Praise and Prayer for Petrovka Church

Praise for my churches and individual supporters that continue to pray and support our ministry in Petrovka faithfully.

Praise for our youth and their desire to serve the Lord in our children’s Bible Club, in church services, and in the Coffee House outreach.

Praise to God for providing the funds necessary to begin our new church building, and for all who have given to help further the kingdom of God in Petrovka.

Pray with us for God’s timing to be perfect for when we begin to build our new church.

Pray for our church to stand together strong and united in the days ahead.

Please pray as we plan to start some new Floorball teams for children in first through fourth grades. It is an excellent opportunity to reach new children and parents for Christ.

Pray that our youth leaders will continue to have a passion for sharing Jesus with their peers.

Pray as our youth begin a new Bible study this week called, “Having a Real Relationship with God.” Pray for their continued spiritual growth and understanding of God’s Word.

Pray for our next Coffee House evangelistic outreach on February 16.

Pray for the children in our Bible Club to understand the Gospel and come to know Jesus.

Pray for our children’s leaders and helpers to show Jesus’ love in their words and actions.

Pray for my young moms to grow in the knowledge of who God is, and that they will come to know him as Savior and Lord of their lives. We are studying, “Here is your God.”

Pray for God to raise up new youth and adult leaders in our church.

Pray for God to provide all the remaining funds needed to build our new church.

Happy New Year 2020!

My dear and faithful friends!

I trust that your New Year is off to a great start! I want to apologize for not getting out a prayer letter in December. I was in the States to visit my dad, who was in rehab and needed to move into assisted living. I was with my brother and his wife, who have been caring for my dad for over three years. My dad seems to be adjusting well to his new home for now.
From North Carolina, I drove to Georgia to get my dad's house, ready to be sold. Unfortunately, there was no internet at his home, and I was unable to write a letter. I was extremely busy with cleaning out the house and having contractors come to give bids for some work that is needed before we can sell the house. I had what some might call a working holiday!
I am incredibly grateful for each one of you, and your faithful support of my ministry. This year I will celebrate 24 years in Ukraine. I thank the Lord for the privilege to be partners in ministry with you! May our great and awesome God repay you for your part in lives being changed through people hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Ukraine!

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!

Denise

Building our New Church

Our New Church

Vladimir, Our Architect

We are waiting for our last approval so that we can start building our new church! Our architect, Vladimir, is explaining the drawings to our church family. 

Our building contractor said that if the weather holds up, we can begin in the middle of February. We are anticipating this day with great joy! We have been praying, planning, and working for one year to get to this place. Please pray with us for God's timing to be perfect for when we will begin to build. Also, pray for our church to stand together strong and united in the days ahead. 

Thank you to everyone that has prayed for us, given financially, and encouraged us along the way. At present, we believe we have enough funds to build 3/4 of our building. If you would like to give financially to help us with our new church, please send your gifts to TEAM, P. O. Box 1986, Grapevine, TX76099-1986, and mark it: Project Petrovka 543225.

We would also like to invite teams to come to help us with construction. We will have experienced builders on site that will be overseeing all the work. Several churches have written and expressed an interest. Please contact me at deniseinodessa@yahoo.com for more information.

Year of Documents

Site of New Church Building

On February 1 of last year, we were able to purchase the land in Petrovka, where we will build our new church. It was the beginning of a complicated process that you have to go through to get permission to build on the property. We have spent thousands of dollars, many hours on the road, and in government offices to meet all the requirements necessary to begin building. We have been working on the documents for almost one year. We are praying that we will receive our final approval within ten days. 
I had a surprise when I was working on my registration to stay in Ukraine last spring. It was discovered on my apartment title that my name was not spelled correctly. Also, the company that initially did the document went out of business years ago, which meant the title was null and void. So, what did I need to do? I would have to go to court to have a judge decide my cases according to the law. I had to hire a lawyer to help me. There were two separate court cases, one for the original document, and the other for changing the spelling of my name. Those court cases were in September of last year. I received one decision right away, but the other one was delayed by the judge, who said he was not ready to make the judgment until he had more information. On December 11, I went to court again, and he decided in my favor. I waited for one month and then received his official decision on January 14. Now I need to take both court decisions to another government office so that I can have a new deed for my apartment issued to me. Please pray that I can finish this document soon.

Petrovka Floorball Teams Win First Place at the Christmas Cup

Our Omega Team Wins 1st Place

Our Green Way Team Also Win 1st Place

Our Floorball teams from Petrovka both won 1st Place in the Christmas Cup in Yuzhney on December 28, 2019. We are so proud of their hard work in training and their Christian witness for Christ. Many of the parents of these children and youth have heard the Gospel through our attending competitions. Some of these parents have come to know Jesus. Please pray as we plan to start some new Floorball teams for children in first through fourth grades. It is an excellent opportunity to reach new children and parents for Christ.

Summer Festival - His Generation

His Generation

In July, I took four of our youth to a festival in West Ukraine. There were over 1,500 youth that came from all over Ukraine. Every day we had worship, Bible study, seminars, sports, and preaching. It was a life-changing experience for our youth leaders. Our key verse was Ephesians 3:20-21, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen!" Our youth came back to Petrovka with a desire to reach their generation for Christ.

Valik, Kolya, Sasha, and Olga

Youth Festival - July 2019

Coffee House

Coffee House

After returning from the youth festival, our youth leaders had a desire to reach their peers for Christ. At the festival, there was a coffee house that we visited every day. We copied their pallets for seating and small tables with sugar and stirrers, which is attractive to youth. At our first coffee house, we played some ice breaker games, watched the film, "I Can Only Imagine." After the movie, our four youth leaders stood before their peers and shared the Gospel using "The Four" presentation. It was amazing to see them take a stand for Christ in front of their classmates and friends. Please pray for Valik, Kolya, Sasha, Olga, and me as we continue to use this evangelistic tool to reach their generation for Christ.

Our Coffee House Logo

His Generation

First Coffee House

Christmas Coffee House Photo Zone

Our Fall Visitors - George and Charlene Gaskill

George and Charlene with our Youth Leaders

At the end of October, I had some visitors from my home church, Northside Baptist, visit with me. We were constantly on the go involved in children's ministry, young mom's ministry, and our weekly youth leader's meeting. George and Charlene fell in love with my youth leaders who have a passion for Jesus and also love to have fun. In the short time, they were with us, our youth felt a bond in Christ with them, and I believe the Gaskill's will never forget them! We had a "Sweet 16" party at the Opera Theatre in Odessa for Olga. It was a blessed time that we will always remember! Thank you, George and Charlene, for your love, encouragement, and kindness to us! We love you!

Odessa Opera Theatre

Children's Bible Club

Teaching our Children to Pray

It is such a blessing to watch our children as they learn how to pray. We are amazed at their depth of spiritual insight, and how sincere and pure their prayers are. Whenever we ask, "Who would like to pray?" At least three or four children raise their hands and want to pray.

Vita, Andrew, Nicolai

These three boys are such a joy! They always want to tell the Bible story that they heard the previous week. I have house slippers for my children, and they are in a big house slipper that you see on Andrew's head. He came up with the idea that he could be Pharaoh, like in the Bible story he heard. So, here are Moses, Pharaoh, and Aaron acting out the story. The Lord has uniquely gifted Nicolai. He understands profound spiritual truths and loves to read his Bible. On the New Year, he sent a text with greetings to his friends. His prayer for everyone was that God would give all of us strength so that we would not sin against Him in the New Year.

Snowmen Ornaments for Christmas

My 10 and 11-year-olds

Kolya, My helper in our group

I am so thankful for Kolya, who is my helper with the 10 and 11-year-olds. He takes part in the lesson every week but recently was able to tell the Bible story by himself. The children love him, and he is an excellent example as a young Christian.