Odessa

Good Morning! We are glad to have access to a computer so we could give you an update. We are at the Odessa Seminary and happy to have a quiet day after a busy weekend. Last Friday we took the train down to Odessa. It was kind of a gray & rainy day, but the train ride gave us a chance to rest and take catch a nap after hitting the groud running on Thursday. We had a great weekend of ministry & God was so Faithful! Saturday we held a women's conference with about 50 women from the various churches in the Odessa region. We held our conference in a beautiful chapel here on the campus - the sun was shining and a very pleasant day. We were blessed to have the regional pastor, Bronyslav share & pray for us at the beginning of the conference - God has given us favor with the Baptist Union. The women were warm & friendly and the content was well received - each went home with one bible study. We are praying that some of these women will be healed as they go through the study, that some will go through the study with someone else and also that God would raise up some of these women to partner with us and grow this ministry in this region. Yulia our translator did a great job & we are blessed again to have her traveling with us. We so enjoy your willing heart & joyful spirit! We had Kim, one of our Odessa missionary friends here for the conference. We rode the bus back together into the city for dinner. We met Kurt & Rochelle zurBerg with their 3 girls and also Mark & Kim Huffman for a delightful dinner and sweet time of fellowship. The zurBerg's are missionary's from Michigan and the Huffman's from Minnesota. (Kathy they send their greetings.) Sunday we decided to take the bus into town to attend Holy Trinity Church with the Huffmans. we wanted to meet their pastor as he was very interested in Healing Hearts. We had a great time of worship in with a small congregation of about 35 people. The pastor is a Japanese man who preaches in English - he and his wife and 7 year old son have lived in Ukraine for 9 years and began the church 6 years ago. He preaches from the Word and is a very dynamic Spirit-filled pastor. We had the opportunity to share for about 10-15 minutes in the service about HH. After church we had 20 minutes to talk with the pastor - great connection! After church Mark & Kim blessed us with a picnic at the sea.....we have wanted to see the beach and it was a sunny day about 60 degrees and the Black Sea was lovely. We enjoyed a picnic with them and their 3 boys and then spent a few hours hanging out at the beach. Yulia and I took off our shoes and got our feet wet as we walked along the seashore - smile! We took the bus back into the city and went out for tea & "bleannies" which are Barb's favorite food in Ukraine. ( they are little crepes filled with a sweet cheese and served with sour cream & jam.....yum!!) We were tired by the time we took the bus and did our walk back, but good to be back to our comfortable rooms. We may be attending a special service at a church tonight, but haven't heard yet. We need to spend some time today preparing & planning for our time at the Christian University Tuesday morning. Most of these students are not believers so it is a great opportunity to share our testimonies, share truth about life & abortion and share the gospel. Pray for open hearts and minds - pray for salvation & for God to water the seeds of truth. We will also have some time for questions & answers. Pray for any girls that are post-abortive that they would be open to go through the study. Tuesday evening we have a tea with a small group of ladies from Second Baptist Church here by the seminary. Pray for a few of these ladies to catch the vision. Wednesday morning we have a meeting set up with Pastor Bronyslav before heading to the train station in the late afternoon. This meeting will be a good opportunity to not only share our vision for Ukraine, but also seek his counsel on how we can partner with the Baptist Union. (someone told us he is second in command). Thanks so much for your prayers. Please pray for health & strength. Barb is feeling a bit weary today & longing for a little nap this afternoon. Pray for our families at home that God would bring protection & comfort and special strength & grace for our husbands. Remember you can send us a post - smile. love, Barb & Teresa