With Love from Ukraine...

Many people have been wondering if they were removed from our mailing list.... or maybe some have thought we vanished off of the face of the earth. The truth is, I just have not written an update in many months. I have decided to try something new, though, by using a blogging website in order to write my updates. This will make my life simpler, and I hope it will be simple enough for my dear friends who have been so faithful to keep up with our ministry these past six and a half years.

We returned to Ukraine in mid-January to no home. If you remember, before leaving Ukraine last August, we decided to give up our apartment and put our personal belongings in storage. This decision was made in order for us to save money on rent and apply those savings to our house being built here on the mission field. So, when we returned, it was necessary for us to find a temporary apartment. We found a very SMALL place to rent for two months. Then, on March 10th, we moved to the VanSant's house. The VanSants are the missionaries we are working under, and they were returning to America for a five-month furlough. Lord-willing, our home will be finished by August, when the VanSants return and are ready to have their house back. We are grateful for this beautiful home to live in, and their kindness in allowing us to live here.

We have been incredibly busy since we returned. For me, a new experience I had was organizing a Ladies' Banquet for International Ladies' Day on March 7th. We had about 85 ladies who attended, and it was my responsibility to prepare and organize the events of the day. The Lord blessed, and the banquet was a time of honoring and glorifying our Lord. The theme was "A Time to Plant," taken from the book of Ecclesiastes. I had a special guest attend that day, an Ear-Nose-Throat doctor who took care of my baby girl, Brianna, when she was in the hospital with a ruptured eardrum a year and a half ago. Dr. Alla heard the Gospel that day, and I am praying that God's Word was firmly planted in her heart and life, and one day we will get to reap the rewards of seeing her come to Christ.

David has now taken over the pastorate of Simferopol Baptist Church, in the VanSant's absense. This always creates more work and excitement in our lives, but we love the added responsibilities (because there are always added blessings too!)

David and I will be flying to Krakow, Poland on Tuesday in order to get a needed stamp in our passports, and we will be returning early Sunday morning. Please pray that we will have safe flights, and that our trip will be successful. Poland actually has Pizza Hut, KFC, and Subway... so we are looking forward to tasting some "American" food again.

Please continue to pray for our ministry and our family! We love you and appreciate your concern for us as we do what the Lord would have us to do here in Ukraine.

With Love from Ukraine,

Jolene

P.S. Below are a few pictures of the banquet decorations. I'm just not sure yet how to make them look nice on here!