Category: Bruce Posts (Page 134 of 211)

This is the main big room on the 2nd floor.

Business Progress Report

• We received the “Private Business Registration” documents last week.  This was a process that was fairly easy, and inexpensive thankfully!  It allows me to personally sell goods and services related to the Cafe, however it not related to the actual property which still needs a few more documents.
• We’re still waiting on the final permit to use the facility legally for business.  We’ve paid a firm to complete this for us, and they are now asking for more money as the laws have changed and more documents are needed.  We have agreed to the costs but no word on completion.
• We have received a donation towards the purchase of wood/material for our deck.  This will greatly enhance the view from the street and advertise the business.  We are aiming to have this built for our grand opening in September.
• Speaking of Grand Opening, we’re making plans to host a group from Texas (Crossroads and Cypress) for the opening.  Pray for this with us, a lot of details to iron out!
• Been working a lot on the 2nd Floor over the last month.  We’ve laid floor, textured walls and completion most of the electrical.  Not only do we have an office completed now, but after this week we’ll have 2 more, and a nice big multi-purpose room.
• Dema is coming on full time as my assistant this coming week.  He’ll be helping us with documents, Kiev trips, translation with vendors, and I think many more things!
• We’re meeting this week with some programmers to finalize the starting guys we’ll hire to open our development office here.  It will start doing mostly training, and smaller ministry / side projects.  It’s my hope that we can sustain the guys with some work, but also help our Texas guys move faster in projects.  Our plan will be to open that July 1 or sooner.
• Still need Gas, Fire Permit, and Electric documents – all hinging on those property final permits but ready to progress.

Family Report

• Brent, Tucker and Clark each went to Summer Camp (Missionary Kids from Kiev Region).  They loved meeting new friends, from around the world.  Neat how God calls folks from every nation, to every nation.  They have funny stories about their Korean friends.
• Broderic and Bronwyn are off to the same camp next week.
• Deb spent several days recently at the police, and regional hospital.  We had a difficult time providing several documents for our permanent residency.  As you know I have it, but now Deb and kids are going through the same process.  Thankfully all the documents are finally in Kiev, but probably still another 2-3 months of waiting – hopefully no more documents needed, it was getting pretty expensive.
• Driving around with Broderic a bit, getting him some practice.  Our plan will be to visit sometime this fall / winter to Texas to get his full license.  Interesting as he learns the strict rules of the road with the online course, but then doesn’t see hardly any rules when on the road here – it’s a free for all and quite dangerous for a beginner.
• Abbey is walking, but not running.  She waddle everywhere.  Last night she fell down the Gollans outdoor concrete steps.. fortunately only tumbling down the last couple – but she’s got a few bumps and scrapes on her cute chubby face.

Ministry Report

• What is ministry?  Is it not the life we live?  The love we give?  The words we speak?  The needs we meet?
• We’ve been working through some challenges the past few months, personally and in our family.  Times of testing, but thankfully God has the victory, and has strengthened our faith when we’ve come to Him.  I’m beginning to think the most important virtue in the Christian life is endurance.   Sure we need love, we need faith, we need grace – but if we don’t persevere, those things won’t matter.  God wants to shape us and make us a people that get up when pushed down.  Who stand firm when life hurls its stuff.  When the forceful waves come pounding against the shore of your heart, sometimes we can’t help but fall and reveal the weakness in our hearts.  Getting back up is hard, knowing there are more waves to come- but next time you’ll be stronger, and you’ll be more prepared.  Through Jesus we can come through storms and stand against the waves.

Thanks for checking in – remember its not about the stuff we do, but the One we know, and has made Himself known to us!  The Lord bless you and keep you-

Bruce

It honestly feels like we’ve been working and campaigning to open the Lighthouse Cafe & Ministry Center for years.  If you’ve followed along at all, you would know that’s not a feeling, that’s reality!

This fall it will be 3yrs since we purchased the property and started into this project.  The building we purchased was not close to being functional.  We had to gut it right down to re-pouring the concrete floor.  We’ve spent over $40k in renovations, from new walls, utilities, a kitchen, heated tile flooring.. the list goes on.

Over the past 2yrs specifically, we’ve been pouring everything we can into creating something special for our town.  Several of you have understood our heart to impact the Kingdom of God in this region.  You’ve understood that this building represents more than Coffee and Pizza and you’ve responded by giving towards the effort as well.

We’ve had many set backs along the way.  What would take only a few months in America (renovate and open a cafe) has taken now two years of pro-active effort, both in time and money.  Why?  I’d like to try and explain.  For some of you an explanation isn’t necessary.  You’ve come, you’ve tasted, you’ve experienced the culture and know exactly why it’s taking so long.  For the others of you that haven’t had the privilege of visiting us yet….

4 Reasons the Cafe is not open yet:

It’s been tough to invest so much into the physical property and not see it functioning.  I can’t imaging if we had bank loans hanging over our heads.  You’d have to close your business before you ever had the chance to open your doors.  In fact, that’s happened to people I know here.  They simply can’t hold on long enough, at some point you need to make money to keep a place open.

We’ve been paying electric bills, internet, and gas (before it was shut off) without any income.  We’ve been chipping away the continually land, government, tax ‘bills’ we get.  Some have been expected, others a surprise.  Contrary to popular local belief (as the foreigners), we’ve not had an unlimited supply of cash.  We’ve used our church support, savings, and a handful of donations from family and friends to keep the process going.

There have been weeks at a time where we’ve been looking at a $1,000 cost to proceed on something.  We’ve prayed and committed the timing and progress to God.  Sometimes we’ve mentioned them on facebook, on our blog or to our home church.  Sometimes we’ve just waited in prayer.  It has been amazing to see the Lord provide, and really encouraging to show our kids that when you step out in faith, and are patient, good things happen.

I hesitate to use this word, because I don’t want to offend my Ukrainian nationalist friends.  I also don’t want to give the impression that everyone we’ve dealt with has been corrupt.  In fact, many of the people we have worked with, from Utility workers, to people Natasha (my assistant) has visited regularly to get stamps have been honest hard working people.

However, the system is corrupt.  Inside that corrupt system, where no checks and balances exists, there are those somewhere at the top getting the cash.  The charges we are paying to do things ‘legally’ I’m convinced aren’t making their way back to the roads, the hospitals, the schools like they would in a western country.  They are lining pockets, and often of the ones you never see.   It’s this over-arching corruption and distrust of the system that keeps investors out of Ukraine by the droves.  Sure a few have ventured inside and giving it a go, but Ukraine continually ranks at the very bottom of the corruption index for business.

Essentially when an investor decides to start a business, the system goes to work to help you unload your money.  It does not understand that private business creates jobs, improves quality of life, produces competition and in turn better products.  They only see the immediate cash grab.  The lack of competition means you have only one gas company, only one electric option.. and no motivation to serve the public or charge consistent, or reasonable rates.

In the end, the Cafe by God’s grace will open.  We’re aiming for June, we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  Crossroads (our home church) just infused another $3,000 towards documents that are keeping us from opening.  That will help us open with Coffee.  The hope is that by August/Sept we can have a grand opening.  We also just found out that someone has donated the deck (wood for it) out front!

To open this fall with Pizza and heat, we need our gas turned on.  We’ve been waiting 5 months for them to tell us how much it will be.  They’ve replied last week with $4,000.  This is not a negotiation, it’s calculated based on a series of things that would take a while to explain.  So we need still $4,000, but have determined to try and open without gas, figure out the coffee part of the business and get some income coming in so we can pay a few employees and the current bills.

In the meantime this past month we renovated one of the upstairs offices and it’s finished.  We will hire a couple programmers locally sometime this month, in an attempt to add some horsepower to our Cypress web company in Texas.  Lord willing that will help generate some added income for the facility bills as well.  The property and building has been used the past few months for weekly worship practice, ladies meetings, a birthday party, men’s breakfasts, and this Friday a ministry centered yard sale.

Ok, have more to write on other topics but I need to stop.   If you made it this far, thanks!  We appreciate your prayer and support.  I find myself dreaming 2-3 yrs ahead all of the time, I already see this place running, I see discipleship taking place on the 2nd floor naturally and in a structured setting, I see some businesses getting established, I see Jesus Christ changing lives forever.   We have to walk by faith, not by sight.  No truer has this been for me personally than during this project, in our new country.

Bruce & Deb

In Ukraine progress takes many shapes.  Sometimes you have to go ten steps backwards to make that critical step forward.  We’ve been making a lot of progress on the Cafe over the last few weeks – forward and backward!  It’s just like Croquet – thank you grandma for having that around when I was a kid – my kids have enjoyed it.

Although we are still lacking a very important ‘final’ document from another town, we have what we need to move ahead with registering the actual Cafe as a private business.  This is an easy step actually, and will take only a few days.  This whole time we’ve been waiting on the actual property zoning process, not related to, but a necessary first step towards running a business in the building.

So we’re now moving ahead with ordering final electric meter change, fire department agreement and will start meeting with vendors for Coffee and goods this week!
Our goal is to open with Coffee and desserts by July 1.. it’s a lofty goal, but one I think is possible if we work hard and the Lord helps us – we still need several K’s to get this running but we’ve not come this far to let that discourage us.  God will supply!

I’ve also hired an assistant full time starting later June, his name is Dema and will help me work with vendors and get things setup with the Cafe, do construction with me and help me manage the start up for our development office upstairs.  I’m looking forward to speaking Russian more daily, poor Dema!

We’re still aiming to open the development office in June.  Igor is excited to start learning and we hope to tackle a few ministry projects and get our feet wet.  The hope is that eventually the Ukraine office can work with our Texas office and our new partners 2hrs south at eKreative- it’s not outsourcing, it’s expanding!  It’s also the way the global technology market works these days.. I’ve been amazed recently at how many US companies use Ukraine specifically for their iPhone/Android apps, game development and more.  Ukraine is really becoming a player in the development market with a huge young workforce desperate for work of this nature.  We’re considering a fall ‘programming camp’ outreach, where we take in 50 or so interested students and do a 2-3 day intense course, combined with Christian ethics and business practices.  I’ve asked our guys in Texas to start praying about this possible outreach, would be  a practical and effective way to build relationships and influence young minds for the Lord.   Not to mention maybe we’d find some young superstars in the making and be able to hire them.

We are planning a Yard Sale on June 7 on the Cafe property.  We want to clean out the remaining clothes from our Cafe garage and combing that with some activities for kids.  We’re canvassing the local churches to participate and use this as another way to bless our town – Yard Sales are virtually non-existent here, and I’m pretty sure it will garner a lot of attention.  I hope to open the Cafe for a few hrs with Coffee and Tea.

The kids are officially out of school now, but have been asked to return for 2 weeks as they clean the yard, paint the school and generally work them:)  Deb and I think it’s great that they get the kids to work in the garden, from which they eat.  They sweep the streets, hoe the gardens, now that’s school!  We’re unsure what we’ll do next year – we’re 90% sure Noah, Clark and Tucker will return, but we are leaning towards Brent back to homeschool – his classes will get more intense and without a better grasp on the language he is only going to struggle all the more.  Meeting with teachers soon to discuss.

Thanks for checking in, will get some pictures of the Cafe up shortly – especially as we start laying down floor upstairs – Lord willing this week.

Bruce