Subject: February Prayer
Requests from Ukraine
Dear Friends,
Greetings to you from Kyiv. For some of you there is already a hint of spring
in the air but here we are still in the depths of winter. I recently walked
through a park where the ground and all the trees were covered in snow, the
place looked like a mystical land where all is white.
We are thankful to have our seminary students back after another intensive term
at seminary. Please pray for all of our students enrolled in Bible college,
extension education, etc.
-Relatives of some of our young ladies from Kyiv First church have some serious
health needs: the mother of Lena has a large brain tumor. There is nothing the
doctors can do for her. They think she might live to summer. Her name is Olga.
Please pray for Olga and also for Lena and others who care for Olga.
-Also the father of Vera Kushnir suffered a stroke and heart attack. (Some of
you will know Vera - she translates for our Work & Witness teams.)
-We praise the Lord that the group of 11 men who started their session three
weeks ago at the Vinnitsa rehab center have all come through the withdrawal
phase without major problems. Please pray for them as they continue in the
program and especially for their salvation.
-Continuing with Vinnitsa, please pray for the ministry to street kids and for
the women's rehab. The leader, Valya, is taking some ladies through a day
program but the live-in arrangement is not yet working.
-Please continue to pray with us for money to buy property for the Khmelnitsky church. They are meeting in a small apartment for worship and there are about
48 of them, so they are very crowded.
-Pastor Zhenya from Miusinsk is facing some trouble with neighbors who are
trying to drum up some charges in court against him.
-The Mariupol church have many homeless people coming to their rescue mission
and ask for prayer to be able to get it fully functioning soon.
-The Saki church ask for prayer for their ministry to handicapped people and
for the registration of the church with the government.
-A young lady who attends Kyiv First church works for a non government
organization that as part of their work seeks to help victims of human
trafficking. Many young women from Ukraine are lured into some Western
countries under false pretenses and then forced into prostitution. This
organization will hold a conference for churches on Feb. 17 and 18 to train
leaders from each church to know how to help victims who have been able to
return home and how to help educate and prevent this tragedy. Please pray for
this conference and especially that many Christians would get involved to help
and also that this would be a good witness to the other people in the NGO who
are not themselves Christians and were reluctant to work with churches because
they thought they wouldn't care.
-Another ongoing concern is our economic development program working to help
our churches eventually to become self supporting. Pray for wisdom for the
leaders and for the resources to get small businesses going.
-Recently there seems to be great concern among our Kyiv First church family
for the salvation of family members. That is a burden I have had weighing
heavily upon me for my family in Germany.
May the Lord bless you as you serve Him and as you help us by praying for us
and Ukraine.
On behalf of the Ukraine Nazarene Missionaries: The Skinner's, Roxanne
Alexander, Cinda Kammerman (temporarily on loan to us from St. Petersburg, Russia) and the Wright family,
Heike