Hope4Kyiv #065 ---- 3/28/08
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
Hope 4 Kyiv
Monthly Praise and Prayer Letter Of
Bob and Jo Ann Tolliver
Missionaries to Kiev, Ukraine
Number 065
March 28, 2008
Dear Friends, Family, and In-Pact Partners:
It seems impossible that it's time to send another report of God's goodness and provision to you, but here it is nearing the end of March, and we can't deny the fact. Our weather can't make up its mind whether it's Spring or still Winter. This past week we were out several days and experienced heavy snowfall while the sun was shining. To quote our Ukrainian friend, Luda, "It's a mystery."
Updates:
+ We are both doing better than the last month or two, especially Bob. We still experience unexplainable weariness from time to time, and Bob is still battling those spiritual and emotional attacks, but the Lord's grace has been more than sufficient. Through it all we're learning to pace ourselves on the one hand, and also spend more time with each other and in the Word . . . all indispensable at any time, much less during times of battle. We've also begun using some medical/nutritional product that has been helpful. Jo Ann has noticed an almost immediate result, and Bob is also sensing considerable improvement.
+ The trip to the leadership conference in Wittenberg, Germany, was a blessing beyond measure. We simply didn't realize how much we needed that, both spiritually, emotionally, and physically. The weather was good, fellowship was great, and the teaching and worship time was just what the doctor ordered. It seemed that almost every message was prescription made for us. And, it was a special treat to again visit the place where Martin Luther declared his "95 Theses" that launched the Protestant Reformation.
The Reformation actually began in St. Mary's Church on the left (first mentioned in 1180 A.D.). The building above left was built between 1412 and 1493 A.D. Luther preached there (see his pulpit), and the first Protestant Service was held there on December 25th, 1521. Our hotel was about a three-minute walk to the cobblestone streets of the old town where we enjoyed walking daily. Luther presented his "95 Theses" at the "Castle Church" down the street in 1517 A.D. (see picture on right). While it is debatable whether or not he actually nailed them to the door, that was the common practice for someone wishing to debate a matter. The original wooden doors were replaced by bronze doors in 1858 through the orders of King Frederick William IV of Prussia who wanted to preserve that moment in history.
+ Construction immediately behind us has slowed, and is currently halted although the work continues on the building further back. We don't know if it's because the contractors have not been paid, they've been sent to a project with higher priority, or they're taking an extended vacation . . . but it's been nearly two weeks since anything has happened in the hole behind us. Bob noticed earlier today that some men were running down into the hole and grabbing bricks and taking them through an emergency exit into a nearby building.
What's Been Happening:
+ We are thrilled over the response of some friends and relatives who undertook the air conditioning project for the apartment, as we noted last month. The units have been delivered and we will have them installed next month. We'll try to send a picture when installation is complete. Because of such generosity we were able to get two units, a small one for the master bedroom and a large one for the rest of the apartment. We are deeply grateful. This will make a great difference in terms of pollution, humidity, and noise as the construction work continues for at least a year or two.
+ Bob celebrated his 70th birthday just over a week ago on March 19th. It was a joy to celebrate that occasion with members of our Esther Fellowship and Timothy Fellowship groups. They are always such a delight to us, and having them around made Bob feel much younger . . . or maybe much older.
+ Our daughter, Cheri, and husband, Bob, have been visiting from Minnesota. You see them pictured above, back row, left. They arrived the day before Bob's 70th birthday, and brought greetings and a special gift of a webcam from family members. Hopefully we'll get it hooked up before long; at the moment the microphone on Jo Ann's computer doesn't work, so that has to be repaired.
+ Little by little we make little improvements to the internet service. The local ISP has been fairly consistent with decent high speed service, though there are still times when we can't get on. For some reason Bob's computer often loses connection and he has to either deactivate the external modem, disable and enable the LAN connection, refresh the settings, or even reboot the computer. Sometimes he'd just like to "boot" it. We've now set up Yahoo Messenger and have used it occasionally to make calls; however the connections are not always good, so we're probably going to install Skype since we've heard good reports on them. We also hope to get that webcam operating on Jo Ann's computer since if it were mounted on Bob's it would catch glare from the window behind him.
+ Our Esther Fellowship and Timothy Fellowship are continuing their transition to a more comprehensive Bible study for everyone, and currently meets primarily for prayer and fellowship. The new "Creation To Christ" Bible study will begin April 9th, and the EF and TF members will serve as discussion facilitators during the study. We continue meeting with the Spanish leadership each week, and Bob is continuing his study on Spiritual Warfare Sundays following morning worship services. Those two groups remain the most enthusiastic toward what we're currently doing.
+ We're hearing good reports from our Arabic ministry as "Mk" informs us of some exciting developments. The Spanish work continues growing and reaching more and more people from Latin American countries as well as several Middle East countries and Ukraine. The Chinese work is currently still small, and we're continuing to monitor it to see if it is something we need to continue. The Persian work recently held a "New Year" party in which over 20 attending were unbelievers. A number of them have gotten involved in our weekly Persian Bible study groups.
+ A few weeks ago "M" and wife, Ira, were just about ready to move into their brand new apartment when a phone call revealed to them that it had been flooded from broken pipes in the apartment above as well as broken pipes in their own apartment. It destroyed their newly laid parque floor and much of the wall paper, and damaged kitchen cabinets and new furniture. In addition, the water damaged apartments on the three floors directly beneath them. The builders will not stand behind their work, and the two of them have been hit with the costs of repairing the work in their apartment, but also in two apartments below them. Total cost will probably exceed $5,000. If you'd like to help with that, drop us a note and we'll tell you how.
+ The study on spiritual warfare that Bob is leading is experiencing growing enthusiasm with attendance in the teens. He'll probably lead it right up to our departure for the States in mid May. Currently his outline teaching syllabus has over 40 pages, and is growing. You may want a copy when he's finished. There's some pretty powerful stuff in it.
+ A matter of critical importance just now is the continuing rise in race-related attacks on people from other countries, especially those with darker skin. A special rally of Ukrainian nationalists was conducted last week-end. Within that umbrella group there are often skin heads and other extremists imbedded. After that rally those hostilities accelerated significantly. We've had some of our own international harassed or attacked over the months, but the problem has suddenly escalated. The government still claims it is not a major problem. We know otherwise. A few weeks ago an African man was beaten by three policemen who then took his billfold. The entire episode erupted when he asked them why they spoke to him in such a demeaning way. A few days ago another African man was killed by two teen-aged boys as he was closing his shop in the market. He was married and left a wife and two children.
+ Politically, Ukraine continues making great strides toward the west under the Prime Minister, Yulya Tymoshchenko. This is also causing more and more conflict between her and President Yushchenko. Even though inflation continues rising very fast (Kiev is the tenth most expensive city in the world in which to live), major economic and energy policies have been enacted, bank accounts lost during the 1992 change to democracy have been returned, and illegal imports of products have been greatly reduced. But, not everyone is happy with such changes. Some wish for the old days when things were good for only a select few.
+ Beginning April 9th we will begin hosting a special evangelistic Bible study similar to what we did for three years in the other church. Using New Tribes Mission's "Creation To Christ" Firm Foundations Bible study curriculum as a guide, we'll be taking the participants through a series of studies highlighting those events in the Old Testament when God revealed His unconditional love and His purpose of redemption for man. It is designed for both believers and unbelievers and treats the prophecy, coming, ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ in a way that most Christians have never fully seen. When we did a similar study in the other church, Bob's class averaged 40 to 60 people every week, 80% of them being unbelievers. We'll report updates in our next letter.
Prayer Requests:
+ Pray especially for the critical situation with assaults on foreigners in Kiev. Pray that God will use these situations to create a hunger and openness for the God who not only offers eternal life, but safety and peace in this life through the presence of Jesus Christ. Pray especially for our leaders, "M", "F", "Mk", "R", and "L" as they lead four of our ministries involving dark skinned foreigners. Pray that God will convict the perpetrators of their actions and the law enforcement people of their gross negligence.
+ Pray for the Pastoral Leadership team as we begin going through the SCP process in preparing for the future life and ministry of the church. Pray that God will provide His choices for replacements of the two men who will be leaving in June.
+ Pray for Cheri and Bob as they travel back to the States next Wednesday. Pray for enjoyable remaining days with us, and for safety in their travels.
+ Pray for the two of us as we prepare for our weekly teaching responsibilities, especially the Sunday spiritual warfare study and the upcoming "Creation To Christ" study to begin in two weeks.
+ Pray for the continuing process of transfer of leadership over the next months, that it will be smooth and according to God's purposes.
+ Pray for the two of us that we will continue improvement in our physical and emotional conditions, and that we'll never lose our vision or drive to love and minister to these awesome people.
+ Pray that our financial needs will continue to be met, and that we will see a monthly increase in the shortfall we've experienced the past six months.
+ Pray that in all things we will continue praising Him, serving Him, and ministering effectively to those God puts in our lives. Pray that we can always be people to whom others can come to receive unconditional love, total acceptance, and enthusiastic encouragement.
Finally:
We see ourselves not only as Christ's Official Ambassadors in a foreign land filled with foreigners, but also as your representatives doing through your encouragement and affirmation what you could otherwise not do. We pray that every victory you see here is one of which you are a part, that every burden we carry is one in which you share, and every trophy of God's grace has your name listed along with all the others responsible. Thanks for so faithfully being part of this ministry.
In His Bond, By His Grace, and For His Kingdom,
Bob and Jo Ann
The Tollivers,
Missionaries to Kiev
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