Thank you for praying for Hope to People ministry! We would like to share our news and blessings of the last month.
Meeting of Publishers “Word to the Teacher”
At the end of October, the publishers and authors of our Christian Spiritual Education Magazine held a regular editorial board. The general topic for 2020 is chosen – Christian virtues. It is important to demonstrate that the source of virtues is God Himself, rather than the endeavor of men. In fact, the meeting with the teachers-readers of the magazine is scheduled for November 29, 2019. We are grateful to God that He has led us all those 13 years from the very start of our activity, and now the 50th jubilee edition is on its way to be released.
Thanksgiving in Klevan
Ruslana Kovalchuk has recently organized a traditional Thanksgiving holiday at the Klevan’s boarding school for students of grades 1-4. The children had an opportunity to act out a drama called “Turnip,” written by Christian writer Angela Chudovets. The play was focused on the importance of giving thanks to God for His provision of the daily bread, and the importance of prayer and the God’s blessing of every earthly cause. Not only did the children watch a play but the staff of the boarding school, as well as the relatives of the students, have gathered at the assembly hall. We’re thankful to God for the administration of the institution and for the teachers who take an active part in helping to prepare such activities.
Ministry to Teachers and Students
At the end of the fall, God blessed the employees of the department of education with opportunity to serve the teachers of the Rivne region, who came to Rivne for advanced training courses at the regional institute. We thank God for giving them a chance to pay visit to our organization. Ruslana Kovalchuk conducted an exhibition of paintings for these teachers “The Life of Jesus Christ,” and also shared the methodology of teaching Bible lessons to the students. Employees of the Christian magazine “Word to the Teacher” also seized the opportunity and presented the latest editions to them. We were also visited by some guests from the United States who came to Ukraine to serve as part of a large team from different cities and churches. Scott Cianciolo, Colin Curtis, and Jonathan Slaughter showed a great interest in serving children and visited the Klevan Boarding School, with which we have been cooperating for many years.
Camp Reunion
On November 23, 2019, the consecutive meeting of the participants of Christian camps for children and young people who have no parents or some are raised in low-income and single-parent families took place at the building of our mission. The theme of the meeting was “At the Beginning Was the Word of God.” Mission staff member Ruslana Kovalchuk has done a good job walking the youth through an exhibition of paintings “The Life of Jesus Christ in Works of Art.” During the presentation, she asked the youth about their attitude to Jesus Christ today – if there is a place for Christ in their life and in their hearts. We are very grateful to God that many of these young people have already put their faith in the Lord and some have been even baptized.
Anniversary Issue of the Magazine
On November 29, a literary lounge “At the Beginning Was the Word…” was held at IPO Hope to People – a joint project of the editorial board of the magazine “Word to the Teacher” and the Department of Education in Rivne. The event was dedicated to the 50th-anniversary issue. Teachers of Rivne schools, readers of the magazine, a member of the editorial board, authors and presenters of headings, representatives of partner organizations, patrons and just friends of the magazine came to the meeting.
Evangelism in Italy
The small town of Caserta is picturesquely nestled on a hill near Naples, and only in it, according to official data, for the total population of 75,000 accounts for by 2000 migrants from Ukraine and the CIS. They usually come here in search of work, but most of these people are in desperate need to hear the Good News of our Savior. Visiting Italy, a while back, our brother Yaroslav Dovgyy saw how much the Russian-speaking people need Christ and that there’s a tremendous shortage of Christian churches and ministers. Therefore, he and his wife dedicated themselves to ministry in this country. Soon, after moving to this country, the new Bible church has been started. The newly planted church is involved in the work with children and in the ministry of mercy to sick and people with addictions. Now, they are earnestly preparing for the summer outreach children’s camp. Please pray for this ministry!
A trip to Central Asia
Just recently, two sisters from Rivne visited our dear sister who has a terminal illness. Actually, local people treated them well – according to the eastern tradition, showing their warm hospitality. Praise the Lord that He is Almighty God and He keeps giving the necessary physical and spiritual strength to our sister. While visiting, our Ukrainian sisters had a lot of meetings with Central Asian women which gave them a lot of opportunities to share the Gospel… Our sisters were amazed that local women were so eager to hear the Word of God! This country is an unplowed field for evangelism. It was a powerful testimony that our sister is being welcomed, everywhere she shows up, by the kids and the adults. The life of this woman is a great example for us of how to think not about ourselves in a state of illness, but about how to serve others. Now she is going through the next course of chemotherapy. So please pray for her spiritual and physical condition.
Ministry in Warsaw
Alexander is very excited that most of their young church members are married couples and he gladly attributes it to God’s grace. These couples make up 70% of the entire congregation! It provides the church with the uniqueness as well as enormous mission and evangelical potential. Also, another privilege to the church is that it consists of a large number of brothers. That is why a new ministry is going to kick off in December 2019, in the small town of Siedlce, 90 km away from Warsaw. In this town with a population of 80,000, there is a Polish church. There are also a lot of Ukrainians (around 10,000), but there is no church for them. The Church God’s Grace is willing to start doing worship services in both languages Ukrainian and Russian twice a month. They have been praying for this cause and, now it seems the right time for them to take a step of faith! If the Lord gives mercy to this activity, it will be a major breakthrough in 2019! After all, the church has a strategic goal – to be a mission-minded church and to plant new communities.
