Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Millers mailbox
Words from the Wise
Our Teammates Share About Joys, Challenges, and Opportunities
The time is quickly approaching for our departure from the States, which means we will soon be experiencing many different aspects of culture, life, and ministry in Kiev. We thought the best way to prepare you, our readers, for what is to come in our life was to ask some of our teammates in Kiev about joys, challenges, and ministry opportunities. We hope these responses will give you a small glimpse into the life of a missionary in Ukraine. Q: What is your favorite part about living and serving in Ukraine? A: My favorite thing about serving in Ukraine is watching God do amazing things in and through the people that we work with for the advancement of His Kingdom. Eric A: Our favorite thing is that we know this is where God has called us to serve Him. Out of this comes the blessing of working with Ukrainians who share the same love for and desire to serve our King. Bob & Sherri Q: What has been your biggest challenge while on the mission field? A: It is a challenge to see the ravages of an overly traditionalistic and fundamentalistic mentality in the church. The internally-focused and rigid approach to ministry that results from such a mentality thwarts genuine spiritual formation, hinders evangelism, and gives no place to theological education or crosscultural missions. Although this mentality seems to be passing, it is still present and active and is hard to see and experience. Eric Q: Describe the level of openness of most Ukrainians to the gospel. A: Our experience of recent years is that Ukrainians are tired of merely hearing the words, Jesus loves you. They have been disappointed in promises made by their politicians who offered them hope, but instead demonstrated self-interest. Ukrainians are still very open to relationships and when we, as missionaries, open ourselves to them in sincere friendship we are able to demonstrate the truths of Gods faithfulness and love in a way that offers true hope centered in Christs redemptive work. Bob Q: Do you have an exciting ministry story to share? A: A few weeks ago, I was in a small town in the Odessa region where some of our missionaries serve. As we walked around the city, speaking English, a young man passed by and was very clearly paying close attention to what we were saying. We all stopped and invited him to come over and practice his English with us, since that is clearly what interested him. We spoke for about 10 minutes and, at the end of the conversation, one of our missionaries invited him to the upcoming youth group at the end of the week. That young man came, participated and had a good time, asking many questions about Christianity. We are praying that the Lord uses our time with this young man and his exposure to the Gospel to draw him to Himself. Eric A: We are excited to be a part of plans for a new church plant in Kyiv. Bob & Sherri A: Who would have imagined that we would see our Ukrainian church plant filled to overflowing? We recently held a youth conference where over 250 young people from all over Kiev gathered together to worship and learn more about Jesus! It seems like only yesterday that we were meeting in our apartment! David & Elsie *continued on back page
TOP LEFT: Taking time to enjoy the beautiful fall colors in Maryland on our way home from a friends wedding. TOP RIGHT: A fall view of Kiev and the Dnieper River. BOTTOM: A neighborhood in Kiev, likely similar to the area where we will be living. If you live in the city, chances are that you live in a high-rise apartment building like the ones in this photo.
SEND International PO Box 513 Farmington, MI 48332 248.477.4210 E-mail: info@send.org www.send.org
Follow our new weekly partner development updates! Each Friday, check your e-mail for a link to a quick video that illustrates how close we are to reaching 100%! If God is calling you to be a part of our last 11%, please fill out the attached form and mail it to SEND International!
Cassies
We are standing in awe of the sovereignty of God. As many of you may know, we wanted to be in Kiev a year ago. The Lord has been showing us His perfect timing, as well as preparing us and teaching us. The partner development process has taken us nearly two years, which is considered average for most missionary families. We are experiencing a wide range of emotionsexcitement, nervousness, anxiousness, and joyas we see our partner development journey come to an end. We look forward to how God will continue to teach us and use us as we enter in to the next journeyserving Him in Kiev. We are thankful for your continued prayers. Please remember us in your prayers in the next couple of months as we prepare to leave and say many good-byes to family and friends. We anticipate the good-byes as being the biggest challenge either of us has had to face. We would appreciate your prayers for us as we take the next step in following Him. Grace and peace,
-Cassie
Contributions are solicited with the understanding that the donee organization has complete discretion and control over the use of all donated funds.