Saturday, August 2, 2008

Georgia's Prayer letter - July 2008


"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23

Praises: For safe, easy travel and good family and friends. Prayer:For my new project and for the orphans and mentors.
Beautiful Lake Tahoe
CHANGES!--What happened to my prayer letter??? I have some new issues to deal with that are going to change my prayer letter once again. The first has to do with technology. In order to save a little money, I cancelled my ATT account when I was in the States. I checked with them to make sure my Yahoo account would continue to function even if I did not pay for internet access through ATT. What I failed to ask is whether all the "extras" would also still function. As a result, I have lost the storage space for my HTML prayer letters and also the ability to download my email into Outlook. Such is life. Of course, I can still pay for these features, but I am looking for alternatives and have a few to consider. In the meantime, my prayer letter is going to be boring and plain.

MORE CHANGES!-- I have been praying for what God would have me do now that I believe He has said I am not to move to Mariupol. I need to have ministry in Kiev and I need to be involved with a church. So, it seems as though He has done both. I mentioned in my brief note last month that my friend Carol from San Diego was going to return with me to Kiev so that we could work on a project together. She was here for a month and we did a lot of work together. This project involves some new beliefs and practices that have already infiltrated many mainline denominational and evangelical churches in America. It is my belief that this apostasy is coming to Ukraine as well. Before Carol left, God provided an opportunity to present this information to Pastor Alosya of the Kiev Calvary Chapel. And there have been many informal opportunities to talk with other missionary friends and some young Ukrainian friends. The Ukrainians confirmed that they had been reading some of the books and authors that I mentioned. But, this is very controversial area. There are many well-respected and well-read pastors and other Christian teachers who have shifted their beliefs away from the true gospel. So, I have prayerfully decided that rather than send you something that confuses or even offends you, I will provide my updates on this subject via a blog. I have resisted entering into the world of blogging (it can be addictive, you know), even though I know many who do. But now it seems like this is the time. If you are interested in reading about my new project, you can go to

http://www.gigikyiv.blogspot.com/ (you must be here!!!)

What's Up in Mariupol?-- The babyshka who wants to sell us the apartment still believes that she can make that happen. I told Misha that I would believe it when I saw it!! She feels that she has negotiated a deal with the other two owners (ex-wife and son) of the flat and that she just needs to get the final paperwork completed. Well that was almost two weeks ago and we have heard nothing. So, we continue to rent it and at least we will know if she tries to sell it someone else!! In early spring, Yuri, our young YA who is living in that apartment. told Toma that he would like to join our YAODM program fully, with a mentor in all areas of life. This means that he will drop out of day school and enroll in correspondence school so that he can work full time. This is really good news (even though it means more cost to the ministry because the government was previously paying for Yuri's education and now we will), because Yuri now sees that he must take more responsibility for his life and he wants us to help him in doing that. He has a job and is planning to enroll in the correspondence method (only attending school to take exams) in August. Nellya will receive tutoring this year in order to prepare for taking entrance exams next March. Please pray for both of them to be able to make these adjustments.

Health-- I usually have lots to do when I take my annual trip to the States, but this time was busier than usual. I had my medical checkup and, praises to the Lord, my health is good. I am actually taking a German version of Synthroid (for low thyroid) that my doctor in America has approved. I can buy it here for less cost and don't have to worry about taking enough with me or having it get lost in the mail (this has happened twice in the last 5 years). I also purchased, over the internet, a small hearing aid. Technology has really changed these devices in the last 10 years. Mine is not expensive and does not have all the capabilities of the more expensive ones, but it is WORKING for me. I can hear much better, especially when I am outside or in a large room. It does take getting used to, though.

Family-- Being with Family was good too. I was able to take each of my grandkids for our once-a-year "date" and enjoyed every minute of that. I was able to see almost all of them participating in their most current pastimes and sports (acting, lacrosse and baseball/softball). All the boys, except Trevor, are playing lacrosse these days. It is a new game for me and I had to watch closely to even see the ball. It is fast and physical, but they love it. And they are good at it. Trevor swims, plays water polo and is part of a Christian Youth Theater group for kids between 8 and 18. He was in High School Musical while I was there. It was amazing to me how professionally these young kids act, sing and dance. Cassidy is playing softball and learning how to be a pitcher. Ethan may have played his last year of little league. Even though he is an excellent player and can play many positions, he likes lots of action and he says the game is just too slow for him. So he will play lacrosse in the fall also. Taylor is driving!!! Holden and Tristan are enjoying lacrosse, playing music, and just being boys. All 4 oldest boys will be teenagers by this fall. Yikes!!!


Friends-- Great spending time with many of you in San Diego, Sacramento and Concord. And I sincerely apologize for not being able to see all of you. I also had opportunities to visit friends in Florida who formerly lived in Kiev. Eric and Cindy and their three boys now live in Orlando, and my friend Roxanne, who now lives in North Carolina, was visiting in Florida when I was there. (Nice how God arranges things sometimes!) In Concord I stayed with Scott and Becky whose pastor, Terry, gave me a chance to present my mission ministry to their church. I spent 5 days at beautiful Lake Tahoe with my friends Sharon and Larry. They have a wonderful, cozy home there and spend the whole summer with many guests coming and going.
Had dinner with Rick and Susie and my Sacramento family in their newly remodeled back yard!! Very beautiful. My thanks to everyone for your hospitality, lunches, dinners, prayers, support and fellowship. I always put on weight when I make that visit! To get the rest of my news, you will have to read my new blog.

I will also be posting this regular prayer letter here, along with pictures.
Please do not feel obliged to do so and I will not be offended if you don't. God is still at work in Ukraine and all over the world. Each of us has a part to do while we wait anxiously for His glorious return.

Taking up my cross Daily,
Georgia

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