Just a quick note: our time in the Carpathians was wondergful! A real restful time and amazing time of fellowship with our Fimiam (Ukraine church) brother and sisters. It was great to hear about their vision for ministry in Lutsk and heart for reaching their people with the hope of Jesus Christ. They have such an up-hill battle because of the tight grip the Orthodox church has on the people of Ukraine. Anything outside the tight boundaries of the Orthodox church is viewed with suspect because of all the superstitions placed on their church. For instance, the people of Lutsk have been told that Fimiam engages in child sacrifice and they drink human blood! This is straight out of early church Christianity when the Romans thought THEY were doing the same thing! Crazy! Somehow in the midst of this God has cultivated a vibrant community and strong ministry. I am excited to track the progress of God’s advancing kingdom through this community.

The next few days is Christmas time for Ukraine, so John and I will be participating in their festivities. Friday I am meeting with a few young leaders to talk about ministry in Ukraine. Saturday I am preaching at the Fimiam youth service on Jesus the Prince of Peace, which will be fun! We are also visiting and teaching at a prision sometime in there and have some other meetings.

Our time here is quickly coming to an end. I am so greatful for this opportunity and have been greatly blessedd. My eyes have been open to some things regarding ministry in the US, too, which has been unexpected. Over all, this trip his been wildly ‘successful’ and can’t wait to see how it ends!

-jeremy