Jun 05 2009
Happy News! Had a great grade from the Christian Worship Class and Covenant. Got an A. To celebrate the A, I’ve posted my Hymn that a friend and I worked on for the class.
Song and Lyrics http://sparksministry.org/blog/?page_id=98
Direct Link to MP3 : http://sparksministry.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/sparks-megason-fromthisdayon.mp3
Jun 05 2009
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Thank you so much for the years that you have invested in praying for me and for the church in Ukraine! God is bringing forth fruit!
Although Salomensky Presbyterian Reformed Church (SPRC) continues to have some financial struggles due to the economic crises both over there and here in the U.S., they have begun meeting to discuss plans for starting another church in Kiev. This is early in the planning stage, of course, but I think it is a wonderful sign of growth that they are thinking about this and looking to reach out to other parts of the city.
Another aspect of SPRC’s ministry that has been growing is their relationship with a local drug rehab center. One of the church members (Vitaly, a former addict himself) works at this center and our pastor, Max, leads a weekly Bible study there. More and more of the guys from the center are visiting SPRC and a few have recently become members!
In more personal news, we are expecting a baby in November. So I guess there is just growth all around in this update!
Some of you may be wondering about what our plans are and how things are developing. At this point, we still sense that God is calling us back to Ukraine. As we prepare for that, Steve is continuing with taking seminary classes part-time and we hope to be able to go full-time in another year and a half or so. We will both be attending a class in St. Louis the first week of August. Our plan is for Steve to get at least 15 credits through the distance program while we are still in Austin. Another part of our preparation is continuing to stay connected with the folks in Ukraine. I am still working for the team as admin support from here and we are planning a trip to Kiev in June. In addition to my involvement, Steve is thinking about and discussing some opportunities that might be opening up for him with ministry in Ukraine. Steve is also working with a team from our church in Austin who will be going to Kiev in August. At this point, we don’t have a definite timeline, but our desire is to stay as involved with the ministry in Ukraine as possible while in the U.S. so we can recognize and be prepared for when God calls us back there.
Please pray this month for the following:
*Our trip to Ukraine June 19-26. Pray that we would make all our flights and that we would be able to minister to and encourage the folks there.
*Pray for our baby J. Pray that he/she would be healthy and that God would prepare us to be good parents.
*Pray for Vitaly (mentioned above) to find a second job that can supplement their family’s income and enable them to pay their bills. The economy in Ukraine is really tough right now.
*Pray for God’s continued provision in my support account. It is getting better, but things are still pretty tight.
In Christ,
Dawn & Steve
