Two weeks today I will be in London!! So I decided it was high time I let you know what’s happening now, what’s been happening, and what I expect to happen in the next few months.

THANKS AND SORRY
Firstly thank you to so many people who have been praying for me. Last September I decided to take a “year off” (see this article and this article).
Thank you for praying for me. This has been a most rewarding time so far.
But I do say sorry to the many people who I had planned to visit and didn’t. And I also say sorry to those who would love to have heard about God’s work in Ukraine but didn’t. I would like to have shared but that will have to wait til next time.

NEXT STEP

Plans

Plans can be dangerous. Plans can be good too. God declares that He knows the plans he has for us – to give us a future and a hope. I have a lot of things already planned out for the next few months. But recently I have been challenged to wake up every day and say, “Jesus, like a shepherd, lead me.” But if I am locked into my plans made in my humanity, then I may miss out on the better plans God has for me – made in divinity. I am wanting to learn more and more each day to live the divine life instead of the human life. It means that life is about God and not about me. It means that my mind will and emotions must come under God’s guidance. It means that I do not live out of my own strength.

FEELINGS

Martin Luther said, “Feelings come and feelings go, feelings are deceiving. I place my faith on the Word of God, nought else is worth believing.”
Right now I sit in my room trying to write this long overdue update. My throat hurts, my head is spinning, the house is a mess, Ruth and Jon are entertaining three guests, someone brought me coffee, someone else brought me cake, I’m thinking about another friend in another situation etc etc. Needless to say today my feelings are topsy turvy. I usually consider myself to be emotionally stable. But sometimes it’s good to be reminded that if I stand in my own strength I can only be as strong as man. If I allow myself to be so weak that I can only stand in God’s strength, then my standing is sure and my strength unlimited.

It has been far too long since I have written – let me share with you some of the highlights of the last few weeks.

ROMA
Roma is a cousin of one of the Alyoshas in our church. He lives in Kyiv but loves to spend his holidays here in Rzhyshchiv. He came on camp with us and just last week started talking to Sergei about his desire to repent and follow Jesus. On Sunday morning, he came to Daniel and said, “I’m ready to repent”. Praise God!! And now please pray for Roma, for his growth in God and for his future – he may live in Kyiv or come to Rzhyshchiv to study.

CAMP 120
Wow!! What an amazing time 83 of us had on an island in the middle of the Dnipr River. We lived together in community and had some awesome times with challenge from God’s word and sharing of testimonies. We cooked and ate together (sometimes nice food) and we played a lot of volleyball and swam a lot. God’s presence was obvious at camp – thanks to everyone who prayed.

It shouldn't have to be this difficult
How often do you say the above statement to yourself about something? Lately I have been saying it about my water situation. My pump has been a problem for a while now and for the last two weeks has just stopped working. So I have no water. Then it started raining – and I have water! But not coming out the taps, coming through the ceiling. I have discovered two leaks, one in the bathroom and one in the guest room, which need repairing. Actually Katya was sleeping in the guestroom when one of the leaks was discovered! And I am wanting to say “it shouldn’t be this difficult”. I am believing that God is trying to teach me to be content in all situations. A lesson I was more willing to learn when all was smooth sailing.

Water Crisis
Australia is in drought. Water levels are at all time lows. High restrictions are in place (a good excuse not to wash the car). For some it’s a political problem, for some it’s a spiritual problem. For others it’s an environmental problem. But the fact remains, we need water to live here on earth.

I have just returned home after a week away to find that I have no water. To be more correct – I have water in the well but the pump is not getting it to my house. Another job for me in a crazy busy week.

I think about the drought in Australia. The amount of water on planet earth has not diminished. Just its availability to us has. The amount of water in my well is the same – but I cannot access it.

God’s grace is sufficient for us. But how often do we access His grace? Are we keeping all the pipelines open and clean and flowing with His grace and goodness? Or do we turn off the tap by not reading God’s Word and ignoring the Holy Spirit? Or do we allow material things to block the pipes, or sin in our lives to corrode them?

Escalators
The Kyiv Metro system has some very long escalators. I like waving to all the people going the other way and calling out “hello” or “smile”! Most people try to stare straight ahead, but some will smile or wave back, and the other day someone called out “Jono!” Kyiv is a small place!!

Why do we do the things we do? What things are important in life? I have been thinking along these lines lately.

Knowing God – this is what we are created for
Grace and Mercy – these gifts from God are how we can Know Him
Good Deeds – Knowing God and Grace and Mercy will cause us to do these

Your home work is to read the book of Titus (in the Bible) and think about these three things. I welcome an email giving me your thoughts – or a short comment on the website for all to read.

Rural Ukraine Foreign Language Services
Vision:
To bring glory to God using the avenue of language teaching, focusing on small towns and rural Ukraine.

Generosity
Paul said to Timothy, “Tell the rich people to do good, to be rich in doing good deeds, to be generous and ready to share.” (1 Timothy 6:18)I’ve been recently thinking about money and stewardship. I’ve already posted one series of thoughts and questions on the website. The exact ‘how to’ of Christian stewardship is interesting for me, as many Christians have conflicting ideas. But something that God has clearly shown me is that it is never bad stewardship to be generous. Generosity is a characteristic of God. He generously gives mercy from judgement and grace to save us. He generously gave us Jesus to accomplish this salvation. He generously gives us the Holy Spirit to help us live according to His will. He generously gives His children good gifts. The scriptures are full of verses telling us that God loves the poor and needy, and commands us to care for them.

WHAT IS A HOLIDAY?

Going somewhere away from home
Not going to work or school
Eating more than usual
Staying up late and sleeping in
Playing more games
Watching more TV
Spending more money than usual
More time with friends and loved ones
Maybe the above statements are true for you. They often are for me. Sometimes I fear there is a lot of self indulgence in a holiday.
My current ‘holiday’ is quite a long one and so I am also working for a part of it. I was keen to be back in the classroom teaching as well as it being a good way to pay for the holiday.
But I’m concerned that while on holiday, time with God gets pushed aside for one of the above self indulgences. Please pray that I will return to Ukraine not only refreshed from a time away but having grown even closer to my Lord Jesus.
See my website for a couple of previous posts about what has been happening here.

LONDON

Back in Australia, this is often referred to as the ‘silly season’.

There is the pressure of Christmas shopping (so much money spent it’s got to be sinful!).

There is an end of year break up for every imaginable group.

A BBQ to attend, the beach to visit, long days, balmy evenings, test matches, carol services, holidays to organise, family coming to stay, far too much food to be bought, prepared and consumed.

Although there are some traditions which I miss, I’m glad for the easy pace of life here at this time of year. New Year’s Eve is celebrated in a big way, but the winter helps keep the surrounding weeks rather low key. The days are very short. The sun is rising after 7:30am and setting before 4pm.

DOLLS

You may find yourself in the middle of your ‘silly season’ and not knowing what to buy for Christmas presents. Consider Ukrainian dolls. Click here to see photos and prices and email me today so your dolls can arrive before Christmas.

PLANS