Odessa Mission
August 2010 Newsletter
Stefan's Situation
When our three-year old son began attending preschool he'd go for a day and then get sick for a month. Lately, thankfully, his health has been a lot better. However, there have been issues at the preschool that have caused us to consider transferring him elsewhere. Although Stefan is on his way to becoming bilingual, he's still unable to communicate in either language. Naturally, delays are usually the case with bilingual children but there are other side-effects that also come with the package, such as added stress for the child and hyperactivity. In many cases there's even added aggression due to the inability to express oneself. Well, this has sure been the case with Stefan. In fact, one of his preschool teachers told me that watching Stefan is akin to watching ten of the other kids. Needless to say, after meeting with the principal, we came away convinced that a special school designed for helping children learn to communicate will be the best option for now. We may have to move to another neighborhood in Odessa so your prayer support will be greatly appreciated.
Our Apartment Situation
The ongoing saga with the apartment we purchased in 2007 is another prayer request at this time. By the end of 2007, our apartment building was supposed to have been built. In December of that year, however, we were informed that, due to "unforeseen delays," the construction wouldn't be completed for another whole year. Well, it's 2010 and our apartment building is only about 50% complete. Building efforts came to a screeching halt once the economic crisis hit and that's where we are today.
Over the last three years, our union has not been able to make any headway whatsoever but seems to have calmly acquiesced to that fact because banks were not lending any money to anyone until recently. If they did lend money then they were asking upwards of 20% interest. By the way, that's MONTHLY INTEREST, NOT APR! Recently, though, since things are beginning to improve in that area, our coop began applying pressure on our construction firm's CEO. Well, he keeps promising to take out a loan in order to finish the project but it's clear that he's not delivering. And, although he speaks to certain representatives from our union regularly, he refuses to meet with the rest of us. Now, I can certainly understand why he'd be apprehensive to do so but, at the same time, it doesn't appear as though he's losing much sleep over the situation either.
What also bothers us is the fact that although this firm had halted construction on all of its projects during the economic downturn, it later resumed building efforts on all of them except ours. Many of those projects are nearing completion now and some are already finished. Simply put, we're also wondering about our union's competence and perhaps even its trustworthiness.
Right now, you're probably asking: "Can a person really buy an apartment in Ukraine, have all of the legal documents concerning ownership, and still never receive it?". Well, unfortunately, the answer is yes. This has happened quite a few of times both in Russia and in Ukraine, which sure speaks volumes about the state of the justice system here. So please be praying about this.
I was told by one of our union reps, just yesterday, that they're planning just one final meeting with the CEO in order to come to an agreement. If that doesn't work out then we'll obviously have to make our move, whatever that means. The problem is that I've been told by several individuals that a corporate lawsuit won't even amount to a hill of beans. By the same token, though, we know that God has a plan in this and we just need to patiently rely on Him until it's fully revealed.
Resident Status in Ukraine Pending
About three weeks ago, I was given official permission by the Ukrainian government to apply for resident status here. That' a big relief because, although visa issues have not been a burden to me, the registration process in Ukraine can be. And it continues to get more stringent, demanding, and expensive. As a foreigner, if you stay in Ukraine more than ninety days then you must register with the government at a specific address so they'll know where you are for the purpose of keeping tabs on you if necessary.
Before the new president took office, in January, we could get registered for an entire year but now it's every three months. Believe me, that's a lot of hassle and added expense. But, once I get my resident status, I won't need to register at all. Moreover, both Stefan and Charleze will also be granted resident status through me.
I recently took a bus to Moldova, which is only about a five-hour trip away. My plan was to visit the Ukrainian embassy there and get an immigration visa for the purpose of reentering Ukraine and receiving resident status. Well, the embassy there couldn't help me even though I had all of the necessary documents. They told me that they couldn't annul my current visa because they hadn't granted it. In other words, I'll have to go back to the Ukrainian embassy in Washington to take care of this one. So, sometime within the next three months, I'll be heading to the US for a very brief stay. Please be praying for a safe and successful journey.
Vika's Baptism
I previously reported that Vika, an eleven-year old girl in our church, was planning to be baptized this summer. Well, I think the plan has changed. Whether or not Vika still wants to be baptized, I can't really say. What I can say is that she seems to have fallen in with the wrong crowd lately and evidently isn't taking this plan to be baptized as seriously as I'd hoped. So I'll wait until she's more mature in the faith before having her rush into this without truly counting the cost. As you know, eleven-year olds face a lot of issues, so please keep praying for her. She’s really a great girl with lots of potential but the devil, as usual, isn't going down without a fight.
KRCC Outreach
In May's newsletter, I mentioned three elderly ladies who began attending KRCC and even started talking about the possibility of being baptized. Sadly, they abruptly disappeared. My hunch is that they either got cold feet because of all the baptism-talk or a friend reminded them that we're a "cult," which is one of many common misconceptions among the Russian Orthodox. Their seats, though, I'm happy to say, have been filled by four other women who just started attending this past month. One of the women even brought her ten-year old daughter in mid-July. Another lady from this group has four kids but none have accompanied her yet. What's also encouraging is that these new faces also seem to help our "regulars" be more prone to consistency in their own attendance.
Finally, this month, the Odessa Mission would like to say that we are just SO THANKFUL to you for everything you have done and continue to do to honor the Lord Jesus Christ in this part of the world! Through all the heartaches and crises, both spiritual and physical, you have remained so firm and steadfast in your faithful support of this cause. And we just want you to know that we see that, we greatly appreciate it, and so does He. As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: "And so you became a model to all the believers - your faith in God has become known everywhere" (1 Thes.1:7-8).
With Sincere Love and Gratitude, John, Ira, Stefany, and Charley