Thursday - Friday

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

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

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

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

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

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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

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

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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.

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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.

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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.

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

Blessings and love,

PW and Sherry

Saturday

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

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

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