Cafe staff making pizza at our house during our little party this past weekend.
Packing for a 2 month adventure in our family is something to behold. It’s sort of a evolving time-lapsed thing over the past 3 weeks. Deb is amazing. Suitcases appear, then move around from day to day. Eventually the loads of laundry migrate to our living room. It looks like a bomb went off, but Deb has it under control. Being the practical husband that I am, I want to desperately throw things into the suitcases and be done, but there’s a system, a method to her madness so I dare not touch.
I need a bag to hold the passports for our family!
After 3 weeks of packing, planning, communicating, we’re finally ready to go! Bags packed neatly by the door.. back packs being assembled with snacks and gadgets. This time tomorrow we’ll be flying over the Atlantic, back to Canada where we’ll spend the Holidays.
On Jan 3 we will embark on our first ‘family missions trip’ across the US. We have been lining up visits with friends, churches, and generally asking God to ordain and guide our steps.. and wheels. We are going to spend a month in the US, including a week in Texas with our home church Crossroads. The kids are excited, but they don’t really know what they are in for.. 9,000 km in a van is something we’ll all remember!
Please pray for a few things:
– Cafe: We are leaving the Cafe open, and have a semi-trained staff in place (4). Pray for wisdom for Dema, for grace upon the difficult situation with heat and intermittent electricity. We will keep it open as long as we can function and sell Coffee.
By the way, we are posting more photos and videos on our Facebook page – please check it out if you haven’t already, and LIKE our page… share it around to other believers and missions minded folks! – https://www.facebook.com/lighthouseukraine
– Ukraine: We feel for this nation. It’s battled, weary, and economically fragile. Folks are struggling to maintain hope that their nation will eventually be free in the political sense. Pray for those churches that are on the front line, praying, giving, serving down in Mariupol and other areas where the sound of mortar and moving military equipment has become their ‘new normal’. Pray for peace, for the winter to move by quickly for those who can’t afford heating.
– Our Trip: We have a vision on our hearts for 2015 which includes more strategic discipleship. We will be sharing more of this when we are in Canada/US. Please pray God would connect us with partners, churches, friends that will share in this burden. It’s an odd feeling knowing God has called you to something you can’t do on your own – you trust Him, but you are cautious to get ahead of yourself. We’re stepping ‘out there’ even on this trip, the finances for it are minimal, but God is our supply and I am excited for my kids to experience God’s provision when you step on the water. Pray God refreshes our hearts as well, as we seek to bless others too.
– Gas – Oh go ahead and pray one more time! The gas line literally is within inches, but now we need more documents (why not!) for the pizza oven and boiler before they can switch it on. Documents we don’t have, and can’t get. Four guys came to Cafe last week at night from gas company and wanted personal documents from me as well. I just smile at this point and in russian say, ‘talk to Dema’. Things progress, but often backwards.. just part of life here.
Thanks for checking in, see some of your very soon! We return to Ukraine Lord willing end of Feb.
Bruce & Deb