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HOPE 4 KYIV #031 ---- 5/23/05
#1 · May 23, 2005, 1:07 pm
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
HOPE 4 KYIVNumber 031May 24, 2005The In-Pact Prayer Newsletter ofBob and Jo Ann TolliverMissionaries to Kiev, Ukraine
Dear Friends, Family, Intercessors, and In-Pact Partners:
Greetings from beautiful, sunny Kiev. Today is probably the hottest day we've had thus far since last Summer ---- projected to be close to 90 degrees, most unusual for this time of year. Perhaps nature is making up for all the cool days we had in early May. The flowers this Spring have been indescribable ---- Chestnut trees laden with cone-shaped clusters of white and deep pink blossoms pointing skyward, Peonies loaded with blooms in all kinds of colors, Lilac trees standing strong with more colors than a rainbow, Cherry trees and Flowering Crabapples dotting parks and lining streets ---- it's really an awesome sight. Someday we want to create a photo album just of the flowers, parks, and countryside which we enjoy.
Two Important Matters:
Before we go any further, please note these two items ----
+ Someone who has our e-mail address in their address book has a nasty virus that is sending virus-laden e-mails to my pobox.com mailbox. Fortunately, our pobox.com filtering system and anti-virus program stops them all, but our pobox.com service is getting 30 to 40 of these letters per day, usually characterized by addresses or subject lines in the German language. May I urge you, as an ongoing precaution, to spend the money to have good anti-virus program, and take the time to be sure your computer is checked often ---- at least once a day.
+ A believer friend who does extensive humanitarian work in Ukraine recently wrote to us about an urgent need that we feel merits passing on to you. He comes to Ukraine regularly as a Fulbright Scholar to teach at several universities. Over the years he has personally helped numerous professionals such as newspaper editors, doctors, etc. get on their feet, and has helped a number of individuals and families financially. Today he is asking for some assistance in locating a good ultrasound machine that could be donated to a hospital in L'viv (western Ukraine). This hospital treats over 10,000 people a year for infectious diseases, many of whom are children with things such as cholera, whooping cough, AIDS, and hepatitis. Here is part of his letter. If you can give him some leads, we'd be grateful.
---------------------
. . . . If you know of any hospital or clinic that is upgrading its ultrasound machine, and might be willing to donate the old one to my doctor friend, will you please let me know? Or, if you have any other idea about how to get an ultrasound donation, please let me know that, too. I will be returning stateside in three weeks, so I can pursue any leads I get fairly quickly.
The hospital's current ultrasound machine once belonged to the U.S. Army. When the Army sold it at auction 15 years ago, a Canadian doctor bought it. He used it for three or four years, then donated it to the Lviv hospital. The machine's parts are simply wearing out. It is barely working now, and it is one of the few diagnostic tools the hospital has.
Anyway, if any of you have any leads on a used replacement machine, let me know.
You can reach our friend directly via e-mail at japanbuff@yahoo.com. Just tell him we asked you to write. When he's in Kiev, he attends and supports International Church faithfully.
What's Been Happening:
Since our last letter, . . .
In Ministry . . .
+ The "Pray At The Gates" city-wide prayer walk was a huge success with a number of churches participating. It is impossible to get an accurate, but, based on reports, we estimate that at least 200 people prayed that day. In addition, we got reports from individuals and churches in America who used the brand new web page to do a Virtual Prayer Walk", following the same routes the rest of us physically followed. Some churches in Kiev asked if they could pray at another time because of scheduling conflicts; May 1st was Orthodox Easter and many churches had other plans already made.
+ The English program is undergoing some further re-evaluation and modification. We generally believe it needs to return to a more evangelistic and Bible centered focus, and are trying to analyze how that can be done. We currently have only two classes meeting, Beginner and University, each followed by an optional Bible study. Bob is still teaching Genesis, but is nearing an end. The program will take a break for several weeks sometime in mid-Summer, and will resume in September. Our Russian Bible study teacher, Carol, did return to America last week; one of our Ukrainian ladies is temporarily teaching the class until the Summer break.
+ As a result of Bob's teaching the "city-reaching" course at St. James last month, there is a strong possibility that two or three young adults may come to help us at IBC. In addition, one of our "Timothy's" who had gone to Belgium for seminary will complete his graduate program and is praying about coming back with his fiancé to help us in our work at the church.
+ Bob continues meeting with the young pastors of the Spanish church every Monday afternoon, and then he and Jo Ann meet Wednesday evenings twice a month with the Ukrainian groups of young men and young women respectively. These continue being moments of joy as we watch their eager eyes and listen to their probing questions. They are the leaders of the future.
Personally . . .
+ We both are feeling better physically and emotionally, although we still deal with frequent aches and pains. We're getting much more exercise as we walk more now that the weather has improved. Bob's back is much better, and he's not having to spend quite as much time at the computer as last month . . . although he still has some significant graphics projects that need to be done.
+ Jo Ann is doing lots of baking, mostly for our mentoring groups and other friends. She just fixed Bob's favorite cookies Saturday, and accused Bob of going to the cookie jar and eating cookies too often. Bob assured her that he really doesn't visit the cookie jar very often . . . . he just eats lots of cookies at each visit. Hospitality is surely one of her special gifts.
+ Family-wise, things are basically going well.
Cindy's are as busy as ever in Colombia preparing for mission volunteer teams, getting Christopher ready for public school next Fall, taking care of Cocoa the puppy, and working with many of the local churches in the area. They now have a new missionary couple there to help them.
Debbie recently saw a new specialist who believes she may have had a mild stroke back when her physical difficulties began in 2000. We are astonished that it sometimes takes so long to diagnose such things. They have not totally ruled out MS, but her symptoms clearly are akin to a mild stroke. We are also very disappointed that Abby cannot come to visit us as we had hoped and planned. We had really looked forward to that.
Cheri's gang is fine except Roma injured his leg on the job in Texas when some heavy equipment rolled over it, Katya fell recently and hit her head resulting in a mild concussion, Anya is still anxious about her biological family (especially Roma), and Bob is going through a realignment process on his job which will probably be beneficial.
Deanna's are doing well. They had great success with the 40 Days of Purpose, with some people being saved and most of the home groups deciding to continue meeting. Michael was tested recently, and scored way above the norm, usually in the top 10% nationally. Deanna injured a hamstring over the week-end running a race with one of the men at the city-wide "LaGrange Days". She doesn't believe in being on the way to 41.
Major Developments Report:
+ As noted above, the "Pray At The Gates" project was a huge success. Our next major city-wide prayer walk will be Ukraine's Independence Day, August 24th.
+ The "Course Correction" about which we wrote has clarified still more, and we feel confident that the Lord is leading us to continue ministering in Kiev after our term with IMB concludes this Fall. So, sometime in October or November we will return to the States, terminate our link with IMB, raise our own support (a sizeable challenge), renew our visas, and return to Kiev to continue ministering here. The one big change will be that we'll be able to go back to the States two or three times a year as we need to. That is a major blessing; we have been able to get back only twice since January, 2003. Both times we faced the sadness of family deaths that took away some of the joy and relaxation time.
Our IMB supervisor graciously offered us some tempting opportunities to return to Kiev to work in some other assignments, many of which really fit into our areas of abilities. And, God used that invitation to make His plan still more clear to us. While those opportunities would have greatly expanded our horizons and field of ministry to include multiple countries, they would have taken us away from what we love most, and that's the city of Kiev and the need for evangelizing, church planting, and discipling new leaders in this international microcosm. So, we have chosen to decline that invitation, even though it is with much regret because we know just how seriously our supervisor needs help with his work.
+ The Church Relocation project is progressing, but recently ran into a major snag in that a few of our members formed some erroneous conclusions because they got ahead of the Pastoral Shepherding Team's process and created much confusion and opposition. The PST has subsequently had to deal with that, and the damage to the spirit of the church has been significant. However, reconciliation has already begun in the hearts of a few, and we know that God will use the experience to clarify His purposes, purify His people, and strengthen all who choose to follow Him in obedience.
After a few weeks of prayer and fasting, the PST will finally present their proposal. We believe the church will strongly support the recommendation to relocate to this amazing facility that has been made available to us for such an amazing arrangement. By providing funding for the completion of a section of a building, we would, in turn, have rent-free use on Sundays and two evenings a week for three and one-half years. During that time, current savings and designated income would accumulate to give us another 3.5 to 4.0 years of use before there was any significant cost to the church. That's seven to eight years! Imagine how the church could grow during that time if we had the right kind of facilities!
+ The "PrayKIEV" city-wide prayer movement has received a boost through the addition of the "Pray At The Gates" virtual prayer walk. There are also some networking connections that will further expand the international coverage of the movement, and an increasing number of local pastors and missionaries are becoming aware of the movement.
Prayer Requests:
+ Praise God for the restoration that is already beginning to take place. Pray that the relationship healings that need to take place between members will happen quickly, and that the Pastoral Shepherding Team will have an opportunity to present their recommendation to hearts that are open and sensitive to the Holy Spirit and to the purposes of God.
+ Praise God for clarification of His plan for our future. Pray that the two of us will not become offended and react in any unkind or unchristian manner. Pray that we will hold firm to what we know to be God's will for us personally, no matter what the church decides.
+ Praise God for the faithful and wise Pastoral Shepherding Team. Pray that they will remain strong and confident in the Lord, and that they will speak the truth in love, be unwavering in their walk with God, and will not retreat in the battle for the Kingdom.
+ Praise God for the preaching partnership that exists between Bob and Vitaly. Pray that they, along with other men, will hear the voice of the Lord for preaching assignments, and that their sermons will be simply what the Lord Himself wants, and free from reaction to adverse challenges..
+ Praise God that He is providing the resources needed for the relocation project, and for other related matters, and that He will complete the process.
+ Praise God for our intercessors. Pray that this team increases in number and in authoritative prayer power.
+ Praise God for our supervisor, "Mick", and his awesome friendship and leadership. Pray for him and his family as his field of responsibility has expanded from five to seven countries while his manpower has been dramatically reduced by attrition and resignations. He's in a really tough spot trying to do more with less.
+ Praise God for His faithfulness to keep us safe and healthy. Pray that the various needs of our family will be met. Pray especially for the girls and the various challenges they face.
+ Pray for the two of us as we anticipate a Summer filled with major decisions, necessary wise leadership, and two ministry-related trips to Poland (June) and Switzerland (July).
Finally:
Thank you again, dear friends, for your amazing support of prayer and encouragement. This is what sustains us day by day. We've said it before, but it remains true ---- you are a strategic and necessary part of this team. Thank you for being you. We are indeed "co-laborers together with Christ".
In His Bond, By His Grace, and For His Kingdom,
Bob and Jo Ann
The Tollivers, missionaries in Kiev, Ukraine
Our Websites:
ministry photo albums.
http://www.praykiev.org for information on our city-wide strategic prayer movement.
To receive "PrayKiev", a monthly (or more) prayer letter on a city-wide prayer
network, send a blank message to praykiev-subscribe@associate.com.
To reach the "PrayKIEV" website, go to http://www.praykiev.org.
For weekly spiritual encouragement and current stories of our work here,
subscribe to "Shoulder To Shoulder", a letter to "lift up hands that
For Back Issues of . . .
More Helpful Resources:
If you have a heart for God and would like to be encouraged in your life and ministry,
and you have a burden for your church, your community, and the world,
then you may want to receive . . .
http://www.answersingenesis.org/ ---- one of the best Creation websites I've ever seen.
http://frangipane.org ---- for excellent brief words of encouragement from
one of America's premier evangelical writers/thinkers.
http://www.jfloydministries.org ---- great website for dealing with hurts and wounds through forgiveness.
http://www.cnsnews.com for daily world news without a liberal, godless bias.
http://www.worldprayerteam.org ---- A world-wide network for praying together.
http://www.watchword.org ---- excellent resources on revival, prayer, missions.
http://www.waymakers.org ---- resources on prayer, evangelism, etc.
http://www.operationiraqcare.org ---- To adopt and pray for a special historic city in Iraq.
http://www.nppn.org ---- "National Pastors' Prayer Network" newsletter. ~
Usprayercenter@cs.com ---- U. S. World Prayer Center.
Other Great Resources Are:
http://www.sermonindex.net for access to over 3900 downloadable audio sermons. Exceptional site.
http://www.biblemaster.com for great Bible resources and downloads. Exceptional site.
http://www.e-sword.net (one of the best free download Bible study site I've ever seen!)
http://www.discipleshipdirect.com/ for new and fresh evangelism & discipleship materials.
http://welovegod.org/camsoc/ctt/"Christian Communications Toolkit" (using internet wisely)
To subscribe to CAMSOC update newsletter, go to grga@myrealbox.com.
Online Resources on Ukraine are . . . .
Secular News on Kiev and Ukraine will give you interesting views at . . .