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HOPE4KYIV #012 ---- 9/30/03
#1 · October 1, 2003, 5:57 am
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
HOPE 4 KYIV
NUMBER 012
September 30, 2003
The In-Pact Prayer Newsletter of
Bob and Jo Ann Tolliver
Missionaries to Kiev, Ukraine
Dear Friends, Family, and "In-Pact" Prayer Partners:
Greetings from beautiful Kiev, now just entering the beginning stages of Fall. The weather is generally mild with highs only in the 80's, usually in the 70's, and often changing. Yesterday it was in the upper 80's; today it is to be in the 70's. Leaves are beginning to change colors, and short sleeves are being replaced by long sleeves and light jackets. And, just as there has been lots of weather activity, there has been much going on in our lives and ministry.
We know, we know! This is now October and our newsletter says September. We've been trying to write to you for over a week, but one interruption after another has kept us from it. Last month seemed to be one in which we moved from "crisis to crisis" instead of "faith to faith". So, here's the letter.
Important Changes:
1. When you write us, please always use lifeunlimited@pobox.com for Bob and grandma11@pobox.com for Jo Ann. Our imb.org addresses are no longer operative, so we will get no further mail through them. If you haven't made that change, please do so.
2. There is also a change in our web address. Please make this notation: http://www.reachukraine.org/kiev/team/tollivers.htm. The peopleteams.org site is no longer our host.
Events and Activities:
From Jo Ann ---- I find myself very busy these days as God has opened so many doors. Along with coordinating the English program at our church, and teaching one of the classes, I am now leading a group of women of various ages through a leadership class using the "Experiencing God" material. It is a personal joy to see them come with such eagerness to learn. Please pray with us as they seek to be used of God to share the truth of His Word with others.
This month I have enjoyed everything from entertaining guests in our home (yes, I really do cook!), shopping with some people in need of winter clothing and watching God provide for their needs, to speaking in a Business Class at one of the universities on Basic Principles of Management. It was a pleasure to show them how the principles given in God's word are still applicable today, and to challenge them to be the generation who makes a difference for the good in their society.
One of the great blessings for me has been the beautiful weather here. With all of our running lately we have been so grateful for the wonderful fall temperatures & the joy of being out of doors.
From Bob ---- After the emphasis during August on prayer, I took two Sundays to preach on joyful and generous giving of our time, finances, love, skills, etc. It was important for our people to know that the vision God has given us to be a praying and evangelizing church will require a much higher level of involvement. People responded very well, although I think many are still skeptical that planting seed really does increase the return.
After that brief series, I began a series last Sunday on the doctrine of salvation. This is a highly misunderstood concept even among believers, so I'm taking two to four weeks to help them understand what salvation is, why it is needed, how you receive it, and how you "keep" it. It has been a personal blessing just to be reminded of the greatness of God's grace as He forgave us, redeemed us, converted us, made us into new beings, made us just as if we'd never sinned, robed us in the righteousness of His son, set us apart from the world and for Himself, and is constantly delivering us, healing us, restoring us, and making us day by day into His likeness. The writer of Hebrews said it well when he asked, "how shall we escape if we neglect (ignore or are careless with) so great salvation?" (4:2)
Tuesday evening Bible study is becoming one of my personal highlights. Following our five ESL classes, I lead a one and one-half hour study in English with 40 to 50 adult students attending while [REMOVED], one of our missionaries, leads another study in Russian. While Ricky and Marina were here the English group began the Gospel of John, so I've continued that. Last night we finished our fourth week on chapter 15. Jesus' statement in verse 18 about the world hating us got the juices flowing, so I spent two weeks explaining why the world hates us (including the "Be,Have,Do" study many of you have heard), and then last night showed the Biblical progression that enables us to live as aliens (people who don't belong) and strangers (people nobody really knows) in a hostile world. It concluded with the last verse that introduces the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Next week, as we begin chapter 16 we'll take two to three weeks to teach on that subject.
Praises:
1. Our prayer ministry is off the ground although still in its infancy. When we presented our city map to the congregation two weeks ago, some 30 family units marked their location with pins and said they would begin praying for their neighborhoods. Our next step is to give them some "Observations" ideas that will help them get a sense of what their neighborhood is like, and how to begin praying over it.
2. God has opened the door for our church to work closely with CCX (Ukrainian version of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship) in student ministry. One of their main leaders in Kiev has joined our church. We will be providing manpower for some of their English clubs, movie nights, social events, and other activities, and we will be a "host" church to which they can direct students for worship, English classes, and nurturing. In turn they will provide us with training opportunities for our leaders and discipling opportunities for new believers, as well as refer students to our English and worship services.
3. The youth ministry has been revived as well, and the group continues to grow. They are planning several monthly events to serve as "feeders" into the weekly Sunday afternoon Bible study.
4. Your prayer for Jason were answered in wonderful fashion. He and Keri have BOTH been approved for November training and end-of-the-year arrival. We are so anxious for their arrival. Pray that our student ministry will be up and running by that time, and that they will be well received and can flow into the work smoothly and quickly.
5. Ricky and Marina are in Houston and doing wonderfully. After more prayer about their future, they feel they are to continue through the IMB process rather than try to come independently. So, we praise God for His leadership in giving them that assurance.
6. Good health. God often reminds us of the necessity of rest & "pacing" ourselves according to our physical limitations & He faithfully rewards us with the energy & stamina we need for each task. We still need to find some nights where we can get a good eight hours of sleep, and some "down time" each week. We've not been very successful at that, so, though healthy, we live tired most of the time.
7. Praise the Lord for the doors opening for Hispanic and Afrikaners work. Both are still in the formation stage and will take much leg work and leadership mentoring.
8. Praise the Lord we now have broadband internet service. Even though it is expensive, at least we stay on line. Now the only problem we have is an increase in virus traffic. But, it sure is nice to be able to get on line, stay on line, and have our stuff transmitted by the seconds or minutes, rather than the hour. In fact, we just got a call from our server telling us Jo Ann's computer is infected again and is trying to transmit viruses. We sometimes wonder if computers are worth all the trouble.
WE NEED YOU! Volunteerism:
With the doors of opportunity increasing and IMB resources becoming more limited, volunteers are needed here and in other countries now more than ever before. Our immediate area of work is not expected to receive any additional missionaries until at least a year from now (except for the two Journeymen we have coming in January). And yet, the opportunities and needs continue mounting. We must depend more and more on volunteers to come to our aid. Would you consider coming to help us?
A volunteer is any person or group who can spend anywhere from two weeks to a year or more, working with us in specific areas of ministry. Volunteers come at their own expense, including living expenses while here.
Right now our personal work has great need for teams to do . . . .
Medical, . . . Creative Arts, . . .Prayer Walking, . . . Optical medicine, . . . University ministry, . . . And more.
We need people who can work with . . . .
English as a second/foreign language, Spanish speaking refugees, Chinese speaking people, Gypsies, Hearing and Visually impaired, Leadership training, Evangelism training, Discipleship and mentoring training, Pastoral training, Administrative assistance, Strategic prayer ministry, Educators, Business professionals. All of this would be done in an English speaking setting OR with interpreters.
We are grateful to the Lord for three teams who will be coming to help us in special ways in the next nine months. But, we need more. . . . many more! So . . . . how about it????? Would you consider coming to help us? Even for a few weeks??? Individuals or teams, . . . Come and help us!
Upcoming Events:
In addition to our regular weekly schedule, we have the following items on the calendar. While you're praying for us, include these along with the requests below.
1. October 5 ---- Lord's Supper at church, and monthly IMB team worship service in the evening.
2. October 12 ---- meet with Afrikaners about a new ministry for them.
3. October 15 ---- meet with representatives from numerous "Great Commission" missionary agencies about how we can network together in reaching the city.
4. October 22 ---- Trip to Frankfurt Germany for European Baptist Convention (New Pastors' orientation 27th, Evangelism Conference 27th-28th, Annual Meeting 28th-30th)
5. October 30th ---- Kiev team annual prayer retreat near L'viv in western Ukraine (30th-2nd.
6. November 2nd ---- meet with believers on 2nd.
7. November 8th ---- Trip to Prague for new missionaries' orientation (8th-13th).
Prayer Requests:
1. Volunteers! Our need is great and our invitation above is genuine. We especially need individuals, couples, and small teams.
2. Please pray for our missionary friends, Matt and Zaida Cutler (and little son Luke), who have resigned and returned to the States -- that God will grant them grace and peace, and that very special doors of ministry will open for them quickly.
3. Pray for Jason and Keri as they prepare for Field Personnel Orientation in November -- that they find success in packing, wrapping things up, going through training, getting things in order, saying "good-bye" to friends and family.
4. Pray for Ricky and Marina as they continue settling into life in the States. In spite of personnel and budget limits, they still strongly feel they are to pursue the application process with the IMB. Pray that God will make a way for their return to help us.
5. Pray for our brand new Hispanic work as well as plans for a work with Afrikaners. Pray for Jesus, Carmen, and Tania along with Ukrainians Maria and Barbara as they try to initiate this work to Spanish speaking people. Pray for Daniel, Michael, and Jimmy as we meet with them on October 12 to discuss the Afrikani work. This will be a special challenge in that numerous countries and hundreds of languages are involved. Angola, for example, has over 80 languages. Fortunately, most speak Portuguese, so we will hope to use that at a base.
6. Pray about the various upcoming events we mentioned above. Bob preaches at the EBC annual meeting, and is responsible for all media acquisition, set-up, and operation at the prayer retreat.
7. Pray for Joel Ragains who is having some potentially serious eye problems. Pray for Bob and the return of significant back problems ---- worst in three years. Pray for all our missionaries. We all seem to have an unexplainable rash of physical battles . . . . some just nagging, some serious. There must be a reason.
8. Diablos and Kosmos are the names we've given the two guard dogs our next door neighbor has. We have been "charged" more than once by these Rottweiller (sp?)defenders. Pray that we can resolve this potentially dangerous problem. We'd love to make friends with the widow lady and the dogs that protect her. In all Bob's life, he's only found two dogs with which he could not become friends. Our greatest concern is for our increasing number of guests who come to our apartment for meetings and Bible studies.
Finally:
We've been reminded again just recently of those who encourage us so much through prayer, letters, and material ways. We learned recently of a couple significant gifts to the "Bob and Elaine Tolliver Memorial Missions Fund" which is used for missionary work in eastern Europe. Just today we heard from the Baptist Women of Arkansas who are sending us nearly 100 new English Bibles to replenish our depleting stock. Friends and family have sent us occasional care packages filled with wonderful surprises. A church in Virginia recently gave us five English copies of "Experiencing God" for Jo Ann's use with her leadership group.
So, we want to thank every single "In-Pact" prayer team member, and every other person who uphold us and encourage us in some way. We are serious when we say our work could not continue without people like you. Thank you, thank you, thank you . . . . again and again. We are so grateful.
In His Bond and For His Kingdom,
Bob and Jo Ann
IBC - Hope4Kyiv
Bob: lifeunlimited@pobox.com
Bob: lifeunlimited@pobox.com
For weekly spiritual encouragement and current updates on our work here,
subscribe to "Shoulder To Shoulder", a letter to "lift up hands that
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Secular News on Kiev and Ukraine will give you interesting views at . . .
Some More Good Sites:
http://www.uazone.net for general info on Ukraine and Kiev.
http://www.hope4cee.org for IMB work in central and eastern Europe. Links to 24 countries by clicking on the flags.
http://www.hope4cee.org/ceeprayer/kyivvwalk for another virtual prayer walk in our beloved city of Kiev.
http://www.peopleteams.org/ukrainians for good general and missionary information about Ukraine in general and the IMB people teams.
http://www.reachukraine.org for information about IMB work in east Central Ukraine (Dnipropetrovsk, etc.) including another related virtual prayer walk.