{"id":1034,"date":"2015-10-19T13:41:08","date_gmt":"2015-10-19T18:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kachelman.com\/ukraine\/blog\/?p=1034"},"modified":"2015-12-12T10:29:27","modified_gmt":"2015-12-12T16:29:27","slug":"report-11-october-19-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kachelman.com\/ukraine\/blog\/2015\/10\/19\/report-11-october-19-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Report #11\u2014October 19, 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greetings from Kherson, Ukraine! <\/p>\n

I arrived here two days ago after that enjoyable bus ride. Since arriving my time has been completely filled in touring and inspecting various distribution points. I have also had a series of meetings with hospital chiefs and administration centers. This is the second time I have visited this area (those who have read previous reports will recall that it was here that I was taken to the volcanic geyser for a therapeutic treatment and also treated to the healing black mud of this region). <\/p>\n

There is good interest here and once again I was asked to discuss the New Testament Church and especially talk about its autonomous governing. That conversation occurred over a lengthy supper last night. It ended with one of those present saying that he wanted to represent the New Testament Church in Kherson and asked me if that would be permissible. I told him that I thought that would be a wonderful idea and would be glad to show him what all is involved and required to be a representative of that Church. This wonderful spirit has shown itself to be common on both of my visits to this area. The benevolent actions of the Lord\u2019s People and simplicity of following the New Testament Christianity are a powerful leverage to the staid traditions, ritualistic legalism and spiritual elitism that often characterizes the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.<\/p>\n

The photo above is that of Irina in Ivano-Frankivsk. She is a bright sunshine smile to those in the congregation. On this trip she made a blue and yellow beaded butterfly as a gift for the Americans that visited. She was immersed into the Lord last April. A friend had invited her to start attending worship and Bible study\u2014never underestimate the power of your invitations and influence!<\/p>\n

On a visit to a Children\u2019s Home I was shown a number of items that had been received from the containers that we shipped\u2014bed covers that were handmade by ladies in Mississippi, bed linens, stuffed toys, shoes and clothing.
\n

\"Here<\/a>
Here is one of the bedrooms in the Children’s Home. Some beds have the homemade covers shipped from Columbus, MS. You can also see the stuffed toys we have shipped to the children.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n\"DSCF1195\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As we were going down the stairs I noticed wooden knobs that had been screwed onto the rail. At first I thought these were to assist the disabled so they would be able to have hold of the banister and not fall. When I asked the Director about the knobs he gave me this explanation: \u201cWe have some boys that liked to slide down the banister and some would not listen. So we put these bumps in their way.\u201d As you look at the photo I think you will see how effective these speed bumps are!
\n

\"The<\/a>
The “speed bumps” attached to the banister<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

As I was being shown through the children\u2019s home I was taken to a room and told that was the room they had prepared for children to go to pray. The Director said, \u201cWe want our children to pray more than anything so we try to encourage them in every possible way.\u201d As he told me this I could not help but think how our schools have become totally secular and prayer is never encouraged!
\n\"DSCF1196\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The past few days here have been enjoyed with a wonderful weather. I am being told that \u201cOld Lady Summer\u201d has arrived! Everyone is enjoying the brief warm up and autumn splendor but it will soon be gone as the Lady\u2019s \u201cOld Man Winter\u201d arrives!<\/p>\n

Today I received a call from Zaporozhye telling me the consignee had received the documents for a container we loaded out of Judsonia 22 September. This container shipped 26,000+ pounds of clothing that had been collected by LT and Joan Gurganus from congregations around Parrish, Alabama! The container\u2019s arrival has not been specified yet but it should be soon. Thankfully these clothes will arrive just in time for distribution as the winter sets in over here.<\/p>\n

Tomorrow will be my last day for this trip in Kherson. I leave tomorrow evening on a train that will take me to Kyiv where I will overnight and then take an early train to Kramatorsk where I will get to be with Vlad and Oksana and the Lord\u2019s People. Following that I return to Kyiv and will hopefully be able to bring closure to six containers that have been hung up by a consignee since July.<\/p>\n

A follow up on a previous post note\u2026several days ago I included portions of an email I had received from brethren who were planning to return to the Separatist held areas in Donetsk. They thought that the lull in the fighting would give them an opportunity to visit and check on the elderly brethren who could not be evacuated. I received this note reporting on the trip. I am not listing specifics or photos\u2026I hope his words will encourage you to remain faithful and trusting in the Almighty God\u2019s sovereign rule!<\/p>\n

Dear friends, I want to share with you my thoughts after visiting Gorlovka. Thank you for your prayers. The Lord kept me safe during my time staying in the unrecognized Donetsk republic. <\/p>\n

I guess the most difficult thing during the whole trip was to see the eyes of Christians who met me with joy. We spent several hours reminiscing of the peaceful times and being strengthened by God\u2019s Word. We used apartments of Christians as places for gathering. We have read many Psalms of encouragement during this short period of time. Some Christians cried. I was touched by what I saw. <\/p>\n

Despite everything they\u2019ve been through, they didn\u2019t lose their faith. They\u2019ve lived for weeks in a row without water, electricity and gas. Oftentimes they had to go down to cellars of the apartment buildings, hiding from shelling. Many of them had their homes and windows broken and utilities damaged. Some of them still haven\u2019t replaced the broken glass. They\u2019ve learned to put thin plastic film and fix it with duct tape. But they don\u2019t see it as a problem. They still put their trust in God and see their protection only in Him.<\/p>\n

Thank you, all brothers and sisters who sent me words of encouragement for Christians in Gorlovka. I told them about your love and care. They pray for all those who came to them, for the financial support for these Christians. Many of them have admitted that this help is essential for them. Even now the social services do not work well in this unrecognized republic. Even though the pensions are being paid, but it\u2019s not enough to live by for the whole month.<\/p>\n

I also managed to visit several non-Christian families; their children used to attend our Bible school for kids. They were asking about the church and about God, but they are afraid to become Christians, since this pro-Russian republic acknowledges only Moscow Orthodox Church.<\/p>\n

Thank you again for your prayers. I hope my trip would be an encouragement for all Christians on both sides of the frontline. There are still so many Christians in Donetsk and Lughansk areas. I urge you to pray for them. Your brother and coworker,<\/p>\n

Please continue praying for our efforts!<\/p>\n

John L. Kachelman, Jr.
\nKherson, Ukraine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greetings from Kherson, Ukraine! I arrived here two days ago after that enjoyable bus ride. Since arriving my time has been completely filled in touring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trip-reports"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kachelman.com\/ukraine\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/DSCF1279.jpg?fit=849%2C768&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8C1ar-gG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kachelman.com\/ukraine\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kachelman.com\/ukraine\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kachelman.com\/ukraine\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kachelman.com\/ukraine\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kachelman.com\/ukraine\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kachelman.com\/ukraine\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kachelman.com\/ukraine\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kachelman.com\/ukraine\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kachelman.com\/ukraine\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kachelman.com\/ukraine\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}