Summer in Pictures

There is some much to say about our summer that there is no way we could fit it all in one newsletter. So we are doing the next best thing. We are letting the picture do most of the talking. And these pictures on only the beginning. You will find more on our website.

Our New Apartment and New Friends...

This is us and the owners of our apartment (Victor and Svyeta) enjoying some lunch. We moved in June to be closer to the language school. Our first apartment was 1 1/2 hours away, even though it was only on the other side of town. We really like the new place. We especially love Victor and Svyeta! They are strong believers who were relocated to Kiev from Chernobyl in 1986. They left behind all of their belongings when they were evacuated. Victor spent several days driving buses of evacuees out from Chernobyl to safer places immediately after the disaster. They are grateful to God not to have suffered any illnesses as a result of the radiation. See more pictures of our apartment online…

An Apple From Heaven...

Meet "Apple", our new pet parakeet. He showed up on our 9th floor window sill one day. He was quite sick, but friendly enough. We weren't sure he would make it at first, but he is now doing great. We are so grateful for the Lord's providing a pet for our family. We all enjoy Apple's “cheery” songs. Josiah has even taught Apple how to give kisses!

A quick trip to Mlyniv...

Here's Andrew with the team from Lakewood, NY. They came to minister with their sister-church in the village of Mlyniv, in western Ukraine. It was a great trip, but too short. We look forward to working more with the Lakewood team in the future.

Adventure Camps in the Village...

We helped a team from New Castle, Pennsylvania with camps for kids in Babintsy and another small nearby village. It was very much like Vacation Bible School in the States. We worked with the littlest kids they call the "Duckies".

The kids LOVED to play with the parachute brought from America. No matter how many times they ran underneath it, the giggles and squeals never stopped.

We stayed at the church in Babintsy where we had great meals cooked for us each day by some very hard working ladies from the church.

More pictures online...

English Classes in Babintsy...

The team from Pennsylvania tried using English classes for the first time this year. You would think it would be easy to teach the language you speak, but it's harder than you think. I was inspired in my own language learning by the wonderful effort I saw displayed by the older ladies who came. Learning a language can be very difficult when you are older, but they did a fantastic job and we were all touched by their desire to learn.

See more pictures online...

New English Club in Brovary...

I have been asked to help teach English once a month at the church in the nearby town of Brovary. This is where another one of our supporting churches has their sister-church and held about 10 English classes a day for two weeks this summer.

The club is for those interested in spending time speaking English with a native speaker. It's a great opportunity for me to meet more people and connect with the church there. I pray it will bless the church in Brovary and allow them to build relationships with the people in the community who desire to learn English.

A New School Year for Josiah and Elena....

We thank you for your prayers about the decisions regarding the kids' schooling. We have decided to home school Josiah and Elena.

Under the advisement of our mission, we have given up having Jody in formal language school so we can homeschool.

Please pray for Jody to find ways to continue her language learning despite her not being in a formal schooling environment.

Language School Begins...

Andrew started language school in September. He and classmate Lori are working hard four days a week. Their teacher Galina is very experience and helpful.

See more pictures online...

Party Time!

We also had some of the kids from the neighborhood up to our apartment for pizza, snacks, and a fun game of UNO. They practiced their English and we worked on our Russian.

Mailing us in Ukraine

We have moved, but our mailing address remains the same. The best way to send us something is to use the address of Bible Mission shown below. Simply copy this, cut it out and tape it to your letter or package.