As always, May in Ukraine begins with a series of national holidays.  May 1, 2, and 9 are national holidays. When Easter this year fell also during this time, it seemed the whole country enjoyed a ten-day break. We tried to do some work at the UEC and with a few others but truthfully, with so many gone, I had extra time to work on my cultural anthropology class, study some Russian, and Lena was able to study for the GMAT. 

My English outreach continued and we’ve picked up several new people.  I have also begun to tutor one person, Laura, individually. She is a friend of Vitya Yevpak, a Nivki church member, and is a pre-law student at the Kyiv National Economics University. She is bright and excited about learning English. She is also planning to attend our June outreach retreat and will begin studying John with our team from Knoxville. We have spent quite a bit of time promoting the June outreach conference and so far we have about 50 signed up. Hopefully, a few more will register before the retreat begins on June 10.

Paul Prill was with us for the last 10 days of May. His visit is always full of excitement and surprises. This year, we decided to drag him to Krakow, Poland, for a little trip. After the twenty-hour train ride, we enjoyed some Polish cuisine, went to an indoor water park, tramped about some huge shopping centers, and walked all over the city. Besides needing a little break, in order for me to maintain my registration with the Ukrainian government, I have to cross the Ukrainian border every 120 days. We are trying to figure out a way to lengthen this time frame but there are quite a few bureaucratic hurdles in our way.

After returning from Poland, the next day about 15 of us went to Pusha Voditsa, a recreation area outside Kyiv, for shashlik, Armenian-style shishkabob. We gathered wood and built a big fire by a small lake. We stayed till rather late and then waited for a taxi van to crowd onto. It was a great time for many church members to be together in the outdoors. 

Lena continues her work with the small groups and work at the UEC. Our Study Center course finished and we have decided to offer our next course in the fall. This summer, we will be working closely with several church leaders to try to strengthen overall church leadership and not just group leaders. 

On Monday, June 6, five from Laurel Church of Christ in Knoxville arrive for 10 days of ministry. Their visit will keep us very busy. Pray for us, for those they will minister to, for the life of the church with so many gone during the summer, for our preparations for Cherkassy Conference, for the UEC and its many visitors, and for opportunities to share our faith.

Please also pray for our former inters. Jonathan is walking now but still in the hospital in New York. Katie is under a lot of stress as she works on her master’s thesis. We continue to update our blog at www.kyivmission.blogspot.com. Drop by and leave a comment!!

Thank you to all who support us and the ministry. How thankful we are for your patience with us, for your many kindnesses, your prayers, and financial support.