| Ukraine Teaching Ministry Updates |
New -- Home Again -- Saturday evening, December 12. The return trip though Germany and back to the US went well. Other than feeling a little "out of it" from jetlag, I'm doing well and giving thanks that the whole teaching ministry experience went so well. In His grace, God said "yes" to your prayers for me and Bob in our teaching, and for the students in their learning. I hope the students studied and that they all did well on their final exams, which they took on Friday morning before returning to their homes for the New Year's and Christmas season. I took a number of pictures, and look forward to sharing some of them when I give a report sometime in the not too distant future. Pastor Sparks Past Updates This update comes to you on Thursday afternoon, December 10. Bob and I completed teaching and reviewing our materials on Jeremiah (Bob) and Christology (myself). The students have the rest of the afternoon/evening to prepare for the exams, which they will take tomorrow morning. I will get a ride to the airport about 1:30 PM tomorrow, with a departure time scheduled for 4 PM. My itenerary will take me to Munich and then to Frankfurt, Germany, where I will have to spend the night before departing on Saturday morning at about 8 AM. Then it's a flight to Chicago, and finally to Omaha. I'll be glad to get home, DV, though with God's blessing this entire teaching ministry has been a wonderful experience. It's with a twinge of sadness that Bob and I said farewell to the students, after just getting to know them. We trust that God will be with them and that they will use what they have learned from the Scriptures to bless many others. So.... I guess this will be my last update from Ukraine. Once again, thanks for your interest, and especially for your prayers. Hello again. It's Tuesday evening, December 8. Just two more days of teaching to finish my lectures on Christology. Thanks for your prayers. God is giving stamina, not only to Bob and me as we teach, but to our translator Yana, and to the students as they learn. Monday evening I went with about 7 of our students to an ice skating rink here in Donetsk. Bob wasn't quite feeling up to it, so he passed on the invitation. After 20 years (or so) of non-ice skating, I summoned the courage to give it a try. Figured I should, since I'm from Minnesota now, and as you all know, everyone in Minnesota can ice skate. It was slow going at first, but I managed to get around the rink a few times -- without falling! It was an enjoyable time of fellowship! One of the students shared with us that her younger brother (age 16) will be having surgery for a brain tumor sometime next week. So we've been praying for this situation, and other needs too that the students have shared. I'll try to share another update on Thursday evening. After that, I'll have to pack my bags and begin the journey home, DV, on Friday. Thanks again for your interest, and especially for your prayers. For me, here in Donetsk, it's Sunday evening, December 6. Most of you are just now getting ready for AM church. May you have a blessed day of rest and worship. Bob and I attended a church, of which the pastor is one of my former students. He remembered not only that I was one of his instructors, but that I had taught a course on Reformed Worship. The service began with a lot of singing and prayers -- which were mostly not understood by Bob and myself. Bob had been asked to preach, and he brought a message from Joshua 2 -- with help from a translator. At the end of the service, the pastor asked Bob and me if we would pray with any members who wanted prayer for illness or other difficulties. So (again with help from translators) we prayed individually with about a dozen people. As you can imagine, it was very meaningful that they would share with us -- strangers -- such concerns. So now we prepare for our last few days of teaching. Now that our time here is more than half complete, it seems that we have very little opportunity left to present our lectures, etc. Once again, thank you for your prayers. The experience thus for has been a blessing, and we trust that God will continue to lead us in the coming week. Bob and I will teach Monday through Thursday. We will have take an hour or so for a time of worship, probably on Wednesday afternoon. Lord willing, I'll bring a message that I recently shared with you -- on "Faith in Focus". Also, the students have invited us to join them ice skating Monday evening. I haven't skated for about 20 years. I suspect I'll do more watching than skating! This update comes to you on Friday evening, December 5, at about 7:30 PM here in Donetsk. That means it's 11:30 AM for you in Luverne (and elsewhere in Central Time Zone). Anyway, Bob and I were able to complete our first of two weeks of teaching. We had a shorter day to allow time for students to travel to their homes to be with their families for the weekend. In class I reviewed the week's lectures, pointing out which things will be on the exam. The students were very attentive at that point -- I guess they want to do well on the exam! This afternoon Bob and I went for a walk through downtown Donetsk. We sat for a while in the back of a large Orthodox church, watching people come and go, as they prayed before some of the many icons in the church. In class I had just pointed out that since we have Jesus, the perfect Mediator, we need not pray to saints or angels, but to the Father in Jesus' name. Bob and I will do some work tomorrow morning to finalize our lecture plans for next week. Then we'll probably take another walk through downtown, and to an open air art bazaar. There is a TV in the apartment, but only one channel has any English on it. It's a German station that has English programming for an hour about every third hour. That's about all I have for an update today. Thank you for your interest, and especially for your prayers for us as we teach, and for the students as they listen and learn. As I write this it's Wednesday evening, December 2. Bob and I are more than halfway through the first week of teaching. Classes are going well. As the students and I become more used to each other we are more comfortable interacting. I'm getting good questions -- not easy ones, but good ones. Some of the students are deep thinkers, and it comes across in our discussions. Thank you again for your prayers, not only for me and Bob, but especially for the students. The weather has been relatively mild (high temps. in the 40's F.) but there is a chill in the air this evening. I think I'll need my winter coat the next few days. Good thing I'm from MN and not afraid of winter! Pastor Sparks It's Monday evening, Nov. 30. Bob and I got in our first day of teaching. Thanks for your prayers. We had a good day getting acquainted with the students, as well as introducing ourselves and the materials we'll be teaching. There are about 24 students, of varying ages and backgrounds. A couple are already pastors; others are believers who want to know more of the Christian faith. All seem eager to learn. Bob and I are both feeling well, having adjusted to the 8 hour time difference. Please keep lifting us up in prayer. Hello from Donetsk, Ukraine. I'm thankful that my flights went well, and that I arrived without incident. I met up with my teaching partner, Bob Beasley, in Munich. We were on the same flight to Donetsk. I will attend church tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM (the church rents space, so the service time is opposite of more normal worship times) and then prepare for the first day of teaching, DV, Monday morning. Thank you for your prayers! Back to Luverne CRC Home Page |