================================================================================
Hawes Family Update--June 26, 2007
================================================================================
--- A new place to call home ---
Thank you for all your prayers on our behalf in the past weeks. Last Wednesday, we moved into our new apartment and today all the boxes are unpacked. We are adjusting well to life in this new area. We would have to say that this move was one of the easiest moves we have ever made. The best part was that we had movers doing the really hard work of carrying the few things that wouldn't fit in the small elevator up to our new apartment on the 9th floor. When they were done they said that was too hard and charged us and extra 60 hryvna. That's not what we had agreed to, but it was well worth it. After all that's only $12 and the whole move--two guys, a truck, 6 hours, and the other side of town--only cost us $180. Over the next few weeks, I hope to get some pictures of our apartment up onto our website for you all to see.
We really like our new place. It is so much closer to many of the places we need to go to on a regular basis. It is right next to a subway station too, so even faraway places are easier to get to. There are also several churches very close. We went to Transformation Church on Sunday and it was a short 15 minute walk. It was a very nice friendly church. In fact, it was the church that our eDOT ministry installed its first eLearning center. We have also gotten to know a missionary family--Randy and Annette Hillebrand--in the area. They are the ones who told us about the apartment and have been a great help in getting us acclimated. They had us over for dinner on Friday and on Saturday morning Randy and I took a three-hour walk all around this area. Randy showed me all the major shopping places and told me what mini-bus takes you where and all kind of other things. It was a great orientation.
On Saturday, we also got our high-speed Internet connection hooked up. This was a real blessing. I guess things run smoother when the landlord's niece works for the cable company.
We will spend the next week or so continuing to settle into our new place and preparing for the fall. We only have a few weeks before we get to meet up with three of our supporting churches who are coming to Ukraine. We are really looking forward to seeing them and getting to know their sister churches. Please pray that all the arrangements go well and for a profitable time of ministry for these teams.
--- Jody's Health: Looking for strength in our weakness ---
Thank you for your continued prayer for Jody's health. While the negative affects of the detoxification process have gone away, for the most part, Jody is not seeing the relief she had hoped to see from the process. As many of you know, Jody has struggled for many years with health problems which doctors keep putting different names to, but never solutions. The problems seem centered around her thyroid and other auto-immune problems and their affect on the body's chemical balance. Over the past few years, Jody found significant relief from her symptoms by following a diet that was very Alkaline. However, right before we left for Ukraine the diet seemed to be loosing its impact. We knew the stress at that time could be a contributing factor and were hoping that once we were in Ukraine, and things had settled a bit, things would get back on track. Admittedly, it hasn't been easy to stick to the alkaline diet with the foods available here in Kiev, but Jody has done a very good job and is sacrificing daily to stay on target. But for some reason, she is gaining weight again and is feeling fatigued more quickly. It's hard to know what to do when doctors have not been able to find the answer for years.
So, why are we telling you all this? Because we are asking you to pray. Jody manages day to day, some good, some bad, but it hasn't changed her call. She knows God doesn't want her to sit around waiting until she's "all better" to be a mom, a wife, or a missionary. But it's hard to do when you have a "thorn" in your flesh. We know God has used Jody's health issues to teach her things and encourage others and for that we are grateful. We are asking you to join with us in prayer for wisdom, patience and strength as we trust God to work as He knows best.
----
Here are some more things to be praying about:
- Please continue to pray for wisdom as we make decisions about the kids and our schooling in the fall.
- The weather has been much better for us with cooler temperatures. But Ukraine's farmers are experiencing one of the worst droughts in a century. Please pray for rain. Read more about it in this article.
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=955242007
Thank you for your prayers,
Andrew Hawes
Email: GetHooked@Fish4Him.net
Web: http://www.Fish4Him.net
Greater Europe Mission
http://www.gemission.org