HAPPY EASTER

The tomb is empty!  Jesus is alive! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! “He is not here; He has risen – just as He said.” Matthew 28:6 I pray that you have a joyful and blessed Easter with your church family and friends. We will be celebrating Easter in Ukraine on April 19 this year. Pray for our preparations for this wonderful celebration. Pray that God will work in the lives and hearts of those who attend our services.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your faithful support of my ministry in Odessa. My heart is filled with gratitude and thankfulness for your sacrifice during these difficult economic times. May God repay you a hundredfold for your kindness to me.

EASTER EGG HUNT

Please pray for our annual Easter Egg hunt evangelistic outreach to the children in our neighborhood. On Saturday, April 11 from 11:00 – 1:00 we will be sharing the Resurrection Eggs – the story of Easter, showing a children’s film about the resurrection, playing games, singing songs and having an Easter egg hunt. We are inviting children and their parents.

Please pray for this special event and for God to work in the lives of those who will be attending. A special thank you to my parents, Jimmie and Janie Jeffares, for sending all the plastic eggs, baskets, stuffed animals and prizes for this outreach.

BAPTISMAL CANDIDATES

Please continue to pray for Oleg and Tanya as they prepare to be baptized. Pray for this time that we disciple them to become followers of Jesus. Pray for them to stand firm and to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus.

 

 

Lord willing, their baptisms will take place in the summer.

PRAYER OF COMMITMENT

On March 26, I celebrated my birthday and listened to a message by Bill Hybels entitled, “Relentless.” It was about the life of Mother Teresa. At the end of his message he asked those who were willing to pray a prayer of commitment. I believe that God called me to be a missionary in Ukraine over 13 years ago and I wanted to recommit my life anew to His service.

The prayer of commitment is: “God, I fully yield myself to You. I embrace Your calling on my life. I will fulfill Your calling without delay or procrastination. I will not deny or reject anything You ask of me. I will endure all trials. Even if I don’t feel Your presence, I will still believe You. I will try to love You like no one has ever loved You before. Amen.”

SUMMER TEAMS

We have begun preparations for receiving two evangelistic teams this summer from Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We are thankful for their partnership with us to reach our community, Field of Miracles. Our first group is a wonderful team of ladies who will serve in Vacation Bible School and women’s ministry from June 12-19.

Pray for Ilina who is currently translating the skits into Russian. Also pray for recording of these skits in time for the team to be able to practice before their arrival.

Pray for Oksana as she translates the songs.

Pray for the Calvary team as they prepare for ministry with us and for Sarah as she prepares her talk for the ladies’ evangelistic outreach.

Our second team is a great group of four families who will minister with us August 7-17. There are eight adults and 12 children who are planning to continue the VBS with our children and who will minister to men, women and families.     Pray for this team as they make preparations and pray for us as this will be our first ever family team. We have been praying for a long time about reaching the young families in our community and we believe God plans to use this team to aid us in reaching families.

REMODELING PROGRESS

The remodeling of our kitchen/dining room/multi-purpose room is progressing well. At the moment, there is a lot of small detail work that needs attention. But, soon we will order our cabinets and purchase the appliances for our kitchen.

Pray that we will be able to complete the remodeling before June 1 so that we can use the room for our summer outreaches. Pray that the funds we have will be sufficient to complete the work. Thank you to all of you who gave sacrificially to help bring this project to completion. May God bless you!!

 

  

 

LEADERSHIP CONSULTATION ON MEMBER CARE

Please pray for me as I travel to Thailand April 26-May 1 to participate in Team’s Member Care development. In preparation, I am reading the book entitled, “The Emotionally Healthy Church.”

Please pray that God will equip me to better care for my national teammates and Team teammates through the things I learn at this consultation.

LOUBATAIEVKA NEWS

On March 14, I visited the village church where we worked for eight years. One of my supporters, Anne Price, had sent a box full of warm children’s clothing and we were able to give to the children who are really in need. I was able to share Jesus with the adults and children.

We had a party to celebrate International Women’s Day which was on March 8. Some of the people who haven’t attended church in a long time visited on this day. Pray that God would work in the lives of the children who attend the children’s club that Sergei (Rooslan’s brother) helps with every other week. Praise the Lord that many new children who attend the club started coming to Sunday School and church

Pray for Eugene, Tanya and Rooslan as they minister to the people in Loubataievka.