Hello friends,

It is smokin’ hot here in Ukraine, upper 90’s all week.  Our river has turned lime green, it literally looks like it could settle into a jello mold soon.  Ukrainians are whisking away down to the Black Sea by the droves, August is typical ‘shut down’ month in Ukraine.  Half of our church seems to be scattered now across the globe, literally.  Some on little vacations, some attending weddings in other countries.  There’s a sense that God is still preparing for something special this fall though.  Hearts are hungry for the Word, young men seem to rallying to make a difference in the local colleges, and we have some fresh recruits here (Serge & Lesya) that have already been such a blessing with their language skills.

[Thank you Alyosha for your innovations!]

[A little Ukrainian house that we bought this summer and are fixing up to sell or rent].

[It’s a fixer-upper, our specialty!]

[While waiting on this other land documents, this property is for sale, we don’t quite have enough to buy it, but close enough to be seriously praying.  Pray with us, it would be perfect for the cafe and other things, and we could start using it within a few months.  Trying not to get my heart set on it, Lord let Your will be done!]

Other Stuff:

– started Ephesians Bible Study this week, we had 17 Ukrainians come, we made it through the first chapter!  That is a tough chapter, but SO amazing to consider God’s grace and salvation plan to both Jews & Us through His Son.

– Sept 1st outreach planned at one of the colleges, pray for favor with permission and turn out.

– No visitors right now, it feels strange.  Our next foreign guest will be Matt Almeter from Texas, great brother in Christ we look forward to spending a week with you (and ‘cough’ putting you to work).

– Svetlana is back from Turkey, Jon & Ruth are into their last month here as they plan to move back to New Zealand (this is very sad for everyone), Sergei & Tanya are still praying and working towards moving back.

All for now, leave you with this amazing verse!

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.  Hebrews 1:3

Bruce & Deb

Great news!  Bronwyn’s bicycle wheels which were stolen a week ago have been returned.  The culprits haven’t been identified but yesterday I found the wheels along our back fence.  We thank God for working on hearts, and many kids have returned to our yard over the past few days.  The little guys that I suspect are responsible haven’t come back, as I now require verbal permission before playing on the trampoline.  I really didn’t expect to see the wheels again, but it’s a neat testimony for Bronywn to see how the Lord has given back her bike and all the while..

Yes Dave, our pineapples!  Give your possessions to God, He takes great care of His property:)  Still trying to get some confessions for the ATV destruction, mostly to help them address matters of their own conscience.

Yesterday Bronwyn was able to play with some girls her age, and someone from Crossroads had donated a bunch of hair bands.  She tried for a long time to give them each one, allowing them to pick one for themselves.  They are so shy, but after about 15 minutes one of them selected, then the others followed suit.  You could tell they were pretty blessed by the gift, thank you whoever donated them:)

Deb has Dana and Tracy from Texas visiting this week.  This weekend they plan to go to Kiev and stay overnight in an apartment downtown for some girl time on the town.   Deb’s parents are mostly into their new house, except for showers (they still don’t have hot water).  Serge and Lesya have arrived, they are settling in and recovering from a few months of living out of suitcases, they are staying with the Gollans for now – pray for them and property to find long term.

Pray for our leadership, we’re currently having to make some tough decisions and need wisdom for the church.  Also pray for the land downtown, we’ve run into some more snags and also need God to direct us through the morally gray areas.. when everything seems to be corrupt, it’s hard to try and choose the righteous path sometimes.

God help us to be wise and also innocent and above reproach as we pursue your will in this town.

Bruce & Deb

Finished saying good-bye to the Boldings, we had a wonderful time hosting our friends the past few days.  We setup a mini-retreat for the missionaries here and gathered to hear from both of them.  Bo shared a few sessions on Vision, particularly the ‘purpose’ of the new testament church.  I hope it blessed the group, I know it was good to hear again God’s heart for discipleship and Kingdom of God expansion.  Beth shared a few times with the ladies from our church, at the retreat and after our Sunday service.   Our boys enjoyed having Brady here, although they spend far too much time behind gadgets and gizmos (my mother is saying, “you sow what you reap!).

We are about to receive two more friends today, Tracy and Dana from Texas.  Deb is excited to have some girl time with them, and let them taste some of her world.  They’ll be here for a week.  Deb plans to take them for an overnight in Kiev, we found some nice apartments you can rent downtown that are cheaper and nicer than available hotels.

Ok, update on the trampoline.  Nobody was confessing, however one of the kids that I know was involved came asking to play on it.  I quickly called Alyosha to come so we could spend time talking to him.  Alyosha put the fear (not sure if fear of God or fear of police) in him, but I simply asked him to tell me the truth.  We talked about truth, how God loves truth, that I expect it from my kids, and the only think I’m asking from anyone that plays at our house is that they are always truthful with me.  He was very nervous, and wouldn’t look me in the eye.  He knew who took the ATV several times, and provided their names, but would not confess that he did it (but that he watched from a distance).  It’s hard because several of them look alike, they are actually brothers and look like twins.  He eventually looked me in the eye, and said he did not take it, but also promised that he would always ask permission for using anything first.  With that he was permitted to jump again.  Later he came back with his little 4yr old sister, so it’s neat to see a few more people coming back.  We also had 4 more newer kids come, unaware of the issue and pretty confident they have no idea about it, so I allowed them to jump as well.  The stinkers have yet to come around yet, but as more and more jump away, I think the pressure will mount.

In the meantime, we had some more theft (maybe I shouldn’t have inserted the law!  It has incited a desire to break it!).. Bronwyns tires from her new bike are gone.  It was in our shed but the lock had recently been broken (by me, but I think it was already tampered with).  In any case, we are suspicious of some older boys that did this, and have put the word out to the kids that they need to be returned.  They stole the wheels because you can use them without being caught.. the bike frame was left but someone is riding around RZ with some new wheels!  Pray for Bronwyn, she has struggled with the liberty in which kids have and are taking things.  I will get her new wheels, don’t worry grandparents!  We feel challenged (Deb and I at least) to be liberal in our grace, to trust and take their word, even if they are lying, to show them love when they deserve a smack on the head.  It may come at a bit of a cost, but we believe the gospel message is more than just words, it’s communicating through actions, earning a right to speak into lives takes time.. and maybe even some bicycle wheels.

Thanks for checking in!

Bruce & Deb

The past few days it’s been very quiet at our house.  Partly because in 95 degree sweltering heat kids aren’t outside walking and playing around as much.  Partly because we closed the trampoline.  We found that a few of the kids were sneaking the kids ATV out from the garage, into the woods.  It doesn’t work without the key, which I rarely supply, it becomes a difficult thing to control.   I thought it was odd that they’d would be pushing each other on it, how could that be fun?  I didn’t think much of it the first few times I saw them pushing it back, I talked to them and warned them not to take things without permission (a unique request for some of these kids!).  Then the other day I figured I would get the key and start it up, allowing some of them to roam the neighborhood trails.  To my shock, the ignition was completely ripped out, the wires leading to various parts of the engine unplugged, the battery wires all stripped.  These monkeys had been attempting to hotwire it, and in the process has completely destroyed parts of the ATV.

The next day we were eating supper on our deck, and heard some voices in the forest, then kids running.  They had taken it again!  Right from under our noses!  They were pushing it back into the garage when one of them noticed us eating outside and signaled to the rest.. off they went, parking the ATV on the edge of the treeline.

I have a pretty good idea which kids were involved, but not certain.  Instead of guessing, we’ve decided to put group pressure on them (it’s worked before on similar issues).  We’ve taken the bouncy mat off the trampoline, and placed signs around the property which state:

 “The trampoline is closed today.  We will open it again when the kids that took the ATV without permission come and see me – bruce” .. in Russian of course.

Well the note has caused a bit of a stir.  Every day we have kids coming and reading the sign.  This afternoon we had a group of teens on their scooters come and park out front and discuss the situation.  They all love the trampoline, some of them come and lay on it, play cards for hours.  It’s just a metal frame now, awaiting the guilty party to come and talk to me.  Bronwyn thinks I’m hoping in vain, she may be right.  I know the pressure is on the guilty party though, I want every kids around to know that I’m ready and willing to open it back up once those kids do what is right, and come take responsibility.

There is a conscience inside of these kids, even if it’s abused regularly.  They ran off into the forest each time because they know what they did was wrong.  They are professional liars too, so convincing. I have been extra kind to two of the kids I know were involved.  I’ve had a heart to pray for them, and show them love.  I’ve rewarded them just last week for helping me find some missing items (which they probably hid), took them for ice cream.  I think this event could be a life changing one, because they are used to yelling and physical intimidation from adults.  I’ve never raised my voice, and always asked for respect for property and our instructions.  They will be banned from the trampoline for a season when they do confess, but ultimately I want to show grace and see Christ continue to work on their wicked little hearts.

Pray for these two boys (and whoever else in involved), that they would see God the father in me, that I would represent justice and mercy, give them a picture of responsibility but also forgiveness.  I’m not able to change their hearts, but God can and I think wants to win some of these more troublesome characters for His glory.  I keep looking at these little guys and seeing godly husbands and fathers some day.  I think these little experiences will help work on their hearts and through prayer bring them closer to a real relationship with God.

In the meantime everyone is paying the price for their folly, and it’s a shame because most of the kids are truly respectful and are great to have around.  I’m going to give it a few more days, the weather is hopefully cooling down and the boredom is sure to increase… even the boys who did it will be itching to get jumping again and swallow their pride… I hope!

Our kids have enjoyed playing in their yard by themselves, it’s been months since our yard has been a sanctuary.. at least for us.  I’m ready to open the trampoline up though, because I think for a large number of the kids, our yard is a sanctuary for them as well from difficult situations at home.

Bruce