Praise God for great language practice this summer.
Praise God for going before me and walking alongside me wherever I go.
Thank you for praying for me.
Thank you for the sacrifice that you make as monthly supporters.
Please pray for God’s wisdom, guidance and direction as I formulate my ministry plan for next year.
Please pray for Salvation Church in Rivne and my relationship with this new church plant in which I will be ministering.
Please pray for continued language learning as I embark on my second semester of formal study.
Please pray for Team Ukraine: Natasha Parker and Tania Martin
Please pray whether God is leading you to partner with me in prayer and finances?
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Taking the Plunge How many of you know it is always a good idea to have a plan? I had a great plan this summer for practicing language. My plan was to establish a language route where I would visit with vendors around the city to tell stories and converse with them. How many of you also know it is always better to yield your plans to God because His might be different than ours? God’s plan for my summer was so much better than mine and exceeded my expectations for language practice since one of the quickest ways to learn language is “social language” (to be placed in situations where you are surrounded by people who only speak the language you are learning in a natural setting). God placed me in genuine relationships where practicing language was more natural. I learned many new words in the context of real life. There were three weeks this summer, at two different times, where I was surrounded by mostly monolingual speakers of Ukrainian and so if I wanted to communicate I had to use their language which is fast becoming mine. I love God’s plans for me!
The Beginning of Summer The first week in July I spent a week listening to and speaking Ukrainian from 6:00am—12:00am at a youth festival. I was very nervous about speaking and spoke very slowly and could not understand people when they spoke quickly. By the end of the day I was completely exhausted. But at week’s end my language had markedly improved.
The End of Summer In the middle of August I spent 12 days at the Black Sea with approximately 50 people. This time I was much less nervous and much more comfortable. At this camp, by the grace of God, I was able to communicate much better in Ukrainian and able to understand when people spoke quickly. Praise God for progress!
Вчора, Сьогодні, Завтра!
Вчора (Vchora)—Yesterday:
June 28th - Attended my first Baptism in Ukraine.
July 5-11th - Youth Festival in the forest in the village of Olexanderia
July 16-18th - Interperter’s Camp in Cherkassy, Ukraine
July 23-30th - Ministry in Dubrovitsya and surrounding villages August 10-22nd - Camp in Buhaz, Crimea, Ukraine on the Black Sea
August 24th - Celebrated Ukrainian Independence Day in a small village with Salvation Church and their family and friends.
August 25th - Attended the Salvation Church Planning Retreat.
August 26th-30th
- Assisted Salvation Church (Ukraine) and Evergreen Community Church
(Charlottesville, VA) with AWANA Children's Camp in the day and English
Classes at night.
Сьогодні (Sohodne) - Today:
September 7th—Begin my second term of language study.
Завтра (Zavtra)—Tomorrow:
I hope to take a short vacation when I am not thinking, reading writing and processing Ukrainian.
Find an apartment or house to rent in Rivne.
Following language study I move to Rivne more permanently.
The Sweetest Thing about this Summer No, it was not the spectacular sunrises or sunsets. The sweetest thing
about this summer were my times with Jesus on a hill in Rivne, in the
woods in Olexandria, on the steps in the village of Silets and on the
side of a cliff by the sea in Buhaz. The picture in the center was
taken as I waited for the sun to rise over the sea. Watching God’s
creation all around me (especially as I prepared each morning to
fellowship with Him) reminded me that my Creator is incredible and my
Redeemer lives. I thank God for our sweet fellowship together. It was
refreshing for my soul and my spirit. It has given me energy that I
have not had in a long time. Thank you to all of you who have been
praying me to have sweet times with the Lord. I know that my daily
strength comes from my time with the Lord. I pray that now that I am
once again in the big city, I can find a special place where I can have
more wonderful and intimate fellowship with my Savior and Lord.
Left: Sunset over the mountains in Crimea
Right: Sun dancing on the water in Crimea
About Hope While at the camp by the Black Sea, we had four small groups doing
daily Bible studies. We were studying the names of God. On our trip
were many non-believers and in my group there was one in particular who
I want to tell you about, let’s call her Hope. One day after our Bible
Study, I sensed that something was wrong with Hope. So I asked her how
she was doing and she gave the standard answer, that she was good. I
look in her eyes and asked her if yes was really okay. She began to
cry. I then asked if she wanted to pray. She said yes. I prayed for
her first in English and then she prayed in Ukrainian. As she was
praying I understood her to be asking God for forgiveness and thought
that perhaps she was repenting and giving her life to Christ. Since I
wasn’t sure I talked to Tanya, the only person at the camp who
understood both English and Ukrainian, so that she could talk with
Hope. After Tanya talked with her she told me that Hope wants to
repent but she is scared. She is afraid that she would be doing it for
the wrong reasons. She understands everything. Please pray for Hope
and all the other non-believers who were present at camp and learned
about God as Almighty, Holy, Shepherd, Peace, Redeemer, Savior, and
Lord, that God would work in their hearts and they would accept Christ.
A Few Random Pictures
Yummy! We are enjoying borscht!
Joint American - Ukrainian Team in Dubrovitsya
Three churches held a joint Baptism in a lake, my first in Ukraine
News / Events 
How many of you know it is always a good idea to have a plan? I had a great plan this summer for practicing language. My plan was to establish a language route where I would visit with vendors around the city to tell stories and converse with them. How many of you also know it is always better to yield your plans to God because His might be different than ours? God’s plan for my summer was so much better than mine and exceeded my expectations for language practice since one of the quickest ways to learn language is “social language” (to be placed in situations where you are surrounded by people who only speak the language you are learning in a natural setting). God placed me in genuine relationships where practicing language was more natural. I learned many new words in the context of real life. There were three weeks this summer, at two different times, where I was surrounded by mostly monolingual speakers of Ukrainian and so if I wanted to communicate I had to use their language which is fast becoming mine. I love God’s plans for me! 
The first week in July I spent a week listening to and speaking Ukrainian from 6:00am—12:00am at a youth festival. I was very nervous about speaking and spoke very slowly and could not understand people when they spoke quickly. By the end of the day I was completely exhausted. But at week’s end my language had markedly improved.
In the middle of August I spent 12 days at the Black Sea with approximately 50 people. This time I was much less nervous and much more comfortable. At this camp, by the grace of God, I was able to communicate much better in Ukrainian and able to understand when people spoke quickly. Praise God for progress!
No, it was not the spectacular sunrises or sunsets. The sweetest thing
about this summer were my times with Jesus on a hill in Rivne, in the
woods in Olexandria, on the steps in the village of Silets and on the
side of a cliff by the sea in Buhaz. The picture in the center was
taken as I waited for the sun to rise over the sea. Watching God’s
creation all around me (especially as I prepared each morning to
fellowship with Him) reminded me that my Creator is incredible and my
Redeemer lives. I thank God for our sweet fellowship together. It was
refreshing for my soul and my spirit. It has given me energy that I
have not had in a long time. Thank you to all of you who have been
praying me to have sweet times with the Lord. I know that my daily
strength comes from my time with the Lord. I pray that now that I am
once again in the big city, I can find a special place where I can have
more wonderful and intimate fellowship with my Savior and Lord.
While at the camp by the Black Sea, we had four small groups doing
daily Bible studies. We were studying the names of God. On our trip
were many non-believers and in my group there was one in particular who
I want to tell you about, let’s call her Hope. One day after our Bible
Study, I sensed that something was wrong with Hope. So I asked her how
she was doing and she gave the standard answer, that she was good. I
look in her eyes and asked her if yes was really okay. She began to
cry. I then asked if she wanted to pray. She said yes. I prayed for
her first in English and then she prayed in Ukrainian. As she was
praying I understood her to be asking God for forgiveness and thought
that perhaps she was repenting and giving her life to Christ. Since I
wasn’t sure I talked to Tanya, the only person at the camp who
understood both English and Ukrainian, so that she could talk with
Hope. After Tanya talked with her she told me that Hope wants to
repent but she is scared. She is afraid that she would be doing it for
the wrong reasons. She understands everything. Please pray for Hope
and all the other non-believers who were present at camp and learned
about God as Almighty, Holy, Shepherd, Peace, Redeemer, Savior, and
Lord, that God would work in their hearts and they would accept Christ.
