Kyiv Calling Oct 2002

PART 1: God’s Great Picture Continues :

Ukraine Family Institute / Wellspring Highlights : Your dollars and prayers at work.

PART 2: PVs for VIPs:

Personal Vignettes For Very Important Persons! Pick and choose or read them all.

Those of you who saw our full Ukraine presentation complete with “puzzle” pieces being put in place as we walked you through God’s work in Ukraine and in Harris hearts the last decade, will recognize and understand the title “God’s Great Picture”. For those to whom it is new, we hope your understanding and joy in this grows. So now from our flat in Kyiv I continue with to tell His story.

Part 3: Photos

PART 1

God’s Great Picture (... Continued)

Ukraine Family Institute / Wellspring Highlights :

Your dollars and prayers at work.

Excerpts from the Fall International Faith Initiatives newsletter

(written by our Ukraine family Institute president Mike Linville)

UKRAINE FAMILY INSTITUTE OFFICIALLY ALIGNS WITH

KIEV CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY; SECURES UKRAINIAN

GOVERNMENT REGISTRATION!

...On October 1, 2002, International Faith Initiatives’ first major foray into leadership development and pastoral training came to life as Ukraine family Institute (UFI) officially affiliated with Kiev Christian University in Kiev, Ukraine. UFI will serve the university by providing it with a Department of Biblical Counselling to go along with its other majors in ministry and theology. As a result, Ukraine Family Institute has received its official Ukrainian government registration, no small thing in a country where such documentation is typically very difficult to come by. ...The launch of module #1 is expected to include as many as seventy pastors and church leaders. Sites for each of next year’s four modules were locked in during Mike’s late September / early October trip to Ukraine. The January and October courses will take place at the Open Bible Retreat Center in the town of Vorzel, just west of Kiev one half hour, while the April and July sessions will be held on the KCU campus in Kiev

....Applications continue to roll in as word spreads among the evangelical community about the unique program that UFI offers.

Reflections on the Birth of a New Ministry (Still from Mike’s writing) ~... I has been ground breaking and exciting work, but one filled with surprises (good ones) at every turn. Over and over again God has shown His hand in the start up of this ministry. We have witnessed one miracle after another. For example, the full spectrum of the evangelical church in Ukraine has come together in unanimous agreement and support of what we are doing. Only The Lord could have done such a thing.

... Time and time again, as we’ve met there with church leaders and seminary presidents, we’ve been offered a wide variety of assistance in bringing UFI to life....

Ukraine Staff Grows to Five ~ ... With the new office leased and functional there have been two new additions to the teaching team. So now UFI consists of :

IFI’s (International Faith Initiative’s) Operations Manager Artyom Kluchnikov

IFI’s Operations Assistant Leanna Shkatulo (pronounced Lyena)

UFI’s Academic Dean Dr. Ron Harris

(Writing and compiling curriculum & resources, teaching & training)

TEACHING ASSISTANTS (very qualified and to be further trained by Ron)

Valya Krasnoschok and Sergey Kaplan. To their roles with us at UFI they bring seminary training, translation experience, and a passion for biblical counselling.

$ IFI, $ UFI, $ Mike, $ World Team, $ Ron, ... whoa! What??? ~ How is this all funded? Well, Mike’s the man to ask for details on his end of raising IFI/UFI money. He continues to work very hard in Indianna building the financial base for UFI to function. He got and funds the office in Kyiv. (Remember he started UBI and it is still running here in Kiev, blessing many students each year with Bible teaching) Artyom is putting in full sometimes gruelling days at his desk in the room next to Ron’s here in Kyiv, translating Ron’s material, working for IFI and still raising his own support. Leanna is working just as hard translating as well. Ron continues daily writing and refining the curriculum/syllabi occasionally meeting with area leaders about counselling issues or direction as to if and how to get training.(UFI of course!) Ron and I and World Team Canada, though extremely amazed and grateful for all our present financial and prayer support, still seek more donors in order to spread the responsibility and opportunity more evenly. Our donors are simply funding us (Ron , Linda and presently Adam (16)) being here, doing our part.

CONSIDER! the multiplied blessings from you, our faithful crew ~ When you consider what is being done , and as many as 70 pastors and leaders eager to begin UFI’s very first counselling training course in the Soviet Union, and that these men and women will inevitably multiply the ministry of sound Biblical teaching and counselling ... maybe you don’t feel as charged up as Ron and me, but surely you HAVE to feel some excitement and confidence that every prayer and dollar is well worth it. Please continue praying and spread the news of God’s Great picture.. Thank you and Praise God!

WELLSPRING waters In Canada & Kiev ~ Ron and I have been so encouraged to read of official and unofficial Wellspring Associates in Ontario spending time with one another and helping each other move ahead in counselling and learning to counsel. This is tremendous news! Keep up the great work!

Home Away From Home? ~ As planned, we are attending Church Of The Holy Trinity here in Kyiv and it is quite the blessing. (See musicmissionkiev.org for more on that church) Also as Ron explained in our Canadian presentations, being of the same denomination (or at least the western version) he hopes to be able to minister at CHT in some way. God has already used him to help in a few very significant counselling ways. Both of us are discovering that getting old is not so bad after all. There is much satisfaction in being able to help our younger leaders work through the more difficult issues. Praise God.

Wellspring website ~ I have just worked through the different computer and access / upload glitches from here. So I can update it as desired and time permits. I think it may be the logical place for photos. We shall see.

PART 2

“PVs for VIPs”

Personal Vignettes For Very Important Persons!

Pick and choose or read them all. (Bedtime stories?)

Much to our amazement most of those on our mailing list read the entire "pack" of pages of Personal Vignettes either all at once or in bitesized pieces. Some even read it twice! Given the more personal nature of those, PVs for VIPs are not posted but you can request them emailed directly to you. Just let me (Linda) know at rlharris@i.kiev.ua

PART 3: KYIV PHOTOS