ukraine and that things would get back to normal. Also please again pray for the economy because the Ukrainian Hrivnia is continuing to drop in value and it really is affecting the people here. It is making things even harder for me financially but for Ukrainians it is becoming much more difficult even to afford basic amenities. Thanks again for being faithful to me with support and with lifting these things up in prayer. If you have any questions or would like to help with supporting me in some way please just ask me or talk to someone at Calvary, or to my parents. God bless and I will update again soon.

Trip to the Orphanage

One ministry that we often take part of here in Ukraine is ministering to orphans. We went to an orphanage in a village not far from L'viv, called Veliky Lyubin. I am just now updating the blog, but we went there on Mother's day and we try to visit there once or twice per month. So first we asked our neighbors here if they had any used toys, or clothes to donate and we went door to door asking them.

They were very generous and we received bags full of stuff to give the orphans. We wanted to include the neighbors in this ministry, even if they didn't know it, and give them a chance to get to know us because we hope to minister to them as well. We took a couple of buses to the orphanage and basically just spent some time with the kids there. It was Mother's day as I said so the kids that were left there really had no where to go and no one who cares for them. We played games, sports, did arts and crafts, and sang songs with them as well as a short message from the Bible. Then after we just went for a walk with them. The children were excited to show us around. They were so excited to just have someone to talk to or to receive a little attention. There were big smiles everywhere. And of course they were very happy to get a little "goodie bag" that we had prepared for them. It is a blessing always to see their smiling faces. Please pray for them as orphans in Ukraine have a very hard life, and very few opportunities for a better future.

Please pray also for the situation in Ukraine as the eastern part of the country is still very unstable. Thank you all for your prayers and support and if you have any questions just ask!

Situation with Russia still not any better

Hello everyone! Finally writing an update this month! If you are still following the news the situation with Russia hasn't really changed all that much. Still there is very high tension, and no one is really sure what Putin will do next. Some Ukrainian forces have tried to take back some buildings in Eastern Ukraine from pro-Russian forces, there was some success but not much. We believe these forces are either payed for and/or backed by the Russian government, and there is even believed to be Russian agents trying to cause some of this dissension to destabilize the interim Ukrainian government before elections in May.

Some of these pro-Russian forces have even captured some individuals from the EU, some Ukrainian diplomats, and members of the Ukrainian armed forces, and I even heard that someone was found dead and was believed to have been tortured as well. It is a very sad situation because not all the people in the Eastern parts are wrong. Some are just normal Ukrainians who have bought into the lies told to them through the Russian run and Russian controlled media, so there isn't a simple solution to these tensions. Please continue to follow this situation and pray for Ukraine. Just remember I am on the other side of the country and far from these situations. It is safe in my area for now, so no need to worry. (The photo is some Ukrainian forces moving in on a checkpoint controlled by pro-Russian forces.) This last week I celebrated my birthday. I actually thought I wouldn't really celebrate I didn't expect anything special, but my friends threw me a surprised party. I had some English lessons that day so I really wasn't expecting anything. It was a very fun evening and was a blessing for me. We had a great time fellowshipping with one another, eating, and playing games. It was great! I have English lessons just about every evening. It is mostly to help support myself here, but pray that God would use it as well. Also this week we are starting a new youth ministry. We have been wanting to start some ministry for young people for a while, and have been planning it, and will meet the first time on Wednesday. It will be a social outreach to youth where we will basically discuss together different problems we see in society and in the world. We will then give them a biblical solution to these problems or say what does the bible say about them, and we will discuss together will them what can we do to make a difference. We hope to brainstorm with these youth and come up with ideas, then together with them to actually do something about it. For example if they say the parks are dirty and it is a problem, so we will all go together and clean-up in some way. Our church is partnering with another church in the are to do this so please pray that God would bless this, and that many young people would come. I also hope to invite many of the people I know from Horodok where I was living last year. Thank you all for you prayers and support! It is very appreciated. If you have any questions feel free to ask or leave comment! God Bless you all this week! Another update coming soon.

Spring Update

Just a quick post to keep everyone updated on how I am doing. First of all, thanks everyone for your prayers. It really felt like there would be a war here. It has so far remained peaceful. Many people, including myself, are not happy that Russia was able to annex Crimea with really no repercussions besides a few weak sanctions, but at least there has been no real fighting for the last month. People are still a little scared of what can happen because there remains a large force of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border. Many think that Putin will try to do in Eastern Ukraine what he did in Crimea. Praise God however that prayers for peace, at least at the moment, have been answered. Continue to pray for Ukraine and for peace here, and also that the new government that is forming would be wise and not so corrupt as in the past. Also please pray for wisdom for European and American leaders, and that they would make good decisions with how to deal with this situation with Crimea, and with Russia. They say its the worse relations have been since the Cold War, and I really pray Ukraine doesn't suffer from this anymore than it already has. As for me I had a very busy month sorry I didn't update for a while. I started teaching English many times per week. It is a a good way to develop relationships, and keeps me busy, as well as providing a small portion of my support. Also please pray for Trinity church where I am serving. We are trying to start a youth program here at the church to reach out to young people. We are currently in the planning stages of that and deciding what we will do, when, where etc. Thanks also for your prayers for me as I travelled to Krakow, Poland. The Ukrainian Embassy is in Krakow and I had to go there to make my visa which allows me to register to live here for a year. Everything went perfectly, and I got my visa for 45 days in which time I must complete the registration process. It is a long, arduous process so please pray that things go smoothly as we navigate all the government channels to complete this process. It requires many documents and of course can be denied in which case I cannot stay here. So again, please pray for this. A big thanks all of you who continue to support me both financially and in prayer! If you have any questions or anything that you want to know please ask! I would love to tell you or talk you about Ukraine and about what we are doing here. God Bless =)

Crimea Referendum

Today is the day when Crimean residents are voting whether to join Russia or to become independent. This vote, according to most of the world, and according to the Ukrainian constitution is not valid and is illegal. Putin, however, doesn't want to listen to the rest of the world and is doing things the way he wants. It is a very tense situation now in Ukraine as both Russian and Ukrainian forces are growing larger and larger. A lot of hired Russian protesters/aggravators are stirring things up in some of Ukraine's western cities, and in Crimea, enticing violence so that Putin can say that things are dangerous and he needs to send troops there to protect Russian citizens. This is the same lie he used in Georgia in 2008. Also Russian troops just invaded the mainland Ukraine and took over a gas plant there citing that they were afraid of terrorist activity there. Also a lie. Even in Moscow thousands are standing up against this aggression and the lies. I just hope Putin will listen, but seems he will not. He has had his eye on Crimea for a long time, and sees himself as the restorer of the Russian (or Soviet) empire.

Please pray for Ukraine, and for it's leaders, armies, citizens, and in general for defense and protection from Russian aggressions. Ukrainians are very worried and some have even asked me if Americans know what to do if there is fighting, bombs, and shooting. They said they don't know what to do and they are very worried. Also please pray for the many Ukrainians from the east and from Crimea that will seek refuge in my area. It could open many doors for ministry and evangelism to help these refugees who are trying to get farther away from the fighting or possible fighting. Some of them are already making their way to western Ukraine. As for me I am still doing well. I was sick last week I think from eating something bad, but all is well now and I am 100%. Another big answer to prayer is that I found some English lessons to teach, which will cover about half of my support to stay here, so thank you for your prayers. I still need to find the other half, and I'm trying to invest in a bicycle to get around town, so if any of you would like to help in anyway please donate through this blog (using PayPal), through Calvary, or if you know my parents you can also give it to them. It would be greatly appreciated. The best support you could give me however is through prayer. Thanks, and please continue to pray for Ukraine! I will keep you updated.

Now problems with Russia...

I am sure you all are seeing regularly about the situation in Ukraine in the news right now. It is much worse than a revolution now, it is closer to a conflict with Russia or even a War. Russia is saying, like it did in Georgia a few years ago, that it is just trying to protect its Russian citizens. They have invaded Crimea, a region in southern Ukraine, and are currently occupying some bases there and some other strategic places as well. They apparently have just issued an ultimatum stating that if the remaining Ukrainian bases aren't surrendered they will attack in the morning. Moscow is denying this.

Also Putin asked the Russian parliament to approve use of forces not just in Crimea but in all of Ukraine. This my friends is an act of aggression and of War. Please pray for Ukraine! That no more lives would be lost and that there won't be any war or even mention of war. Pray that Putin comes to his senses and that the rest of the world will do what has to be done to pressure him into backing down. Thanks for your prayers please continue to pray diligently for the situation here. More updates to come soon.