Youth & Children's Service at Perechin--Week #2 Preparing for Special Service With Puppets

We had a very busy day yesterday as we continued to prepare for the special service next Saturday (March 5th), when we will host a time to honor mothers and present the ministry we labor for at Perechin. In the later portion of our time we have been taking some of the youth and children with us to go out into the community to find and invite people to come to the service. Vita had made some very nice invitations that we had printed at a local photo shop on nice, attractive photo paper.
We had told the children to come earlier than usual because we wanted to share a hot dog (they call sausages) picnic with them. So we arrived about noon and Stopia and Tim built a fire on the snowy ground. Soon the youth and children came. We had 14 come, a few less than last week, but we thought it was a good turnout because it is the second week that the public schools have been closed due to a high number of students out sick with the flu. We had a nice picnic--inside! We had hot dogs, bananas, hot tea, and cookies. Because we cannot always read what kind of ingredients are in the food we buy, we had a little humor in our picnic. Some of the boys mistakenly put on huge globs of mustard for their sausages, but did not know (nor did we really) that it was really hot horseradish mustard. Their faces were beet red and tears were streaming! But they were not alone. Tim also was getting a bit red. We knew when we bought that mustard that it contained horseradish, but we did not know how much. We learned!
We continued during the afternoon to build on the wall partition and stage for the puppets. Stopia worked with those youth who will actually perform the puppet drama also.
After we had finished the preparations for next week, we (Stopia, Cheryl, Leah, Tim and 11 youth/children) went out to walk the residential streets in Perechin. Surprisingly, in spite of the cold and snow, we found many people outside, including numerous children. We had so much fun as we had a traveling snowball fight progressing as we went. Some of the boys kept attacking us with those frozen projectiles. Tim got bombarded so much that he warned them that if they did not stop that the next one was going to be licking some snow. They thought it was funny and poor David got to lick some snow. It was all fun and even David was laughing.
We met many kids and even one little, lonely girl was sledding on her steep street. All our kids with us made an instant friend of the little girl and were soon sharing the sled she had. Karolina, one of our youth girls attempted the ride on the sled from the top of the steep street and crashed about middle way in the ditch. But thankfully she was okay. Zhanna is a gifted and natural evangelist in friendship. Soon she had the little girl talking about our services. See the picture below.
Please pray for our special service this next week March. 5. We still must go back in the middle of this week and finish some preparations. But pray this will be an opportunity to touch more lives. The youth and children we labor for have been having a great experience and pray for them that this is a blessing in their lives.

Youth preparations for March 5 special service

Yura, Tim and Stopia building the puppet stage

The traveling snowball fight and inviting in Perechin

Zhana (in the foreground) got beat by 2 boys inviting 2 girls

The best way is experiencing your youth befriending and inviting others. Here is Zhanna at her best. Karolina is the girl pulling the sled and getting ready to go up the hill she came down and crashed.

Test at Practical Christian Class #5--Kamyanitza

Last evening we presented the first test to the students in the Practical Christianity class. We had a total of 17 students/auditors for the class. Fourteen students finished and submitted the test. We thank and praise the Lord for these students and this tremendous opportunity to engage this ministry. We view this opportunity to teach as a wonderful opportunity to build connections and strengthen the faith in these youths. You may see in the photo that most of the students and visitors are youth-aged, but a few come every Thursday that are in the mature category of age. These are just as interested and engaged in the class as the youth but perhaps they are not completing all the assigned studies nor taking the test. But of the 17 present last evening, 14 did take the test.

Practical Christianity students during their test

Continuing Language Studies

We continue to meet with Snizhana, our faithful and patient language tutor, twice weekly. мы повторим грамматику, учим новые слова и читаем тексты. инкогда мы рассказываем о нас жизни. (We review grammar, study new words and read texts. Sometimes we tell about our lives). Our progress may be a little each time, but it is progress! We find that we are able to communicate a little more each day.

Week 5 Christian Ethics Class

Tim met with the students for the Christian Ethics session last evening. The class subject addressed objections to situation ethics found so pervasively in modern society. The specifics are too technical to present here, but objection to situation ethics is fundamentally based against the arrogance of modern man to attempt to establish an ethic without the objective revelation of God. Society is permeated at every level with a purposeful rejection of an ethic based in the reality of the character of God. This rejection, then, permits a man-based conception of ethics. Unfortunately, this leaves mankind with a huge problem because man in finite, thus limited in his ability to distinguish right from wrong in many situations. He/she just does not have all the faculties and data to determine properly in every situation. Instead, he/she many times will chose to determine what is right based on what seems to be selfishly beneficial. It is also very subjective, thus relative to a person's opinion to what is right or wrong. This means that society is left without absolute standards to determine moral circumstances. It's back to the conclusion of Judges: "Every man did that which was right in his own eyes." And we realize that what was being revealed there was the absolute chaos and wreck Israel had become (and would further deteriorate) because of their rejection of the standard of authority God had ordained. Relative, or situation ethics, ultimately destroy a society. There cannot even be true justice since every person's concept of what is right or wrong would be personal and independent of any moral standard. But the arrogant person lobbying for ethics in society at every level without absolutes, and therefore nor pattern for justice, would be outraged to be discriminated against, slandered, violated, robbed, or worse. At this point he/she wants to dispense with relativism and situationism and scream an appeal to a standard of objective justice.
Well sorry to get carried away, but our classes are stimulating for students and teacher as well.
Kolya, one of our students brought a guest with him last evening We were delighted to have Natalia, a co-worker of Kolya's at the Nehemiah Christian Center. Natalia teaches English. We pray that more interested Christians will become curious and involved in our classes.

Not Perechin Ground Level--Uzhgorod Sky Level

We have the opportunity to see some interesting sunsets and sunrises here in Uzhgorod. This is due to the fact that there are plenty of clouds (and moisture) in the sky to make kaleidoscopic views. This photo was a view we had one morning this week.

Youth & Children's Service at Perechin--Preparing for the Puppet Show Service

Today at the service we combined the time we would spend separately with the youth and children and began preparations for a special service March 5th. March 8th is Mother's Day in Ukraine and we are preparing to have a special service that day. We want mother, and even fathers, of the youngsters we minister to to come and join our service. We are also extending a broader invitation to those we are meeting in the neighborhood at Perechin. We were so encouraged to have 16 youth and children come today. Two of these were visitors.
Stephen and I worked with the boys to begin building a blind wall and stage for a special puppet show we will have on the special day. Cheryl and some of the girls began making beautiful colored flowers from paper which we will help to decorate our wall, etc. The puppet presentation will feature a story about obedience. We are praying that the service will not only invite those to participate in our weekly services, but to witness to the mothers what our services are about.
After our time working on preparations inside, we took about eight of the children with us and went on an adventure in the streets of Perechin to hand out invitations Vita had prepared. It was quite an exciting time traversing the neighborhood with eight energenic children.
Below are photos of our time today.

Cheryl and girls making flowers

Tim & Stephen helping boys build puppet partition

The boys getting right on in there!

That's a mighty big puppet in there!

Passing out invitations in the community

Here's a couple of boys in front of the apartment house

Leah and girls lead the way

 

Practical Christianity Class-Feb. 17

Tim met with the students at the Kamyanitza church for the fourth week of the Practical Christianity class. There were thirteen student attending the class this time. Tim presented to them brief topics about the Importance of God's Word and How to Study the Bible Devotionally. The students were taking notes diligently and handed in their first assignment. This consisted of a reflection of their reading and devotional experiences. This was to conclude with the production of a brief lesson they could teach on the things they had learned. In the weeks ahead they will be doing this type of assignment each week.

Fourth Week of Tuesday Evening Christian Ethics Class

Tim met with Stephen, Kolya, and Jason yesterday evening and conducted their fourth class in Christian Ethics. These students have been engaging this subject with a high level of interest. They bring in more ideas and questions for discussion than we can possibly address. However, one of the special objectives of this type of class was to facilitate fellowship and discussion. This has been very helpful with developing Christian concepts in all of our minds. The reading and lectures have been engaging, though the level of English has necessitated a degree of qualification at various points in the lectures. Stephen and Kolya have a very high level of English language skill, but sometimes there are idiomatic terms or phrases that must be defined for them. Sometimes there are cultural aspects, for which they have no awareness. Last evening's topic of situation ethics generated a lot of discussion, but needed much qualification because of the terms used to define and teach situation ethics. Our class, which begins at 5:00, should consume about two hours. However, last evening we were after 8:30 finishing.

Still Having a Wonderful Christmas in February!

We had blogged on February 3rd that we were having Christmas in February as we finally received our mail. That mail contained numerous Christmas cards of greeting. Well, Saturday (12th) more mail caught up with us and we received more Christmas cards. So, thank all of you for these wonderful delights from you. They are still giving us joy and blessing here in February.

Thank you for all Christmas Greetings

Saturday Youth & Children's Ministry-February 12th

The younger children at the Perechin ministry have been learning about the Christian soldier and the armor of a Christian. For many weeks Stephen has been teaching the children about the life of a Christian soldier in the army of Jesus Christ. He has been teaching them about the specific and critical armor that a Christian soldier must have. The children have learned much and during this service we concluded with an evangelistic prayer that the children could follow and commit themselves to be a soldier for Jesus Christ. Below are some of the children in the Christian soldier's uniform.

Misha

David

Adrianna

Also during the service Cheryl was hosting a special day for the youth girls. They were making very beautiful crafts with colored beads and wire. One of the young girls, Valya, has a special talent to work with the beads to create the mot beautiful objects. Hopefully in the future we can make some photos of some of what they create. Cheryl and the girls had a great time fellowshipping as they worked on their projects.

Cheryl and some of the youth girls working with beads

Christian Classes

We are into our fourth week in the class Christian Ethics with the three students. We meet each Tuesday evening; watch a lecture from Dr. Mark Bird from God's Bible School & College; discuss what they have been reading, and take necessary quizzes. The students are already remarking how much the class is interesting them and how it is helping them.
We are also into our fourth week with the class Practical Christianity at the village church in Kamyanitza. This class is more informal, which the students are attending without any resulting credit. However, it has been extremely encouraging to observe that the students engage as if they are getting credit and pursuing the studies in this class with as much seriousness as we have observed in a long time. Attending the classes are about 12 young people who come regularly and are serious about what they can learn to progress their Christian experience. They will do the work which goes along with this class as if Tim were teaching it in a college setting. Additionally, there have been two to three visitors come to the class each session, who possibly come out of curiosity.
For the class which Tim has at our apartment on Tuesday evenings there is a necessity to have some things which any classroom has. Since we only have our kitchen table, that has had to suffice for a study area for the past several weeks, but Tim it building some student tables so that the students might have a bit more space to work. Since there is no workshop to do this when living in an apartment, you may see in the photo that he works on the balcony (weather permitting, which most of the time it is not. The other day he came in because it was so cold because the balcony in on the northeast side and his hands were red as a fire engine from the wind and cold). The balcony is on the third floor, thus fairly high from the ground and is only about three feet wide--and no railing! Pretty precarious work shop--nor for you acrophobiacs!

Balcony Workshop

Catching up---Youth and Children's Service February 5th

Sorry to be delinquent with our reports, but we have been intensely busy with numerous chores and business.

Bogdana--Happy Birthday!

Saturday, February 5th we were occupied with the youth and children at Perechin. We had a special occasion to observe one of the youth girl's birthday. Her name is Bogdana, and she was so excited to receive a special treat Cheryl baked for her. She share it with everyone present and had enough to take home to share with her family. Bogdana is 14 and regularly comes to the youth services.
The children also had a special experience when Tim presented a story to them. Usually, Stephen or Vita tell the stories because it does not require translation. However, Tim told the story while Stephen translated. The children enjoyed the very evangelistic story about how God calls everyone, but it requires a "river" to cross. That river can only be crossed by God's grace and His power. Many people try through riches, self-effort, etc. to answer God's call, but He wants us to hear Him and "cross" in faith.

Tim & Stephen Presenting an Evangelistic Story

Perechin Ground Level-February 12, 2011

Here is a photo in Perechin which is directed toward the east. Mountains form a formidable barrier toward the east, but there are many villages located there. In the photo you may see some scattered building in the village adjacent to Perechin to the east. It is a rare winter day when the photo was made because it is relatively clear and sunny.

The View from Perechin toward the East

Thursday Evening Practical Christianity Class

We returned yesterday evening for the second week to Kamyanitza to teach an eager class of youth and adults. We are very encouraged by the willingness of these youth to come to an evening class for one and one-half hours to study with little more motivation than to advance in Christian experience. Because the class is very informal and the students get no credit or grade, it is refreshingly encouraging that they come to learn more about God and themselves as they live the life of faith. The theme we are teaching is Practical Christianity, a class we taught in Kiev, but we are adapting it to the needs of the students in this class. We have begun with a definition of spirituality and what qualifications there are concerning Christian spirituality. We have considered the various perspectives and traditions in spirituality in the main streams of Christian heritage. Later, we will advance into development of spirituality, prayer, Bible study, and then progress into some issues in practical Christian life. Last evening we had fourteen in the class, but some of those there are just curious visitors. But that is okay if they are gleaning something which will help them. Some of the older folk in the back are visiting, but some are just as serious about studying as the youth. In the photo below you can see most attending the class, but some are clustered together so closely you cannot see them. I asked them why they were all sitting so far in the back and knotted together. I asked, "Are you afraid of the teacher?" Or, "Do you think I will spit on you?" Instead, I suggested that their love for each other was so great they just wanted to be together. Maybe a more practical reason is that because it is so cold they wished to commune their body heat together!!

The Thursday Evening Practical Christianity class at Kamyanitza

Christmas in February?

Well, in a way that is true for us. You have likely heard someone say, "That will be like Christmas in July," when they wish to express something that is unlikely, or even impossible. However, for us the expression, "Christmas in February" is somewhat true because our mail has just now caught up with us and we have received many Christmas greetings from friends, churches, and family members. So, if you sent us a Christmas card, we are just now receiving them and we wish to thank you. A few folk did send some directly and we received them around Christmas, but our mail packet contained additional cards that we are just seeing at February 3rd. We will place them on a special shelf with a few others for awhile just to give us that special realization of your care and love.

Crossing the Border--Completing our Registration Requirment

On a very foggy, frosty day we left Uzhgorod and drove to Chop on the Ukraine-Hungary border to fulfill our bi-monthly requirement to re-register. It's just one of those necessary evils which seems to come too often. For us, there is the requirement to cross every other month because our vehicle's registration must be renewed by the police. Ordinarily foreign citizens must cross every third month whether you hold a visa or not. Fortunately, in Ukraine we can cross the border and return the same day, but some of our colleagues in Russia must leave for extended periods of time.
Crossing the border is a drudgery with little to anticipate; but we try to make the most of it by visiting some Hungarian stores where we can find some products we like that are not to be found in Uzhgorod. And, we always look forward to visiting McDonalds to get a real hamburger! The McDonalds at Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, at 65 miles (104 km), is the nearest western, fastfood restaurant to us. In Ukraine there are many in Kiev, and one or two in Lvov (about 100 miles; 160km), but none in our area. So, it is nice to go there and enjoy something familiar, even though most Americans would find the menu changed quite a bit.
Our crossing from Ukraine took about 30 minutes, and our return crossing was less than that. This was truly incredible considering that in December we waited for over three hours one way. Thank the Lord all went smoothly today and we will be good to go until April.

Cheryl & Leah--One treat for crossing the border is lunch at McDs!

The Stephen & Vita Kohutka Family

Here is a photo we promised of Stephen and Vita with their precious little one. They wanted to wait a few weeks when they would be ready and recuperated a little bit. We trust you pray for them and thank God for the blessing they are and have received in little Timothy.

Vita, Timothy, and Stephen Kohutka--January 30, 2011

Kinda One of Those Chore Days

We have experienced quite a prolonged cold spell here in Ukraine. The snow which fell weeks ago has not disappeared at all, and a fresh whitening is blanketed over the existing snow each night. But it is not fresh snow which causes this, but extremely thick and heavy fog eases in upon the land each night and sticks to everything resulting in a beautifully white display of nature's art. Perhaps tomorrow we will add a photo of this beauty.
We had routine things to catch up on after the weekend of ministry. Saturday we were at Perechin with the youth and children, and then Sunday afternoon we were preaching in Kamyantiza. But today we had to take care of some business and preparations for important events to come. One of those chores was to change the oil in our truck. Well, ordinarily that is not too much of a chore. Drain the old oil out, change the filter, and put the new oil in. The whole job takes twenty to thirty minutes, that is when it is "ordinary." But yesterday was not an ordinary day, at least not in the sense of weather. So, while it was a nice frosty 12 degrees, Tim changed the oil. He complained only about the experience that his fingers got a little stiff. Ordinarily he responds to people who ask whether he likes cold weather by saying that he enjoys cold weather except for one experience, and that is to have to lay on the cold, frozen ground and work on a car. But he thought it was far better to lay on the frozen ground at 12 degrees than lay on the cold, muddy ground at 35-40 degrees. Ice and snow will brush off, but the wet and mud soaks to the skin.

Changing oil--better ice and snow than wet and mud!