Bridge Builders

Fresh Starts: Distracted by Worship

2012-01-23T05:49:00.000-08:00

Another great devotion written by our daughter. We pray it will encourage you today.

Fresh Starts: Distracted by Worship: Distract: to turn or draw from any object; to divert from any point, towards another point or toward various other objects; as, to distrac...

The Story of Hope

2012-01-13T08:45:00.000-08:00

This poem was written by our grandson.

What sorrows do our actions bring

When think us wise to everything?

When think us understanding all

But do not listen to the call:

The call to praise our worthy Lord;

The one who rules, the one who sores.

The great and wise, and gracious King,

The Creator of everything.

A face that turns us all undone,

Yet with a heart for everyone:

A heart that calls us all to come,

Abound in His redeeming love.

His grace is greatly needed since

Sin came forth at our own expense.

It happened when God made the earth;

The place that welcomed in sin’sbirth.

God made a man, and made him free

To do the will he wanted, but

He could not tend the earth alone

So God made him another one:

A woman that could help him care

For the earth which He did bare.

And like the man, God made her free

To do the will she wanted; she

Who listen to an evil snake

That told her it was wise to take

The fruit God told her not to eat,

But smelled so good and tasted sweet.

So she went willing into sin

And gave some to her husband then.

So bitter the fruit did taste

When they discovered their new fate.

For now they new both right and wrong.

But good was weak and evil strong.

And sin spread quickly through the world.

We brought it on our own accord.

Dooming all the human race

And sealing our eternal fate.

But on God’s hardened holy face

There was a strong redeeming grace.

He sent His Son, oh, Jesus Christ

As an eternal sacrifice.

For He was beaten, bruised, and killed

That purity in us be filled.

We hung His body on a cross

And hope now seemed completely lost.

For He was dead and in a tomb

And all was gone, and we were doomed.

But miracles could happen still,

And Satan could not have his will.

After three days of lying dead,

Jesus rose up once again!

Out of the grave, Jesus stepped,

For in His light He conquered death.

And rescued now we are from Hell;

That darkened land where Satan fell.

And you may step into the light

If you will only chose what’s right.

In hearing this I hope you know

That in our sin God loved us so.

In Jesus’ wounds our sins He bore,

That we may live forevermore.

That for the filthy human race

God sent His Son to show his grace!

Nathan Gorton

January, 2012

Fresh Starts: Smells Like...Holy Spirit

2012-01-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

Fresh Starts: Smells Like...Holy Spirit: When I am in the library reading magazines and I come across one of those fragrance strips that appeals to me…I look around all secretive-...

Iligan City's Typhoon Tragedy

2011-12-27T10:38:00.000-08:00

Please pray for our brothers and sisters in the Phillipines. This tragedy has left many homeless and grieving and it is a wonderful opportunity to share the gospel. Our friend Rannie Lamento and other pastors he is associated with are there showing Gods love in practical ways. They covet your prayers.
Thank you so much..

Merry Christmas

2011-12-21T06:17:00.000-08:00

Praise the Lord for His unfailing love and mercy. While we were living in darkness apart from Him, He chose to send His only Son to redeem us.
This Christmas and throughout the year, may you know and revel in His unselfish, unending, unfailing and perfect love.
With much love,
PW and Sherry, Adrian, Jen and the 5 Gorton kids

43 years of Marriage

2011-11-23T06:29:00.000-08:00

We praise the Lord for working in our lives all those years ago. The first 8 years were touch and go BUT GOD. He is so faithful. So as we celebrate today, we marvel at His workings in us and thank Him for restoring our marriage. We love each other more and more each day and find such joy in helping others who are struggling in their marriages. The secret? Live under the Lordship of Jesus, obey his word and apply it to your marriage. Amazing things happen when we are willing to die to self and live for HIM.

It’s (Past) Time for a Charismatic Reformation

2011-10-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

It’s (Past) Time for a Charismatic Reformation
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It’s (Past) Time for a Charismatic Reformation
Wednesday, 26 October 2011 09:05 AM EDT J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

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In honor of Reformation Day, here are some complaints I’m nailing on the Wittenberg door.
Long before there was an Occupy Wall Street, Martin Luther staged the most important protest in history. He was upset because Roman Catholic officials were promising people forgiveness or early escape from purgatory in exchange for money. So on October 31, 1517, Luther nailed a long list of complaints on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany.
Luther’s famous 95 theses were translated from Latin into German and spread abroad. Like a medieval Jeremiah, Luther dared to ask questions that had never been asked, and he challenged a pope who was supposedly infallible. Through this brave monk, the Holy Spirit sparked the Protestant Reformation and restored the doctrine of grace to a church that had become corrupt, religious, dysfunctional, political and spiritually dead.
“I’ve grown increasingly aware that the so-called ‘Spirit-filled’ church of today struggles with many of the same things the Catholic church faced in the 1500s. We don’t have ‘indulgences’—we have telethons. We don’t have popes—we have super-apostles.”
I am no Luther, but I’ve grown increasingly aware that the so-called “Spirit-filled” church of today struggles with many of the same things the Catholic church faced in the 1500s. We don’t have “indulgences”—we have telethons. We don’t have popes—we have super-apostles. We don’t support an untouchable priesthood—we throw our money at celebrity evangelists who own fleets of private jets.
In honor of Reformation Day, I’m offering my own list of needed reforms in our movement. And since I can’t hammer these on the Wittenberg door, I’ll post them online. Feel free to nail them everywhere.
1. Let’s reform our theology. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is God and He is holy. He is not an “it.” He is not a blob, a force, or an innate power. We must stop manipulating Him, commanding Him and throwing Him around.
2. Let’s return to the Bible. The Word of God is the foundation for the Christian experience. Any dramatic experience, no matter how spiritual it seems, must be tested by the Word and the Holy Spirit’s discernment. Visions, dreams, prophecies and encounters with angels must be in line with Scripture. If we don’t test them we could end up spreading deception.
3. It’s time for personal responsibility. We charismatics must stop blaming everything on demons. People are usually the problem.
4. Stop playing games. Spiritual warfare is a reality, but we are not going to win the world to Jesus just by shouting at demonic principalities. We must pray, preach and persevere to see ultimate victory.
5. Stop the foolishness. People who hit, slap or push others during prayer should be asked to sit down until they learn gentleness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
6. End all spiritual extortion now. Christian television ministries must cease and desist from all manipulative fundraising tactics. We must stop giving platforms to ministers who make outlandish claims of supernatural financial returns, especially when Scripture is twisted, deadlines are imposed and the poor are exploited.
7. No more Lone Rangers. Those who claim to be ministers of God—whether they are traveling evangelists, local pastors or heads of ministries—must be accountable to other leaders. Any who refuse to submit their lives to godly discipline should be corrected.
8. Expose the creeps. Churches should start doing background checks on traveling ministers. Preachers who have been hiding criminal records, lying about their past marriages, preying on women or refusing to pay child support should be exposed as charlatans and shunned if they do not repent.
9. Stop faking the anointing. God is God, and He does not need our “help” to manifest Himself. That means we don’t sprinkle glitter on ourselves to suggest God’s glory is with us, hide fake jewels on the floor to prove we are anointed or pull chicken feathers out of our sleeves to pretend angels are in the room. This is lying to the Holy Spirit.
10. Let’s return to purity. We’ve had enough scandals. The charismatic church must develop a system for the restoration of fallen ministers. Those who fall morally can be restored, but they must be willing to submit to a process of healing rather than rushing immediately back into the pulpit.
11. We need humility. Ministers who demand celebrity treatment, require lavish salaries, insist on titles or exhibit aloofness from others are guilty of spiritual pride.
12. No more big shots. Apostles are the bondslaves of Christ, and should be the most impeccable models of humility. True apostles do not wield top-down, hierarchical authority over the church. They serve the church from the bottom up as true servants.
13. Never promote gifts at the expense of character. Those who operate in prophecy, healing and miracles must also exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. And while we continue to encourage the gift of tongues, let’s make sure we don’t treat it like some kind of badge of superiority. The world needs to see our love, not our glossolalia.
14. Hold the prophets accountable. Those who refuse to take responsibility for inaccurate statements should not be given platforms. And “prophets” who live immoral lives don’t deserve a public voice.
15. Let’s make the main thing the main thing. The purpose of the Holy Spirit’s anointing is to empower us to reach others. We are at a crossroads today: Either we continue off-course, entertained by our charismatic sideshows, or we throw ourselves into evangelism, church planting, missions, discipleship, and compassionate ministry that helps the poor and fights injustice. Churches that embrace this New Reformation will focus on God’s priorities.

J. Lee Grady is contributing editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady. He expounds on these topics in his 2010 book The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale (Chosen).

Saying Good bye

2011-10-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

This is our home away from home when
we are in Ukraine.....Nehemiah Guest House
The service is superb, the staff is wonderful
and it always makes us sad to leave.

Wayne and Sherry with Tanya.
Tanya and her husband Vasiko are precious
friends who head up the ministry at Nehemiah
Ukraine. We have known Tanya for 11 years and
Vasiko for about 6. They make a great team.

We spent a day in Budapest on our way
home to rest. The city is beautiful and we took
a walking tour to see the area around our hotel.
The buildings are lovely and very old and there
are statues everywhere of those who lived there
and made a difference. The Danube River flows
through the middle of the city and divides it. One
side is Buda and the other Pest. That is where you get
the name.

I could not resist taking a picture of this
charming phone booth.

This is a square with a Roman flavor. The statues
are breathtaking and full of detail of charioteers
and others on horse back. It must be a memorial
of some sort, but it was not written in English and
we did not have a tour guide. The square was surrounded
by museums.

This is a sampling of the gorgeous old homes in
the city. They speak for themselves and one
can only imagine what the past residents were like.

We are always sad to leave our friends in Ukraine because they are very dear to us and we sense God's call on us to be there and strengthen families. This trip was no different. We were very busy with ministry each day and sense that there will be good fruit from our time in Ukraine.

The DVD's are almost totally completed. They were able to print 33 of sessions 1 and 2 and willl be finished soon. Thanks to Valodya and those who worked so hard on this project.

Thank you to all who prayed for us and who gave financially to make this trip possible. When we go, you go.
As much as we enjoy going, we love coming home even more to our family and our church. There is something about understanding the language and culture and eating familiar food. :>))))) Thanks Pastor Bill and Edie for the wonderful job you did taking care of CCF while we have been gone. You are a continued blessing and strength to us.

Grace and Peace
PW and Sherry

Church Picnic Ukranian Style

2011-10-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

Traditional Sack Races

A special Ukranian soup cooked from scratch
over an open fire with all fresh ingredients.
It was delicious.

Two sisters who are Pastors wives
Elizabeth from Uzghorod
Angela from Chop with her new baby.

Sherry in a contest to see who can peel a potato, chop an onion and a
pepper in small pieces and slice a loaf of bread the quickest. I won the first round and
then in the final run, I had to make a sandwich for PW and he had to eat
it. My competitors husband chewed faster so she won the contest and the
ribbon. It was great fun.

Two little kids who thought it was fun to
walk in a tent. They rolled it all over the place.

Dads enjoying their little ones

A friendly game of soccer between the men

A few songs before the message

PW preaching a short message on relationships.
He was very funny and everyone was laughing.
The congregation had been encouraged to invite
unsaved friends and there were quite a few in
attendance. He ended the message by presenting
the gospel and telling them what true love was in
the form of the cross. Note the megaphone the translator
is holding. She has a soft voice so they brought this
for her to use while translating.

PW and I with Natalie and Nikola
We ended our day by having dinner with
them at a local pizza shop.

Two more days and we will be home. We are so homesick at this stage and look forward to seeing our family and church family.
We want to thank Pastor Bill and Edie for holding down the fort and going above and beyond the call of duty this time in ministry to our church family. What you do does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. You are the best.

Blessings to you all as you worship tomorrow.
PW and Sherry

Thursday - Friday

2011-09-30T23:25:00.000-07:00

Thursday evening almost 100 people showed up for the
seminar on Love and Relationships. We are excited to report
that more than half of them were unsaved people. Not only
were they attentive, but PW was in fine form and made
them laugh often as he taught on these things. Many came up
afterward and had questions and said that it was a very helpful
seminar. Praise the Lord.

Here Wayne and I are standing in front
of the entrance to a park in the city. We have never been here
before and it is lovely. The entrance reminded us of a KOA campground.
Inside there were lots of beautiful trees overhanging a paved walk and
little log houses and a playground. Pastor Edik and Elizabeth had brought
us here after lunch for a little walk....3 miles.

About half way on our walk we came across this
field of yellow black eyed susans. It was breathtaking in person. I hope
you can get an idea of what it looked like. This field was running along side
the river and went on for acres. Double click the picture and it will enlarge.

This adorable little girl was dressed in a sweater to keep
her from catching cold. (mind you the temp was near 80) Her grandma
said it was her 1st birthday.

At the end of our walk we came to a cafe by the river
and Edik and Elizabeth treated us to a cold drink with ice. That is a new thing
here in Ukraine. We sat for over an hour and fellowshiped and just enjoyed
getting to know them better. Edik celebrated his 38th birthday on Thursday.

Friday night we once again went to the English school
to converse with the students who had lots of questions about our seminar.

Afterward several of them asked us to go to the cafe for more talk. So here

we are with them talking about relationships and marriage. We had a wonderful

time with them.

More Pictures

2011-09-29T03:32:00.000-07:00

Pastor Viktor from the Gypsy church
introducing PW and Sherry

The couple in the 3rd row are the ones
who came to share what God had done
in their marriage.

Wayne and our friend Valodya sharing
the word.

One of the gypsy grandmas
and her grand daughter - note
the smiles...This is common for
this lady because joy fills her heart.
Everytime we come here to this
church she is smiling from her eyes.

The English school that we attended last night
after the meeting. It was fun conversing with
these girls as they practiced their English
We played Apples to Apples with them as part
or our time together.

This is a wonderful Chocolate store that serves
fresh homemade chocolate and melt in your mouth
ice cream. The girl is Monica. We met her when she
was only 10 back in 2000. She is has grown into a
godly young woman who just wants to serve God with her life.
She is being persecuted for her faith at her university but
continues to stand strong for God. PTL...

Scroll down to the next post to see the pictures from Khust.
Blessings to you all,
PW and Sherry

Pictures from Khust

2011-09-29T01:51:00.000-07:00

Here we are with Nadia.
She has a ministry to Jewish Holocaust survivors

Some of the couples from Khust who attended
our seminar.

The main roads are like this in Khust.
They literally are crumbling and full of holes.
Nevvvvvvvvvvvver complain about US roads again.

Our host and hostess
Valerii and Marusa
Khust

Youth seminar Khust

The dentist and his family.
He is the man who fixed Sherry's jaw.

The girl on the far left was our translator Alyona.

Khust

2011-09-28T04:30:00.000-07:00

I had just finished working on a blog post, for almost an hour, with wonderful pictures and a complete update on our time in Khust, but when I went to post it I was told by one of those little boxes that the cookies had made an error and I could not post it. :>(((( I have no idea what that means. So here is our report without pictures. I will post pictures as soon as I get the problem fixed.

Monday we traveled by car for 2 hours on the worst roads you can imagine to the city of Khust. Bumpy ride took on a new meaning as we traveled. Khust is in the mountainous region nearby.
The church there surprised us by providing a beautiful hotel room that was paid in full. Pastor Vitaly and his wife are ministering in the states right now so we were met by his associate Valerii and his wife Murusa. I don't think I have spelled these names correctly but it is the best I can do at the moment. Anway, they provided wonderful hospitality for us while with them.

At dinner, my jaw was still hurting and I could not put my teeth together because they would not fit. So I was not able to eat much. I had mashed potatoes and soup while everyone else feasted on the best looking food I had seen so far this trip.

Monday evening we met with around 40 people (couples + singles) who came to the marriage seminar. PW taught on 10 values for a successful marriage and then we answered questions for 35 mins. The people are so teachable in this church and they love to ask questions. We answered quite a few during this time. We originally came to this church in 2001 when the pastor was only 20 and had just been there for one month. We come here once a year to minister. They always want teaching on the family.

What are the chances that a dentist would be sitting in the meeting? Well with God all things are possible. A dentist who specializes in jaw problems is a member of this church so when the service was over he took Sherry to his office and fixed her jaw. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. She was then given strict instructions not to eat anything that had to be chewed for the rest of the week so that the jaw could heal fully.

Tuesday was a full day with counseling from 11 - 5;30 and then the meeting with the youth at 7. There were almost 40 young people attending. We had a list of questions that they had sent us so we started by answering those questions and then had planned on a teaching. God had another plan. The kids kept passing papers up with more questions about relationships. The questions were pretty deep and showed a lot of thought. They wanted to know about dating, broken hearts, loss of purity, celibacy, divorce etc. We ended up spending the whole 2 hours answering these questions (over 20 in all) and finally the pastor had to tell them we did not have time for anymore. As we would take them to the word for the answers, these young people would lean forward to be sure to get every word. Many of them were taking notes. We saw a real hunger in them for truth. God is so good.

We left for Uzghorod around 9:40 and arrived back here at Nehemiah at 11:30. A long day for sure.

This morning we had an appt. with a gypsy lady whom we had counseled in March. At the time she had been seperated from her husband and wanted a divorce. Of course we counseled her against that and gave her some biblical solutions to reconcile with him. Well today she showed up with her husband because they wanted to share with us how much we had helped them. They are now working on their marriage and are very happy. Praise God, he gets all the glory. It is stories like this one that keep us coming back. Because this lady is in ministry and she will not use the principles we taught her to help others and it goes on and on.

Please continue to pray for us as we minister. Tonight we will be at another gypsy church doing a marriage and family teaching and then we will go to an English school to converse with the students so they can practice English.

Please pray for a lady in our church who had brain surgery yesterday to repair an aneurism.

With Love,
PW and Sherry

Sunday

2011-09-25T22:41:00.000-07:00

Worship team at City of Life Church
where we ministered on Sun. Morning
PW preached a marvelous message on
how to have an untroubled heart in
the days in which we live.

Some of the gypsy congregation where
we ministered this evening. They were
very attentive. PW preached to the men
about the husbands role as servant leader
and then the pastor asked Sherry to minister
the word to women who had unsaved husbands.
They have asked us to come again when we return
to Uzghorod.

Pastor Yuri Balog with us in front of
a beautiful square in old Uzghorod.
Ignore the sign growing out of Sherry's head. :>))))

This is a Russian orthodox church built by Russians
at the beginning of the last centruy. You can see how
beautifully maintained the grounds are in the picture
above.

Usually while ministering we do not get much opportunity to site see, but last night after service Pastor Yuri had us walk to his home (20 mins from church) to have dinner with his family. We took the scenic route and it was the first time we have seen this part of the city. It was really beautiful and pleasant. The river runs parallel to the park and is lined with trees whose branches hang low and make a canopy over the walkway.

All in all today was a wonderful day. We sensed God's anointing on us in both services and were warmly welcomed by both congregations. This morning at Pastor Ediks church it felt almost like home since we have ministered there so many times. Edik is a precious brother in his late 30's who had asked PW to mentor him a few years ago. So each time we come, he wants to spend time with us and he asks many questions then leans forward and really listens. Then when we return he reminds us of what was said the last visit. He is a young man with a big vision who is being drawn by the Lord to fast and pray for revival in his country.

On a personal note, Sherry is still in much pain with her jaw, thank you all to have prayed for her. So starting today she is going on a juice fast and will turn this latest physical attack into a fast for the Lord. Why not? Romans 8:28 and 29.

We leave this afternoon at 3 for the city of Khust for 2 days. Please pray for safety and anointing as we minister to the church. Tonight we will minister to the couples, tomorrow during the day they have scheduled some counseling appts. and then tomorrow night we will minister to the youth. They sent questions to us ahead of time from the youth. It is amazing at how deep the questions were, they are really looking for answers to some serious things. Then we will drive back to Uzghorod and arrive around midnight. Unless the church has gotten wireless since our last visit we will not be online until Wed and will post an update then.

P.S. We have gotten report that Pastor Bill is preaching really good. Can't wait to hear them when we get home. Thanks Brother for doing such a great job caring for the sheep while we are gone. WE could not do this without you and Edie standing beside us.

Grace and Peace,
PW and Sherry

Saturday

2011-09-24T22:51:00.000-07:00

Today started very early since we had to be at the Bible School by 9. One of the areas of warfare we have fought this trip is trouble sleeping. So when we have an early morning it is a battle just to wake up. BUT GOD always gives grace and we thank Him for that.
*
The class today was a teaching on Biblical Counseling. Because it was only 4 hours long it was basically an introduction and we will follow up on this teaching when we return in the future. The pastor has asked us to recommend books they can order on the subject so we are going to put them in contact with the Biblical Counseling Foundation in Odessa that our friend Joe Propri relates with. They should have all the materials in Russian. Psychology is very imbedded over here so there is a lot of work to be done to get Christians focused back on the sufficiency of scriptures.
*
We had a free afternoon which was nice. PW studied for the coming week and then did little odd repair jobs around the center here to help them. Sherry was able to do laundry and study also. Plus now that we have Skype we were able to see and talk to our family which is always the highlight of every day here.
*
The enemy has hit Sherry a few times with physical things. The fall down the stairs last week and then today her jaw popped out of place. Not only is this very painful, but she cannot open her mouth (no comments please) to chew food. Please pray it pops back in , it could be a rather long week without food...:>)) Of course the bright side is that the weight that was gained from all the wonderful pastries will definetly fall off.
*
We want to leave you with a few scriptures we have been meditating on over here.

1 John 2:6 The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
1 John2:9 The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.

A big problem in this part of the world is that when a brother or sister is offended with someone, they walk away and do not talk or try to work things out. This is a serious situation. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in the Lord to be willing to walk as Jesus walked and to reconcile with those who have hurt them. True revival will not come to any group of people as long as they walk in this kind of manner.

Blessings on your Lords day. We love you, PW and Sherry

2011-09-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

Pw and Mary Jill
Callery - Budapest

International Church
Budapest Hungary

Gypsy Pastor George
Elder Vicktor and wife Lisa
Good News Gypsy Church - Uzghorod Ukraine

Pastor George, Wife Gazelle
Son Pavil and Daughter Anita

Divorce Recovery Class
Uzghorod Ukraine

Parting is such sweet sorrow

2011-09-23T05:31:00.000-07:00

I know it is corney to quote Shakespeare on a Christian blog, but the quote seems to fit the parting with our students from this past week. Today was our final class and it went very well. After one week of sharing our lives we get very close to those we teach. There were some tears and precious testimonies of how the Lord touched their hearts this week and brought healing and freedom.

Yesterday Wayne taught on forgiveness and then we gave them the opportunity to repent and forgive. It is always one of the most precious times we have with our classes. The joy on the faces after they step out in obedience is wonderful. A lady who had attended our seminar in March came to give a testimony on how forgiving her ex husband has brought healing to her and her children. She shared how that simple act of obedience has freed her from her need for revenge and also her need of him. What a gift God gave us by allowing her to come to share.

Today our final class was on the Peace and Joy principle. So our students have left fully equipped to walk out what they have learned.

After lunch we went with our translator Olya to the gypsy pastors home for lunch. It was such a nice time of fellowship with his family. We will be speaking at his church on Sunday at 10 a.m. US time. Please pray for us as you begin services. This is the first time he has had anyone come in and speak on marriage issues. PW will be teaching on the husbands role which will definetly go against the gypsy culture of domination of the women. Afterward his wife has invited us to come to their home for a dinner consisting of the gypsy way of making cabbage rolls. :>))) Yes we are gaining weight in case you are wondering.

We still do not have wireless internet. Tomorrow is the word of the day each time we ask. That is the Ukranian way....:>))) On a more positive note, we do have a very comfortable mattress that is very much like our tempurpedic one at home. That is another gift from God to us on this trip.

This next week have filled up quickly with counseling appts. scheduled preaching and teaching times and dinner invitations. It is a great honor to be invited into a Ukranian home for a meal. We are always so blessed to share these special times with our brothers and sisters.

We will try to update again on Sunday or Monday. Meanwhile keep those prayers coming since we will be tired from all the ministry, plus on Monday and Tuesday we will be traveling by car 2 hours to the city of Khust for ministry.

We love and miss you and are getting very homesick for our family.

PW and Sherry

Divine Appts.

2011-09-21T09:37:00.000-07:00

So sorry that we did not post yesterday. The internet is giving us trouble and I had to wait to use the office computer.

Yesterday was a full day. Our time of ministry went well. Our class is small but all are definetly here by Gods appointment. Each one is hurting so badly and we have had many opportunities to do personal ministry and counsel with each one. Two of the ladies sit and just cry through the teachings. One lady told us that her pastor had told her that she was guilty of sin for not staying married to her husband who only lived with her for one month and then moved out for three years and fathered a child by someone else. Can you imagine? She has been living with this guilt and condemnation from his words. Today God gloriously set her free and the joy on her face was visible. Praise be His holy name. Pray for these people please.

Last night we had another divine appt. A local gypsy pastor came to talk to us and ask us to come to his church and minsiter on the family this Sunday. He said that in their culture that men are very controlling and women are expected to submit to everything and have no rights. He has been reading the bible and said he sees that things need to change and is asking for help. PTL again. We will also be joining he and his wife for lunch this friday at his home.

Today we taught on Loneliness and Depression in the morning and then this afternoon PW taught on Biblical Divorce and Remarriage. It was quite intensive and there were many questions afterward.

We hope to have our internet back tomorrow so we can post some pictures, but if not we will update without them and post pictures when we get home.

This morning Sherry fell down the stairs in our apartment. What a way to start a day. Not only did she cut her arm, but her already broken little toe was the target foot. :>)))))))

Please conitnue to pray for us as you think of us. The spiritual warfare is intense this time.

Love you all,

Pw and Sherry

2011-09-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

We ministered yesterday at the International Church in Budapest, at the invitation of Mary Jill Callery who is the lead elder in that church. Wayne spoke on 5 Ways to show God that you love Him and then tied it into the marriage relationship. I will post pictures tomorrow or the next day since the internet connection is not working except for in the office at Nehemiah and my pictures are on my computer. We enjoyed meeting and getting to know Mary Jill, her spirit is so precious and Sherry and she hit it off immediately since they are very much alike personality. We have been invited to return in the spring and do a seminar so will be praying about that for sure.

Thier is much spiritual warfare in the Ukraine and we would appreciate your prayers for us during our stay here. It is hard to concentrate and discern when one is battling so we really need to be able to spend quality time with the Lord to stay strong and be effective.

The seminar started tonight and Wayne taught on the reason Divorce hurts so much. It was a good time and the attendees seemed touched by what he taught. Tomorrow we will start dealing with the emotions that go along with divorce and give them biblical answers on how to deal with them and overcome. We will also meet with one of the ladies for counsel and then tomorrow night we are scheduled to meet with a group of gypsy couples and teach on marriage.

We covet your prayers while here. Thank you so much.

Blessings and love,

PW and Sherry

Saturday

2011-09-17T07:49:00.000-07:00

We have arrived safely in Budapest Hungary. The flights were wonderful, we were able to get exit row seats so PW had tons of room to stretch out. Seated across the aisle from us, there was a young mom with two children ages 1 and 2. They were flying to Frankfurt to join her husband who is in the Army. Anyway, the poor children were so tired and the mom was beside herself with exhaustion so Sherry got up and took the baby and rocked him to sleep and ended up with the little guy sleeping on her lap for 3 hours. The mom was then able to concentrate on her 2 year old who finally fell asleep so mom could get some much needed rest. It was such a joy to be able to minister to this mom.
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PW and I both wore tshirts, his says I Love My Wife and mine says I Love My Husband. We had so many people comment on them and it gave us many opportunities to witness to them as we shared our testimony. Thanks Harley for this ongoing gift.
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We are going to nap for awhile. Both of us are jet lagged and we want to be fresh for dinner with Mary Jill Callery, who is our hostess. She is taking us to dinner down by the river so we can see a bit of Budapest tonight.
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Please keep PW in prayer today as he prepares his message for tomorrow.
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Love and Blessings,
PW and Sherry

Jude 24-25

2011-09-15T15:36:00.000-07:00

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty , dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
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You would think that as often as we do this it would be easy, but it is getting harder and harder to leave our family and church each time. We are torn between two continents it seems. What a privilege it is to serve the Lord in this small way. With God nothing is ever boring.
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Thank you to each one of you for your prayers and your financial support. When we go, you go.
We will post as soon as we arrive.
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With Love,
PW and Sherry

Down to the Wire

2011-09-07T05:44:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to believe that we are only 9 days away from our journey to Ukraine. It makes the scripture that says Life is a Vapor come alive. I have been told that the older we get the more this is true, oh my.....
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We are happy to announce that our DVD over voice is totally done and will be ready for production in mass when we arrive. We are so excited. Please pray that God will use this tool to strengthen and renew marriages. God has so richly provided the finances to do this project. We will not charge for these DVDs other than the cost of production since we truly want them to be affordable. And in many cases they will be given away free to bless local churches. God is truly amazing. What a joy it is to serve Him and be apart of His kingdom work.
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PW's mom was able to come home last Wed. We were so tickled to have her back with us. So far she is doing really well with her navigation of her home and household activities. Please continue to pray for her total healing.
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Prayer requests: Safe travel, leg room for PW, safety and health for our family while we are gone, the anointing of God on our ministry times so lives are truly changed (the last thing we want to do is minister in our flesh), Pastor Bill and Edie as they oversee the work here at home, our CCF church family, and last but not least pray for the hearts of those we minister to that God would truly speak to them in the areas of their need. Thank you so much for being a part of this ministry, we could not do it without you.

With Love,
PW and Sherry

Mission Possible

2011-08-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

Would you like to go on a mission trip without leaving home? Well it is possible for you to do just that. Our friend Pastor Rannie from the Philippines has invited us to do a skype Marriage Conference for 25 Pastors and their wives in October. Here is where you can help be apart of this Mission. The custom in their country is to feed the attendees 3 meals per day. Our conference will last 3 days which is 150 meals per day. The total cost for food will be around $2000. Since we do not have that much money laying around, after much prayer, we sensed the Lord showing us to offer you the opportunity to help provide. If each of you reading this would send $1 or more toward this project the need would be met. If you sense your spirit jumping and saying yes that is what I am to do, please send your offering to Chardon Christian Fellowship, 401 South Hambden St. , Chardon, Ohio 44024. 100% of the money received will go directly toward this ministry. Just mark the envelope Philippine Project.
Thank you so very much for prayerfully considering this need.
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We are very excited about our upcoming trip next month to Ukraine. We leave on Sept. 16 and return Oct. 4. The money has been provided for the trip expenses plus the money we needed for the DVD project came in. As I type the Ukrainian brothers are making the over voice copies so we can bring them home with us for production and distribute them by Christmas. One of our translator friends is coming to visit in Oct. and we will hopefully be able to send them back with her to give to the local pastors in Uzghorod. Please pray for us as we prepare to go. We will be doing another Divorce Recovery Seminar, we will also teach at a Bible School both weekends and then the second week we will be ministering in local churches and counseling. The Lord has opened many doors and we are honored to be a part of what He is doing in families in these countries.
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Finally please pray for PW's mom. She fell and broke her hip and pelvis 3 weeks ago and is in rehab. We hope to have her home by Thanksgiving but meanwhile she needs prayer for healing. She has osteoporosis and is a slow healer when it comes to her bones.
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Blessings to you all,
PW and Sherry

Thirsty

2011-07-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

The other night I woke up in the middle of the night, my tongue was so dry it actually hurt. The Lord brought Psalm 42: 1-2 to my mind. Listen to what it says: As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God?

So the question for us all is, how thirsty are you?

Blessings,
Sherry

2011-07-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

There are times in all of our lives when we go through times when it is harder to trust God than at others. But we have learned that if we obey Him and trust Him, He really will make your paths straight. You may not get your answer immediately, you may not understand what is going on, you may be trying to figure out a solution, but God tells us not to lean on our own understanding. That dear brothers and sisters is Faith. So if you happen to be going through one of those times now, run to your Father who loves you and share your heart with Him. He will never let you down.

With much love,
PW and Sherry

Why a Strong Christian Marriage is Important

2011-06-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

Ephesians 5:31 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. verse 32 THIS MYSTERY IS GREAT;BUT I AM SPEAKING WITH REFERENCE TO CHRIST AND THE CHURCH.

Have you ever thought about your marriage as a witness? Most of us don't. But God has chosen to use marriage as a picture to the world of His relationship to His church. That is why husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave his own life for her. And that is why wives are to be subject to their own husbands as to the Lord and to respect them.

The next time you are tempted to complain or to retaliate in a moment of disagreement, remember what you do is a witness either for good or for bad to your children and to others who may be watching including your lost neighbors . Which do you want it to be?

In our own marriage we learned this the hard way. In our early years we each lived for ourselves, we argued constantly and were generally miserable humans giving a horrible picture of what a loving marriage should be like. After we repented and gave our lives to Christ and began to live our lives in a way that brought Him honor, our marriage became a beautiful picture of Christs love for the church to those who were watching us. We are secure in each others love and enjoy each waking moment with each other. Does that mean we never have a bad day? Of course not, but we can tell you from experience that Gods way is the best. It is never too late to make a fresh start.

Be Holy for I am Holy

2011-05-11T11:38:00.001-07:00

The Father never gives us a command that He has not equipped us to be able to keep. In this season of history it is most important for believers to desire and strive for holiness. His spirit in us will empower us to live in a manner that brings glory to Him. Tuck yourself away with your Father and let him work in you both to do and to will of His good pleasure.

Moms

2011-05-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

a.Wayne and his mom, yes she really did give birth to this giant.
b. Sherry's mom
c. Sherry and Jen

We are blessed to still have our moms in our lives and we thank
God daily for each one of them.
Moms, we love you very much. HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

Pitching a Tent Looking for a City

2011-05-04T05:35:00.000-07:00

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance;and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11: 8-10

This passage of scripture always inspires us to press on to obey God no matter what. Abraham stepped out in faith living as an alien in this world while looking for the city of God. Do you feel that way? Are you realizing that this world is not your home? Unfortunately so often we as modern day Christians live as though this world is our final destiny, spending our time, money and energy on carnal pleasures and material posessions. Brothers and sisters, we exhort you, be about kingdom work , there is much to be done, many to be reached with the life giving message of the gospel. As you go about your daily life, expend your energy and giftings on what will last and look for that city whose maker is God. You won't be disappointed.

HE IS RISEN

2011-04-23T18:00:00.001-07:00

He is Risen. Those precious words hold the power for our Christian Faith. For without the resurrection our faith would be in vain. As you celebrate His Victory over death this Resurrection Sunday, remember that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now resides in us as believers so that we can live victoriously in this world and bring glory to His name. Now that is something to celebrate.
Happy Resurrection Sunday,
PW and Sherry

Cornerstone Church Womens Retreat

2011-04-17T18:09:00.000-07:00

I, Sherry, had the privilege of speaking at a women's retreat for the Cornerstone Church in Mayfield Ohio on April 8 -9. The whole theme of the retreat was a Closer Walk With Jesus. I took our daughter Jen and we had a fun girl's weekend.

The women of this church had such sweet spirits and were very receptive to the messages that the Lord gave me. The first session was all about The Things That Hinder Us from our walk. I taught from Heb. 12:1 - 2 about laying aside every hindrance. The second session was about the importance of having an Exposed Heart before the Lord, we investigated what the bible had to say about our hearts and then talked about the different Heart attitudes necessary for a closer walk. The final session was A Devoted Life and we talked about what this looks like in the believers life.

I think the Lord ministered to each of us as we allowed him to search our hearts. I for one know it was a memorable weekend for my daughter and me.

The Heart

2011-04-01T06:04:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 4:23 says: "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life."

Luke 6:45 says: "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart."

Is it any wonder why the Psalmist prayed in Psalm 139:23 -24, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way,"?

We want to challenge you this week to LISTEN to what is coming out of your mouth, and then you will KNOW what is really in your heart. And when you find out then run to your Father and pray Psalm 51:10, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Because remember, from the heart flow the issues of life.

Blessings, PW and Sherry

Home

2011-03-24T06:01:00.000-07:00

The staff at Nehemiah.

Precious friends, Vasiko, Tanya with Sherry and Pw. The second picture is a view of Kosice Slovakia from our hotel window. It is a lovely city and the second largest in Slovakia.

We arrived home safely on Wed. Morning at 1:30 a.m. We had been traveling almost 30 hours by that time and were so tired.
As you can imagine we slept really good. Yesterday was spent catching up on things at home. Sherry went to help Jen and some friends from church set up for a tea she is doing for a homeschool group she is part of and that was fun. And she got to see those precious grandchildren. We miss our family so much while we are away. Our moms are both doing good and for that we thank the Lord also. We want to thank everyone who helped our moms while we were away. Your ministry to them was huge. Our future trips will be in the fall or April so they do not have to deal with heavy snowfall and being stranded.

Our next trip is scheduled in late Sept. and we will once again do the Divorce Recovery Seminar and the bible school. Our topic at the school this time will be Biblical Counseling and the Sufficiency of Scriptures to Solve Problems and give direction for life.

Thanks for praying, for writing and for tracking our trips. We will continue to post our life here over the months to come. Meanwhile, keep your eyes on the prize of the high calling we have in Christ Jesus. It is such and honor to serve Him.

With Love,
PW and Sherry

The Lords Day

2011-03-20T23:44:00.000-07:00

Today was wonderful. PW preached an excellent message to the Fathers and exhorted them to be a prophetic people. He took his sermon from Malachi 4 where it says the hearts of the Fathers will turn to the children and childrens hearts to the Fathers in the last days. The men responded very well and almost all stood up to commit to being the kind of men God would have them to be. The service lasted until almost 2. It started at 11 with over an hour of worship, then Pastor Edik preached a short messge first then told PW to preach until 1:30.

We went to Chop again and preached at the church there. PW preached on the Differences between men and women. Then we had a short time of fellowship with the church since one lady had a birthday and had brought a cake to celebrate. So all in all it was a good day in the Lord.

We are getting ready to leave in a few minutes to go to Kosice for a day and will meet Sherry's second cousin Cody who is on mission in Kosice until April 1.

We are looking forward to being home and returning to our ministry and family. We miss everyone while we are gone. Our leaving here is bittersweet. We long to be home but miss the people here who have become so special to us.

Please pray for us as we travel all day on Tuesday.

Love, PW and Sherry

Saturday sightseeing

2011-03-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

These are pictures from the Castle and the surrounding area in Muchevo Ukraine.

A common sight in Eastern Europe a beggar on the street. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

We never get used to sights like these. She was just bones and so dirty you could not make out

her features. These beggars will sit outside churches hoping Christians will give them some help.

Nadia, Richard, Jacob and Anya sitting in the chair. We spent the evening with them and had a great time.

Anya always gets poppy seed rolls for Sherry and tonight was no exception. She sat and ate a whole plate full unashamedly. yummmmmmmmmmmmy

One more day of ministry. Please keep us in prayer. We are very tired after two weeks of intense teaching and counseling. Thanks.

Have a blessed Lords Day.

With love, PW and Sherry

Friday

2011-03-18T04:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the people from our class.

This is Angelica and her children Timothy and Esther. Her husband was a Pastor and left her for a woman in the church 2 years ago. She and the children are doing very good and healing nicely.

Here is Wayne teaching our friday class on the Process of Change

The class presented us with these two mugs as a thankyou gift. We will enjoy using them and will remember this class each time we use them.

Thursday

2011-03-18T04:30:00.000-07:00

Thursday Wayne taught on Forgiveness. Here you see Sherry wrapped up in the chords of bitterness and unforgiveness. The visual made a huge impact and many started to cry openly as we talked about what unforgiveness does to us. We ended this session with an ivitation to repent and to forgive those who hurt them. Without hesitation the attendees began to stand and weep without shame. We were so touched by what God was doing. Many left the room free from the bondage they had been living under. Praise the Lord.
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After our session, we met with one of the women and her children who were still hurting from the divorce in their family. It was a profitable time of helping them to see that they were making progress in their healing. The children especially talked very openly about the hurt they experienced from their father having left them
for another woman. At one point the mom said she felt like she was no longer worthy to be loved by a man, to which her son immediately said " you are worthy and you must not believe the lie that dad told you". God is so good, She needed to hear that from her son. We were all in tears by that point.
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The evening meeting at the church was well attended and Sherry taught on the challenges of living with an unsaved mate. This is a huge problem in this country and no one talks about it. As a result the pastor has decided to start a support group for these people so they can pray together and encourage one another.
They now see their spouses and homes as a mission field.

This is the Nehemiah Guest House where we stay and do our seminars.We highly reccomend this ministry and Guest House. It is clean, cheerful and modern and affordable. If you want to experience Ukranian hospitality this is the place to stay.

Here are some more pictures of Uzghorod.

Wednesday

2011-03-17T00:42:00.000-07:00

Our evening translator Valya

PW and Sherry

Our Divorce Recovery Seminar

PW is not proposing, he is demonstrating to parents how to get onto a childs level to speak to them when instruction is needed.

This week has been very busy and yesterday was no exception. Our day starts very early, we get up between 6 - 7 and begin teaching at 9 and finish at 3. Then we counsel for several hours and then leave at 6 for the church to do our evening seminar.

Yesterday PW taught on Divorce and Remarriage. It was a very serious teaching and the class was very attentive. One man said that for the first time in his life he had a revelation of how serious marriage was and that he was shaking in his skin and decided it was better not to marry. I remember a story in the bible where the disciples said the same thing after Jesus taught on the subject. The class was very interactive, they laughed, cried and asked questions. Sherry followed up with a teaching on New Relationships, It was fun to see the relief on the faces of those who realized that it was ok for them to think of a future relationship. Warnings were given to be sure they were healed up before they even considered a new relationsip, also that they wait for God to bring someone to them not for them to go looking for someone. Once again excellent questions were aksed. All in all it was a great day.

After the teachings, the couple who came because of a difficult marriage asked for counseling so we met with them.We are so humbled by the privlege God has given us to participate in the work of healing the lives of the people.

We have 4 more days of this crazy schedule so please continue to pray for us.We hear that things are going wonderfully at our Church in Chardon. Pastor Bill and Edie are doing a great job. Thanks guys.

Have a blessed day.

With love, PW and Sherry

Day 1 Divorce Recovery Seminar

2011-03-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

Here is PW teaching our class the foundational truth of Purpose of Marriage so that they have an understanding of why divorce hurts so badly.

Here are the first names of our class, please pray for them by name: Takhir, Viktor, Mikola, Irina, Viktor and Svetlana ( married couple having trouble), Yura, Sasha, Olga, Lydia, Yana, Angelica, Alexandra.

The rest of the class will arrive tomorrow. Please keep them all in prayer and ask the Lord to touch each one in the way they need to be touched. He knows the deepest needs. We will share stories with you as we become aware of them. We also start the parenting seminar tomorrow evening at 6:30

As you can see we are quite busy and add to the schedule the couseling appointments that are being made. Do you think we might need a vacation when we are done? :>))))

Blessings to you all.

With love,

PW and Sherry

This and That

2011-03-14T08:05:00.000-07:00

This darling little guy is the new son of our friends Richard and Anya who serve here in Uzghorod full time. His name is Jacob and he is teaching his mommy and daddy that sleep deprivation is survivable.

Yesterday for lunch we were brought this little pot of what we thought was a pot pie. In reality it is a yummy bean and vegetable soup with a phillo dough top that is baked in the oven. It is hungarian and I have no idea what it is called. but believe me when I say it was delicous and filling and fun to eat. Jen, I thought you could make something similar with those little crocks that Nanna gave you.
Hint Hint.

PRAYER NEED

We start our seminar on Divorce Recovery in a little over an hour. We have 24 registered and to be honest, we are a bit nervous about this seminar. I believe the reason is because these precious people have traveled far to come and find answers to the pain they are experiencing. We know that only God can heal so we are asking for each of you to please pray for us daily this week as we minister to them. We will let you know how it went later tonight. Thanks.
Love, Pw and Sherry

2011-03-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

These are pictures from the town of Chop

This is the floor of the little church in Chop.
I thought you would find these interesting to look at. The country is one of many contrasts.
Notice the ornate Orthodox church above and the simplicity of the homes and apartments in
the area.

Sunday ministry

2011-03-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

This is the congregation of Town of Life church where PW
preached this morning. His topic was Process of change.
Testimonies were also given by those who had attended
the marriage seminar this past week.

This is the congregation in Chop. The whole room
was narrower than our toddler room at CCF. But look
at the smiling faces of those packed in the church.
PW's topic was Choices.

Pictures

2011-03-12T08:34:00.000-08:00

Just some pictures of Uzghorod
Be sure to read the post below.

Friday and Saturday

2011-03-12T08:27:00.000-08:00

Friday we spent the daytime counseling three different individuals who are married to unbelievers. One of them had even seperated from the spouse because they were not happy living with a nonbeliever. We counseled that person to go home to the spouse and live before them according to 1 Cor. 7. They thanked us and did just that. PTL. With all three of them we realized that they were spending more time at the church than with their spouses and the spouses were jealous and felt displaced by the "church". In all three cases we shared how important it was to see their marriage partner as their primary ministry. These precious saints had just been trying to serve God and did not realize the bad taste they were leaving in their spouses mouths. The one even stayed home today to spend much needed time with his wife. The other two shared with us how they went home and immediately started applying the counsel they had been given and that the spouses seemed pleased. God is so faithful.

Here we are teaching our class. Friday night Sherry taught on the role of the wife and then today PW shared on the differences between men and women and how not understanding them can contribute to conflict. Sherry followed up with practical teaching on how to resolve conflict and principles of communication. We laughed alot on both days and everyone seemed attentive. Many came up afterward and thanked us and told us that our teachings had helped them and they could see some changes they needed to make. We praise God for the way he meets with us in these times.

Here are some of class participants.

Tomorrow we are ministering at an 11 service in Uzghorod at the same church and then traveling to the town of Chop on the Hungarian border where we will minister in a sister church. Thank you for faithfully praying for us all.

Thursday night

2011-03-10T23:40:00.000-08:00

The seminar tonight was very well attended. I guess the Pastors phone calls made a difference. PW spoke tonight on the role of the husband as a Leader and Lover of his wife. It is a very powerful teaching and usually is very convicting. Tonight was no exception and one man who attended without his wife came up and asked for an appointment with PW. So he will meet with him on Friday.

We have several counseling appts. today, friday. It is one of those things that we love doing because not only do we get to know the people, but it is such a joy to see them realize that they can change. Each time we come we have the opportunity to see those we have ministered to in the past and they share with us the progress they have seen or sometimes they are still struggling and ask for more help. But whatever, the Lord is the one who changes them.

The Divorce Recovery preparation is coming along nicely. The Lord put a wonderful ministry in our path before we left that ministers only to the divorced. So we are studying their teachings and the Lord is feeding us so we can feed those who come. Please continue to pray into that particular seminar.

Our weather here is cold and gloomy today. The forcast is for light snow today which is rather unusual for Uzghorod. Jenny told us that Chardon and the area are expecting a foot of snow in a storm that is blowing in. So I guess March is definetly coming in like a Lion but hopefully will go out like a Lamb. Spring is coming so hang in there.,

Love to you all,
PW and Sherry

2011-03-10T06:26:00.000-08:00

Missionary Doug and wife Marina with Elizabeth and Pastor Edik.
We had a lovely lunch at Dougs home on Tuesday.

Wednesday

2011-03-10T06:24:00.000-08:00

View from our window at Nehemiah Guest House

Jason and Valeria Wisner
Missionaries with Michigan Bridge Ministries

Our seminar started last night at Pastor Edik's church. As is common many times in the city, the seminar was attended mostly by women. Pastor was very cute as he tried to make excuses for the lack of attendance from the men. We told him we understood and that we knew that God would speak to those present. The meeting went very well and PW taught on the Purpose of Marriage.

Today, Thursday, we had lunch with Edik and Elizabeth and he told us that he had been on the phone all day calling his congregation and he told them that we had paid alot of money to come to minister to them and he was embarrassed by the lack of interest in improving their marriages. But we know that God will draw those who need to be there and we are fine whether there are many or few. Please pray for us and for those who come tonight.

There are 20 registered for the Divorce Recover seminar beginning on Monday, some from as far away as Donetsk which is 36 hours travel. We feel extremely responsible to feed them from the word so that they go home on the road to healing. Each one coming is doing so because of a deep need. Please pray specifically that we would be vessels God uses to touch their lives and that it is worth the time and expense for each one.

Thank you. We miss you all. Love, PW and Sherry

Tuesday

2011-03-08T09:55:00.001-08:00

We have had sunshine all day today and it was such a welcome sight. Our day started off with several hours of study and prayer time. Then at 1 Pastor Edik and his wife picked us up and took us to a local American missionaries house for a wonderful time of fellowship and lunch. Not only did we enjoy meeting our brother for the first time, but we were able to talk wth Edik and his wife about their expectations for the week of ministry. We did not get back home until almost 6 so after a quick meal of jam and bread we contnued our preperation for our seminars . We begin teaching tomorrow evening at 6 our time.

Hopefully we will be able to do some grocery shopping tomorrow morning and go to the exchange office to get some hrivna.

Please continue to pray for us daily as we begin our marathon of teaching and counseling. The divorce recovery seminar will begin on Monday and so far we have 21 coming from other areas of the country. Not sure how many locals are coming. But we ask you begin to pray specifically for those coming that their hearts would be healed from pain and that hope will be restored.

Blessings, PW and Sherry

We are here and settled

2011-03-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

We ended up sleeping from 9:30 last night until after 12:30 today. I cannot remember a time when we slept so long. But it felt good and we feel great. Today has not been productive other than we got settled in our apartment and had a good visit with our dear friends Tanya and Vasiko. Tonight Fila and Kristi are coming to visit. Tomorrow will be a study and prayer day as finish up our final preperations for the seminars beginning on Wed. We told you one had to be flixible over here, well originally we were supposed to start the seminar on marriage at Ediks church on Tuesday night, but today he decided that since tomorrow is national Womens day that he would wait to start on Wed. night instead. We will have to put a lot of prayer into what to teach so that we get the most out of our time with the church.
Well off to the next thing. Blessings to you all.
PW and Sherry

In Kosice

2011-03-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

Mom and dad are waiting at the Kosice Airport with ALL of their baggage. :-) Their driver was held up at the border and they are unsure of when he will arrice. As it is Sunday, the airport is very quiet. Mom and dad were the only ones I could see on Skype aside from two guards chatting nearby.

Please pray for the driver to arrive soon and for mom and dad to not fall asleep waiting.

Ready and Waiting

2011-03-04T10:04:00.000-08:00

Well the suitcases are packed and the Outlines are done and we are ready and waiting to go. Our spirits are expectant and we cannot wait to see what God is going to do these next two weeks. Please pray for our travel tomorrow, that our flights are on time, that we of course have safety and that the Lord would grace us with leg room for PW. With his long legs the travel is torturous if we are in regular seats, so we will request exit row seats in Washington for the overseas portion of the trip. Hopefully they will be available.

Our friend Rannie from the Philippines sends greetings from the church there. They are currently praying for the Lord to provide them with a new or used lap top computer so that they can show gospel movies in the mountainous areas of the country. If you have one or would like to help with this need please let us know and we will be sure that it gets to him.

God bless you all as you seek HIS face and not HIS hands. The days are drawing close to HIS return and we must be ready.

Love to you all,
PW and Sherry

Sunday and a Wonderful family

2011-02-27T12:59:00.000-08:00

Today was our last Sunday to worship with the most wonderful church family alive. We are so very blessed by our congregation. They are true Christ followers from the littlest to the oldest.
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We are close to reaching our goal so please keep praying. God has always provided every penny we need for these trips and we are expecting Him to do the same. Where he leads he provides has been our motto and it has proven true. We are now working on our food budget money.
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The plan is to study tomorrow and all day Tuesday. We still have to put our seminar on paper so that is what we are working on at the moment.
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Please pray for the following:
Time to do what needs to be done before we leave.
Health for our whole family. PW's mom has been under the weather and we would like to see her better before we leave.
The rest of the finances we need.
Our Assoc. Pastor Bill will be caring for the church while we are gone and needs prayer since he also works a full time job. The added responsibility always add to his already full load.
Members of our church - that God watches over them and keeps them healthy and safe.
Our flights to be on time and PW's and Sherry's luggage to arrive with them at each destination.
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Blessings,
PW and Sherry

Our week

2011-02-25T16:28:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday we had the privilege of speaking
to this group of Church planters on the topic of Developing a strong ministry marriage.

A huge blizzard has hit our area with over 12 inches of snow.
You can see our car which is stuck half out in the street and the other half in the road. PW is cheerfully clearing our drive. This has been a week of car troubles. On Tuesday Sherry's car broke down and is sitting in a parking lot waiting to be towed to the car dealer.

GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME.

9 Days and counting

2011-02-23T16:50:00.000-08:00

Wherever does time go? It seems like a year ago that we began thinking about this trip and here we are with only 9 days left . So you need a prayer update. We still have not reached our goal for financial needs but it is trickling in so please continue to pray for this. We need enough money to pay for our food and also a little extra for emergencies and unexpected expenses which always pop up.

We also could use continued prayer as we work on our new Divorce Recovery Seminar. Ministry needs here have kept us quite busy and therefore we have not had adequate time to prepare this seminar the way we would like. God is so faithful though and we know that he will guide and direct our teachings. Anyway, please keep those two needs in prayer.

Can you feel the shift in the atmosphere? With all the wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes taking place it definitely is getting exciting. What an honor it is to live in this season of history. We want to challenge you to preach the word of God to everyone you meet. Time is of the essence and who knows when we will hear that shout and hear that trumpet calling us home.
It is time to repent of any sins that have you in bondage and to start living a dedicated life to our Lord if you are not already doing so.

Grace and Peace,
PW and Sherry

4 weeks

2011-02-04T07:31:00.000-08:00

Wow it is hard to believe that we will be on our way in just 4 weeks. We are busily working on our final preparation for our new seminar on Divorce Recovery. Divorce is such a huge problem in Ukraine and many of the people to whom we minister have been divorced and are hurting so badly. So this time we are offering a seminar with topics like overcoming the pain of divorce, how to deal with betrayal, how to overcome the anger, how to forgive, can you remarry biblically and if so when will you know you are ready for a new relationship, how to help your children, the importance of biblical reconciliation and what does it actually mean. These are just a few of the topics we will teach on during our seminar.

We are also going to be ministering on marriage and family at a local church Bible School every evening and both weekends. So between our daytime seminar on divorce and the evening teachings on marriage we will be busy. We are also ministering on Feb. 17 to a group of local church planters on How to have a strong marriage in ministry.

Between this and our local church responsibilities you can see why we need much prayer. We covet your prayers because we need Gods anointing to do what we do. Financially we still need $400 to pay for the expenses of this trip. Please add this to your prayer requests for us. Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for us.

God Bless you all as you serve our soon returning Lord and Savior.

Pastor Wayne and Sherry

Whiter Than Snow

2010-12-15T20:06:00.000-08:00

This past two weeks we have been dumped on with mountains and mountains of fresh white snow, well maybe not mountains but you get the point. It reminds me of the words in the old hymn....Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. It is hard to imagine anything whiter or more beautiful than a fresh snow, but the word of God assures us that that is how we become when we give our lives to Christ and accept His atoning death on the cross for our sins. Ponder that miracle during this season when we celebrate the birth of our Savior and remember why He came to earth, to restore us to fellowship with the Father. Take every opportunity you get to share this wonderful miracle with those who are so open to hear this time of year.
Merry Christmas to all
PW and Sherry

Amazing God

2010-11-22T14:04:00.000-08:00

It never ceases to amaze us to see how God works.
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We have just recently received two letters from the Philippines that demonstrate this. Our friend Pastor Rannie who pastors in Hinagdanan wrote and asked permission to use our Marriage DVD to offer a seminar since we were not able to come. A week after the seminar we received this letter from another pastor who said "Pastor Wayne, please allow me and my wife to express our heartfelt thanks because of the very powerful marriage seminar offered to us by Pastor Rannie. Through this seminar my wife and I we really understand our role both sides. Even though I am already a pastor but I never understand about my attitude toward my wife mostly I want that my wife always listening to me to my decision and directly speaking I act as a king in my family and toward my wife, but praise be to God because through your DVD tapes my life has been totally changed so one thing I can say keep up the good work" A few days later we heard from another pastor who said " I heard your name from Pastor Rannie and shared your DVD Bridgebuilder marriage seminar. I write you an email because we want to have a teaching materials about couples. Thank you and God bless your family and ministry. "
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Brothers and sisters, this is just one example of how God is working. We are amazed and can only praise our Amazing God. If you would like to help in this ministry with the DVDs, you can send a special offering for this purpose to our church, Chardon Christian Fellowship, 401 South Hambden St. Chardon, Ohio 44024. Just note in the subject line it is for the Bridgebuilders DVDs and it will be used only for that purpose. We would also like to be able to help Pastor Rannie pay for this seminar so you may also make a donation to be given to him. Just put it in the subject line. The custom in their country is to feed the guests 3 meals a day. We have already sent a small donation but it costs several hundred dollars to pay for these meals so any help would be appreciated.
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We thank God for all of you who give and pray. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Home

2010-10-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

We hope that over the past few weeks you have felt like you have been on this journey with us. We have tried to share daily what life is like in the countries where we have ministered. We are finally home and I can tell you that it sure feels good. As wonderful as it is to travel and minister to our Brothers and Sisters in foreign lands, and even though they give wonderful hospitality and try to meet our every need, home still feels the best. We had such a good nights rest and are looking forward to being in service at CCF tomorrow.
Thank you to all of you have prayed for us, followed our updates, written us notes of encouragement, and ministered to our church family while we have been gone. Words cannot express how much we appreciate it all. You are such a huge part of this ministry that God has called us to and we do not take it for granted. Blessings to you all as you walk with God and share His word in your mission field. We love you, PW and Sherry

Below are the last pictures we will post from this trip. Hope you enjoy them.

Bucharest Airport in Romania - if you look closely you can see the end of the machine gun the security guard is carrying. There were several soldiers like this stationed around the airport most likely due to the heightened terrorist risk. We wanted to get a front shot, but did not want to get into trouble. They sure did look serious.

Long hours of waiting in uncomfortable seats are part of the travel these days. Thankfully once we got on the plane, we had exit row seats with plenty of leg room and comfortable padding. :>))

Cleveland airport, the end of our journey and both of our bags arrived with us. Hallelujah.

2010-10-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

This is what the sidewalks look like.

These are some of the wild dogs that roam the city. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Niccu, David, Claudia

This young couple have been meeting with us for over 4 years now when we come to Tirgoviste. We first met them while doing a public marriage meeting and they had only been married for two weeks. We have watched them grow in their marriage and now they are raising their first child. We had a good dinner with them and enjoyed fellowship.
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One more day to go and then homeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. As ET said so many years ago HOME. See you then. Blessings, PW and Sherry

Earlier in the day we met with Pastor Mihai and Eliza once again and had lunch with them. All in all it has been a good day.

Life in the city

2010-10-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

A worker repairing by hand one of the many city sidewalks that are individual bricks. The streets in many parts of the city are made the same way.

This is the ceiling in the outside portico of the Orthodox church that sits in the middle of the park.

A beggar stands under the portico of the church waiting for handouts.

An Orthodox believer lighting candles for the dead in the portico of the church.

Tuesday

2010-10-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

Today was another sunny warm day in Romania. We loved the sunshine for sure. After a lovely breakfast of Eggs and Toast we went to our dear friend, Pastor Mihai's home for a time of fellowship. We talked about a variety of subjects from church issues to private struggles and laughed alot. We always enjoy hearing this pastors perspective on life. He was a street fighter in his BC days and was a pretty tough guy. God has a way of working with us inspite of our past and Mihai is no exception. He has a gentle spirit and a pastors heart for the people. A true blessing to the body of Christ in his city. We ate lunch with them and enjoyed their girls. We will meet with them again tomorrow for most of the day. Please pray for him and his family as they continue to serve the Lord in this city.

Stephie, Eliza, Pastor Mihai, Joanna

After our meeting with Mihai we came back to the hotel to meet with a single mom who just needed to talk. We spent a few hours with her and ended our time with her in prayer. It is heart breaking to hear of the things these moms have to struggle with. The laws in Romania are not as strict as in America on child support etc. so life is hard for them and their children. This young woman is a godly woman who walks with God and loves him with all her heart.

Donna and Addy are a real special young couple in the church. We wish you could see the fire in Donnas eyes. She is so funny and full of passion. A true Latin in blood. Her passion is to honor God and her husband shares the same passion. He works as a fireman but his heart is to one day serve the Lord fulltime. We meet with them each time we come to Romania so it is always fun to hear what God is doing in their lives. We spent two hours with them and ended our time in prayer. Please pray that God provides Addy with a better job so he can support his wife and she will not have to work.

Monday

2010-10-12T00:36:00.000-07:00

Today has been a partial day off. Most of the couples in the church work so we minister mainly in the evenings to them. So we spent our morning in the word and just enjoying a rest. This afternoon we walked all over Tirgoviste, I would guess we walked a good 5 miles and PW did not complain once, of course we had to include a stop for ice cream and coffee to ensure that the day was complete. :>))))
We stopped in several different shops to see what the people here purchase and were surprised at how high the prices are for them. Most cannot afford the things offered. We also noticed that the city is improving the buildings. Many are being redone on the outside and new windows, roofs and siding are being provided for the buildings and they are being painted pretty colors. It makes a huge difference in the feel of the city. I guess the money is provided by the European Union to do this much needed work. The other thing that we are always surprised by are the packs of wild dogs that are laying around. They are so cute, but dangerous. Many times they take off and run after children biting at their legs. The contrast is amazing, today we saw a cute little pug dog with a collar and coat on and then a few blocks away these wild dogs.

Adina, Beatrice,Clara, Amalia, Gaby

This is the Popescue family. We have known them since 1999 when we first came to Romania and God has put a special love in our hearts for this family. We are reminded of what Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Tim 1:2-4. That is how we feel about Gaby and Adina. They are a precious couple who love God with a whole heart. They have lived under circumstances that most of us would have been crushed under, but they have looked to God for help and He has sustained them. God has used them to teach us about the Romanian culture over the years. Anyway, after a 20 min. walk to their home, we spent this evening with them talking about the things that they struggle with but also fellowshiping over all the good things that God is doing. Adina is an excellent cook, tonight she served us pasta with a choice of two sauces, one a cream sauce with bits of meat and the other a tomato based sauce with vegetables in it. Please pray for this precious family and ask God to give them the desires of their hearts.

The end of Sunday

2010-10-11T04:45:00.000-07:00

We started our day today with a breakfast that was typical Romanian. A plate of sliced lunch meats and a pepper and tomato beautifully displayed on a huge plate. Oh and a breadbasket for us to make a sandwich. Since we did not have to be at the church until evening, we spent the morning studying and praying and then took a walk in the park. If you scroll down a few posts you will see the beginning of our day and then you can finish up with this post which has pictures of the evening. Sorry it is backwards, I get confused sometimes when I try to post the pictures. I forget they build on top of each other. Oh wellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll. We heard Pastor Bill preached another fantastic sermon. Thanks Bro. Hope you all enjoy the day and feel like you are a part of the time here as you look at the pictures and read the commentary. Blessings to you all. Love, PW and Sherry

Florine and Liz

This young couple met with us, over pizza, after service tonight to talk about their upcoming marriage. They have been friends for 3 yrs now and Liz is from Louisiana and he is from Tirgoviste. They met while she was on a mission trip and have been building their relationship through email for quite some time. They are going to be heading up the Masters Commission school here at the church for the next 9 months. This school is for the purpose of preparing young people to minister. They are all about building the Kingdom of God. Please pray for them to have an easy adjustment period to married life so they can effectively minister.

Here Wayne and I are standing in front of the court house. It has recently been restored and was too beautiful not to take a picture for you jto see.

Sunday

2010-10-11T04:28:00.000-07:00

PW with our Gaby Pastor Mihai
he is our translator
and dear friend.

Alexis, Nikki and her mom.
Nikki is the young mom who if you remember
was going through betrayal by her husband the
last time we were here. PTL she has peace now
and she and her daughter are doing very well. You
can see the joy on her face.

This is Adina. She is working with the young
people in the church here and had many questions
during our seminar the other night, She has asked to
start writing us so that she can ask questions and get
counsel as she continues this ministry.

2010-10-11T04:22:00.000-07:00

Praying over a couple. The worship band.

This is the congregation of Hope and Life Church
in Tirgoviste Romania. The church is made up of
mostly young people and couples. They meet in
the school auditorium each Sunday at 6 p.m. If
click on the pictures you should see them waving
hello to all of you.
PW preached a message on hope to them. It was
quite powerful and when asked to respond almost
all said that they had come to a place of having no
hope that life would change for them. Even though
they have jobs, the salary is not enough to pay for
a place to live plus provide food. PW talked to them
about the need for an eternal perspective and not a
temporal one. PTL the message hit the mark and
God ministered to our brothers and sisters and
reminded them that hope is in Him not the world.

2010-10-11T04:14:00.000-07:00

Sunday in the park. On the left gathering of old men playing checkers or
chess, view of the tower of the Orhodox church poking through the trees
and a father and son strolling down the walk. The parks are full of people on
Sunday afternoons. Lovers sitting on benches, families holding hands,
plus dogs in packs laying around. It is a very interesting way to spend a day.

Country of Contrasts

2010-10-11T04:08:00.000-07:00

Our Hotel - brand new

The resturaunt down the street

Click to enlarge this and you will see the run down building
in the back. These are all surrounding the hotel and in use.

Young people

2010-10-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

Tonight we ministered to this group of young people.
They varied in age and were very interested in building
good relationships with the opposite sex. They had tons of
questions and were very interactive as we shared with
them some principles from Gods word to help them.
Thanks for praying for us. Because of your giving and prayers
you also helped minister to them. Just think of how much fun
it will be when you finally go home to the Lord and get to meet
all of these people you helped inpact with the word.
Love, PW and Sherry

First day in Romania

2010-10-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

Isn't she adorable? I could not help myself.

Juliana was one of the first young women we met in 1999 when we made our first trip to Romania. We attended her wedding and then lost touch. As God would have it, she was working at the our hotel and remembered us. What fun it was to reconnect and catch up on her life. She has become the mother of 2 children and is still walking closely with the Lord.

These are some of the young couples we met with this morning. We talked about Gods view of money and worked on making budgets and talked at length about their particular struggles with finances and counseled them from the word on how to overcome the challenges they face in this area. We had a wonderful time of fellowship over "Pizza", PW's favorite food. They ordered it in his honor.
God is good.

Last leg of our journey

2010-10-08T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well we have arrived in Tirgoviste Romania. We got up at 3:30 a.m., left the school at 4:15 and spent the majority of the day in the air. We are tired but excited about the upcoming week. We start teaching in the morning at 10 when we will meet with the couples from the church and then at 6 we will meet with the young people. Sure would appreciate the prayers,
We will post pictures tomorrow or the next day when we are thinking more clearly.
Blessed weekend to you all. Preach em a good one Pastor Bill. :>))))
PW and Sherry

Last day in Latvia

2010-10-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

Boys fprmed a socker team The students do work each
for some fun after classes day to pay for school.

Daniel and Damarias Natasha - school secretary
Director of School

Well today was our last day of teaching. We spent 7 hours in the classroom and then spent another hour answering questions at the end of the day. It was a great day. We actually finished our outlines. Hallelujah. We were not sure if we would get finished. Today we gave the practical application stuff plus made up the test. The students assured us that they learned a lot and that their hearts were challenged. One Pastors son said that the Lord really dealt with him during the teachings. PTL for His conviction. Two students asked for our email so they could stay in touch. Remember we had asked the Lord to give us at least two and He did.
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We are packing our bags now because we have to be up and leave by 4:30 a.m. to drive to Riga and then we fly out at 7 a.m. Please keep us in prayer tomorrow as we travel. We are having to go way out of our way to get to Bucharest due to the cancelled flight. So we will visit Brussels airport and then fly to Romania. After we arrive we will have a 2 hour drive to Tirgoviste, the city where we will be ministering for the next week. We will try to post when we get a connection, but if you do not hear from us, please keep praying.
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Blessings to you all,
PW and Sherry

Wednesday

2010-10-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

Our students love to leave us little pictures when we are not looking as you can see. This class of young people have wonderful senses of humor and are really starting to engage us during class by asking questions. Today Wayne finished up the foundational truths for counseling and then he taught the process of change. We laughed so much as they opened up and shared their particular struggles etc.
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Sherry was privileged to speak in the chapel service today and exhorted the students on being pregnant with the Lords seed and how over the next 9 months they are to give themselves to God and seek Him so that when they leave this place they can fulfill the call of God on their lives.
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Tonight we will have dinner with Daniel and then come back to get ready for tomorrows lessons. Since it will be our last day here we want to be sure to be well prepared so we don't leave anything out of our teachings.
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Please continue to pray for us to hear clearly and also for our translator to feel better. She is still battling sickness.
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Love,
PW and Sherry

Tuesday

2010-10-05T22:30:00.000-07:00

Our interpreter Marina

Fun loving students as you can see most of them
are in their 20's and full of promise.

You may not be able to see this clearly without clicking on it
to enlarge it, but was an illustration of a well which some fun
loving student decided to embellish and turn into a car during
our break.......
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Today was quite busy with teaching. Our time here is flying by and we are enjoying it thoroughly. These young students have their whole lives ahead of them. It blesses to know that they have chosen to give 9 months of their lives to dedicate themselves to the study of the word. Most of them have no idea what God wants to do with them but they are seeking direction from Him. It is such an honor to be allowed by Him to influence them in some small way. Please pray for them, they are future leaders in the body of Christ.
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We miss you all and can't wait to come home and see you all.
Love, PW and Sherry

Problem solved

2010-10-05T00:04:00.000-07:00

Well as I told you in the last post ,while you were fast asleep, our Friday flight had been cancelled and that we needed prayer. I called the airline and we have been re booked to an earlier flight on Friday but will have to fly through Brussels. Thankfully Daniel is able to change the class schedule to work around our change in plans. Please continue to pray that no other changes will have to be made and that we can make all of our flights on time. Traveling is no picnic that is for sure. But God is the one who orders our steps and in His wisdom He has changed our plans so we will rest in that.
Thank you so much for praying.
PW and S

Immediate Prayer Need

2010-10-04T22:47:00.000-07:00

OK Saints, we need you to hit your knees once again and start praying. We just received word from our travel agent that our friday flight to Romania has been cancelled. This would not be a problem if we were on vacation, but since others are waiting on us to come it complicates more than just our lives. The funny part of all this is that you are all sleeping peacefully and by the time you read this we will most likely have resolved the issue, but it sure makes us feel better asking for prayer. We will let you know how it turns out after we call the airline in a few minutes.
Blessings, PW and S

Day one

2010-10-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

Latvia Bible School where we are teaching.
Our 40 students

Today was our first day of teaching at the school. It went very well and the students seemed to be interested and we enjoyed them.
It will take us a day to get used to working with our new translator Marina. She is a precious young woman who started translating last year. We are so used to our Ukranian translators that we forget this young girl does not know us at all. So please pray for us all as we transition with her. After class we sat with some of the students while they ate borsch. One young man Sasha had lots of questions. We are praying that God will give us a real connection with at least 2 students so that we can build relationship and continue to mentor them in the years to come. This evening after class we went to dinner with the director of the School, Daniel Pedraza. He is a misisonary from Argentina. He is a delightful brother who has such a sweet spirit and a real pastors heart for the students. It was nice getting to know him. So that was our first day. Thank you to all of you who are praying, we could not do what we do without the prayer support that you give us. God Bless You all. Wayne and Sherry

Sunday in Riga

2010-10-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

Russian Pentecostal Church in Jgalvia

Wayne and Sherry in Riga
Delightful little surprise
garden in an alley way in Riga.
Ancient statues and buildings in Riga.

Diversity

2010-10-03T04:44:00.000-07:00

We both had trouble sleeping last night so we would appreciate prayer concerning our sleep. the jet lag is very bad this time.
This morning we had the privilege of worshiping with our brother and sisters in the Russian Pentecostal Church. The service was very interesting. The women in this church wear head coverings, the people are very restrained and do not smile much and the worship is not expressive, buttttttttttttttttttttttt they love God and when they prayed they went on and on for 15 to 20 mins at a time with everyone praying at once. The worship lasted 30 mins then a man got up and preahced for 40 mins on the Blood of Christ and what it means to us. His text was from Hebrews 12. When he finished there were several special solos sung and then another brother got up and preached for 40 mins and then there was another song. The pastor then got up and preached for 15 mins on communion and then the choir sang chants while the communion was passed. First bread and then a common cup of wine. When that was over 4 different men came up and prayed for different areas of concern in the body and then testimonies were given and finally at 1;30 we were released. The pastor invited us to come to a meal prepared for us downstairs and so we joined the guest speakers and the pastor for a delicious meal and fellowship. We are home for 10 mins and will leave here to go to Riga to see the old city and then have pizza, which makes Wayne very happy, and then we will come back to get ready for tomorrow. All in all it has been a very intersting day. Praying for all of our church family at CCF that God will meet with you today and touch your hearts in a special way.
Love, Wayne and Sherry

Saturday

2010-10-02T01:16:00.000-07:00

Well as you read yesterday we have arrived safe and sound. Our flights were good and we had nice seats with enough room not to feel like sardines in a can. Traveling in this day and age is no fun believe me.

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Wayne wore a tee shirt that says I love my wife on the front and it was so much fun to hear the comments from the airline workers and passengers. Almost every worker commented on how much they liked his shirt and some of the men asked him if I made him wear the shirt, what an open door that was to witness to the power of love in a Christian marriage and Wayne was able to tell no I had nothing to do with him wearing it. It was a great witnessing tool. Some of the stewardess even looked like they were going to cry when they told him they "really" liked his shirt. I felt like a queen because they all looked at me like I was the most fortunate woman in the world, of course I am being married to Wayne. :>) And then we had that added benefit of Wayne showing them how much he loved me by the way he treated me all day.
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We just heard that Waynes luggage has been found in Paris and will be delivered today sometime. We will pack differently next time since the new pattern seems to be Waynes luggage going to a different destination each time. :>))))
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Latvia is beautiful and clean. The sun has been shining since we arrived and the fore cast is for sunshine all week. It is amazing how good sunshine makes you feel.
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The school here is part of the Pentecostal Union of Latvia and is called the Baltic School of Ministry. There are 37 students ranging in age from 19 -47. Many will go on to further their preparation for full time ministry when they leave here in May. We are looking forward to meeting them all and getting to know them better. Hopefully our jet lag will not last past tomorrow so we can be alert and interact with them all.
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A young couple who live at the school here, Vlad and Ilona, picked us up at the airport and have
done an excellent job of making us feel at home. We have decided to stay home and rest today instead of sightseeing, we may take a walk around the town here later on. Tomorrow after service they will take us to see Old Riga. The city is over 800 years old and they seemed excited to show us the area especially since the weather is going to be nice. We usually do not get to do any sightseeing when we travel like this so it will be a treat for us. Pictures will be posted as soon as we get them.

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Please pray specifically that we will be able to get through all our teaching material this week. There are two translators for each class. One will translate into Russian and the other will translate from Russian into Latvian so this will take longer than usual. We have never worked with two at a time so it is a new experience for us. We want to be able to give these students meat from the word this week. This is only the third week of classes and so far they have had one week of foundations to the Christian faith taught by Pastor Al Stevenson from our home town and last week a brother from New Jersey taught on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Our assignment will be to teach them how to counsel biblically. Of course it cannot be done effectively without the help of the Holy Spirit so it is obvious that the Lord laid the foundation for our week of teaching.
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Have a blessed Lord's day tomorrow. Thank you again to the CCF family for allowing us to come here and minister this week. You are very much a part of what we do.

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We love you all, Wayne and Sherry

Friday - Arrival. Sort of.

2010-10-01T06:15:00.001-07:00

Mom and Dad arrived in Latvia safe and sound. Dad's bag did not make it to their destination. (We are sensing a pattern here...) Unlike last time, the airline seems to have no idea where the bag might be. As a matter of fact, they are not even sure it made it onto the plane. A lesson was learned last time and Dad does have a set of clothes in Mom's bag (she has one in his as well). However, the electrical stuff is in his lost bag along with his dress shoes. It sounds like unless the bag is returned, Dad will be an unshaven, tennis shoe wearing preacher in dress clothes.
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The Lord knows where this bag has landed and we are trusting Him to get it into Dad's hands soon. Will you pray with us?

Down to the wire

2010-09-29T12:51:00.000-07:00

We are down to the wire. Tomorrow at this time we will be in the air on our way to Washington DC and then on to Riga Latvia. Please keep us in prayer for the next two weeks. As it stands now our schedule will be teaching each day from 9 - 6 while in Latvia. Our Romanian trip is the following week and we do not have the schedule yet, but we will be most likely teaching each evening which will be morning here in America.
The bible school in Latvia, we are told, is comprised of mostly young adults in their 20's, we will be doing a biblical counseling class which will hopefully challenge them to see the scriptures as sufficient for all of lifes problems and also teach them how to counsel others.
While in Romania we have been asked to speak to the single adults on how to choose a mate. We will also be speaking to young marrieds about various issues but especially God's purpose for marriage and also how to manage money scripturally. We will also be spending time with the leaders in this church and working with them on strengthening their own marriages.
We are lookng forward to see what God is going to do this time. Please pray day and night or whenever we cross your minds. We rely on the prayers of the saints while we are gone.
We will update the blog every chance we get.
Blessings to you all.
Wayne and Sherry

MIlestones/Memories/Much Love

2010-09-22T11:05:00.000-07:00

On Sept 15 our family began our 26th year at CCF. But on Sept 12 our precious church family surprised us with the most fantastic celebration we have ever experienced. To say we were speechless is an understatement. For one year 160 people kept a secret. That in itself is a miracle wouldn't you say? So if you have a secret to keep, CCF is the place to attend where your secrets will be safe. But seriously, words cannot express the Love we felt or the blessing that our church family is to us all. Please visit chardonchristianfellowship.org to see the pictures of this special day. We have so many wonderful memories from the past 25 yrs but this is by far the best. So thank you to a wonderful church family and to all our friends and relatives who surprised us by showing up and making the day a milestone in our memory bank.
We Love You,
Wayne and Sherry

On the Road Again

2010-09-10T10:16:00.000-07:00

Well we have been home nearly 2 1/2 weeks and it has been quite busy. Joint worship services with sister churches, counseling, loving the family and the flu. But PTL through it all Gods grace has been more than sufficient.
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It is hard to believe that in just 20 days we leave for Europe again. This time to Riga Latvia for a week to teach in a Bible School there on Biblical Counseling and then from there to Tirgoviste Romania to minister with dear friends there who pastor a church in that city. They have asked us to come teach on Biblical finances, Gods will for marriage and then do some one on one counseling with couples and leaders from their church. It should be a fun trip, since we will be reconnecting with friends we have known for 11 years. . We have never been to Latvia so do not know what to expect but will add this experience to our journey with the Lord. We never would have thought in our wildest dreams all those years ago when we were so unhappy in our early years of marriage that God would be sending us around the world to strengthen marriages and bring hope. We serve an awesome God for sure.
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Please pray for us as we travel and especially pray for our family that they all stay healthy and safe.
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Blessings to you as you begin your fall season.
Wayne and Sherry

Saying Good bye is always sad

2010-08-26T12:26:00.000-07:00

Vasiko, Tanya and Maria Machabeli
They are dear friends who oversee the work here at Nehemiah

Olya is the adminstrator here and also does some
translating. We were using her today to translate our counseling sessions.
She does a great job and is always smiling.

Wayne and our friend Sasha
who comes to see us each time we come to Ukraine and asks lots of questions. He pastors a church
in Irshava and has 7 children. He and his wife Lena raise dogs and flowers to support their family.

Today was busy from sunup to sundown. We had counseling sessions all day and in between we packed up our clothes and got ready to leave. It always makes us sad to say goodbye but we are excited about coming home also. God has graced us on this mission trip in ways we are still trying to process. It has been an honor to come and minister to the precious people in this country. Words cannot express how much we appreciate each one of you has supported us on these missions. Your prayers, encouragements and offerings have made it possible and you will share in any rewards we receive from the Lord. WE have all been on mission in Ukraine. Lord willing we will be home Saturday night. Please pray for our flights to be on time and that we might even be able to make earlier connections to get home quicker. God Bless You, Wayne and Sherry

2010-08-25T23:53:00.000-07:00

Sherry with the 4 girls from the social apartment

Theresa one of the girls in her bedroom

Sherry and Tanya with the girls

Wednesday

2010-08-25T23:44:00.000-07:00

Wayne and Sherry with friends, Oxana, Valodya, Richard, Anya and Daniel
We had a lovely lunch at Valodyas home and several hours of fellowship with them.

Richard, Anya and baby ? in tummy. Please pray for Anya and her pregnancy, she almost lost this baby because of health problems.

Daniel and Vovcya waving hello to Nate

Orphan girls living at the Nehemiah Social Apartment with their "Mom".

These girls are 18 - 20 yrs old and live here for 2 yrs and learn social skills that will help them live in the world. They are taught hygiene, cooking, cleaning and other things that will help them in their future. One of the biggest things they teach them is how to dream about what they would like to do. In the orphanages for the most part the children have vision for only working in the sewing factory when they leave. But these girls are learning to dream of college, marriage, and careers. The little gal on the far left is a product of fetal alcohol syndrome and cannot work like the others. But her dream was to be a dishwasher so Tanya hired her to work at Nehemiah cafe and she now does a great job washing the hundreds of dishes each day. They are all so cute. Sherry spent a few hours with then this evening and has over 22 pictures of them in various poses. They did all their acrobatic tricks for her and wanted her to take pictures of them. I will try to post them next. Anyway, they were so friendly and wanted to teach her how to speak Ukranian so she had a crash course in that language. They interacted in a very lively way. Our church CCF Chardon helps support this ministry and we are proud to do so. Only heaven knows what an impact ministries such as this are having on the children. Most of them come to faith in Christ and then are integrated into local churches where they are nurtured and loved. Most have never had real family before or felt the love of a family. So it is wonderful to see the changes in them after a short while. We were told that when they arrive from the orphanages, they all dress and look like boys. Most don't smile, but after a short time in the home, with the love a parent, they blossom. Please pray for this work and for provision for them to expand. At the moment they can only house 4 girls but with hundreds of orphanages in the country, there is great need.

Khust

2010-08-25T00:59:00.000-07:00

Wayne teaching the young people in Khust

Valodya (translator) Pastor Vitaly, Wayne, Richard

Today we traveled 2 hours by car to the city of Khust. We have been coming to this city and this church for 8 years now and are always warmly received by Pastor Vitaly and his wife Lena. Vitaly is only 31 yrs old and has been ministering as Pastor here for 9 yrs. He is a man full of much wisdom and reminds us of Timothy in the bible. If you remember Paul told him not to allow others to despise his youth but that by his lifestyle and maturity to be an example. Vitaly is just like that. We had around 25 - 30 young people that attended the meeting. They were very open and seemed to enjoy the teaching times. We taught the same topics as Monday night. Pastor said it was the best teaching on the subject he has heard. I am sure it was the topics that he was referring to inspite of the teachers. :>)) Anyway, we were blessed as always to be there and have been invited back to do a marriage retreat for his church sometime in the near future.
We arrived back at Nehemiah around 12 a.m. Needless to say we are tired.
Have a blessed day. Wayne and Sherry

2010-08-24T01:13:00.000-07:00

Olya and Svyeta - Olya was my translator today for this time with Svyeta. She is one of the many single women in the nation who struggle with being single. Please pray for her as she begins her journey with Christ and learns how to apply scripture to her life. She would like to have a godly man for a husband one day.

Agape School Seminar -We were honored to be asked to come in and pray for this group of believers. They are being trained to go into the orphanges run by the state and teach biblical ethics to the children. They have found much favor with the government and they are changing lives one child at a time. The organization goes into 81 orphanages in the country.

About 120 young people and singles from 5 different churches gathered together tonight for a time of teaching on relationships. We had so much fun with them. They ranged in age from 16 to 45. Even the young ones were taking notes and responding with shaking heads and smiling faces. The meeting lasted from 6 until 9:30. The last half hour we answered questions and then two couples gave testimonies. Sherry taught on rules for dating and questions to ask, Wayne taught on the purpose of marriage. We encouraged them to develop simple friendships with the opposite sex and to enjoy getting to know each other that way and if something more developed ptl, if not, they would at least have a strong groups of believing friends to spend time with . We will do the same thing tuesday evening in the city of Khust. Please pray for us as we travel 2 hours by car on very bad roads.
Blessings to you all........................................Wayne and Sherry

Monday

2010-08-24T00:33:00.000-07:00

Natalie is from Belgium and has been ministering at Nehemiah since March. She came to lead the English camps and has done an excellent job, she also has been working on the Web site that will be launched soon for Nehemiah Ministry Ukraine. I had the privilege to spend time with her this morning and get to know her a bit better. Please pray for her as she pursues Gods will for her life.

Gypsy Church

2010-08-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

7 New converts who were baptized yesterday. They sang Happy Birthday to them and gave words of encouragement to them as they begin their journey in the Lord. They truly celebrated these new converts.
Joyful worship and smiling faces as they gave their tithes and offerings. I was not able to catch the line of people dancing up to put their offering in the basket. The joy in this church is palatable. Since we were here last year they have outgrown their meeting place. People were standing in the hallway, and sitting on the floor and there was no airconditioning and only one window open. The service lasted 2 1/2 hours. PTL This is the church that has gone through so much heartache the past few years so it is wonderful to see how the Lord is blessing them. Weeping may last for a night, but JOY comes in the morning.

These little children were on stage as part of the worship, they were dancing. They are encouraged to come.

Wayne preached another anointed sermon tonight. He shared on the Power of the Resurection. It was so good and the people were talking back to him and applauding when he shared. They really do participate in all aspects of worship. It was so refreshing. We prayed with them at the end and gave a blessing. We so love to come to this little group of believers.
When we got back to Nehemiah Center we attended a birthday party for Tanya celebrated Georgian style. Her husband is from the country of Georgia. It was such fun. We are now exhausted and are going to bed. Tomorrow will be full. Not only do we have to prepare for the evening with the young people, but we have been asked by 5 people if we could counsel them so we have to try to work that in sometime. Please keep us in prayer all day tomorrow. Actually start praying tonight before you go to bed. We need stamina to finish this week of ministry and safety as we travel from place to place, most importantly we need the anointing of God to touch the hearts of the young people
CCF we love you and miss you and heard that Pastor Bill preached a wonderful message today. Lisa K. and Julie C. thank you for you notes of encouragement each day, they really have been timely and ministered greatly to us, thank you to all who are faithfully praying for us, we feel your prayers. And to our precious family, thank you for being willing to talk to us on skype so the time goes quicker and we dont' feel so disconnected.
Be sure to scroll down since I have posted 3 times with pictures today.
Grace and Peace, Wayne and Sherry

The favor of God

2010-08-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

Worship team
The congregation

Wayne and Sherry with Pastor Edik Opalenik and Erzhika and son

This morning we preached at Ediks church and Wayne preached under a heavy anointing about what it means to Walk in the Spirit.
One young person told us he made 3 pages of notes on the sermon and that he was going to be sure to bring his friends to the youth meeting tomorrow night where Wayne and I will be speaking. It is amazing to us how God is giving us favor this trip. Every place we have spoken has been to hungry people who can't seem to get enough truth. Only God could do this. We give him all the glory and praise.
After service Edik took us to a lovely resturaunt for a lunch of lamb smothered in a sour cream sauce. We discussed the Bible School that we will be teaching this coming March and planned the topics and times etc.
We got home at 3;45 and had to leave again at 4 to minister to the gypsy church.

How to prepare a pig on a Saturday morning

2010-08-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

We visited this transitional house for orphans on Saturday and while there they brought in this pig and put it on the table, then began to cut it up into serving sizes to freeze. The couple is Vascy and Maria his wife who oversee the work at the home. It was a great day of fellowship with them and the pig :>))))) How would you like to have to do this on your kitchen table ladies?
We also spent time with Pastor Vadeem and his wife, his church sponsors this home. Actually it is a working farm and when the children come to them, they teach them life skills and how to take care of themselves. The home houses 20 children and they stay for one year. Most of the girls arrive and look like boys and have to be taught how to be women. It is a very sad part of the life over here. But praise the Lord for the body of Christ who has risen up and started such places to minister to these precious kids. Most come to faith and become active in a local church and go on to live a full life with promise.

Saying Goodbye is Bittersweet

2010-08-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

This week has been intense and fun all at the same time. Today we ended our seminar with teachings on parenting. Wayne did an excellent job with the Fathers Mandate followed by 22 Ways Parents Provoke Children to Anger and then finished with Progression of Teen Rebellion and ways to overcome this problem. The teachings originally came from Joe Propri, Wayne Mack and Gary Esso. All of them of course are with Wayne's personal spin but are excellent teachings that touch the hearts of the people.
When we finished the class asked if they could share some things with us and then proceeded to testify on how this week has touched their lives and brought conviction from God. We were very humbled to say the least. They then presented us with the doll that is in the picture below. Please click on the pictures and it will enlarge them for you. We always have mixed emotions when we finish a week of teaching. Because of the nature of our seminars, we have a lot of one on one time with each attendee so we become like family to a degree. This group asked if they could have our email address so they can write us and continue some of the counseling they started. One Pastor from Rivne asked us to come next winter to do a seminar in his church. We will be in touch with him to further those plans.
Tomorrow will be busy and start early. One of the local pastors has requested us to come and spend some time with him so he is picking us up at 9 a.m. and then at 4 we will be traveling to a nearby village to minister to young couples and then have a picnic. Of course the weather has changed and the temperature is going to be in the 60's. We did not bring warm clothes so this will be a challenge. Please pray for the temp to go higher. All things are possible with God.
On the home front, our hot water heater has decided to go south so our moms are having to deal with getting it replaced. Thankfully we had a good plumber we could call.
Have a blessed night and we will try to post again tomorrowThank you to all of you have written us and commented on our posts. When away from home it is nice to hear from those we love. Love to you all. Wayne and Sherry

Last Day of Seminar

2010-08-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Gifts to say thank you

Saying goodbye Couple we counseled

2010-08-19T04:24:00.000-07:00

Cuter in Person
She was pouting because her mom would not allow her to stay to hear PW preach.

Interacting wth the people

2010-08-19T04:21:00.000-07:00

Methodist children, youth, our class

2010-08-19T04:18:00.000-07:00

Kamakazi Mosquitos and Glory from God

2010-08-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

We have had an interesting two days. First of all Monday night there were horrendous storms that came through with high winds, lots of lightining and thunder and cooler temperatures. But mosquitos come with it. They are huge and black and sting like fire. They like to dive bomb you, like Kamakazi Pilots, while you sleep and are unsuspecting. So it was a restless few nights. This morning Wed. we woke up to no power and no water. Have you ever tried to wash up with only a tea kettle full of water? Well I am here to tell you that it is possible. As I was getting ready to take the cold water out of the fridge to wash our hair, the power thankfully came on. So that is the human side of this journey.
Now for the good stuff. Yesterday was an intensive day of ministry but God showed up and blessed in such a mighty way. In the morning sessions Wayne taught on Sources of conflict. We broke for lunch which was busy also as we met with a young couple. Then in the afternoon we had workshops. The first one was on the Process of change. The second one was on the Role of the Wife. In the evening Sherry taught on Biblical Communication and Resolving conflict and then had an hour and a half with the singles who were attending the seminar. She taught them on questions to ask before you consider a serious relationship with someone. They had tons of questions and we ended with prayer for each one. We ended the day counseling another young couple and did not finish up until almost 11 p.m.
Today has been one where we have felt the presence and anointing of God all day. This group of people are so hungry and full of life that it is pure joy to minister to them. It is energizing. Wayne taught on the Role of the Man and then the afternoon sessions have been something else. We had what was suppossed to be a Q and A session for one hour. Almost 2 hours later, because they were so excited, we finished and then moved on to the next workshop which was on Biblical Finances. The people were so excited and interested, and had tons of questions. The actual teaching took 40 mins, then we worked on making a budget and then the people started with the questions. They would not let us stop. So we finished 5 minutes before dinner. At the moment Wayne is teaching on the Peace and Joy principle from Joe Propris book and then I will go down and we will start teaching on the parenting part of the seminar.
Our schedule is also getting very full. We have added a meeting with a local pastor on Friday night and a night of ministry on Sat. where we will minister to the young families at two Methodist churches and have a picnic.Next week we will be doing 3 youth ministry nights and a night of ministry and fellowship with a team of people who are working with students. Oh and don't forget Sunday we will be ministering at a local church and most likely our daytimes will fill up before the week is over. That is the way it works over here. We love it though. I will finish posting in the morning and hope to post pictures also. Blessings and thanks for all the prayers. It is making a huge difference it the lives of these people.

Hungry People

2010-08-16T12:35:00.000-07:00

Today was our first day of teaching and it went very well. We are so excited about the hunger in this class. It was fun to teach them because they were literally pulling it out of us. Wayne taught on the Purpose of Marriage and Sherry taught on 10 Principles for a Strong Marriage. As we prayed earlier today we felt impressed by the Holy Spirit to offer elective workshops in the afternoons when they had free time scheduled. We thought perhaps a few would want meet, so we made up 6 different workshop titles and said that if 6 people signed up for any of them we would teach them. Well they got out of their seats and ran to the table and before we knew it all of the spots were filled and they wanted to know if we could also offer something for the singles in the group. So they have chosen to give up their free time to be taught. We are humbled and excited to see what God is going to do with this group of people. Keep up the prayers please. You are all a very vital part of this ministry and prayer coverage is the reason we are being so effective. We love you all, Wayne and Sherry

Divine Diversity

2010-08-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

Our first day of official ministry has ended and we as usual stand in awe of our precious Lord and His wisdom. We spent the day with our Methodist Brothers and Sisters in Christ. The one thing that stood out to us is the fact that these are serious Christ followers. Their traditions and style of worship are very different from our own church, but still very real and from the heart. God is His wisdom uses diversity to reach all those He has called to Himself.
Wayne preached the morning service at the Uzghorod Methodist Church and the evening service at the Kamyanista Methodist church. Both services were crowded and the people were hungry for the word. We have ministered in both churches in the past and have enjoyed the people very much. Each time we are in the Uzghorod church the Lord prompts Wayne to preach on unity, and this time was no exception. He preached a powerful sermon from Psalm 133 and John 13:34. This particular church has a special call on them to bring the body of Christ in Uzghorod together. The pastor they have had for over 9 years has just moved to America but while he was in Uzghorod he was used of the Lord to bring much unity. In the evening service Wayne preached on choices. The church in the village has many young people and so this message was timely for them. Each church has services almost every night and all of them are well attended. The people love to get together and worship and study. PTL for His amazing work.
After the evening service Pastor Vasili and Alya his wife prepared us a dinner of blinskies and watermelon. We must have eaten at least 10 blinskies each. They are a flat pancake which is very thin and you fill them with either jam, meat, cheese or honey. They are delicous.
We were going to post some pictures today but when we arrived home we realized the camera was still in the Pastors van, so the pictures will be posted at a later date. Hopefully before the week is over.
We start our seminar today sometime. Ukranians are not as detailed as we are so we are not sure of the time yet, but people are starting to arrive by train and car. We will have 14 couples attending from out of town if they all arrive. We will let you know this evening when we post of the days happenings.
Please continue to pray for safety for us as we travel by van to different places in the area. The drivers all want to race in the Grand Prix and use our travel to destinations as their qualifying runs. This of course is a tongue in cheek way of saying they drive like mad men.
Blessings and Love, Wayne and Sherry