HOPE 4 KYIV
NUMBER 008
May 22, 2003
The In-Pact Prayer Newsletter of
Bob and Jo Ann Tolliver
Missionaries to Kiev, Ukraine
Dear Friends, Family, and In-Pact Partners:
We greet you on a beautiful sunny (and hot!) May day. This past month has been filled with victories secured and other victories yet to be won.
Springtime in Kiev: (with Jo Ann)
Kiev is known for its Spring season . . . . beautiful flowers, colorful foliage, inexpensive fresh fruits and vegetables, and holidays.
Pollution is still a big challenge. While we haven't had any serious allergy problems yet, we have been appalled at the unseen concentration of air pollution. Whenever we blow our noses or clean our ears, the residue is almost black. Makes us think maybe we're rotting away from the inside; but it's actually just accumulated air pollution. Wonder what our lungs are like???
One big feature of Kievian Springtime is all the holidays. Out of three wek-ends in April, we had three holidays. In May so far we've had three. this Saturday is "Kiev Day" throughout Ukraine. That means thousands come from villages and cities all across this vast nation and visit the sites, shop, and show off their home made delicacies and their hand made crafts. It will be a real zoo, but we're going to brave "Andrieski Put" (St. Andrew's Street) Saturday afternoon and see if we can take advantage of some of the special bargains.
When Springtime hits and the warm weather takes over, everyone heads to their "docha's" to plant potatoes first, then other garden vegetables and flowers. Under former Soviet system every person was provided a small plot of land for gardens. Most people built tiny houses, more like a garden shed, where they could store their tools, but also where they could "live" on week-ends when they tended garden. Move out the tools, move in the beds. Much like camping, but only in a non-mobile solid unit.
Then in August everyone goes on vacation. What a life! What a challenge to do ministry!
Update on Bob's Dad: (with Bob)
We are heading home, early this next week. We're hoping to leave Tuesday morning early and arrive home late that same day. Bob's Dad has deteriorated rapidly and is extremely weak. He is near the point of being bedridden. Even though he is still alert and conversational, his energy level is extremely low, and his physical strength is the worst it has been. When he speaks, he sounds very tired. So, after much prayer, discussion with family, and counsel from our leaders here in Kiev, we are all in agreement that we need to go home right away in order to spend some time with Dad before he is no longer able to communicate or be aware of our presence. This is something he has been anxious about as well. He and Bob talked Thursday night (Kiev time), and he was relieved to know we are coming. He feels the time is drawing near for his home going.
We don't know how soon the Lord will arrange Dad's coronation, but this will at least give us some time with him. If the coronation is delayed, then we will return to the States again at that time. The IMB leaders here have known all along before we ever moved here, as we have, that such a trip would probably be necessary during our first term, even though none of us expected it to be this soon. They have been absolutely wonderful in helping us work through all of this, encouraging, supporting, praying. We could not ask for better leaders; God has blessed us with some of the greatest co-workers and friends we could ever ask for. We praise Him for them.
We will keep you posted as to our situation in Missouri. We will be staying at our home in Collins with the same e-mail, address, and phone numbers as before. Most of our time will be spent at Dad's or at our house. We'd love to try to visit many of you, but you understand, of course, that it will be impossible. Our e-mail addresses will remain the same ----
lifeunlimited@pobox.com and
grandma11@pobox.com. Our phone number is still active there ---- 417-275-4854. Dad's number is 417-777-7996.
We do not plan any trips of any kind during these days, although we do plan to be in our home church and Dad's home church as often as we can. Hopefully, we can share some type of ministry report at that time. So, don't ask us to come see you, even though we'd love to. Come see us instead ---- AFTER you check first to see if we can handle it.
Our hope is that we will be there only two or three weeks and then return to Kiev, but that is all subject to Dad's situation. If he is deteriorating rapidly, we'll probably stay on for as much as a couple of months. We just don't know at this time. However, we'll continue writing to you each month.
Our confidence in this comes from three things: First, we know you and many others are praying for us. Second, we know that other missionaries have already walked this pathway and found God to be more than faithful. Finally, we know none of this catches God by surprise, and, as Dad so often says, God's grace is more than sufficient. We never need His grace ahead of time, but it's always there at the right time.
Update on our Team: (with Bob)
The Kiev team continues to fluxuate, and it continues to face many challenges.
[REMOVED] has jumped in with both feet. She's teaching a "Basics of the Bible" class in our SS, teaches advanced English in our ESL program, and teaches a simplified Bible study in Russian for the ESL students who don't understand English well yet in our Beginner English class. The McDowell's remain in Colorado where Rachell undergoes ongoing treatment for Lymphoma.
Alanna Berryman is back in the State indefinitely for further treatment; we have no idea when she will return. The Ford's return to Ukraine in just over a week and will relocate in Lviv in Western Ukraine. The Stockwell's return in early June to settle back into Kiev life. Matt Cutler's mother just had surgery for advanced uterin cancer. Dan Johnson's father is dealing with an aortic anurism that is quite serious. His mother is also having serious health problems. Joel Ragain's mother has advanced stages of ovarian cancer. Dan Upchurch's father is in the hospital in Cape Girardeau, MO with congestive heart failure.
The Hathcocks left today for Budapest where Kimberly will give birth to their third little girl. Darryl and the girls will return to Kiev to pack and move to Minsk, Belarus in a few weeks. The Potter's near their language completion and will move soon to Crimea.
Keri Albrecht and Jason Myers will not arrive until sometime after December because of the financial cutbacks the IMB had to impose. Ricky and Marina McCreight are in the final stages of completing their application; they hope to have a final answer on Marina's "green card" request within the next month or two. Gerri Parrish has decided to take a teaching role in Mexico City instead of Kiev. She'll do a great job. Randy and Helen Greer arrive in August. Joe Ragan is on track and will arrive in September.
We still desperately need someone to come as Strategic Prayer Coordinator for Kiev and the Kiev Oblast. We know this region cannot be reached without a major movement of prayer that siezes this city and surrounding area. The powers of darkness are too great for any type of work that is not undergirded by prayer, bathed in prayer, and empowered by anointed, authoritative, targeted, strategic praying. As Frank Laubach said years ago in his book, "Prayer is the Mightiest Force in the World", and we know that to be true. The greatest thing one can do in kingdom work is to join the Strategic Prayer Guard.
We also need people to help us in our student ministry which cannot wait until next January. Students here are already waiting. We are trying to fill the gap by putting together a team of local young adults to at least begin the initial phases of the work so we'll have something in place by September.
And, we need LOTS of volunteers to come and help us with prayer walking, work with children, village ministries, helping new church plants, and so forth. They can come at their own expense for from three weeks to several months. They can come individually or as teams.
Ukrainian Perks: (with Jo Ann)
There are advantages for westerners to live in eastern Europe. One is the economy that enables us to have services here which we would never have back home. For example, . . .
Public transportation is very inexpensive. We can ride one way anywhere in the city for one token. A token costs about 50 Kopecs. There are 100 Kopecs in a Hrivna (pronounced "greev-na" or "hkreev-na") It takes 5.3 Hrivna to make one U.S. dollar. So, it only costs us about 10 cents to ride the Metro. Since we use public transportation for almost everything (even though we now are the proud possessors of a Russian Lada), we buy a monthly pass for less than $5. We average four Metro
trips a day, so we save about two cents per ride over using tokens. This also saves us from having to stand in long lines to buy tokens.
Having custom picture frames or furniture pieces is also cheaper than in the U.S. We've had two paintings we bought in Cyprus framed at $7 each. We're
having another original painting, by the unbelieving wife of one of our members, framed.
Language tutors are very affordable & most consider themselves a part of our ministry to be able to equip us for service. While teachers work at $5 to $10 an hour, tutors charge around $2 per hour.
Medical doctor who will answer questions via telephone or e-mail. He will also come to our home for a $25 charge if we need him, or will accompany us to a clinic to translate for us during any tests, etc that are needed.
One of my favorite perks, though, is a housekeeper who comes once a week to clean our apartment. Valya is a sweet Christian lady who has been working for IMB missionaries for about 7 years here in Kiev. She baby-sits for some, is a professional seamstress & does beautiful work, serves as a "language partner" for others & is a terrific housekeeper. I would personally like to take her home to the states with me. She will also do shopping & run errands but we have chosen to do those so we have opportunity to speak Russian & be out in the community more.
All in all, we are making good use of your missions giving, and the Ukrainian economy makes your U.S. dollars go a long way. So, even though we are not paid a great deal, we do live comfortably with money to share with others.
What's Been Happening: (with Jo Ann)
Two weeks ago I began a new, Pre-Intermediate ESL class. The class is small, usually 4 or 5 women, & I really enjoy it. We use a Bible based curriculum. I get some interesting questions like, "where did the light come from before God created the sun & the moon?" & "how do you explain the difference between light & sun?" We allow each woman adequate time to practice pronunciation. It is so rewarding to see their eagerness to learn & their joy at simple accomplishments. Please pray that God's word will take root as well as the English lessons.
We happily welcomed back one of our IMB missionaries last month who is also helping with our ESL program. [REMOVED] also speaks Russian well enough to teach a simplified Bible study for those not able to understand the English Bible study offered after the classes.
Bob and Ricky continue the two other more advanced optional Bible studies, Ricky teaching the Gospel of John and Bob teaching "Considering Critical Questions" (a study on Christian apologetics). They alternate their teaching from week to week so both groups can be involved in both studies (at the pupils' request). Total attendance for the three classes averages 40 to 70 people a week. It is truly amazing.
We find that even those who profess a personal relationship with Christ seem to be babes & are hungry to know more of his Word. What a joy! Please continue to pray for those who attend our studies each week who call themselves "Christians" because many of them have grown up in the Orthodox faith but have no personal relationship with Christ.
Bob has been doing a series on Sundays called "Why Christ Came". He's done about six so far, and people are so thrilled to hear what the Word says about why Jesus came to die. Bob has found about 28 or 30 specific statements, many by Jesus Himself, that tell us Why Christ Came. If you'd like that list, e-mail us and we'll send it to you. Interest in Bob's preaching has led us to begin recording them. Almost every Sunday someone takes the tape home with them to use. Even though the English comprehension of the Ukrainian attendees is obviously limited, they always compliment him on the simple and systematic way in which he preaches. However, they do urge him to speak more slowly. We're thinking about printing his sermon outlines as handouts. It would be easy to do, and it would be easier for the people to follow along.
The Journeyman/girl we thought would be joining our "team" by this Fall to do student ministry are having to delay their coming until after the first of the year due to budget restraints. Our students/youth here are ready to go, so we are doing what we can to work with them & enable them to reach out to the students on their campuses.
Thursday evening we met with another group from our favorite class at St. James Bible College. What a joy it was to see them again. We had hoped to attend their graduation, but that seems very unlikely at this time, since it's scheduled for June 15th and we'll be gone.
We meet this Friday with our music team to begin training on Biblical worship and how to lead believers into the presence of the Lord through genuine worship. Our pianist and choir director, Lena, is a wonderful lady who plays violin and piano. She really knows how to select a good balance of music, but needs some help from others who haven't yet learned what true worship is. We hope to see that change soon.
Russian acquisition is coming very slowly for us but like our ESL students, we are thrilled at simple accomplishments.
Prayer Requests: (with Both of Us)
1. Dad. ---- It appears the Lord is getting his transfer and coronation ready. Pray that God will give him sustaining grace, peace, joy over the transfer, and contentment in the interim. Pray for all the family. As Dad continues slipping, it is possible not everyone will get to see him before he goes home to be with the Lord.
2. For us personally. ---- As an only child there is much to do . . . . funeral arrangements; contacting family and friends; packing, disbursing, and disposing of his possessions from his apartment; taking care of legal matters; helping our kids readjust. Though we don't know when this will all happen, whether it will all happen at once, or how long it will take, we realize it must all be done. Our joy over the prospects is greater than our sorrow, because we know what the final chapter contains, and we know Who wrote it. That still does not remove the pain.
3. Physical conditions. ---- we're not having as much lower back pain from a hard bed as we once were, but we do battle with hurting feet, some digestive discomfort, and general weariness. Neither of us are getting enough sleep. Between early morning sunlight and sounds on the one hand, and late night work in the office answering e-mails so you get yours in time, our sleeping time isn't very long. It's harder on Jo Ann than Bob because she usually wakes up sometime between 2:30 and 4:30 almost every day for no reason, and then can't get back to sleep for two or three hours.
4. Leadership at the church. ---- This is a crucial time right in the middle of continued momentum, and is not a good time (at least from our perspective) for us to be gone. Pray that God will use our circumstances to motivate the church members, especially the leadership, to step to the plate and hit some home runs. There is much to be done. Pray that momentum will not be lost. Pray that God will use these coming days to drive them to their knees before Him. Pray that they learn to become first class intercessors and warriors. Pray that they will rise to the top as great leaders and servants. Pray that their hearts will open in compassion to what they see around them.
5. Your missionaries. You can tell by our report above that we missionaries are not immune to all the normal struggles of life. However, imagine what you would go through if you were thousands of miles away from a family member in crisis, and you knew you could not get back to help. Many of these missionaries are career people who have committed themselves to staying where they are for the rest of their lives. We've had three of our compatriots who have told us they lost one or both of their parents while they were on the mission field. We have seen more clearly than ever just how important massive and fervent prayer support is to missionaries.
6. IMB financial needs which are keeping new missionaries from coming to the field. Pray that God will prompt people to give over and above to IMB causes. The opportunities have never been greater, nor the needs more severe.
Finally:
We thank you again for your friendship and prayer support. The harvest fields are already white, we don't have time to wait. And yet we are so short handed in laborers ---- some because they've never come in the first place, others because they've had to go home for emergencies, and others because they've had obstacles that have kept them from arriving. Then, there are, of course, those who are still wondering about what has been saying to them.
So, continue praying, giving, and coming. The "Macedonian Call" continues, and it includes Ukraine.
All our love, and
In His Bond and For His Kingdom,
Bob and Jo Ann
IBC - Hope4Kyiv
Bob:
lifeunlimited@pobox.com
For weekly spiritual encouragement and current updates on our work here, ask us to subscribe you to "Shoulder To Shoulder" letter (e-mail only).
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