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Hawes Family Update--August 18, 2007
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--- Two countries, Three Churches, Blessings and Challenges ---

As I said in our last update, we recently had the opportunity to visit and minister with three of our supporting churches as they came with mission teams to Ukraine.

I went by myself with a team from Lakewood Baptist Church, of Lakewood, New York, to minister with their sister church in the village of Mlyniv in western Ukraine. I had the pleasure of getting to know the team better as we traveled to the village. It was a good opportunity to see a part of Ukraine I had never seen before and to see the love that these two sister churches shared. I had the privilege of staying the night at the pastor's house and sharing with him our ministry and hearing more about his church and the blessings and struggles they have served God through. We look forward in future years of spending more time with the team from Lakewood and the church in Mlyniv.

While I was in Mlyniv, Jody and the kids were in the village of Babintsy, near Kiev, with a team from First Baptist Church of New Castle, Pennsylvania. They spent two weeks in Babintsy and the neighboring village of Nova Zelyesya putting on a children's camp and teaching English classes as an outreach. There is much to tell about this trip, so I will leave it up to Jody to tell you all about it in our next newsletter.

In between those two weeks, we had the pleasure of visiting the team from Mansfield, Ohio as they ministered with their sister church in the town of Brovary, just east of Kiev. We joined them for Sunday school and church and got to hear a little bit about how their first week had gone. They too were trying out English classes for the first time with great success. Plans are now underway to capitalize on the success of this ministry and get together with these students once a month to continue to help them with their English. Because we live close by and Jody has been working with the English ministry, she has been asked to conduct these once a month meetings. This is an exciting new opportunity for Jody and she is looking forward to serving in this way. We had been praying for a way for Jody to get involved in ministry in a small way. This was an answer to prayer. It was also great to hear and see this growing and vibrant church. Their adult Sunday school was full of good open discussion, something that we haven't yet experienced here. We had a wonderful time after church visiting with the pastor at his house and got to meet his very wonderful and talented family.

It was a good two weeks getting connected with our supporting churches and their sister churches. The day after the camps were finished, it was time for me to leave for Greater Europe Mission's annual conference held in Sopron, Hungry. This was my first conference, so I didn't know what to expect. It was great to see and visit with many of the people we have gotten to know in the GEM family over the past few years and it was a great time to catch-up with my eDOT teammates and talk about our plans for the future.

What's coming up next for the Hawes family? Fall is just around the corner. The days are getting noticeably shorter and things are gearing back up after the summer. That means it is time for school. We thank you for your prayers about the decisions regarding schooling. We have decided to home school Josiah and Elena. This decision was based primarily on trying to meet Elena's needs both educationally and developmentally, but we also feel Josiah will benefit from this choice. All our home school curriculum is in and we are putting together our schedules to get started on the right foot on Monday. I am excited to get to take a more active role in teaching the kids this year. With guidance from our mission, we came to the conclusion however that one of the things we would have to give up to home school the children was having both Jody and I in formal language school. So it was decided that I would begin with formal language school in the fall and Jody would keep working on her language part-time. I will begin formal language school on September 3. Classes are 4 days a week for 2 1/2 hours plus plenty of homework I'm sure. We aren't sure quite yet, what format Jody's language learning will take, but we are looking for ways for her to make the most of her available time. This is something to be praying about. Please pray for us as we begin a new school year. Pray that we all make the most of the time and resources we have been given for His glory.

We are so thankful that God has put us here. We are thankful for all your prayers, love and support. Please know that we need your prayers and feel your prayers in very real and practical ways all the time. It hasn't always been easy but we couldn't do this without you.


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Here are some more things to be praying about:

- Pray for the political situation in Ukraine. New parliamentary elections are scheduled for September 30.

- Pray for the upcoming eDOT eLearning Center Director's conference being held in Kiev in October. Pray that the conference will be an encouraging and equipping time for all who attend.

- We are very thankful for Transformation Church where we are now attending regularly. Please pray as summer fades and things get back to normal that we will be able to find places to serve and fellowship in the church.


Thank you for your prayers,

Andrew Hawes


Email: GetHooked@Fish4Him.net
Web: http://www.Fish4Him.net

Greater Europe Mission
http://www.gemission.org