The Above Photo: A group of smiling faces gathered to witness Lydmilla put on Christ in immersion. She has been assembling with the congregation in Starry Lysets.
I have arrived in Ivano-Frankivsk after some very good visits in Kherson and Zaporozhe. The meeting with the Governor Andrii Anatolovych in Kherson went very well and I want to add that he is a man of integrity and I believe his word is true. The arrival in Ivano-Frankivsk brought me into a dreary, damp day with a cold wind blowing. As usual with the seasonal changing weather many have become ill. I escaped the pine, pecan and oak pollen of Montgomery and have entered the pollen seasons of flora in four different Oblasts in Ukraine!
The remainder of the trip will be spent in Ivano-Frankivsk, except for the last few days being in Kyiv. The World Bible Institute classes will continue on the daytime schedule. The students are nearing the end of the first two-year cycle and the first graduates will be presented. In the evening Bible classes I will be discussing the Epistle of the Philippians. This study will be divided into different trips because I have 23 lessons in this series. We are also anticipating the soon arrival of Gray Jerkins, Ron Swang, John Durham and 16 other medical professionals who will conduct the second “Making A Great Physician” seminar for the medical students in Ivano-Frankivsk. So the remaining time is going to be “fast & furious”!
Upon arriving I received notice that Volodya and Julia were going to have their first immersion in the congregation. Lydmilla has been coming to worship and Bible study and had decided that she needed to be immersed. It was an encouraging and exciting time.
Our on-going war with the TASK GROUP, Ministry of Social Policy, and Customs continues but I have had some encouraging response from officials who detest the corruption as much as we do and feel ashamed at the fact Ukraine is known for corruption. These seek to address the situation and I appreciate them working with our efforts. I am confident the Lord is watching the efforts of these officials who are striving to correct the corruption and I want to give them my support and encouragement to continue striving for that which is good. Please pray for them.
The Lord’s question, “For what will a man given in exchange for his soul?” (The Bible, Matthew 16:26) is a serious question. How much compromise are you willing to make? What is your soul worth—special favor, thousands of dollars, or other worldly commodities? Tragically we have witnessed that some in Ukrainian politics, Customs and Bureaucracy are willing to sell their souls to Satan for things that quickly perish.
When the money is spent, when the position is lost, when the beauty fades, these will have absolutely nothing—not even their souls as they have sold it to Satan.
The monthly report from World of Connections has been posted. Here is a PDF of it along with a link for more photos and reports.
WOC-March-2019-Progress-ReportI received an email from Charita that included this encouraging paragraph: “I just received new contacts from the church in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and one Afghanistan. All of them are new territories since we are still on hold with Ukraine, we need to move the items somewhere.”
NOTE: Our suspension of actions in Ukraine does not mean we will walk away and never ship humanitarian aid into Ukraine again. If there are demonstrated efforts to address corruption and remove the involvement of the TASK GROUP in our actions we can instantly resume. But not until these efforts are a reality.
Pray for our on-going efforts!
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
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