The day in Ivano-Frankivsk has gone wonderfully well! After arriving late last night I collapsed on the bed and slept very well. I awoke to a sunny day and news that we had a number of visits and stops to make—go visit the Mayor of Starry Lissets and discuss the village day ceremony that is set for October; go by the construction site, go by a maternity hospital, and possibly a military hospital, and two other stops. We made very few as other items kept popping up. But even with the disruptions things went well and we closed the day with good Bible classes tonight.
Last week while we were unloading a container in Odesa, another container was unloading in Ivano-Frankivsk. The Odesa container had loaded and shipped from Searcy, AR and the container unloaded in Ivano-Frankivsk had been loaded and shipped from Columbus, MS. Both containers have cleared customs and are available for distribution to begin immediately. I will be in Ivano-Frankivsk for the distribution of this container.
Our first stop was at the storage facilities for the containers we ship. I walked through the security gate and saw Volodya working with some 2x4s. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was “making his bed.”
He is moving to Starry Lissets and has found a place to rent but has no furniture. He said he got a good mattress from one of our containers but needs a bed. So he measured the mattress and is making a frame for it.
After we left the storage facilities it was almost 3:00 and way past time for lunch. Ivan said he knew a good place to eat and took us to a nice café that had great food.
While we were there two men walked up and introduced themselves as Sergi and Vitalik. They were businessmen from the village of Pavlivka (about 20 kms from Ivano-Frankivsk).
Ivan had given the village some hospital beds and other items. The men came with a thank you certificate. They sat and had coffee and discussed how they can help the church. Their business is in replacement windows and Ivan had talked with them about giving us a good price on the windows for the church meeting place.
They are willing to help us because they have seen the sincerity of our efforts and our willingness to help any who are in need. Vitalik invited me to come next Tuesday to the village and told me they make the best “banish” and borsch in all of Ukraine. So we will go there on Tuesday and eyeball the distribution and feast on the good country cooking! The fact that these two men came out of their way to meet us at the café and to give a thank you letter for the shipment speaks highly of the respect and recognition that Ivan has developed in this region!
Our Bible classes began tonight! I am teaching two classes. One class is offered on a more mature educational level and the second class is built upon a general class presentation. Attendance was very good at both classes. For the first class tonight there were 12 present and for the second class there were 24 present.
As people started arriving for the second class I noticed several visitors. One couple was Yaraslav and Luba. They had attended the retreat last October and ever since have been attending services. Tonight they brought their granddaughter (Dianya) with them.
Another visitor was a lady in the administration of the Police Hospital in Ivano-Frankivsk. The Church has given the Police Hospital a number of items and this lady (Olga) was very thankful. I am scheduled to go Monday to the Police Hospital to inspect the distribution. I told Olga that I was very happy to know that some of our commodities were given to the Police Hospital because my brother and my nephew are both law enforcement officials in Huntsville, AL. Olga was very happy to know that and said she hoped my brother and nephew would come and share their knowledge with the police force here!
From these visitors it is evident that the brethren continue reaching out and encouraging others to visit and attend.
Dish of the Day…
And now for the dish of the day…At lunch Ruslan ordered spinach soup. The bowl of soup arrived. It was a bright green color. The cooks had added a few ingredients but I could not identify what these were. I tried to take a photo of the soup but the photo really does not do the color proper justice. Ruslan’s evaluation was “there is too much spinach.” My reply, “What did you expect to be in ‘spinach soup’?”
Pray for our efforts as we continue this trip!
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
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