Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Good Byes

Good Byes are always sad to us and today was no exception.   Our friend Valodya showed up this morning with a lovely rose so I added it to the one that Nadia gave me the other day.  Then we had to say good bye. We went to breakfast and then had to say goodbye to Tanya and the girls who serve in the cafe. Then Olya showed up and we sat and visited until our driver showed up and then we had to say good bye. Then our driver Sasha showed up and drove us to Kosice and then we had to say good bye. Did I already say that we don't like to say goodbye?  But it is a very real part of life and so we want to live in such a way that our last words are filled with love and appreciation. Especially to this special group of young people who are facing a very real crisis in their home land.  So to our precious friends, we love you and appreciate you and have had such a wonderful time. Thank you for allowing us the privilege of speaking into your lives, thank you for applying the truths you have heard, thank you for passing those truths on to others.  You are amazing and we will miss you.

Much love,
PW and Sherry

Below are some pictures we wanted to share with you. If you double click on them they will open large enough to see the details.

 Flowers waiting for spring in the tower at Nehemiah Guest house
 Snowfall we had yesterday. This much snow is very unusual for Uzghorod. It was lovely.
 Roses given to us by Nadia and Valodya and Oxana.  The one on the right was todays gift. 
 A view from the window of Kosice.
Snow covered roof tops. Note the cathedral steeple in the background.  

Monday, February 2, 2015

UkraineFinal Day

Perfect end to a week of ministry.  Tonight we had the privilege of ministering at the Gypsy Church in Uzghorod pastored by Viktor.  We love this man of God and his Church. They are definitely being used of God to reach the Roma people and change the culture.  We have been doing marriage ministry at this Church since we originally came in 2001.  These people have suffered so many tragedies over the years and they stand strong in God.

Pw preached a powerfully anointed message on Marriage communication and practical application of the word.  Below are pictures of our final day of ministry.

Our precious Olya who does an excellent job of translating for us as well as just being a great friend. She is like family to us. 
 Pretty good turnout for a Monday night.  
 The other side of the Church.
 Pastor Viktor and Angela, Sherry and PW
 Two mighty men of God with true Shephards hearts
 Our dear friend Anglica.  
 Maria...this sister has lost a husband and a son since we have known her. She is a strong woman of faith in the Church. You should see her marked up bible.
Talking to family back home.

Please pray for us as we begin our 3 day trip  home tomorrow.  We have been so blessed by our time here in Ukraine. There has been a definite sense of calling and commission this time. We believe we have accomplished what God has sent us to do. Between ministry in the Church there has been much follow up mentoring done with those we have worked with over the years plus many hours of one on one counseling with those who are hurting. Praise God for His grace and mercy which is new every morning.  

Much love, 
PW and Sherry

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Ukraine Day 4

Wow today was amazing.  We ministered at the New Testament Church in Uzghorod today.  The Church was packed and the worship incredibly anointed.  The presence of the Lord was palatable.  PW preached a powerful sermon titled The Living God.  It ended with the people shouting and applauding the Lord for His amazing gift of life and salvation.

On the way out of the service a woman stopped me, Sherry,  and said the Lord had impressed her to pray for her knees and she did not know why and would it be ok....Is the pope Catholic?  Of course it was ok, I woke up in such pain in my knee I could hardly walk.. Long story short I AM  HEALED.  We have stood in faith now for 4 wks after having prayer multiple times.  To God be the glory. He is so faithful.

We had lunch with Pastor Volodya and Lilliana. They took us to a place that serves only Blinchkies.. Those are thin pancakes with any kind of filling you can imagine. The place is called YUM YUM.  Very appropriate name. After a wonderful time of fellowship with them, we headed back to our room for a nap so we would be fresh for tonight's meeting.

The seminar tonight was so sweet.  We met in the cafe at the Church and the ladies had put lovely arrangements on the tables and had lit candles and had soft music playing. Our topic was Restoring Romance to Marriage.  This particular meeting was for Believers with unbelieving spouses.   We have been praying all week that the unbelieving spouses would come and sure enough every table was filled and they were all very attentive. We laughed a lot and PW presented the gospel half way through in such a wonderful way, you could have heard a pin drop. No one walked out so we took that as a good sign.  We had asked Oxana to take pictures so there are tons of them below for you to enjoy.

Today was a great way to end our time at New Testament Church.. Tomorrow we will do a seminar for the gypsy Church.  Please continue to pray for us.
Much love,
PW and Sherry

 If this turned out it is a video of the fun worship to a Jewish dance
 Pastor Volodya playing his saxophone. He is quite good and also is an excellent artist.
 The Ukranians love to worship
 This is PW and Edik who was one of our students at the Nehemiah Bible School 13 years ago
 Pastor Volodya and Pastor Wayne
 Lilliana and her two daughters at the Yum Yum 
 Interesting tree art along the street in Uzghorod
 Just before our seminar tonight









Talking about the Crazy Cycle with Wayne and Valodya our translator and friend
The paintings on the walls in these pictures were all painted by Pastor Volodya.  
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