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- Uncategorized (22)
- 12. February 2010: Ukraine Needs Our Prayers!
- 9. February 2010: Ukrainian Presidential Elections 2010!
- 11. January 2010: The End of a Deacade in Ukraine!
- 8. October 2009: "This Bible's defective! I want my money back!"
- 21. August 2009: Update and Revision to May 2009 Newsletter
- 14. August 2009: Russia's Drinking Itself To Death
- 8. August 2009: HUGE PRAYER REQUEST!!!
- 11. August 2008: Some Exciting News!
- 25. July 2008: Three Cheers for PERSPECTIVE!
- 14. July 2008: It's Always Too Soon To Quit!
Ukraine Needs Our Prayers!
12. February 2010 by admin.
Here’s a small portion of an article Georges Carillet sent about the past decade in
“From an estimated 54 million persons living in
Kyiv Post staff writers Peter Byrne can be reached at byrne@kyivpost.com and Nataliya Bugayova can be reached at bugayova@kyivpost.com.
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Ukrainian Presidential Elections 2010!
9. February 2010 by admin.
Please do check out the following link for an overview:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8460978.stm
Should get more and more interesting (i.e. chaotic) before it’s all over! Please stay tuned and keep praying for the kind of stability that will allow freedom for the spread of the Gospel here!!!
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The End of a Deacade in Ukraine!
11. January 2010 by admin.
December 27, 2009 at 21:39 | Peter Byrne and Nataliya Bugayov
A decade of revolutionary progress and hard setbacks.
First, some of the decade’s high points: Democracy triumphed, but only briefly, in the dead of the 2004-2005 winter. Millions of Ukrainians are living better than a decade ago. Many are eating better. Consumer goods are in abundance and many more people can afford them. More cars clog the city streets. Almost all teenagers have mobile phones, even if they have no money to use them.
Today, in fact, it is possible to purchase almost anything, including power, political patronage and university degrees, just like 10 years ago. And herein lies some of the nation’s intractable problems.
For all the signs of progress,
Still, taking into account decades and even centuries of misery, Ukrainians may have never had it so good. But millions – perhaps four million Ukrainians – have left the nation in frustration and in search of better lives and better jobs abroad, while many of those stayed behind in the homeland are quick to say that their lives are hard and should be better.
Overall, the nation is freer, but still poor and corrupt.
Here is a look back:
Heroes to zeroes
The 2004 Orange Revolution is the decade’s highlight. It briefly enhanced national self-esteem and raised hopes. But the subsequent political breakup of heroes President Victor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko created instability, with the nation ending the decade in stagnation and economic recession.
The decade started with former President Leonid Kuchma grabbing power after his 1999 re-election. When hundreds of hours of his taped conversations and the Sept. 16, 2000 murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze showed that Kuchma may have grabbed too much power, people started to revolt. The disobedience of the Ukraine Without Kuchma rallies in the early 2000s paved the way for the 2002 parliamentary election triumph of Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine and Tymoshenko’s eponymous bloc. This national assertiveness culminated in the successful street protests of the Orange Revolution, which overturned the Nov. 21, 2004, presidential election rigged for Victor Yanukovych. Yushchenko was swept into office with high popularity and international adulation. He is ending his five-year term with almost no public support, in no small part because of his administration’s inability to solve crimes and rein in the nation’s high-flying billionaire oligarchs who control such a large share of the nation’s economy.
Boom goes bust
Fueled largely by raw material exports and a credit boom, Ukraine’s decade of robust economic growth came to a screeching halt in the fall of 2008, and then slipped into reverse. The ongoing recession translated into extended furloughs, mass layoffs, a credit drought and a nation edging closer to default and bankruptcy. The central bank spent billions of dollars to prop up the hryvnia, but failed to arrest its slide from Hr 5 to the dollar to Hr 8. The International Monetary Fund rode to the rescue with a $16.4 billion line of credit, but abruptly stopped its lending at $11 billion after it blanched at the fiscal irresponsibility of the nation’s leaders. In rescuing the nation’s commercial banks, perhaps billions of dollars were misspent or stolen. The ex-chief executive officer of Nadra Bank, Igor Gilenko, was among the many accused criminals on the lam by year’s end.
Lawlessness reigns
The birth of new media and death of Internet journalist Gongadze, co-founder of one of the country’s first news websites, Ukrainska Pravda, started the decade. The murder triggered civil disobedience and nationwide protests. Digital recordings implicated Kuchma in the crime and so many more: rigging court rulings and elections, illegal surveillance and blackmail. But the authorities spent the rest of the decade squelching any meaningful criminal investigation into the tapes revealed by Mykola Melnychenko, a former Kuchma bodyguard. Law enforcement – from police to prosecutors and judges – remains impotent, corrupt or unwilling to solve the nation’s major crimes.
Information age
In other areas, Ukraine joined the world in logging on to the Internet, blogging and connecting with each other on social networks, on You Tube and by texting. But traditional media – including TV stations with national reach – remained under the ownership of competing groups of influential businesspeople. While censorship is gone, few would argue that
Constitutional gridlock
The nation ends the decade still trying to find a Constitution that works. Kuchma sought stronger presidential powers in 2000, but was rebuffed. Yushchenko wants changes to the Constitution he agreed to amend in 2005 to end the Orange Revolution. The guiding document today muddles executive authority, diluting presidential powers and giving the prime minister many executive roles.
Economy
The hryvnia is worth half of what it was in 2000 against the dollar and inflation has worsened its buying power. In 2000, Yushchenko became prime minister and helped to mitigate the economic lows of the 1990s. He and his deputy prime minister, Tymoshenko, squeezed out corruption from the electricity sector and started paying wages and pensions on time. Combined with his successful introduction of the hryvnia in 1996, Yushchenko was building his reputation as a successful economic manager. But the Yushchenko-Tymoshenko pair did nothing to break Kuchma’s grip over law enforcement or the doling out of state assets to favored insiders in rigged privatizations. Government stakes in chemical factories and regional energy utilities were put on the auction block and sold like fattened calves to oligarchs within the president’s close circle. As the 2004 election neared, Kuchma undertook the mother of all scams by selling the country’s largest steel producer Kryvorizhstal to his son-in-law, Victor Pinchuk, and Donetsk billionaire Rinat Akhmetov for $800 million, a small fraction of its worth. Re-privatization became the mantra of the
International affairs
Relations between Kyiv and
Death, disease, despair
From an estimated 54 million persons living in
Poverty may be at the root of much of this social breakdown. Some 26 million Ukrainians earn less than Hr 1,567 ($200) monthly, according to Myroslav Yakibchuk, the head of the National Forum of Labor Unions in
And simply changing the calendar doesn’t wipe the slate clean.
Kyiv Post staff writers Peter Byrne can be reached at byrne@kyivpost.com and Nataliya Bugayova can be reached at bugayova@kyivpost.com.
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“This Bible’s defective! I want my money back!”
8. October 2009 by admin.
Check out this clip on Youtube. While I don’t agree with everything this guy says, I certainly think he makes a great point here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYwOXIQh424
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Update and Revision to May 2009 Newsletter
21. August 2009 by admin.
May 2009 Newsletter Revision:
It appears that Tracy Adair, due to multiple health issues, will not be able to take over the newsletter responsibility at this time. Hence, we have decided to transition from a printed newsletter to an email one. We will still email the newsletter to our supporting churches and ask that each interested church simply print it out themselves and post it up on their bulletin board. This will obviously save time as well as money on postage. We do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your continued patience and support as we attempt to work out some of these KINKS.
We also ask all of our supporters to send us their updated email addresses so that we may add them to our email-newsletter list. We just want to make sure that we don’t leave anyone out in this process. But, in order to be comprehensive and successful here, we will definitely need your assistance. So please take a moment and send us your email address. Also, if you know of someone who’s probably interested in getting updates from the Odessa Mission that might not have received this email, then please go ahead and send us their email address so we can add them too.
May 2009 Newsletter Update:
Kiss Bridal has been in business now for almost three months. Naturally, although the first month was a bit slow, we still had more customers than I expected. By far, though, August (i.e. the current month) has been much more successful than any of the previous months. This is partly due to our year-long marketing program, which we began in early August. The only marketing we previously relied on was a tiny classified ad in a local newspaper and a very inexpensive Ukrainian Facebook ad, which will continue to run until canceled. We’re also now in the peak season for weddings, which basically runs from August through the end of October. So things should be heating up at this point, despite our fifty or more competitors.
In any case, the good news is that business seems to be going pretty well in spite of the economic crisis and it appears as though this type of venture has great potential for both the present and the future. I certainly wouldn’t buy any stock in our company just yet but I do think that the initial signs are very positive indeed. The bottom line? So far, as a direct result of Kiss Bridal, Ira and I have personally been able to increase our normal giving by over two-hundred dollars a month for the past three months. That’s over $600 of extra income for the Odessa Mission and we praise God for giving the increase!!!
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Russia’s Drinking Itself To Death
14. August 2009 by admin.
Do be sure to check out the following video on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_403VUNi5aM&feature=fvsr
Sadly, Ukraine is in the same predicament.
Only Jesus can turn things around!!!
So … PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!
AMEN!!!!!!
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HUGE PRAYER REQUEST!!!
8. August 2009 by admin.
Dear Friends,
Thanks to your prayers, Ira and I have already found a decent apartment. In fact, we just signed the eleven-month lease the other day. Thanks so much for your support!!! Praise God!!!
Now, however, we have yet another HUGE prayer request for you. The realtor who found this temporary flat for us happens to be closely connected to the construction company from whom we bought our apartment. Once the realtor realized that we had purchased a flat in our building, she explained why the company has halted construction. She told us that the public transport issue I mentioned to you isn’t the real issue. The real issue is simply a lack of funds.
The fact is that the owner of the construction company invested in tons of real estate before the economic crisis began, hoping to periodically sell it as the prices skyrocketed. The plan was to subsidize his building efforts with the increase from these sales. Unfortunately, when the crisis hit the buyers disappeared, leaving him with thirty unfinished construction projects in Odessa alone.
Well, apparently two foreigners are now interested in buying some of his land (over ten million dollars’ worth) for the purpose of building two resorts on Odessa’s coastline and they’re considering purchasing through the same agent who recently found us the temporary flat. She informed us that the buyers promised to take just a couple of weeks before making their decisions. She added that our building would be one of the first buildings to be completed as a result of this sale because it’s so close to completion.
This is potentially very good news because it may mean that we’ll be living in our new apartment by the spring. Please do keep this in your prayers if you would.
Blessings in Christ, John, Ira, and Stefan
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Some Exciting News!
11. August 2008 by admin.
Last week, I had the chance to baptize four people into Christ. Andre and Zhana are a brother and sister duo attending our church, and they were immersed on Monday. Then, at 11 pm on Tuesday night, in the middle of a lightning storm, I baptized Lucy and her seventeen-year old son, Bogdon. They both live in a village on the Black Sea, which is about a two-hour’s drive from Odessa. Although they’ve been attending the Baptist church there for quite a while now, through personal study they’ve both come to a more accurate understanding of the meaning of baptism, which is probably why they wanted me to baptize them.
So what’s the “Exciting News”? Well, not only did four people give their lives to Jesus last week, but two of them, Lucy and Bogdon, will probably join the Odessa Mission’s second Restoration church in the Odessa region. Yep, you heard me right!
A little over a year ago, Serge read my book: A Dumb American in a Strange Country. Not only was Serge greatly encouraged by it, but he immediately sought out the opportunity to meet with me. Our initial meeting was merely an icebreaker that led to subsequent email correspondence, gradually developing into more of a friendship/partnership. In time, Serge also began to see the clear link between baptism and salvation in the New Testament. And when I finally had the chance to visit with Serge’s family, at his home, we were able to brainstorm and map out a plan for the birth of a new Restoration church in Sergeyevka, which is where Lucy and Bogdon live.
In summary, Serge has agreed to be the Odessa Mission’s second church planter and we are just ecstatic! I just couldn’t, even in my wildest dreams, have imagined that God would provide a church planter for us through the use of my book. I had originally written that book to reach unbelievers in Odessa. But I eventually concluded that my book was actually more beneficial for believers, especially American ones. Now, however, I see that God’s plans are truly beyond what any of us can begin to predict or comprehend.
Please be praying for Serge and his family as they search for a suitable church facility and begin preparations for the launch. Surely the Devil’s also getting his team together.
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Three Cheers for PERSPECTIVE!
25. July 2008 by admin.
At KRCC, we recently began a morning prayer ministry from 7:30 am to whenever we conclude. We usually read three or four Psalms and then discuss them. We then go into specific prayer requests and answers before starting our prayer time. Lots of praise. Lots of intercession. Lots of blessings. Lots of burdens. Lots of requests. Lots of amens. Lots of hallelujahs. Lots of … etcetera. And, needless to say, it’s all very good!
Lately, I’ve been doing a bit of thinking about the need for GREATER SIGNIFICANCE in God’s universal Church! And I challenged our church memebers to begin thinking BIGGER than they’re used to thinking ministry-wise. As you know, Oxonna and I have been working on a project that will hopefully affect hundreds (maybe more) of Russian-speaking people. We’re translating/dubbing a powerfully evangelistic film into the Russian language and it’s called: To Hell And Back. It’s certainly turned out to be A LOT more work than either of us could have anticipated, but we’re finally coming down the home stretch. In fact, by the time many of you read this, we’ll probably be done.
Last evening, though, at about 6 pm, after a long day’s work on the project, I noticed Oxonna getting weary. Believe me, she was more than ready to call it a day. So I quickly decided to toss out a bit of much-needed encouragement: “Oxonna, just imagine how many people will see this film all because of our efforts! Just imagine how many people will finally decide to give their lives to Jesus Christ solely because we dug our heels in and kicked this thing out! Neither of us have any idea as to the kind of impact this film will have and we probably never will. But God knows. He sees it all. And I’m confident that He appreciates what we’re doing because it’s significant! How significant? Again, that’s something only God knows for sure. And, just maybe, one day, He will sit down with you and tell you all about it.” As you can imagine, that brought a real smile to her face. In fact, it even helped us work for another whole hour.
As I walked home last night, I thought about the project and talked to God about it. And then it hit me. When I first got to Odessa in 2003, I couldn’t get a religious visa for an entire year. So we couldn’t start our church. And that was really annoying at the time. In our minds, God had sent us to Odessa TO START A CHURCH. After all, that’s what this mission was all about! “What’s the deal?” I thought. Well, apparently God had other ideas.
Despite our frustrations, my wife and I decided to get involved with kids at a local leukemia hospital. And it was then that I wound up writing A Dumb American in a Strange Country, which is now available in both English and Russian. I had no plan to write a book. But, since I had considerable time on my hands, God placed that on my heart one night. And … it happened. Well over a thousand copies have been sold here in the former USSR, which means that my influence/impact here has turned out to be much greater than it would have been had we just planted our small church right off the bat. (Again, had that been the case, I seriously doubt that I would have ever written the book.)
And, last night, for the first time ever, I thought: “Interesting indeed! Could this be one reason why our church continues to remain small?” Although I’d never thought of this before, I began to realize that a small church can sometimes be a HUGE blessing because it often forces its members to dream bigger dreams and cast bigger visions for their ministries.
Most Christian workers NEED/DESIRE to be SIGNIFICANT in God’s ultimate plan. So when healthy Christian workers don’t see their ministries growing leaps and bounds, that frequently causes them to look beyond their church’s walls and cast bigger visions for their lives and ministries. And this is one reason why Oxonna plans to enroll in a two-month educational program called ZOOM, which is designed for training people to produce professional video presentations, movies, and TV programs for Christian television and the internet. And that’s also why I got this vision for taking this film and making it available to the 200 million Russian-speaking people around the world.
Yes , indeed, three cheers for perspective!
So I guess numbers really aren’t the key after all. I guess it’s what each number is actually accomplishing in the grand plan. What’s more important? A large church that’s reaching its community or a small church that’s impacting the world? Who is more important? A church that’s growing in size or a church that growing in spirit. A church that’s getting bigger or one that’s getting stronger? A large church that’s growing rapidly or a small church made up of prayer warriors? Who is more significant in the final scheme of things? A church of 500 people or one Pioneer Bible translator? A large church that’s watering or a small one that’s preparing the soil? A church of 5,000 or 12 tattered disciples who witnessed the resurrection? Twenty American churches or one converted Imam? Yep, Only God knows. And, just maybe, He will sit down with us one day and tell us all about it.
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It’s Always Too Soon To Quit!
14. July 2008 by admin.
I have a friend named Gregory. I’ve mentioned him to you before so his name may be familiar. But I rarely talk about him because he’s still an unbeliever, despite our three-year long friendship. I’d probably label him a nominal Buddhist with an acute interest in astrology and New Age thinking.
In the past, he’d often invite me over each Monday since it was my day off. We’d basically just hang out together in his sauna and chat. As you can imagine, the conversations were interesting. There were many times when I felt the need to preach to him. And, surprisingly enough, he’d usually take it pretty well.
In 2006, during our last furlough, I really struggled with the urge of just breaking off the friendship because I began to feel that my efforts with him were in vain. I had obviously befriended him for the purpose of converting him. That’s it. I don’t think he ever figured that one out. But that’s the truth.
Regularly spending a good portion of my day off with Gregory was clearly taking valuable time away from Ira. And, since we had a baby on the way, I also realized that it would be time away from our son too. So, although I was leaning in the direction of using our furlough as a means of cutting off all contact with Gregory, I still chose to pray about the situation and ask God for guidance.
Well, I honestly don’t remember where I heard the following sermon at that point. Perhaps it was on TV or on Christian radio. I am positive, however, that it wasn’t in a church service somewhere. Nevetheless, the sermon just focused on the Christian’s calling to LOVE PEOPLE in general. It reminded me of our need to love EVERYONE without any strings attached, which was obviously something I had failed to do in Gregory’s case. So I knew God was speaking to me. I knew that this was God’s answer to my prayer. It was basically time for me to grow up and start loving like a real Christian is supposed to love. This wasn’t about Gregory at all. It was about me.
It was then that I decided to continue on with the friendship regardless of the outcome. Even if he became a stronger Buddhist through our friendship, I chose to love him anyway. It was then that Gregory finally became a friend instead of my project. And it was then that I was converted.
Incredibly, during my first visit to Gregory’s place after our furlough, his daughter Natalie approached me and expressed a desire to give her life to Jesus. Well, that was just a shock to me because I had no idea that she was thinking along those lines. Shortly thereafter, she repented of her sins and was baptized at KRCC. She now lives in another city in Ukraine and is growing in Christ. I know this because we maintain contact with each other. In fact, she’s even serving the Lord with her husband, who himself is also a recent convert. And they also have a 7-year old son who is excited about their new life and purpose on this earth.
I clearly remember going to Gregory’s that day and telling myself for the first time: “Okay, John, just go and love this guy for who he is. Don’t even try to preach to him or even mention spiritual stuff. Just love him. Just be his friend.” And it just happened to have been on that particular day, when God stripped me of all my ulterior motives, that Natalie chose to repent.
Along these lines, last Sunday was Gregory’s wife’s (Svetlana’s) birthday. So I called her and congratulated her. But before we hung up, Svetlana also expressed a desire to attend KRCC regularly. Although I know that she still has much New Age philosophy floating around in her head, she’s also apparently realizing that Jesus is Lord and that He deserves her attention. Evidently, the change in Natalie’s life has greatly impacted her. So please be praying for Svetlana.
Who knows, maybe even Gregory will call me on the phone one of these days with some similar news? Indeed, prayer, combined with faith, hope, and LOVE, really does make a difference!
Hallelujah, John
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