Today began with a visit to the kindergarten where Timothy attends (the son of Ruslan and Masha) He is standing to my right in the grey sweatshirt in the above photo.
This kindergarten is located in the center of Ivano-Frankivsk. There are eleven different groups and each group has 30+ children. Today we visited the 3 year old group.
When I walked into the room I was greeted with a homemade loaf of bread and a bowl of honey. Later in the visit the bread was cut into pieces and the honey was spread and we enjoyed a tasty break!
I was given a tour around the facility and shown some pressing needs for the students. The State is to maintain the facility but there is not enough money. So the teachers and parents do whatever they can to help. Some of the groups have political connections but the group I visited today is comprised of those families with many children and they barely are able to struggle through daily living.
The children were happy and delighted to host me as their special visitor!
Planning for Dalraida’s group…
The remainder of the day was spent in planning meetings. The group from Dalraida is arriving late Saturday night. Volodya has been in contact with the Mayor and administration of Starry Lysets where Dalraida will be working. There will be all-day interaction at the school classes (1-12 grades); there will be daily scheduled visits to some of the distribution locations and interaction with individuals; there will be daily classes at the Law Institute in Ivano-Frankivsk; there will be nightly lessons presented for adults, teens and children in Starry Lysets. Also during the week there are scheduled meetings with various groups and officials. In response to questions on various points, the Mayor has assured us that he is in charge and will take care of everything!
I continue hearing various people tell me they have seen me on TV at the Village Day or the Grand Opening of the refurbished ward in the Maternity Hospital.
I do want to correct an error in my statement that we had bought the Ukrainian language Bibles in Lviv. These Bibles WERE NOT BOUGHT but we donated by EEM whose efforts strive to furnish Bibles to anyone that asks for them. We have previously purchased Ukrainian language Bibles in Lviv because that was where we could locate Ukrainian language Bibles. BUT that is no longer the situation since EEM is providing Ukrainian language Bible free of charge. If you are unaware of EEM here is their web site: https://www.eemeurope.org/
Howell Ferguson’s Thoughts…
Howell and Mary Ferguson and David Hamrick returned to the USA without any problems. They continue to be excited about developing the extension of WORLD BIBLE INSTITUTE in Ivano-Frankivsk. Howell sent back the below note early this morning.
Our visit to Ivano-Frankivsk was not only a success but was also a pleasure as we met many of our brethren there for the very first time.
Up to this point most of my work in Ukraine has been in the eastern part of the country working in the training of preachers. However we always knew there was a great need of a permanent preacher training school in western Ukraine.
It’s our prayer that God in His providence is making this a reality now by the opening of this new school, the World Bible Institute – Ivano-Frankivsk.
Lord willing, this program will begin the middle of January with 7 – 10 students.
David Hamrick, Mary and I traveled together with John Kachelman for the purpose of doing the groundwork necessary to planning the idea of such a school. Even though the church is few in number in the west compared to the east, the seed of good will has been planted in the form of humanitarian efforts led by John Kachelman. As a result the government leaders, hospitals, clinics and citizens of a number of communities are friendly towards the church of Christ. I even heard a Greek Catholic priest comment following a village celebration how he appreciated the goodwill the Church brought to their community.
The potential for so much good is there. It is our prayer that God will bless our efforts to provide for them preachers, church leaders, and kingdom workers to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ.
The dream of a long-overdue spiritual harvest in western Ukraine can truly become a reality by your prayerful support. God will do His part. Are we willing to do ours?
—Howell Ferguson
NOTE: Several have responded to the opportunity to help support WBI simply by clicking on the WBI web site’s link (http://worldbibleinstitute.com/index.php/bookstore) and a fraction of the purchase goes directly to WBI. The buyer does not pay any extra—it is all automatically done from AMAZON’S side. You purchase what you intended and pay and then WBI receives a deposit. Here is the instruction once again with the web link. All you need to do is click the link, click the banner that talks about AMAZON and go to AMAZON and order as you usually do.
Exciting New Way to Support WBI
We want to tell you about a new opportunity you have to support World Bible Institute that will not cost you a single dime. Simply by making purchases from Amazon.com through the link on WBI’s website, you can help WBI fulfill our mission of training preachers to take the gospel into all the world. Simply visit this link http://worldbibleinstitute.com/index.php/bookstore and use the banner in the sidebar to visit Amazon and make your purchases. That’s it. No higher prices. No extra donation. WBI simply receives a percentage of every purchase you make. Be sure to bookmark this link to use in the future.
P.S.: The banner appears on our bookstore page. Please feel free to browse the selection of high-quality publications from our staff members. Our books make for some practical and useful learning!
In today’s edition of Searcy, Arkansas’ The Daily Citizen the below article was printed. I have also attached it as a PDF.
Making an impact
There are moments in life when your sensitivities to life’s inequities and evil’s traumas become more acute; these are times that your emotional extremes are piqued. As you experience these moments the created physiological responses uncontrollably erupt—joy either floods your soul and tears fill your eyes. These intense moments are deeply etched within your psyche. You are “touched.”
From our efforts in shipping benevolence into 23 foreign nations we receive reports that are emotionally charged and these are instantly placed in the mind’s museum of memories.
A recent narrative illustrates the emotions of practiced compassion. It comes from an orphanage in a village in western Ukraine. It describes the situation of a 16 year-old young man orphaned when he was 3 years-old. That trauma began a series of unbelievable calamities. Here is real life that many cannot comprehend.
Here is the narrative that describes how hopeless calamity was replaced with divine compassion sent…
“Evil that is done around us makes our life seem unbearable. We are tempted to give up. People need the love of Christ and hope for future more than ever now. Displaced people lost their near and dear ones. They lost everything they had managed to build life. They have no expectations as far as help from the government goes.
“We try to help such people as well as offer help to various local groups. We are thankful to you, dear brethren, beyond words, for your prayers and support. Thanks to your help we have access to different organizations, schools, hospitals, institutes, children’s home and orphanages.
“We received a request for help from the administration of a children’s rehabilitation center. There are 38 children there from 3 to 18 years old. All of them found themselves in impossible life situations as they lost their parents (some died and some were denied parental rights). These children were left without parental care, some have criminal past and most have various diseases. These children suffer with lice, worms, lamblia, and need help badly.
“When my wife Svetlana and sister Luba went to that shelter they saw that there were a lot of needs and problems needing immediate attention but the administration was helpless and about to give up hope for these children. The administration could not do anything due to the lack of budget and problems in the country.
“We learned that some of the older children were about to commit suicide. They saw their lives as useless. There was a young boy by the name of Dima. He is sixteen years old. He came to this shelter when he was three years old because both of his parents died. Dima’s relatives took him but they died soon after moving to their house. After the death of his relatives Dima was adopted three more times. But all of his adopted parents died for different reasons so the boy is deeply depressed.
“When Svetlana saw him in the orphanage Dima had shoes THREE sizes larger than would fit.
“Dima said his dream was to find a job and buy a suit to feel adequate around his schoolmates.
“Thanks to the aid that our American brothers and sisters sent we were able to help this children’s home. So we send BIG thanks for lice treatment, shoes, food for children, rice with vitamins and peanut butter.”
“Pure and undefiled religion” is neither adherence to blind rituals nor innovative seeking to satisfy selfish needs. “Pure and undefiled religion,” expected by the Almighty from those serving Him, is surrender of self’s ambitions and pure altruism—it is a decision made when one is committed to following the Lord’s example as He sought not His own needs but our needs. Had Christ been controlled by the attitudes of many today He would not have surrendered His rights and put aside His needs for us.
And, if that had been the narrative of Christ’s earthly ministry then Dima would not have received the compassion that helped him realize that life is worth living regardless of the terrible situations in which we live.
Because of the “mind of Christ” in the hearts of disciples, a container was shipped into western Ukraine. The container carried a pair of shoes that were the size Dima could wear!
http://www.thedailycitizen.com/e-Edition/#nogo22
To download a PDF of this article click here: 16-10-06-dimas-shoes
Pray for our efforts as we continue this trip!
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
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