We are so glad to be in Ukraine!

First, we want to send a great big “Thank you!” to everyone who has helped us to get here. We are so blessed and are eternally grateful for all you have done. Your prayers have also meant a great deal to us. We truly know of His hand guiding us and watching over us here. Prayer is so powerful and necessary. Thank you!

Now, let us tell you a little about our new life here so far. We arrived after many flight delays and missed connections with all 20 of our bags! Everything survived the trip except a few plastic storage containers, which were cracked. Praise God!

The first few fantastic days were filled with finding food, furniture and fundamentals. Our Ukrainian brothers and sisters here at Bible Mission helped us in so many ways, from finding our beautiful apartment about a mile from the kid's school, to locating some great new furniture to fill it. We are so blessed to have them here to call on when we don't understand what to do. They have continually gone out of their way to assist us in settling in here.

We were also very blessed to have had the eDOT Director, Rich Bonham, here visiting from Germany for several days. It was great to see him again and get his invaluable direction in seeking out language learning opportunities and possible future ministry direction. We are very impressed by his leadership abilities and we are very blessed to be serving under him. We didn't think we would ever have leaders over us as fantastic as those Andrew served under at Home School Legal Defense Association, but God has provided yet another Godly example here. Amen!

A taste of home. Jody makes us pasta with real pasta sauce and toasted bread with fresh basil, olive oil, and cheese. Yum!

Josiah and Elena are hard at work at their new school, Kiev Christian Academy. The school has a high academic standard and top-notch teachers. The kids really appreciate the teachers and students here. They still miss the kids they got to know at New Castle Christian Academy in Pennsylvania, but are feeling right at home here. This has been a comfort to us as it eased the cultural adjustment a great deal. Elena will need extra prayers for her learning, since the lessons here are very challenging. Please pray she works hard and seeks to truly understand what she learns. Besides their schooling, the kids are enjoying trying new foods here, too. They especially love trying new desserts. On the other hand, church services tend to be pretty hard for them, as they are in Russian and Ukrainian and over 2 hours long, with 3 sermons throughout (yes, I said 2 hours and 3 sermons!). The music is very high quality and seems to touch our hearts, even though the words aren't all understood.

One of the hardest parts of our daily living here seems to be transportation. We are using public transportation almost exclusively. Although we are glad to be out with Ukrainians hearing the language and traveling as many of them do on buses, trams, trolleybuses and the subway (metro), it takes us at least 1 ½ hours for us to travel about 12 miles to the Bible Mission office. That time can also increase depending on the time of day we are traveling. In addition to the time it takes to get from one place to another it can also get very crowded. Imagine sardines or getting into your favorite jeans from high school. Get the picture. This is hard for us, but even harder on the kids, especially when we have several bags to carry. We aren't accustomed to all the pushing and arguing that happens when trying to fit “just one more”. Squeezing in and pushing are not how any of us have been taught to behave, so we are all struggling with how to be Christ-like in these common situations. We need discernment and wisdom. We are confident God will guide us in these things if we continue to ask and wait for His help.

Generally, things here are quite comfortable, although definitely more time consuming. Please continue to pray for us to keep our eyes on the Lord in all we do. As we seek to find our way here in this new land, we want to always be looking for His direction. It is easy to have a hard day and lose that focus, or to slowly slip away as one gets caught up in the challenges of everyday living. We are praying for so many of you individually as the Lord remind us of you or we hear of a need through email. You are each very precious to us and we want you to continue to know you are loved by us and our Lord. May His presence be felt in your life in a new way each day!

With much love,
Jody

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Looking ahead

Now that we are settled in Ukraine, it’s time to begin shifting our attention to learning the language. One thing that caught us off guard was the prevalence of the Ukrainian language compared to Russian in Kyiv. We knew Ukrainian was the official language, but we also knew Russian was still very commonly spoken in the country, if not the predominant language used. What we were not prepared for was the fact that almost all signs, instructions, and labels are written in Ukrainian. While to a Russian or Ukrainian, the differences between the two aren't too problematic, it is another thing for us, as we are just beginning. Everyone still agrees Russian is the language we need to focus on. But at the same time, we realize we can't wait until we are done learning Russian to begin learning Ukrainian. Day to day life will require us to pick up both. Hopefully, it won't get too confusing and in time, we pray that these new skills will enable us to minister better.

Besides language, we are also beginning to get our feet wet with the ministries God has called us to. We have visited a few churches so far, looking for the one we want to call home. We are also getting to know some of the people we will be working alongside in the months and years to come. This coming week, Jody will be traveling to a nearby village to minister with a team from First Baptist Church, New Castle, Pennsylvania. The following week, I will be traveling with eDOT and Bible Mission to a Learning Center Director's meeting in Zaporozhye, Ukraine. These will both be opportunities for us to get a first hand look at how God is working in Ukraine and our part in His plans. We look forward to sharing our experiences with you in our next newsletter.

Blessings,
Andrew

Mailing us in Ukraine

A number of people have asked us about our mailing address in Ukraine. At this point, the best way to send us something is to use the address of Bible Mission shown below. They will pass it along to us when they receive it. Simply copy this, cut it out and tape it to your letter or package.