Ukraine Day 3'

Wow today was full to say the least. We began early so we could  spend time preparing our hearts for today's teaching. The weather was horrid with howling winds and rain but cleared as the day progressed.

We had a great time at the New Testament Church. The people straggled in slowly but by the end of the first session we had quite a good group. The sessions were recorded because many who came last night had to work today and wanted to have copies.  PW taught on Communication today and Sherry taught on Raising Children who love God and also How to help children deal with the fear that the war in Ukraine is causing in their lives.  We ended the day by answering questions that led to over an hours worth of answers, it turns out it is not only the children who are dealing with fear and insecurity.  No one seemed to want to leave so that was good.  All in all it was a fruitful time.

Here are some pictures of some of the people who came. 

 We offered a light lunch for the attendees between sessions

 Dear Nadia, she has known us since we first came in 2000 and always brings Sherry a gift.  

 Sherry and Magdelina, Sure do love this lady

 The Hope and Life team. It's a privilege to work with them.

Sherry and the girls 

Tomorrow Wayne is preaching at the New Testament Church and we will share pictures of Pastor Volodya and Lilliana. In the evening we will be doing a mini seminar on Restoring Romance in Marriage for women or men with unbelieving spouses whom we hope will attend. Please pray they are drawn by God to come. 

It is such a privilege to be here and serve these people.  We could not do this without the support of our family, friends and our CCF Church family. Thank you to all of you.

Much Love, 

PW and Sherry

Ukraine Day 2

We want to thank all of you who are praying for us while we minister over here. We can definitely feel the prayers.  Today was a day of preparation for the teaching time tonight.  It is wonderful to just sit in His presence and let him fill your heart with His word so you can pour it out later.

The seminar was good tonight. We had around 30 people and for a Friday night that was good.  Lots of young couples who are already experiencing a waning of romance in their marriages. It was fun to talk about different practical ways to bring the romance back into their marriages. There was a lot of laughing and arm poking going on.  And would you believe we forgot to take pictures?  We will remedy that tomorrow.

When had the altar call for prayer,  6 couples came up for specific prayer.   One young couple came who come to all of seminars and were thanking us for the encouragement. They are running into some differences between them and needed some counsel.  Then a couple whom we had in the bible school at Nehemiah 13 years ago came for prayer. He shared with us how much we had impacted his life over the  years as he reviewed the teachings on marriage. We were humbled to say the least since he went on and on and on.   What a blessing to know that positive fruit has come from our obedience to the Father.

All in all the evening was a tremendous joy.  We love reconnecting with friends and tonight was no exception.   Our dear friends Valodya and Oxana are always fun, Sasha and Oxana and Jason and Lera Wisner and so many others whom we see when we come.

We went out for dessert afterward with Wisners and had high fat ice cream and tea.. And yes the menu did bill it as high fat.  Trust me it was definitely high fat.  Yummmmmm... gotta love Ukranian delicacies.

Thank you to Pastor Volodya and Lilliana for your hospitality and asking us to come.  It is always a blessing to be with you.

Tomorrow we will teach on Communication and Raising Children who love God. Please pray for us when you get up since we will be teaching by then.

Much love,
PW and Sherry

Ukraine Day 1

Today we were able to sleep in until 10, which was wonderful. Although we both woke up very muddled in our thinking. Jet lag is so strange. But PTL as the day has progressed our minds have cleared up.  Below is a photo story of our trip so far.

 For Rilla, this is the view from our plane as we left Chicago.

 Rilla, this is the  way clouds look when you fly above them.

 View from our window this morning at Nehemiah Guest House

 Some of the Refugee women and children who attended the tea this evening. 

 The two girls on the left arrived just 3 days ago from Donetsk  

 Looking at the New Testaments that we presented them as gifts

 Our precious friend Tanya in the red sweater

 My precious friend and translator Olya

Three little girls whose family had to flee the war area and are living at Nehemiah Guest house. Their father is thankfully with them. He was taken by the Russian KGB and tortured in a basement for several days before he was released. They like those above have all found refuge in Western Ukraine and are being helped by Nehemiah ministries here.  So far they have helped feed, house and clothe over 500 refugees that have come to the city of Uzghorod.  Tanya has allowed many of them to live here free of charge while they look for work in the city. She has also invited them to bring their children for free to any of the activities or classes provided.  The beauty of this is that these people are seeing the Lord through His people and some are coming to faith in Christ.

Tonight, I, Sherry was privileged to speak to these refugee women and one man and offer hope that comes only from our Father.  The response was very good and several of the women cried as I shared about the character of God and how His perfect love can cast out any fear. They are dealing with so much trauma from what they have suffered.  They have had to leave homes that they built, businesses and jobs, family members and often with only the clothes on their backs.  Some shared that their loved ones are trapped in the war zone because their city or village is surrounded by Russian troops and they cannot leave.  You can imagine the anxiety they are experiencing as they wait word from them.  Please pray for them to hear from their families.  I presented the gospel and hope that they will embrace Christ as their only hope and find the peace that he can give.

Traveling is not for sissies

The older we get the more we can say that traveling is definitely not for sissies.  Between the flight delays, layovers, cramped seats and grouchy airport workers a persons self control is tested.  But thank the Lord we have persevered so far.  We sat in the airport in Chicago for 8 hours and are now sitting in the airport in Vienna for the 4th hour.  Our plane is scheduled to leave in an hour and half.

Did you ever wonder how the restaurants and shops in an airport can get away with charging $4.95 for a bottle of water.  Yes you read that correctly.  A person has to have an airport budget just to survive since you cannot bring your own water into the secured areas.    And.................

Did you ever wonder who decided that leg room is not necessary for an 8 hour flight?  Seriously, PW's knees hit the seat in front of us.  I wonder if the executives were forced to sit in coach how long it would take before the seats were changed to have more room.  Thankfully Austrian Air has more leg room than most, but PW's legs still hit the seat in front of us and we had good seats. Ahhhh the joy of traveling.

Just thought you might enjoy some of the little details of traveling in this day and age. LOL

But we thank the Father for his grace and mercies and look forward to sleeping in a real bed tonight.
We start ministry tomorrow so would appreciate prayer as we cross your minds.

Much Love,
 PW and Sherry

Ukraine here we come

Sometime in Early December we felt the Lord calling us back to Ukraine to minister. In contacting our friends there an invitation to come was given and the next day without solicitation money started coming into our Travel Account. A definite sign to us that God was at work.  So in spite of the war in Ukraine and the other dangers around the world, we are stepping out in Faith trusting that our Father is sending us on mission.  We are asking for prayer while we are gone.  Travel days are Jan 26 and Feb. 5.  Below is our schedule so you can pray for us please. There is a 7 hour time difference.

Arrive on Tuesday late afternoon and will be driving for 2 hours and crossing the Slovakian border.  Please pray that all goes well and that there are no hold ups.

Wed night at 7 : English Conversation group at the English school - we usually talk about relationships and then answer questions. 

Thursday afternoon : Sherry will be speaking at a tea for Refugee women and others from Uzghorod. 

Friday evening 7 - 9: Marriage Seminar begins at the New Testament Church, topic is Restoring Romance in Marriage

Saturday 1030 - 12: Maintaining Good Marital Communication, topics will include the Secret of learning to Communicate better, What to do when desires are denied, Danger of Anger, Learning to Disagree, Power of Forgiveness.  

Saturday 12:30 - 2: Helping our children to embrace a walk with God that will last and then the second session will be How to help children deal with the fear that comes from being at war. 

We will end with Questions and Answers

Saturday late afternoon: Dinner with friends

Sunday Morning: Preaching at the New Testament Church

Sunday Evening 6 - 7:30: Mini marriage seminar for couples where one is a believer the other is not.  We will repeat the Friday evening topic of Restoring Romance in Marriage.  Please pray especially during this time since hopefully there will be unbelievers present and the gospel will be presented at the end.

Monday: Currently we are scheduled to do a Marriage mini seminar at the Gypsy Church.  

Tuesday: Leave for Slovakia and home. Please pray once again for no delays at the border. Sometimes you can sit for 6 - 8 hours at this particular border.  

Wednesday: Start the trip home. We have an 18 hour layover in Vienna and then  head out to home on Thursday.  

As you can see our schedule is pretty intense and we hit the ground running.  In the midst of all of this teaching will be ministry times and counseling etc. Because of Jet lag, our specific prayer is for strength and vitality and anointing of course and health.  

We are so excited to not only see our friends once again but to be able to minister to this country that we love.  The people of Ukraine have been resilient over the centuries due to multiple occupations by foreign countries, but they have maintained their identity and culture. They have suffered much but still hope.  We love them and pray for peace for them.  We have often said that we are torn between two continents and it is true.  Ukraine feels like home to us and so does American.  God has put this love in our hearts and we are humbled that he is entrusting us to minister to these precious people.  

We covet your prayers and thank God for each one of you.   We will begin daily updates next Wed. 

Much love, 

PW and Sherry