June 2012 Update - Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes,
for you will spread out
Isaiah 54:2-3
Nazar, Max, Tima, Tanya, Vanya
to the right & to the left.
Esther, Svieta, Tanya, Mykola, Ruslan
praise & thanks
Spreading out. Expanding. Multiplying. Reaching out. That’s what
God is doing in and through us right now. Taking the little that we
have and making something bigger out of it.
Tanya and I just returned from America, a trip she never dreamed
she’d take. For her, it was a chance to experience new ideas, a new
culture—to expand her worldview. Some of the results are evident:
we now have napkins on our table, because she says she wants her
kids to learn to keep themselves clean at the table—and to be
more polite, like American children.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year and a half since I moved to
Ukraine! So much has changed from when I arrived to the apartment where we had kids only for weekends, where I could hardly
even communicate. And now, Max and Tanya have a full-time
family with seven kids! The house we bought is now becoming a
duplex—with Kolya and his new wife Yulia taking in older boys in
their half, and Max & Tanya’s family of younger kids upstairs. But
even in that, we’re expanding, outgrowing our spaces. We’ve already begun adding on the kitchen and bathroom for Max & Tanya’s family, as well as a new bedroom for the girls. Social Services
told us to be ready to take two more boys this summer, but we
have no place to put them! We’re trusting God for the funds to
complete the new girls’ bedroom to give the boys more space!
In every area of our lives, we’re expanding. Our church here is expanding—celebrating its fifth birthday & preparing to reach further. We have “adopted” public school 19 in Rivne, where we hold
“Christian Ethics Club” (Sunday School), English club, soccer club,
and other meetings with the kids. Soccer is huge in Ukraine right
now, since the Euro Cup finals are here & in Poland—so we’ve been
able to hold sports camp with Biblical principles, as well as invite
some of the kids over to watch the finals with us.
God is, through us and through you, spreading his arms wider to
reach the unreached places and people in Rivne region in Ukraine!

for safety & rest on our trip
to America

for all the donations: money,
clothing, games, toys, food!
May you be blessed!

for a new laptop! Your gifts
in America helped me replace my old, barely-there
laptop!

for funds & workers to help
with our building project

for God’s faithfulness: our
church here just celebrated
its 5th birthday!

for the opportunity to go to
the Black Sea this summer
for church camp

for the kids’ passion to read
the Bible
upcoming events:

June 18-22: Our
church’s Kids’ Sports
Camp with Fellowship of Christian
Athletes

June 24-27: My trip
to Krakaw, Poland,
to apply for my visa

June 28-July 2: English Camp with another church (I’ll be
helping teach)


building
project
This room: the old
summer kitchen
“Uncle Max” helps with some
of the top work
The old summer kitchen
July 2-16: Church
family camp at the
Black Sea (I’ll be
nannying while parents are in meetings)
August 6-15: National Youth Festival
Tanya & Mykola & the Bell Choir
View from the back
Tanya & Tima
View from above
Current progress
Goal: to replace the small summer
kitchen with a bigger, year-round
kitchen, bath & toilet, plus a bedroom
for the girls on the second level.
Progress: the brickwork for the first
story is nearly done! But costs are a lot
more than we had estimated.
Fresh dill to dry
prayer & needs
New bath & toilet

for finances to finish our addition

for clarity in hearing God’s
will, whether or not to take in
more kids

for spiritual & physical
strength, especially for Max &
Tanya as leaders

for my visa paperwork & for
safety & finances for my trip
to Poland to complete the process

for monthly supporters, both
for me & for Max & Tanya

for spiritual strength for Vanya, who is already saved, and
Nazar, who is very close
Max & Tanya
Svieta & me
Zhylin family
Kolya & Yulia’s wedding: Sergei Voline & Ihor as groomsmen
We are all part of the Body of Christ—but His hands can only reach
when His arms are functioning to support them, and when the shoulders
are supporting the arms, and so on. A tree is only as strong as its roots,
and a building only as strong as its foundation. God has placed me, Max,
and Tanya here in Mali Oleksin to reach the kids He’s given us, to join
with Life Church to reach School 19 and the families of Yuveleny Region
in Rivne. But we cannot do it without support.
[email protected]
[email protected]
Nazar, Vanya, Uncle Max
Please prayerfully consider supporting us, prayerfully and financially.
Personally, I need about $300 per month. Max & Tanya & the family’s
monthly financial need ranges from $400 to $1200, depending if we
receive state child support that month (which more often than not, we
do not receive).
No support is too small! For example, my monthly phone bill is about $6,
and bus fare is $0.25.
Be blessed, dear friends! Thank you for your partnership!
contact info
With friends at Kolya’s wedding
**mailing packages to us is very expensive—but there is a Russian store in Minnesota which ships by sea for $0.89 per
pound! Paradise Foods, on Hwy 13 between
35E & 35W in Burnsville**
Mailing Address:
Дандас Есtер
Вул. Нова 23
с. Малий Олексин
Рівненський р-н
Рівненська Обл.
35377 Ukraine
Financial Support:
Life Family Church
attn: Esther-Ukraine
1120 South Avenue
North Mankato, MN
56003