January 2005 Prayerletter

• Life in the USA
• Back in Kyiv
• The Orange Revolution Continues
• Lena’s Perspective

Amidst the unbelievably freezing temperatures and piles of snow, Lena and I returned to Kyiv on February 1 after a brief furlough. The time in the US was much needed. For quite a while, we had been running on empty. Being among friends and family in the USA helped in many ways. Being reminded that so many cared about our ministry and about us helped immensely.

We spent Christmas with my family and were with my dad for his surgery in January. (He is doing well—thanks to all those who prayed for him.) Then, we made two unexpected trips to South Carolina after my brother was hospitalized with a perplexing hip problem. Besides getting to see lots of hospitals and doctor’s offices, we ourselves were finally able to visit a US chiropractor. A capable doctor in Athens (who gave us a hefty missionary discount) helped us with our nagging back problems. She at least gave us some hope that we may not always have these back troubles. We will certainly be visiting her office during our next trip.

Back in Kyiv

The work in Kyiv seems to be going well. We have a Study Center course on heaven and hell that is well attended, the small groups seem to be doing well though we are still very much in need of mature leaders, and Vitaly Samodin and I have started another Soup Group for seekers.

The UEC keeps plugging along. We had a very positive board meeting in Nashville and I was personally encouraged to see that the US board remains enthusiastic about the Center’s work. The Center was able recently to acquire high speed internet access which makes many people’s lives easier. This past month, we have been developing a sort of marketing campaign to advertise the Center at strategic places in Kyiv and among certain communities. Though our number of patrons continues to grow, we feel it’s time for us to be a little more proactive in letting possibly interested people know about our Center.

I have begun a field course in cultural anthropology through Biola University; I am enjoying getting back to formal learning. The course has already given me some insight into our situation and I hope it makes me a more effective minister of the gospel.

Finally, we recently mailed out a UEC annual report and our own Kyivmission annual report. For our financial supporters, look for that in your mailbox soon.

The Orange Revolution Continues

Ukraine’s new government continues to shake up the country following the Orange Revolution. Massive changes in many aspects of government are being planned. The radical Yulia Tymoshenko is now prime minister and she has begun a massive campaign to root out corrupt deals of the past. Other changes are expected in how Ukraine grants visas to foreigners, how the government is organized, and the state committee on religion may be closed down. Bush has asked for a large increase in foreign aid to Ukraine. It looks like the revolution is working. An interesting blog that often posts on Ukrainian politics (and other matters) is www.postmodernclog.com. We’ll see how it goes.

The head of one department the UEC works with was fired by the new government and now the new guy doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing. So we are up a bureaucratic creek without a paddle. We also learned that in order to establish a wireless internet point in an office you have to pay enormous sums of money to the government for a special license and then pay a monthly fee to maintain the license. We’ll see how long it takes the Orange Revolution to dismantle the suffocating bureaucracy.

Lena’s Perspective

Every trip to the US entails packing. This time it was a lot of packing. Ukraine is a relatively poor country. A lot of times, poverty is hidden. If you have a roof above your head and don’t starve to death, you are considered to be well off. Unfortunately, some of our church members belong in this category of hidden poverty. Several times now different members of Central Church of Christ, Athens, TN, bought clothes on sales and gave clothes to send to Ukraine. Chris’s aunt Jean donated a significant sum of money with which we purchased gifts for those in need in Kyiv. I also discovered Goodwill this year. That was an exciting revelation to me, but Paul Prill and Chris were less excited after an hour and a half wait while I was prowling through the rows of pants, shirts, and skirts, looking for the right sizes for people in Kyiv. Thankfully, we were able to send two extra pieces of luggage to Ukraine this year. 140 pounds of clothes, books, and videos for UEC library were brought to Kyiv by David Ralston from Memphis and Rob Hatala from Knoxville. We are very thankful for them hauling those bags through the airports. Mike Buckley and Leland Dugger also know how heavy our bags are. The last several years they have come to Knoxville airport to see us off and to help with luggage.

It’s nice to be Santa. That’s how I felt those last two weeks giving out clothes and shoes to people here. One of the ladies we brought stuff for lives in a part of an old house which they thought was about to collapse last year. She and her husband share their room (not bigger than a regular size kitchen in US) with their daughter and granddaughter. I thought it did not exist any more, but they have a dirt floor in their kitchen that is so small that one person can hardly fit in. You would think a life situation like this would make you at least depressed. Ludmila is one of the happiest people in our church, though. We brought several coats, shoes, jeans, and other clothing for them, and Ludmila just kept saying that now somehow all of her family got new clothes. Most of their clothes were donated by Chris’ little nieces and their moms.

We brought another two 70 pound bags for our church and family. My sister is expecting a baby in June. We spent some time looking for baby clothes, feeding bottles, and different accessories. Kelly and Jim Pryor from Knoxville gave us some of their kids’ stuff. Out of curiosity we visited one of the quasi-BabiesRUs stores in Kyiv the other day. Two pairs of brand name baby socks cost about $15, so we are happy we had that time in America to help our family.

Our friends from Lviv (a city in Western Ukraine) asked us to bring a laptop for them. Vitaly and Irina serve as missionaries there. They are among still few Ukrainians who chose the path of a missionary. Loren Wisehart (Chris’ Lipscomb buddy) who lives in Alabama with his family now helped us with purchasing a notebook and even made a special trip to Nashville to deliver it. We are very thankful for Loren and Carrie’s continuous support. We had a chance to visit with them and their son Daniel and to meet their baby girl Allison this January.

Unfortunately, we were not able to see another one of Chris’ Lipscomb friends Kenneth Kirby, his wife Victoria, and their daughter Grace. They made special plans to come and see us, but were strained in Washington by the snow storm. Kenneth has been faithfully recording our favorite US TV programs for almost 6 years now. A lot of those shows became favorites of other church members. You would think it’s nothing, but he is doing us a great service. Many don’t have TVs here. Very often we don’t have sound and/or picture on our TV. Those videos have their faithful audience now.

A brief furlough gave us a chance to do things we usually don’t have enough time to do and most importantly to see and spend time with more people. We were truly blessed by the incredible hospitality of Paul and Val Prill who open their home to us every time we come to Nashville. Lisa Owings who prepares taxes for one of the companies in Nashville spent several hours talking to Chris trying to understand the tax system for missionaries living outside US. We also enjoyed time spent with her husband Scott talking about our work in Kyiv and his work in Otter Creek. We were able to attend one of the Laurel Church small groups meeting at the home of Gary and Muriel Brown in Knoxville, to hang out with people from Acklen Avenue Church during the New Year’s party and at the home of Dave and Kristi Wagner in Nashville, and to be a part of Evening Prayers in Otter Creek. We are very thankful for support and prayers of Laurel Church of Christ, and especially Mike Buckley, while Chris’ dad was going through surgery in UT hospital in Knoxville. It was the first time in a long time when Chris and I were able to visit on Sunday morning with our Tennessee supporting churches. We are thankful to you for providing us with this opportunity to renew our friendship and partnership.