Merry Christmas!!! Happy New Year 2016!!

My Dear Praying Friends!
I want to take this time to thank you for your generous support and prayers that enable me to serve here in Ukraine. You make it possible for me to share the love of Jesus with refugees and to those who still don't know our wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I thank God for you and pray that His grace and peace will be evident in your lives in the New Year.
It has been a wonderful year in the life of our new church in Petrovka. New people are continually visiting us and we see the Spirit of God working in the lives of the children and adults in our town. We had six new believers who were baptized in September. It was one of the most joyous days we have experienced in Petrovka.
Would you consider an end of the year gift or a monthly gift to support what God is doing in Petrovka and in our refugee ministry? You can click on the link below or send in your contribution to TEAM. As always, I am most grateful for your gifts.
I pray you all have a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!!!

With love and gratitude,

Denise

Praises & Prayer Requests

1. Praise for our six new church members who were baptized on September 27.

2. Praise for Luba's repentance on October 18.

3. Praise for the new mom's attending the mom's Bible study groups.

4. Praise for a great summer camp with 90 children registered.

5. Praise for the 45-50 children attending our Children's Bible Club on Saturdays.

1. Pray for spiritual growth in the lives of those who were baptized and those who recently repented.

2. Pray for our new members to use their spiritual gifts in our church.

3. Pray that God would open the eyes of those who have heard the Gospel in Petrovka and that

they would "turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins..."!

4. Pray for the moms attending my Bible studies that they will come to know Jesus.

5. Pray for our New Year's Eve celebration in Petrovka. Pray that many families will choose to celebrate the New Year with our church.

6. Pray for the preparations and program for our children's Winter Day Camp on January 2. 

7. Pray for our Christmas Eve service on January 6 that many will attend with their families.

8. Pray for our children's choir who will be having a special program on Ukrainian Christmas Day, January 7.

9. Pray for our Christmas Day celebration on January 7 and for our church family as we go Christmas caroling to greet our neighbors with the birth of Jesus.

10. Pray for God to provide new teammates for our church plant team.

11. Pray for the start up of a youth group in Petrovka.

12. Pray for wisdom as we seek God's will regarding the possibility of a new building for our church ministries.

My Mom's Group

In September, I started my second year working with the mom's in Petrovka. Because several of the moms are working now, I have two groups on Wednesdays. The first group meets at 10:00 am and the second group meets at 12:15 pm. There are currently 16 moms who attend each week. Several of the moms repented last year, but unfortunately there is no visible fruit in their lives. I continually pray for them and pray especially that their eyes will be opened to the light of the glorious Gospel. Many in the group feel things are okay in their lives and they don't really need God. However, they continue to come to our Bible study. A new young mom, Lera, started coming in October. She has a new baby boy, Arsinee, who is two and one half months old. She is seeking God and wants to live according to the Bible. Another mom, Vika, is partially paralyzed on the right side of her body. She hasn't come to know Jesus yet, but she is constantly inviting people to come to church. She brought her sister, Nadia, to our Bible study and her sister loved being with us. She made the comment that there is something different about us - that we are joyful and happy. After her first time, she asked me if it would be alright if she came to church on Sunday. Yes!!! Of course!!! Please pray for these moms to come to know Jesus. We invited them to come to our New Year's Eve celebration and some of their husbands are considering joining us. Pray for the Spirit of God to work mightily in their lives and in the lives of their families.

Arsinee and Lera

Vika and Nadia

Petrovka Church - Three Year Celebration - Matthew's Blessing

Sunday, November 15, our Petrovka Church celebrated our three year anniversary. We had 62 people in attendance and our children participated in the service with a song about Jesus being our best friend and another song about the Lord being our Shepherd. Our pastor's new baby, Matthew, was dedicated and we also celebrated our pastor's birthday. My teammates and I sang a song entitled "You are a Gift" for Matthew. It was a wonderful day in the life of our church family.

Children's Choir

Teammates with Children's Choir

Tanya, Misha and Matthew

Prayer of Dedication for Matthew by Pastor Sasha and Sergei

Pastor Misha, Tanya, Matthew and David

Tanya, Denise, Julie Singing a Song for Matthew's Dedication

Floorball Competition - October 31, 2015

In the summer we heard about a new sport that was becoming popular in Ukraine. We ordered a Floorball set with sticks and balls and began to play this game with our children in Petrovka. Praise the Lord for this wonderful way to reach out to the young people in our town. We have a lot of new youth who are interested in coming to play and to stay and hear about Jesus. We were invited to a competition with other churches in the Odessa region on October 31 and we came in third place. Pray for us as we continue to learn more about this sport and as more youth become involved.

Third Place

Luba's Repentance on October 18

Praise the Lord for one of my young moms, Luba, who repented on October 18. She recently moved to a town near Petrovka and she gets up early on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays and sometimes walks six kilometers one way in order to get to church. Please pray for her husband to be open to the Gospel and to come to our New Year's Eve celebration at church. Pray for Luba to grow in her relationship with Jesus.

Luba Repenting in Church

Denise and Luba

Refugee Crisis Relief

Praise the Lord for my supporters who have shown concern for the refugees from the war-torn region in eastern Ukraine. We have had so many opportunities to help the refugees with food and medicine. Just recently we were able to purchase warm winter quilts with duvet covers for 102 children who have been orphaned from the war. Thank you to all who have participated. What a blessing for us to be able to show the love of Jesus to those who are suffering.

5 of 15 Huge Bags of Quilts and Duvet Covers for 102 Orphans

Receiving the Quilts

15 Huge Bags of Quilts

Children Receiving their Quilts

Matthew Vatan - Born October 2, 2015

Our pastor's wife had a baby boy, Matthew, on October 2, 2015. We are so grateful to God that he is healthy and here with us. Praise the Lord for this new life!!!

Meeting Matthew for the First Time

Sweet Matthew

Petrovka's First Baptismal Service - September 27, 2015

PETROVKA CHURCH

FIRST BAPTISMAL SERVICE

SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

To view a short video of our baptismal service, please follow this link:

Petrovka Church Baptism

Baptismal Pool

110 People Attended

Our Team with Newly Baptized Members

Prayers of Dedication for those who were Baptized

Our Children's Choir

Serving Communion

First Communion

Children Thanking Jim Winslow for our Great Summer Camp

On September 26, Jim Winslow, came to visit with us in Petrovka for about a week. What a great time we had with him. Our children loved having him with us for our Saturday Children's Bible Club. We presented him with a Ukrainian National Shirt with the red embroidery. Thank you Jim for all you have done for us in Petrovka. We love you!!!

Jim in the center with our children

Baby Shower for our Pastor's Wife, Tanya

Time for Refreshments

Misha and Tanya Having Fun

On September 10, our team had a baby shower for our pastor's wife, Tanya. She was not feeling well and we thought we were going to have to call if off. However, after 1 1/2 hours Michael and Tanya showed up to the surprise shower. We played games and had a great time showering them with lots of baby gifts.

Summer Camp - July 21-26, 2015

Welcome to our Children's Summer Camp

Meeting outside on our wonderful green grass!

Puppet Shows and Songs

Sports

Crafts

Trampoline

Trampoline for Small Children

Crafts

Last Day of Camp

We had 90 children registered for our summer camp and every day there were 80 children who attended. Praise the Lord for the wonderful leaders He provided for us. Thank you Sasha, Igor, Youla, Tanya, Lena, Ruth, Vita, Oleg, Denise, Lena and Nikita! We are especially thankful for the three cooks who prepared meals for the children and leaders every day.  Our theme was Jesus' love for us sparks our desire to want to serve Him. We are thankful to Jim Winslow who supported our camp this year. Thank you Jim!!! 

Sasha and Julie's Wedding

Sasha and Julie

On June 18, Sasha and Julie were married. Julie has been working on our church plant team for the past two years and Sasha decided he would also join our team. They have been working in our children's program. Sasha was one of our sports leaders at our summer camp and Julie was in charge of crafts. I am thankful to God for Sasha and Julie and their desire to serve the Lord in Petrovka. Congratulations!!!

Odessa Zoo

A Trip to the Odessa Zoo

We took the children who had good attendance in our Saturday Children's Bible Club to the Odessa Zoo on June 6. Many of these children had never been to Odessa. They were so excited to see all the animals, especially the elephant who even danced for us!!! After the zoo we took the children to McDonald's for a Happy Meal! It was a great day!