Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
I pray you will have a “wonder“ full Christmas as you celebrate the birth of Jesus and may your New Year be filled to overflowing with physical and spiritual blessings!
I look forward to the New Year 2009 and I wait in anticipation for the many “wonders” that await us in our new church.
I thank God for your gifts and prayers that have given me the opportunity for “being and building” the Body of Christ in Odessa this past year.
Denise : )
12.15.2008
HARVEST CELEBRATION
On Sunday, October 26 we had our Harvest celebration. This is the time of year that we set aside a day to give thanksgiving to God for His bountiful blessings to us. We had a lot of guests and unsaved attend our service. One message challenged us regarding the fruit that we brought to God this past year and the fruit we planned to bring in the coming year. Following the service we had lunch and a time of fellowship.
BAPTISMAL CANDIDATES
Please be in prayer for Oleg and Tanya as they begin preparations for baptism. They will be attending classes for approximately two months. Thank you to everyone who prayed for Oleg. He had double pneumonia in November and had to be hospitalized for three weeks. Praise the Lord he is back at work and church. Pray for his finances to get back in order after being out of work for over three weeks.
Pray for Oleg and Tanya to grow in their relationship with the Lord and for them to find their place of ministry in our church.
Pray for Oleg and Tanya to grow in their relationship with the Lord and for them to find their place of ministry in our church.
UKRAINIAN CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS
Please be in prayer for our Ukrainian Christmas celebrations on January 6 and 7. We are planning on an evening of Christmas caroling in our neighborhood and inviting people to come to our Christmas program.
Pray that God will work in the hearts of those living in the Field of Miracles.
Pray for all the preparations needed to make this a Christmas to remember.
Pray that God will work in the hearts of those living in the Field of Miracles.
Pray for all the preparations needed to make this a Christmas to remember.
MINISTRY ASSIGNMENT IN THE STATES
I am currently in the States and have had a blessed time with churches and new supporters. I started my ministry the first week in November in Florida with my home church, Northside Baptist, and one of my supporting churches, Bethel Mennonite, in Sarasota. It was great to renew friendships and share an update on my ministry in Odessa.
I was able to meet Ken and Ruth Rabbers in Nokomis, Florida. I had been hoping to meet them when I went to Michigan, but heard they would already be in Florida. They have been faithful supporters of ministries in Ukraine for several years. Later in the week I met with the mission’s pastor at Idlewild in Tampa and will begin the application process for possible future support.
The second week in November, I went to Bonita Springs and my new friend and supporter, Anne Price, had a fellowship for me in her home. She invited her friends from various churches and I met many wonderful people. Anne has known about my ministry for a long time and had sent gift packets for widows to help in our village ministry years ago. It was a joy to finally meet her!! While in Bonita Springs, I stayed with Mike and Joan Mahoney and visited their church.
I left Bonita Springs and visited with a Slavic fellowship in Port Charlotte, Florida and was greatly blessed by their warm reception of my ministry and me. It was a special blessing for me to share my testimony and ministry in Russian. Pastor Victor expressed an interest in bringing a short-term team to help us in ministry. His wife, Luba, asked me if I knew her brother, who is a professor at the Odessa Theological Seminary. She was surprised when I told her he was my translator the first year I went to Odessa on a short-term trip in 1993!
I then flew to Grand Rapids, Michigan where my friends, Marv and Dawn Snedeker, had a fellowship for me with all the short-term team members who have visited Odessa and Yuzhney. Dawn will be leading another team next summer to help us minister to women and children. Please pray for this team as they begin their preparations for ministry with us.
I was greatly blessed by the Focus Class at Calvary Church, who gave a special gift for our remodeling project. They invited me to their Thanksgiving lunch and we had a great time of fellowship.
I stayed with my dear friends, Bruce and Debbie Huseby, while in Grand Rapids and had the joy of visiting with their daughter, Sarah, and her family. It was a blessing to see Stacy, Scott and Stephen and to meet all the grandkids!
I had the joy of visiting with Jim and Carol Winslow in Zeeland, who also hosted a fellowship for me. I was able to see my friends from Immanuel who do ministry in Ukraine every summer. A wonderful surprise for me was that it snowed 10 inches while I was there!!
Before leaving Grand Rapids I had the wonderful privilege to meet with four fantastic families at Jim and Kristie Hoekwater’s home who are interested in short-term missions and want their families to be involved. I am looking forward to ministering together with them next summer in Odessa. I’m praying for you all!!
Friday, December 5, my friends and supporters, Ralph and Charlotte Clutton are hosting a reception for me in their Victorian home in Murphy, North Carolina. I am looking forward to seeing all my friends in North Carolina!
A special thank you to my new supporters and those who gave special gifts to me or one-time gifts for our remodeling project: Anne Price, Melissa Rutland, Dmitri & Elza Goureev, Ludmilla Samchuk, Iryna Voloshyn, Focus Class, Barb Molhoek, Donna Vanderwal, Roberta Keena, Jim & Carol Winslow, Pete and Raelene Koppenaal, Jim & Kristie Hoekwater & Family, Tonie Kieres Petersen and Walt & Glenda Spangler.
I thank God for each one of you and for your investment in God’s work in Odessa!
I was able to meet Ken and Ruth Rabbers in Nokomis, Florida. I had been hoping to meet them when I went to Michigan, but heard they would already be in Florida. They have been faithful supporters of ministries in Ukraine for several years. Later in the week I met with the mission’s pastor at Idlewild in Tampa and will begin the application process for possible future support.
The second week in November, I went to Bonita Springs and my new friend and supporter, Anne Price, had a fellowship for me in her home. She invited her friends from various churches and I met many wonderful people. Anne has known about my ministry for a long time and had sent gift packets for widows to help in our village ministry years ago. It was a joy to finally meet her!! While in Bonita Springs, I stayed with Mike and Joan Mahoney and visited their church.
I left Bonita Springs and visited with a Slavic fellowship in Port Charlotte, Florida and was greatly blessed by their warm reception of my ministry and me. It was a special blessing for me to share my testimony and ministry in Russian. Pastor Victor expressed an interest in bringing a short-term team to help us in ministry. His wife, Luba, asked me if I knew her brother, who is a professor at the Odessa Theological Seminary. She was surprised when I told her he was my translator the first year I went to Odessa on a short-term trip in 1993!
I then flew to Grand Rapids, Michigan where my friends, Marv and Dawn Snedeker, had a fellowship for me with all the short-term team members who have visited Odessa and Yuzhney. Dawn will be leading another team next summer to help us minister to women and children. Please pray for this team as they begin their preparations for ministry with us.
I was greatly blessed by the Focus Class at Calvary Church, who gave a special gift for our remodeling project. They invited me to their Thanksgiving lunch and we had a great time of fellowship.
I stayed with my dear friends, Bruce and Debbie Huseby, while in Grand Rapids and had the joy of visiting with their daughter, Sarah, and her family. It was a blessing to see Stacy, Scott and Stephen and to meet all the grandkids!
I had the joy of visiting with Jim and Carol Winslow in Zeeland, who also hosted a fellowship for me. I was able to see my friends from Immanuel who do ministry in Ukraine every summer. A wonderful surprise for me was that it snowed 10 inches while I was there!!
Before leaving Grand Rapids I had the wonderful privilege to meet with four fantastic families at Jim and Kristie Hoekwater’s home who are interested in short-term missions and want their families to be involved. I am looking forward to ministering together with them next summer in Odessa. I’m praying for you all!!
Friday, December 5, my friends and supporters, Ralph and Charlotte Clutton are hosting a reception for me in their Victorian home in Murphy, North Carolina. I am looking forward to seeing all my friends in North Carolina!
A special thank you to my new supporters and those who gave special gifts to me or one-time gifts for our remodeling project: Anne Price, Melissa Rutland, Dmitri & Elza Goureev, Ludmilla Samchuk, Iryna Voloshyn, Focus Class, Barb Molhoek, Donna Vanderwal, Roberta Keena, Jim & Carol Winslow, Pete and Raelene Koppenaal, Jim & Kristie Hoekwater & Family, Tonie Kieres Petersen and Walt & Glenda Spangler.
I thank God for each one of you and for your investment in God’s work in Odessa!
LENA'S BAPTISMAL SERVICE
Our pastor, Kamil, performed his first baptism in our new church on Sunday, November 2. It was a special day in the life of our church. After the baptism there was a prayer of commitment for Lena and the church members took communion.
Please pray for Lena to grow and for her to begin ministry in our church.
Please pray for Lena to grow and for her to begin ministry in our church.
BIBLE STUDIES
Pray for my two Bible classes as we begin studying again in January. Pray for Natasha, Sveta and Youla to come to know Christ through our study “Believing God.”
Pray for the ladies in my Tuesday group as we begin a new study “Life Principles for Following Christ.” This study looks at real faith in Christ that trusts Him not only to give us eternal life but also to be our life.
Pray for God to change us in the New Year and for us to become more like Christ.
Pray for the ladies in my Tuesday group as we begin a new study “Life Principles for Following Christ.” This study looks at real faith in Christ that trusts Him not only to give us eternal life but also to be our life.
Pray for God to change us in the New Year and for us to become more like Christ.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)