Ministry in Makarovo
We traveled to Makarovo (95 miles north) on Thursday and settled into our three host homes. This was a wonderful experience for all of us. The homes are simple...no running water. Wood heat in brick wall stoves kept everyone cozy. Our hosts provided breakfasts then for lunch and dinner we went to different home. They fed us like kings and we hardly had a square inch of free space on their small tables. There was one in door shower in one of the homes which was just installed. The others had to take outdoor showers in freezing weather. Interesting! 
The men worked on installing a wood stove furnace system which we helped purchase. The first day we made a floor out of sand and old bricks in the furnace room and then moved the furnace in (heavy). Then several of us went to work fashioning duct work out of sheet metal. With duct tape and pop rivets we got it together and all connected in a week. By the end of the week we had a chimney built and an asbestos pipe hoisted in place. The team also installed tongue and groove flooring in two of the three upstairs class room. Dave was amazed to see the natural insulation that they had put in earlier made of straw and mud. It works. We also were able to mud and tape most of the upstairs sheetrock seams. All of this will make the church an attractive and "warm" place for people to come to worship and for evangelistic medical clinics which are held here every few weeks.
The girls held day camp for two days (Sort of like VBS). We were able to advertise in the school. About 40 kids showed up early when they heard it was going to happen. Most were from unbelieving families outside the church. Some aspects of the children's camp were held outside (see below). One of the kids got into trouble for coming. The mother walked in and threatened to punish her when she got home in front of our group, then proceeded to let here stay. One drunk father forbid his child from coming again also.
The girls also held and English Club in the local public school. Three of the teachers in the school are from the church so that helped. We toured it also.
Friday we traveled to the village of Valentinovka to have dinner with a family and see the area. This is a possible area for a Bible study to start and for a medical clinic.
Saturday Mike and Rachel and the team girls held a youth meeting in the church with games, pizza and teaching. It was a lot of fun and a good group came.
Sunday we held three two hour services Ukrainian style. I held a communion service in Makarovo and both Norm and I preached, Dave gave a testimony and the girls sang. We had a quick but big dinner at the Paley home then headed to another village. In the afternoon we held services in the new church in Sahanskoy where Styopa and Tanya live. Meanwhile the girls held a Sunday School type class in a small two room house in the village of Nikamarovka. Here kids show up almost daily to visit with the grandmother who lives here who is very ministry oriented and has been reaching out to these children for six years. We returned to Makarovo for an evening service with several seminars we held.
Monday we we worked on the building and then the church held a going away party for us with sandwiches, cookies, candy and tea. We showed slides of our church and what God has been doing at Discovery. This was the first time they have seen a PowerPoint slide presentation.
Tuesday we packed out bags, finished work on the chimney, did some counseling and met at the church to say good bye. The team had become so attached to our hosts that many of us shed tears on leaving. Most of the church came to say goodbye and sang us a song about fellowship as our van drove off. It was a wonderful and touching experience. We returned to Odessa to rest, get cleaned up and head for Moldova.
Today, Wednesday Nov. 15, we depart for the country of Moldova by bus. Pray for us as we travel there and minister with Vasiliy Kaletnik through Sunday. We have to travel across two boarder check points and through an unrecognized communistic country which can delay us today Sunday night we will board an overnight (14 hour) train to Kiev and eventually return home.
Pastor Mark
The men worked on installing a wood stove furnace system which we helped purchase. The first day we made a floor out of sand and old bricks in the furnace room and then moved the furnace in (heavy). Then several of us went to work fashioning duct work out of sheet metal. With duct tape and pop rivets we got it together and all connected in a week. By the end of the week we had a chimney built and an asbestos pipe hoisted in place. The team also installed tongue and groove flooring in two of the three upstairs class room. Dave was amazed to see the natural insulation that they had put in earlier made of straw and mud. It works. We also were able to mud and tape most of the upstairs sheetrock seams. All of this will make the church an attractive and "warm" place for people to come to worship and for evangelistic medical clinics which are held here every few weeks.
The girls held day camp for two days (Sort of like VBS). We were able to advertise in the school. About 40 kids showed up early when they heard it was going to happen. Most were from unbelieving families outside the church. Some aspects of the children's camp were held outside (see below). One of the kids got into trouble for coming. The mother walked in and threatened to punish her when she got home in front of our group, then proceeded to let here stay. One drunk father forbid his child from coming again also.
The girls also held and English Club in the local public school. Three of the teachers in the school are from the church so that helped. We toured it also.
Friday we traveled to the village of Valentinovka to have dinner with a family and see the area. This is a possible area for a Bible study to start and for a medical clinic.
Saturday Mike and Rachel and the team girls held a youth meeting in the church with games, pizza and teaching. It was a lot of fun and a good group came.
Sunday we held three two hour services Ukrainian style. I held a communion service in Makarovo and both Norm and I preached, Dave gave a testimony and the girls sang. We had a quick but big dinner at the Paley home then headed to another village. In the afternoon we held services in the new church in Sahanskoy where Styopa and Tanya live. Meanwhile the girls held a Sunday School type class in a small two room house in the village of Nikamarovka. Here kids show up almost daily to visit with the grandmother who lives here who is very ministry oriented and has been reaching out to these children for six years. We returned to Makarovo for an evening service with several seminars we held.
Monday we we worked on the building and then the church held a going away party for us with sandwiches, cookies, candy and tea. We showed slides of our church and what God has been doing at Discovery. This was the first time they have seen a PowerPoint slide presentation.
Tuesday we packed out bags, finished work on the chimney, did some counseling and met at the church to say good bye. The team had become so attached to our hosts that many of us shed tears on leaving. Most of the church came to say goodbye and sang us a song about fellowship as our van drove off. It was a wonderful and touching experience. We returned to Odessa to rest, get cleaned up and head for Moldova.
Today, Wednesday Nov. 15, we depart for the country of Moldova by bus. Pray for us as we travel there and minister with Vasiliy Kaletnik through Sunday. We have to travel across two boarder check points and through an unrecognized communistic country which can delay us today Sunday night we will board an overnight (14 hour) train to Kiev and eventually return home.
Pastor Mark
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