Nova Odess youth

The first week in Jan, Katrina and some of her youth from Nova Odessa, came to visit us. They were with us for four days. As you can tell the teens just love Katrina. We are so happy that she is able to be "their missionary" in Nova Odessa. She lives in the little house we use to live in. Jason bought a foosball table for the village kids. We have it out on our veranda, so you can see laundry drying in the background. Here the village children and some of the teens are enjoying the new game. We are happy to give them a safe place to hang out and have fun.

The teens really seemed to enjoy the snow!!! We had enough for them to go sledding and Jason pulled them around the village, plowing the roads as they went.

In the end some of them looked like walking snowmen.

Even Jessica joined in the fun. Can you tell that is Jessica? She came prepared. We are still enjoying a lot of snow, but now we have a nice thick layer of ice under the snow. That can get pretty tricky when it comes to driving on it. I stick with my safe taxi driver named Jason. He gives good rates and gets you there safely.

Here is the whole group headed back home on the train. Pray for each one of these teens.

Cold and Snow!!!

Some of you have been asking if it is cold here and if we are getting any snow. Well, here is your answer.... Does it look cold to you? Yes, we are in our Ukrainian winter and loving it (for the most part). We do love snow even if it does slow things down a bit. Here is my honey and I, as we are shoveling the driveway. Great exercise!!!

We are so thankful for the patio with all this snow. It has really cut down on the dirt that is tracted in on the boots of our guest & friends.

Christmas program- Osikoiva

On the 10th of Jan we had our Christmas program here in our village of Osikovia. That is the Sunday after Ukrainian Christmas , which falls on Jan 7th. Here is a little guy that is new to our Sunday school. He is pretty proud of his little angel that we made. Our program went well, with more parents attending than last year. The teens did a really nice skit about the true meaning of Christmas. Jessica even learned her lines in Ukrainian. There were several special songs.

Our little church (called house of prayer) was packed with guest for the program.

At the end of the program the children and teens sang Happy Birthday to Jesus!!!

Sunday School Christmas Party

Here is our little group of children from our village that come to our Sunday school. Some of them are from very hard homes, while a few have Christian parents. They really did enjoy the Christmas party we gave them. We were planning on more coming over from our Kid's Club in Kanyazachee, but the snow was too deep and the weather too bad. We had games, snacks and then gifts. When we were taking them all to their homes we gave jams and plates of cookies to their parents and sang carols to them. It was a great night. Natsha was helping to make the Christmas cookies. She can be a big help and also a big handful.

These are a few of the different kind of cookies we made to give away. Gingersnaps with white chocolate and sprinkles

Ritz crackers dipped in chocolate

Are you hungery yet?

New Years

I guess we are homebodies, because I really don't remember a time that we ever went to a New Years party. We usually "celebrate" by sleeping in the New Year. This year was different. Roman and Nodiea, our pastor and wife, invited us to a New Years party. Even though we are not big party people, we didn't have a good enough excuse. We didn't figure the need of sleep was a good excuse. So we dressed up and went to the party, at least we thought we were going to a party. I guess something was lost in translation. When we arrived they were having church, and praising God for His help this past year, singing and giving testimonies. Don't get me wrong, I am not against church and praising God, just not exactly what we expected. We did get one thing clear though, there was going to be food. So after praying in the New Year, all the guest headed to the basement for what we understood was snack time. Right and wrong, Yes they did have food, but not snacks, a whole Ukrainian feast. We thought the service or party or what ever it was would end after the fireworks at midnight, Wrong again. They were just getting warmed up. After the huge feast, mashed potatoes, three kinds of meat, endless salads and different kinds of pickles, then sweets, they sat around and talked and the kids started playing games. When we stood up to leave a 3am they asked us why we were going home so early. We were really feeling the need of sleep by this time.
and the next morning we woke up to this......... Yes, the village children came to bless our house and threw wheat at us, in every room and on everything they could, chatting little rhymes all the while. I hurried to find candy, and Jason had fun throwing the candy back at them. Then they stole our kids and headed down the road to "bless" more homes. Our kids had a great time. You should have seen the load of candy and money that Josh came back with. Needless to say, we headed back to bed. So how was your New Year?

family Christmas

Yes, we did have a family Christmas, here in Ukraine, with our little family. No not a family Christmas as in all the extended family and everyone getting together, but that was fine. We have each other and we are thankful for that. It was a happy Christmas even though we were far from home. Sometimes we call Dec. 25th American Christmas, because they don't celebrate Christmas here in Ukraine at that time. Jessica and Josh were very happy with all there presents but also the making of memories. We have special little traditions that we keep as a family every year. The kids really look forward everything that comes with making Christmas special, and remembering Jesus' birthday.

Josh adding the final touch to our Christmas tree. He made the star (snowflake) himself. He loved helping make the decoration for the tree. It was a Christmas full of fun memories. Cutting our tree in the forest, stringing the popcorn, making snowflakes, making gifts for each other, reading our favorite Christmas stories, the joy on little faces, and remembering the Best Gift of all.

Playing catch up again

Where Oh Where has the time gone. Has it really been that long since I last posted anything on my blog? Well, needless to say I am playing catch up again. I will do my best to let all of my fathful readers ( hey, thanks for being one of the few that are still with me) What has been happening, Who we have been with, What we are doing, and maybe if we get lucky Where we are going. What do you say? Let's get this started! ( the picture is of the icecream cakes Jason got for my birthday, last month. everything was going on last month and he still didn't forget my birthday. Good job , honey)

Donna and Wesley's visit

This is old news but I still wanted to share it with you all. The weekend of Thanksgiving, my dear friend from college, Donna Downing Buck and her husband, Wesley came and visited us. They are missionaries in Moldova, with children, and it was so exciting to have them as guest. Sometimes you have guest that just fit in so well that they hardly feel like guest. Well, that's the way it was with Donna and Wesley. I attended God's Bible School with Donna and we have many good memories together. Thanks you guys for coming. God knew when to send you our way, and you were a great encouragement to us. The whole family had fun playing games together.

I was impressed by their willingness to get on the floor and play games with the village children.

Of course the kids ate up the attention they were getting.

This was the first Sunday school without our regular translator. Donna and Wesley just jumped right in and helped act out the story and then pitched in and helped with the crafts as well. Such a blessing to have other missionaries that see what needs to be done and they jump right in and do it.

They told us at GBS that "the sun never sets on the students of God's Bible School". I can say, for this missionary on the other side of the world it was sure nice to spend time with not only a fellow GBSer but also devoted missionaries that are passionate about loving people and taking the Gospel where ever God leads.
Thanks for being the hands and feet of Christ.

Ministry Trip to Western Ukraine

Bible trips have always been Jason's passion. Visiting new areas, taking God's Word to needy people and 4x4ing as far off the beaten path as possible, is what Jason loves to do. The second week in Dec. Jason and Josh we able to once again to do just that. This time they were headed to the Carpathian mountains in western Ukraine. They took almost 100 knitted hats and gloves, warm clothes to give away, and Bibles and children's Bibles. After driving all day to get out to the western side of Ukraine, they had to sleep first and then headed out the next day. First they stopped to pick up Stepon, who loves going on Bible trips as much as Jason does, and then headed to the mountains. They prayed for God to guide them to people who are ready and wanting to hear the Gospel message, and to read God's Word. God answered they prayers. Allow me to show you some of the people they were able to meet in the mountain villages.

One of the first stops they made was at a village school. Around 40 children come to this school. The director asked Jason and Stepon to come in and speak to the children. They was able to tell the about God and they gave out children's Bibles and winter hats. Josh and Jason is in the picture with the school children. The director asked them to come back and did a summer program in this school. Josh liked helping to pass out Christian books and Bibles to the school children.

They drove to villages that were so far back in the mountains that felt like you were walking into a working museum. Some of the villagers said that they had to walk about 10 miles to get to a road that had a regular bus that could take them to a market or town.Many people living a simple life, but hungry to know about God. Most said that a priest might come to their village once or twice a year.

Everyone was so nice and this older couple asked them to stay and eat with them. They went and found eggs in the barn and then cooked them up for Jason, Stepon and Josh.

Most of the people in the area used oxen cart instead of cars. They used their milk cows to pull their carts. Some of them even had wooden wheels. Jason and Stepon would work along side of the villagers and talk to them about their life. And then they would ask questions about why an American would come so far back in the mountains, and that would open the door for them to share about Christ. In the end they would usually want a Bible, and another seed would be planted in an open heart.
Pray for all those who heard and that received a Bible. God's Word is powerful!

Stepon is giving some children's literature to some ladies to take to their children and grandchildren. They were very thankful and happy for the used, warm winter clothes. Jason said that not one of them turned up their noses about looking through second-hand clothes.

Josh was excited to go on this Bible trip with his Dad. He is our "little missionary" in training. While Stepon or Jason would be talking with someone about the Lord, Josh would be helping the old grandmas or grandpas with whatever needed to be done. He carried wood, long logs, and rode on an oxen cart.

Everyone was thankful and wanted to give Jason something in return. Many of them gave apples. Here is the winter supply in the barn.( Notice the neat basket)

Many of the grandmas (babushkas) adopted Josh and told Jason, not to come back without bringing Josh along.
God gave defiant help and many were open to the Gospel. Three villages have asked for us to come back in the summer and either hold services or a VBS for the children. Pray that we can return.

Jason and Josh headed home after a good Bible trip. Thank the Lord that they made it all the way home. The van broke down the day after the returned. . Thank God for giving safety on the road. And thank you for praying.

Country song or Christmas in Ukraine?

Some of my readers may be wondering what is up with this crazy missionary!?!. Here it is Christmas and my last post was sharing Thanksgiving pictures. I have been trying to get caught up with all that has been happening here in the month of Dec. and it feels like I am just gettin snowed under and can't get out. It seems like since Jason returned home from his ministry trip to western Ukraine(ok, ok I'll post about it as soon as I can), everything has been going wrong. It almost sounds like a country song, see what you think. Our van broke down, and the pastor's is also down (that's the one we use to run for parts), the snow we have been waiting for finally came, all at once (all 12 inches of it), the temps dropped which made it hard for Jason(who is still sick) to fix the van, and without a van we couldn't go Christmas shopping, and without shopping there wasn't any gifts under the tree, actually there wasn't even a tree until last week, and without a tree, or gifts how could it really be Christmas? Now does that sound like a country song? No it's not, just life in Ukraine. We finally did go to the forest and cut a tree and Jason did get the van running (after working on it all week), and yes, we did get to go shopping and had gifts to open for Christmas. But when we look back over the last few weeks we have learned a few things. Because we didn't have wheels and "had" to stay home, we were able to have more family time. The ministry keeps us so busy that we actually enjoyed having "just" the family and playing games and having fun. Christmas is not just gifts, and lights, and packages under the tree, it is being with the ones you love. Another thing we learned is that homemade gifts are the best. The kids trying so hard to keep secrets, busy hours spent behind closed doors, the joy in the eyes when one is given a gift that was made just for them. If you ask me, giving is the best part of Christmas. Really isn't that what it's all about, God giving us His precious Son to be our Saviour? So how was your Christmas?

Pictures of Thanksgiving (finally)

Here are those pictures from Thanksgiving that I promised a few post back.
Yes we had a nice thanks giving and even did some sightseeing with friends while in Kiev. My friend from college, Donna and here husband Wesley, were with us over the weekend. They took this picture.

No we didn't have ham but we did have roasted chicken and ham and all the works. It was good!!!!

This is the group we had for Thanksgiving day. L to R Artyom, Maxim (his twin brother who just repented),Joshua, Jason, Jessica, Katrina, and I'm taking the picture.

How was your thanksgiving?? I know these pictures are very late in coming. Sorry

Honor Roll field trip!!!!

The week of thanksgiving we did so many things that I am still catching up on it all. Looking through my photos I realized, yea, we went iceskating that week too. Our kids did a good job in the first quarter of the year and had finished enough work to make the Honor Roll, so we told them that we would do something fun with them. Jessica has been wanting to go iceskating for a long time. We finally found the right place in Kiev. It was extra fun, because Katrina, Artyom, and Maxim went with us,as well. There is a very nice iceskating rink on the second floor of a great big mall in Kiev. We had fun walking around the mall. But the best thing was the really cool world map. It was huge and 3D. Our kids had a fun time pointing out places they remember visiting. Our school trip was a little late, but worth the wait.

Thankful for a great Thanksgiving!!!!

We did have a great thanksgiving and I wanted to share some pictures with all of you. But my internet is not working at it's best right now. And my man, who can fix anything he lays his hands on (we tell him that anyway) is on the other side of the country. So the pictures will have to wait. But I didn't want to wait to thank God for a nice thanksgiving. Katrina was here with us for a few days, and we all enjoyed her being here. She is really a fun person to be around and our kids love her. Any of you that a have never met her are missing out. She is our fellow missionary who now lives in our old house in Nova Odessa, in southern Ukraine. We had a nice American style Thanksgiving dinner (well sorta) on Thur and two Ukrainian teenager boys joined us. Artyom has been living with us as our translator. His twin brother Maxim just repented and had been helping Jason with the remodeling of our bathroom. This was their first time to celebrate Thanksgiving with Americans. We couldn't find a turkey (I did find half a turkey though) so we roasted a chicken and ham,and had corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, dressing, and Jason even bought me cellery(it's very hard to find & expensive). It was all very good, if I must say so myself. The peacan pie was walnut pie, but that didn't hurt anything. Everyone still liked it. On Friday afternoon, my friend from college, Donna Downing Buck, and her husband, Wesley, came over to visit us from Modavia where they are missionaries. I was so happy that it all worked out for them to come. We had a great time together. Friday afternoon we did some site-seeing in Kiev and then on the evening train, Katrina, Maxim, and Artyom went back to Nova Odessa. We will miss Artyom sorely so it was a day of crazy emotions(please pray for him). Donna and Wesley fit in just fine at our house, because both of them are into children's ministry and we usually have plenty of kids hanging around our house. I was so impressed that they got right down on the floor with the kids and played games and did their best to communicate with them. It was great to see. That's my kind of missionary. On Sat. morning we took them to a village bizzar (market) and let them see a little more of the village life after seeing the Big City of Kiev on Friday. It was fun and Donna found the handmade basket that she wanted. Sunday they both helped with Sunday school, which was a blessing because we had an untrained and new translator. In the afternoon service one of the girls from Sunday school praised the Lord that everything went fine even without our normal translator. I was saying Aman to that. In the evening Jessica enjoyed a long piano lession from Donna, who is very talented,along with her husband, in music. My kids enjoyed the holiday, food and fun with company. But on Monday night Jessica said, " I'm glad that it's just our family now". And so ended our Thanksgiving week. Thankful for Friends, Food and just Family again.

Honored to be her mom

I know this post is bragging, but please allow me to explain why I am so glad that God gave me Jessica as my daughter. And why I feel honored to be her mother. Jessica has been a great kid from day one. Seriously, I thought something was wrong with her when she didn't wake me up at night to be fed. But she was just one of those baby's that sleep through the night from the first week on. At a very young age, she showed an interest in spiritual things, and of course we did our best to encourage her to " love Jesus with all her heart." She has been more that just a missionary kid ( MK) being dragged along from ministry to ministry. She wanted to go on ministry trips and wanted to help others and wanted kids to know about God. She has been involved in, not only the work of the ministry but also praying for those we minister to. It is amazing sometimes the questions she comes up with in the Bible study on Tues. nights. One time she told me, "Mom, I want to really know how to pray. Not just say words, but really, really pray." I guess it was just last week, that I really had that feeling of being honored to be her mother. Our translator, Artyom, that lives with us, has been praying for his family to know Christ. Well, just last week, his twin brother, Maxim, called and asked Artyom to pray with him over the phone. Maxim repented, and there was not only joy in heaven, but also here in our home. We were praising the Lord for the "lost coming into the fold", when I saw that Jessica was crying. I went over to her and gave her a hug and then I realized that she was not crying for joy. I sensed that something was wrong. I tried to get her to talk. She was happy that Maxim had repented and was a Chrisian now. But what she said hit me hard. She said, " Artyom has been a Christian only a few months and he has already led someone to the Lord. I have been a Christian for a long time,(she was 7yrs old when she became a Christian) but I haven't led any one to Jesus yet." Then I understood. Yes, she was happy for Artyom and his brother, but she so badly wanted to lead someone to Christ. Her passion for Christ and for leading others to Him, humbled me. I thought "How worried am I about leading people to Jesus" Maybe we all should ask ourselves, when was the last time we cried because we hadn't led more souls to Jesus. Something to think about.