Odessa Mission
July 2005 Newsletter
Molitvenie Prozbie! (Prayer Requests!)
In this newsletter, we've decided to talk mainly about several core members
of KRCC and make their needs known so that you can pray more effectively for
them. Much of the time, when our members are bogged down with their problems
to the point of being overly distracted, their spiritual lives tend to suffer
greatly. Consequently, KRCC tends to suffer in the process. So hopefully,
by being more informed about the lives of KRCC's key members and by praying
more specifically for them, we'll all be able to strengthen the foundation
that God has already established here.
Tatyana is a seventeen-year old girl who has been very faithful in her
attendance since she was baptized at KRCC about five months ago. She recently
graduated from high school and is now in the process of taking her entrance
exams in order to enroll at Odessa's law academy. She frequently likes to
mention the fact that KRCC needs a good and faithful lawyer on its side and
I think she's definitely got a point. Tatyana has helped with most of our
children's concerts and programs. In fact, she's even participated in them
herself. At the moment, she's extremely busy with her exams and that probably
won't let up too much once she officially begins her studies. So please pray
that the Lord will not only give her success at the academy but also ask Him
to help her find ample time for spiritual growth as well. Plus, she needs
strength to carry out all of her current responsibilities at KRCC which include
teaching Sunday school from time to time.
Tatyana's mother Larissa is also a member of KRCC. They live together in a
tiny room at a school for kids with scoliosis. About two months ago, Larissa
was able to get a job in the kitchen there. The job is generally decent but
the director, Valarie Ivanovich, can be difficult to work with at times.
Furthermore, the pay is barely enough to live on. So, it is possible that
Tatyana might need to get a part-time job sometime in the near future if
things don't change. The director seemed to indicate that he could pay more
in the opening interview but hasn't delivered on that yet. So they're
obviously in very tight living quarters and on a very tight budget, which
makes tithing a real sacrifice indeed. Unfortunately, that's something
99% of our church members can understand perfectly. Please pray that God
will touch Valarie Ivanovich's heart so that Larissa's salary will increase
and also ask the Lord to improve their overall situation at the school.
Also pray that God will continue using Larissa there for the spread of the
gospel. She has a small prayer group in the kitchen and one of the ladies
even came to a special service recently.
Oxonna is another familiar name to you. She was baptized at KRCC about
seven months ago and is extremely faithful despite her living about an hour
away from our church. She's currently taking correspondence courses at the
Christian University as well as working full-time at a company that specializes
in transportation. Oxonna just started working about three weeks ago and it's
obviously been quite an adjustment, all things considered. Thus, with her
increasing demands and daily commute she's been rather limited in her church
involvement lately. She attends worship every Sunday but her involvement
in our other activities has tapered off considerably, which is certainly
understandable. And, while she is making a concerted effort to help
with our church's registration process, she does need your prayer support
if she's to make good on any commitment she's made about teaching English
at KRCC beginning in September.
My wife, Ira, is truly amazing because she's been able to carry so much of the
load for so long. She's conducting our worship, keeping me in line most of
the time, heading up all of KRCC's kids' programs, and studying at Odessa's
music conservatory. How she does it all is a mystery to me but she's
definitely doing a FABULOUS JOB! Ira is a big-time go-getter and when she sets
her mind to something she usually gets it done extremely well. That is one
reason she can even keep me in line sometimes. Ira will soon be starting her
fifth and final year at the conservatory and will be very busy as usual.
Furthermore, she's had a lot of problems with her voice teacher and it's
really been draining for her physically and emotionally. In August, she'll
be trying to change teachers and will need your prayers in that process
because if she's not successful then that will really be a struggle for
her throughout the coming academic year. This particular teacher sapped
much of Ira's joy and energy over the past year and that obviously had
adverse affects on her ministry and personal life.
As the minister, I often deal with a variety of draining spiritual attacks
that especially affect my thought patterns. We're talking about spiritual
warfare at its best! Of course, that also winds up stealing much of my
strength, which certainly doesn't make Ira's life any easier. Thankfully,
our marriage is solid enough to whether most storms. Supporting each other
indeed comes naturally. Nevertheless, I usually need a lot of prayer to
overcome the evil one, and since God calls us to be victorious, failure,
as you know, is not an option! I'm confident that with your prayers,
winning will be inevitable! Thank you for all of your spiritual support
because we desperately need it every single day!
Love in Him,
John and Ira,
Kind Road Christian Church