Bruce with the 5 Boyz

Amazing how we adjust to our environment.  Coming back to the place I grew up after 3yrs, the little things aren’t so little.  The smooth paved roads, stable utilities, take-out food, and smiling policemen!  We are enjoying every minute of it, and thankful to be blessed with loving family and friends.

Smiling Policeman!

89 yrs old, the grandpa!

Been enjoying the brisk fall air, morning walks and watching the kids get spoiled by their grandparents, aunts and uncles.   Haven’t yet ‘unplugged’ for any sort of rest time, working daily with Cypress since arriving, but planning to go and hide with Deb somewhere for a few days next week.   Ukraine seems a million miles away, but our prayers are toward what God is doing there, the student outreach is continuing through October, and we are waiting for the green light any day now to purchase the large white building downtown for the future cafe and ministry center.

Pondering the time Jesus rebuked the storm, additionally the disciples lack of faith for their attitude of fear.  Maybe you feel like the disciples sometimes, I know I do.  I’m struggling to trust God for everything He’s requiring of us lately.  I feel pulled in a million directions, not enough time in the day.  I come to God often in fear, anxiousness, stress, and not in faith.  I’m waking Jesus up in the boat with a frantic face, sometimes even questioning His slumbering attitude toward my situation.  I need more faith, I need to rest, I need to come to Him for help, but in a quiet confidence that He is able to do above and beyond anything I ask.  He knows my frame, He knows my limitations, and will come through for me, and you when we trust in Him.

It’s not easy to trust in God.  If you find it easy to trust Him all of the time, I question if you are trusting Him for much at all!  Exercising faith is like working a muscle I think, the resistance builds the faith, when it’s hard, we are growing.  Anyone can relax on a couch of contentment and say, ‘God is good and my faith is strong’ but throw yourself into situations that are difficult and require supernatural assistance, and watch your faith undergo testing.  That is was I believe God has been calling us to, perhaps you too?

Lord help our unbelief, fill us with a faith that moves mountains, and pleases your heart!

Bruce & Deb

We made it! Recover day, kids are having a blast with the ‘all you can eat’ cereal buffet. We love the milk! If we could only take one my dad’s tractors back to Ukraine, we would have so much fun! Great lunch with my brother Trevor, so many people to visit.

Impressing my boyz with the tractor skills

Noah and Clark

We will be leaving Ukraine this Sunday, September 26 and returning November 2nd.  Almost 6 weeks of family, friends and the English language!  Don’t be surprised if we talk a bit funny, we’ve had to learn to speak in short, literal and easy to translate sentences:)

Look forward to seeing you all soon-

Bruce & Deb

[The kids rejoice and pose with American goodies from our friend Frank in Dallas]

Busy week ahead of us, Deb & Priscilla are leading a Woman’s Retreat north of Kiev at PineBranch Camp.  They have a group of 23 signed up and ready to go, this is their 2nd ‘annual’ retreat.  Deb would appreciate the prayer support, she has a few things on her heart to share to the ladies, as does Pris.  We’re also back into Russian lessons, this time taking classes in Kiev once per week from SEND International Language School.  We’re combining our lessons with a date night in Kiev once per week to make the lessons a bit less painful!   We’re hoping that the fixed routine of lessons and homework (they run a pretty tight ship) will force us to progress at a greater level.  Being in a small town, with many ministry and home related needs it has been almost impossible to protect designated ‘study’ time for Russian, and we both have a renewed energy to keep learning.  Pray for us!

Our second Cafe Night went well last night.  It had a different feel, I think partly because we sort of knew what to expect, and also because the returning students did.  We had about 60% of the students return from the first week, and a handful of new ones, about 40 in total that came in/out during the night.  It was hard to really count because at any given moment there were 5-15 outside of the door smoking, I’d say safely 60% of them smoke.  Dan shared the main message, dressed up in a Matrix-esk Leather coat, sporting sunglasses and a cowboy hat.  I’m not sure what he shared exactly, but after the evening was over a few of the students were trying on the coat and taking pictures of themselves with their cell phones.   Masha and Vlad gave their testimonies, you could sense a restlessness among the kids though, we pray that truth was sown into hearts, and pray the devil does not snatch away those seeds. 

We are looking forward with anticipation for the next event this Sunday.  We have a drama group and musical guests from Kiev.  We are going to hit the colleges with more invitations, and try and pack the place for this.  I will be sharing (depending on how much the group shares), please pray for me, I believe there are some soft hearts in the group, and even a solid core of new believers either ‘already’ committing their lives to God, or seriously contemplating.  Afterwards most of the group left, but a group of 10 or so stayed and helped, and just hung out.  A few of them smile and seem to be attracted to the love that is being shown to them.  Whether they are guys or girls, I think these events are having a natural and super natural impact, giving options to the typical Ukrainian pattern of life, offering a hope that is bigger than anything they’ve understood.  God be glorified and use us as He wills.

13 more days until we leave.  I know this because my kids are counting each day like it’s a NASA shuttle launch.  We are going to try and register ourselves and my truck before we leave, it’s a bit ridiculous because we will have to do it all again once we return in Nov, but it will ensure a safe (or safer) exit out of the country / customs. 

Thanks for checking in – 

Bruce & Deb