Team Kharkov Requests July 15th-29th

"I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."  (Galatians 2:20) 

This verse from Galatians is our "theme" verse for our upcoming gathering in Greece with  our colleagues from throughout Europe.  We are privileged and blessed to have the opportunity to meet together to refresh, renew, encourage, and pray for one another.  

As Amanda and I prepare to depart on Tuesday morning, we are also getting a team from Green Valley Baptist in Birmingham into place for construction ministry at Living Hope Church in Kharkov.  Tomorrow they will attend and participate in 2 services - in the morning at Living Hope (Pastor Sergei Datsko), and tomorrow afternoon at New Hope (Pastor Vitaly Sorokun).  

We give praise to the Father for the 12 men and women who arrived safely in Kharkov this afternoon.  On Monday, 6 will work alongside our Ukrainian brothers at Living Hope on construction, while the rest of the team will travel to a children's camp to work with a ministry to orphans.  

Join us in praying for the Lord to be lifted up during this week through the ministry of their hands and hearts.  Ask the Father to grant them safety as they work on construction at Living Hope.

Pray for our journey from Kharkov, to Kiev, then on to Athens beginning early Tuesday morning our time.  We will be in Athens for 2 days where I (Linda) will meet with other prayer coordinators from our European affinity, while Amanda will have some time to see the city.  We will prayerwalk in Athens on Wednesday afternoon.  Ask the Lord to grant us opportunities to share the love of Christ with people while in Athens.  Pray with us as we prayerwalk, that barriers to the gospel will be demolished by the power of Christ through our prayers.

From Thursday, July 19th to Tuesday, July 24th we will be with over 700 colleagues and their children.  Each day we will have the opportunity to sing and worship, as well as hear the Word proclaimed in our heart language.  We will also meet with those within our own "cluster" (the Black Sea Orthodox Cluster) and in small group training sessions covering a wide range of topics.  

I also covet your prayers as I (Linda) meet with supervisors to discuss future ministry in Kharkov following Amanda's upcoming wedding.  Pray this time away would allow my heart and mind to focus on His voice, His Word, and His plan for the year to come.

Petition the Father to grant us a wonderful time of renewing relationships with friends who live throughout Europe.  Pray for each of us to experience a refreshing through the Holy Spirit and that each of those attending, colleagues and volunteers from the states, would leave this time with a renewed passion through being "crucified with Christ."

Tuesday, July 24th, Amanda, Joe Ragan, and myself will embark on a 4 day vacation to Thessaloniki and other sites in the area.  Pray for us as we travel by bus, train, and automobile throughout the day.  Intercede for each one to have a sweet time of fellowship with one another and with the Lord through the days of rest.

We will return to Athens on Saturday, July 28th, then fly to Budapest on July 29th for visa renewal for Amanda and I, and for my annual check up.  If possible during the next 2 weeks, I will try to share updates on our blog and/or Team Kharkov page on Facebook.  Please cover us, our colleagues, and all the volunteers with your prayers for safety in travel and throughout our time together.

IMPACTing the Kharkov Region of Ukraine with the love of Christ!

Team Kharkov Requests July 8th-14th

"For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Phil. 2:13).

Pastor Rustan of Merifa praying for new believers

Thank you for joining us through your prayers last Sunday as we traveled to attend services at a Roma (Gypsy) church in the city of Merifa.  The day before, they baptized 3 new believers, and had a time of praying a blessing over them during this service.  Following the prayer, the new church members were given the Lord's Supper, with the rest of the church participating after they were served.  

After the service, we had a time of fellowship and visited with the pastor and his wife, Malina.  The church has been meeting for 10 years, and is one of only a few Roma churches in the country.   Our journey was for the purpose of discovering new places we might be able to work in the future to encourage and strengthen believers.  Please continue to pray for the Father to work in us to "will and to act according to his good purpose."

Yesterday (Saturday, July 7th) we had our annual July 4th picnic - this year inviting not only our English group, but also New Hope International and New Hope Ukrainian churches.  Amanda's fiance Oleg prepared Armenian shaslik (pork "chops" that are marinated overnight in onions and seasoning, then grilled like a shish-k-bob).  

Over 40 people attended, enjoying an afternoon of eating, playing softball, and a relaxing time of fellowship.  Pastor Vitaly shared a short devotional before we sat down to eat, casting the seed of the gospel into the lives of the not-yet-believers who came.  We hope to have another picnic in August or September to bring these 3 groups together again.  

(You can view a slideshow and additional pictures from the picnic at this link:
http://www.flickr.com//photos/37981119@N06/sets/72157630473858678/show/)

Thank you for your prayers for the sports outreach organized and led by the youth at Living Hope Baptist church.  Pastor Sergei Datsko said they had around 600 people attend the final match and evangelical services last Sunday.  The authorities were amazed with how well everything went, and how clean the park was after the events.  They have invited the church to provide activities in the park in the future - a park located very close to their new church.

Pastor Sergei also shared that they have a great desire to start a small rehabilitation center for drug/alcohol addiction, but are waiting for the man called out by the Father to direct and lead this ministry.  Petition the Father to work on the hearts and minds of those he has chosen to begin this ministry through Living Hope.  

We are blessed to have a volunteer construction team coming from Green Valley Baptist Church (Birmingham, Al) to work alongside believers at Living Hope Church (.  Ask the Lord to grant them "uneventful" flights and entrance into Ukraine as they leave the states on Friday, and arrive in Kharkov Saturday afternoon (Kharkov time).  Intercede for the members of Living Hope as they prepare for a week of construction work on their church and grounds.  

Pastor Vitaly Sorokun (New Hope Church) shared today that they only have 2 days to prepare the official legal documents to send to the Supreme Court of Ukraine to seek a reversal of the decision of the Kharkov courts.  He asks that you would pray for Pastor Andre (Grace) and himself to have wisdom to know whether or not this is the Lord's plan.  As they have studied the ruling of the court further, they now know that the ownership of the building is not in question - it is still considered as "owned" by the church.  However, the cost of securing the proper documents for the church (official documents that were not gotten years ago) is so great that they may not be able to pursue them.  Thank you for continuing to pray for the Lord to work in the hearts and minds of those in authority in Kharkov and beyond, as well as in His people as they discover His plan for the church.

There is so much more the Lord is doing, and for which we need to pray, but we praise Him that He already knows our needs and His plans for us!  We look forward to sharing with you how He answers in the days to come.

IMPACTing the Kharkov region of Ukraine with the love of Christ!

Team Kharkov Requests July 1st-7th

"And the LORD will be king over all the earth.  On that day the LORD will be one and his name one" (Zechariah 14:9 ESV)  What a promise......and our hope!  In the midst of the uncertainty of life in a world filled with multiple "gods," there will come a day when the LORD himself will reign over this earth.   Before that day, we have the privilege, the authority, and the command to "pray without ceasing" for the people of this world around us.  

Last week we shared the decision of the court in Kharkov that made the documents for the Grace and New Hope Church building invalid.  Thank you for joining with us in prayer for the church leaders (Pastor Andre of Grace and Pastor Vitaly of New Hope) as they seek the Lord's wisdom in continuing.  They have met with the "vice-mayor" of the city, and were given assurance that they would not be removed from the building.  They have begun the process of redoing their documents to meet the new requirements.  They will also seek to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Ukraine.  Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ in Kharkov who are seeking the face of the Lord first, so that they might do all things in accordance with his will.

Mariupol Holy Trinity Church

Thank you for your prayers for our trip to Mariupol last weekend.  We had about 50 women come for the conference on prayerwalking and spiritual warfare.  We praise our Lord for the safe journey, and the wonderful time of fellowship we experienced with our sisters in Christ and our colleague in Donetsk.

Amanda teaching on Praying God's Word

The young adults of Living Hope Church (Pastor Sergei Dotsko) have been conducting a football (soccer) and table tennis tournament, as well as evangelistic outreach at a local park since Wednesday.  The finals for the tournament will be held Sunday night.  Please pray the Lord will work in the hearts of many of the over 140 children and youth who have come each day, as well as their parents, to draw them into fellowship with Christ.  Ask the Lord to cause many to come to the services at Living Hope to hear the Word proclaimed.

Children/youth at Living Hope outreach

On Sunday evening, we will travel to a small Roma (gypsy) church in the city of Merefa about 20 miles outside the city of Kharkov.  Pray for our time of fellowship with the church leaders as we explore ways the Lord might have us come alongside this body of believers in the future to encourage, and reach out into their city with the love of Christ.

Intercede for us as we host a picnic next Saturday for folks in The Book Club english group, New Hope International and Ukrainian churches, and other friends in Christ.  We have encouraged each group to invite family and friends who are "not yet believers" for this time of fellowship and fun.  We'll be preparing the shashlik, while everyone else will bring the other picnic lunch items.  Pray for good weather for the day (last year we were rained out), and for hearts to be impacted with the love of Christ flowing through the lives of his church.

In the minds of most Ukrainians, Baptists are "lumped together" with Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and even other Protestant churches as "sects."  The roots for that belief go deep in this culture, and are only "uprooted" as we go out from the four walls of our churches and build relationships with not-yet-believers living around us.  Petition the Lord to grant me wisdom as I look for opportunities for volunteer teams to go out alongside our Ukrainian brothers and sisters to impact their communities through building relationships that will become eternal. 

July 6th-8th will be a Jehovah's Witness convention at the football stadium in the city of Kharkov.  They have inundated mailboxes in every building with fliers that invite people to come to hear "biblical truth."  Literally thousands of Ukrainians will attend these meetings, and many will be seeking Truth.  Pray the Spirit of Truth will open the eyes of those who attend, shining the Light of Christ to reveal the lies of the enemy.  Intercede for true believers in this region of the country to be compelled by the Spirit to speak Truth into the lives of their family and friends.

Ask always, thank you for joining with us in prayer for the people of the Kharkov region of Ukraine.  As you celebrate Independence Day on July 4th, may you be reminded of the billions throughout the world who have not yet heard of true freedom through Christ Jesus!

IMPACTing the Kharkov Region of Ukraine with the love of Christ!

Team Kharkov Requests June 24th-30th

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way" (1 Timothy 2:1, 2 ESV).

We have used this passage often - yet it is even more urgent that we pray for the people "who are in high positions" in the city of Kharkov, and the country of Ukraine in these days.    Corruption is a way of life in Ukraine, a country that consistently ranks high as being corrupt (in Transparency International Corruptions Perceptions index in 2011 Ukraine was ranked 152nd out of 183 countries assessed - http://transparency.org/).  While for most Ukrainians it is simply seen as a way of life to pay "incentives" if you want to get something accomplished, in the hands of the enemy of Christ it is more and more often being used against the evangelical church.

Almost all of you who have been in Kharkov have walked the steps to Blagodat (Grace) / New Hope church.  This building was begun in 1995, and for 15 years at least 2 congregations (and as many as 4 or 5) have met here to worship.  Last year the churches paid a substantial amount of money to bring all their documents up to date, and were "judged" as owners of the building and the land.  However, in the past few weeks, the court has decided that those documents are no longer valid.  On Thursday, the appeals court ruled that the church does not "officially" own this building or the property and it reverts back to the government.  Pastor Vitaly Sorokun, who is pastor of New Hope International church and a lawyer, said they really have no recourse at this time.  "They could come in today and bulldoze the building to the ground and we could do nothing."  

I give praise to our Father that he is not taken by surprise, nor is he unable to accomplish his purposes in the Saltavka region of the city of Kharkov.  Your intercession for those in authority, as well as for the body of Christ that meets within these walls is urgently needed.    Ask the Father to grant those in church leadership peace as they navigate this time of uncertainty.  Pray the body of Christ will grow even as the enemy desires to "put it to death." 

We leave this morning (Friday) for Donetsk, then travel tomorrow to the city of Mariupol on the Azov sea, to lead a conference on prayerwalking and spiritual warfare through prayer.  We will return to Kharkov from Donetsk on Sunday.  Please pray for our time of fellowship with the Lord, with one another, and with the church in Mariupol.  

Throughout the coming week:  
- Please pray for our journey back to Kharkov on Sunday - for a time of refreshing, renewal, and fun on the trip.

- Intercede for Living Hope (Pastor Sergei Datsko's church) as they hold an evangelistic outreach and children's VBS this coming week at a park near their church.

- Pray for me (Linda) as I begin to schedule visits to churches during my stateside time from October to January.  Ask the Lord to make clear his plans for my time there.

- We continue to teach Breaking Free (Amanda on Tuesday night with Natasha, Linda on Wednesday evening with women from New Hope church).  Please pray for the women involved in this study to have lives changed by the power of the Holy Spirit - their own lives, as well as the lives of family and friends who are struggling with addictions.

- Many Ukrainian believers are anticipating problems in the economy as well as in society in general when Euro 2012 ends the last week of June.  We are already experiencing changes in visa laws and registration that affect us personally.  Pray as our company seeks to understand and implement these changes for each of our personnel.  Ask the Lord to grant each of us favor with those in authority as we work toward getting new visas and registering in our respective cities.

Thank you as always for coming alongside us through your prayers, your giving, and your "going."  I am prayerfully seeking how the Lord would desire to use volunteer teams in 2013 to go out into the Kharkov oblast alongside our Ukrainian brothers and sisters in Christ.  Pray my heart, mind, eyes, and ears would be focused on our Lord and Savior, that I might know and understand his plans.

IMPACTing the Kharkov region of Ukraine with the love of Christ!