Monday, September 14th

Our fall newsletter has been printed, if you didn’t get a copy you can read it by clicking here. 

Last week we enjoyed having my parents and family visit.  They brought with them suitcases full of items we can’t buy here in Ukraine, like brown sugar and cheetos:)  It’s neat to watch guests react to the culture, so many things (like children riding scooters on the highway, and without helmets) we don’t even notice anymore.  Deb and I took advantage of having my parents here and enjoyed a weekend in Poland, a nice 90 minute flight to the west, it’s become our little america.  We hadn’t been on a date since Cassie left so it was extra nice.  Poland is so much more western, with big malls, nice restaurants, hotels.. It’s sort of like living in Mexico, and having Texas next door…. but this time we’re in Mexico:).

[Deb and I enjoying a little getaway weekend, thanks Mom & Dad!]

This Sunday I spoke at church, we’re focusing on outreach, becoming salt & light in this community.  We met this week as well with the foreign missionaries, excited to continue meeting together and grow in substantive unity.  Wednesday nights have started back up, we have two groups meeting weekly for home groups.  Our group is going to focus on apologetics for the next few weeks-months.  Looking topic by topic on some of the tougher subjects of the Christian faith, and together learning how to communicate our beliefs.  This coming Sunday is the ‘all church’ meeting and I’m sharing at that service as well, on the designated topic of “Christian Relationships.. Marriage, Dating..”… should be interesting!  I’m going to try and coherse my wife into joining me for some of it.

There’s an interesting series of evening meetings in Kiev this week on the Great Commission, from a group called “Call2All”, which is hosting a series of international ‘congresses’ on the state of missions.  I want to go at least one of these and check it out.  I really don’t like going to Kiev anymore, I’m a country boy at heart and each time I venture into Kiev I’m terribly happy to leave it.

Deb and the kids are doing well.  They’ve started back into full school weeks, Broderic and and Bronwyn are being tutored two times per week with Ruth Pirini who taught in Kiev last semester at a private Christian school.  Jon, Ruth’s husband is one of the three elders in our church.  Brent and Tucker stick with Deb, and Clark and Noah.. well, they wander around getting into trouble.

¹³“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. ¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. -Matt 5:13-14

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