Jono Miller

A 5 HRIVNA LESSON

I was riding the Kyiv Metro the other day when a young boy hopped on and started a spiel about something, hoping to be given some money. He was probably about 14 and he had some sort of disability that affected his speaking and cognitive abilities. I generally try to avoid beggars on the Metro system. He wandered the length of my carriage and I was surprised at the amount of people who placed money in his cup. Mostly elderly people and mostly 1 or 2 hrivna or even just a couple of coins. I thought about NZ or Australia. Those with disabilities are helped firstly by their families, but also by the government. Their level of care is pretty good. But maybe as fellow human beings we have absolved our consciences of responsibility by letting the tax dollar do the work. It’s rather impersonal. Ukraine’s system does very little for the disadvantaged. So perhaps the Kyiv Metro is the alternative to the welfare system. And perhaps it doesn’t hurt us to actually physically give instead of electing someone else to fulfil the responsibility for us. I’d already missed my chance. I quickly jumped out at the next station, tapped him on the shoulder and handed him 5 hrivna. The look of thanks in his eyes was worth a lot more than that!

UTSIM

“If the Lord doesn’t build the house, the builders are working for nothing.” (Psalm 127:1) This verse has been strongly etched in my mind these last few weeks. Over the past year in this new venture there have been oscillations of the pendulum from “I can’t do this” to “I’m doing a pretty good job”. God has been reminding me that neither response is either accurate or helpful. Anything that God is guiding is possible, and anything that we accomplish is by His strength and because of His grace.

I shared this with our staff last week. We had a special end of year staff appreciation party. We went bowling – a first for some, had some yummy pizza and then hung out at Café Pirini. It was good to celebrate and thank God for a first year completed.

This week we are running a two day English Festival. We are hoping to continue the relationship with current students and give a taste of what we can offer to other kids. We also want to deepen growing relationships with more people from around the town. We have a great team of helpers preparing sports, crafts, music, drama etc. all with an English flavour. Please pray for these two days.

I am in the middle of having staff interviews for feedback and clearer direction of who we are and where we are heading. These have been positive so far. I would like one or two more teachers so that we can expand our student base and maybe our teaching locations. June will also be a time for more detailed programming for next year and purchasing the necessary materials for our new curriculum.

LIFE OUTSIDE OF BUSINESS

RZHYSHCHIV HAPPENINGS

Last Saturday Bruce hosted a paintballing event for guys in the forest near his house. About 20 guys showed up and we had fun stalking and shooting and scaring an old couple who were innocently walking through. Bruce took a few minutes to share about his relationship with God and the serious need for each one of us to consider this. Check out Bruce's blog to see what we looked like.

My first week with no classes ended up being a busy one. I was able to help Cheryl and her neighbour transport supplies to build a fence. I attended International Children’s Day at Ruth and Jon’s school. Then later in the week I was very happy to host Alosha, Natasha and Nikita from Lviv. They drove all the way through the evening/night to arrive at 4:30 in the morning. We enjoyed a good day together around Rzhyshchiv after a sleep in.

CAMP 120 – It’s not too far away now and there are a lot of small tasks to accomplish between now and July. We expect to host about 100 people on an island. I have to get my boat in the water and up and running and sort out transport, and water and firewood. More important is the spiritual aspect of camp. Please pray for this. I have been talking with people about our desires and there is a keenness for real growth and a deepening of relationships with God and with each other.

A SHORT BREAK

On Thursday this week, Gaven and I are heading to Poland for 5 days. I’ve been hanging out for some time off. We are going to hire a car and visit Krakow, Zakopane and Wroclaw. I’m looking forward to this break.

MY HOUSE

My whipper snipper broke down last week. It was second hand when I got it so I wondered how long it would last. The weeds are thriving. I have had some lovely flowers outside my front door and when the grass is cut it looks nice. There is so much beauty around us. It’s good to stop and notice and enjoy it. My chickens are also growing really well – now I’m ready for them to start laying.

Igor moved in with me about 3 weeks ago. He is great to have around the house and just a good friend to live with. It also means there have been a lot more late nights with people over at my place recently.

KYIV NOTES

I have been to Kyiv a lot lately. It’s been a blessing to be able to use Jon and Ruth’s apartment there. I was able to meet up with a few friends this last weekend, help another friend move furniture to a new apartment and had a game of cricket. I was at a church meeting in Kyiv on Sunday morning and they shared about a car accident that had happened the day before. They have been taking teams to outlying villages to run special events for kids from orphanages. They had a nasty accident and the minivan rolled a couple of times. Two of the girls are in hospital with rather bad injuries – very badly broken arms. God has already strengthened this team and given them even more passion to continue this work. Pray for healing for Dasha and Katya.

WHAT YA READIN’?

Boy oh boy would you believe that I’m still reading “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy. I have just had very little reading time lately. Maybe I can finish it on the trip to Poland. I have been reading aa devotional at school with some really challenging thoughts by Amy Carmichael. I may blog some of these separately, but I encourage you to read anything by her. She is very real, hard hitting and thought-provoking.

PRAYER AND PRAISE

English Kids Festival

UTSIM staff - more teachers

Alosha, Natasha and Nikita

Guys who came paintballing

Good time off in Poland

Dasha and Katya in hospital

THANKS

To Amanda who makes these monthly updates and Tim who does all the technological support required. Thanks also guys for praying for what God is doing in and around me.

Love Jono

Keep Looking Up

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