Odessa Mission
August 2011 Newsletter
August 2011 Pictures
A Unique Ministry
Although Tom and Mary Goerling have six kids of their own, some of them teens and still others toddlers, that certainly didn't stop them from traveling all the way to Ukraine for the purpose of adding to the quiver. Over the past month, the Odessa Mission has been truly blessed to hear their testimonies and words of encouragement as they've been applying to adopt two handicapped children here. They initially came over to adopt a five-year old girl with Down Syndrome, named Alina, who they fell in love with over the internet. However, upon arrival they also met Vitaly, a four-year old boy needing surgery on his webbed hands. It was then that they decided to take both kids back to their Maryland home and love them in Christ's Name.
The person in charge of the orphanage just couldn't understand why the Goerling's wanted handicapped children and he even tried to talk them out of it. "Why do you want to adopt these kids?" he asked. "Well," Mary replied, "because we love them." "You love them?" he asked. "What do you mean by that?" Obviously, that sounded like utter nonsense to the man but that's to be expected. At our worship services, Tom and Mary continually stressed that the reason they're doing this is because they see it as a ministry to which God is calling them. And it's pretty clear that they're taking that calling very seriously. Life in Ukraine, as our folks know full well, is no picnic. But it's a lot harder for the handicapped. So what this couple is doing is indeed a priceless act of agape that will give hope and a real future to the ones who need it most. Needless to say, our small congregation, in the short time we had with Tom and Mary, grew quite attached to them. In fact, had we just a little more time, we might have applied to adopt them also. Please do keep their growing family in your prayers.
Here is a picture of Tom and Mary:
Five Recent Additions
Like every church, KRCC experiments with various evangelistic approaches and some have been successful while others turned out to be a dismal failure. Someone correctly noted that failing to make mistakes means missing out on a lot of learning opportunities. Well, the Odessa Mission has learned a great deal over the past seven years. Another thing that we seem to be learning is that the soup kitchen outreach appears to be one of those success stories in the making. Sure, it's still a bit early to jump to conclusions but, in the five months we've been serving the community this way, we've shared the gospel with literally hundreds of people who have probably never heard it presented in the biblical way before.
Naturally, this is very exciting! Sharing the Good News with the lost is what we're all about and God is definitely opening new doors for us! Granted, the vast majority who hear the gospel simply move on, but at least they've heard it. And that's wonderful! What's even better, though, is that others are accepting the message and giving their lives to Christ. In the past two months we've baptized five people and there may be another individual who's seriously considering doing likewise.
Nadia, a blind woman in her seventies, recently surrendered her life to Jesus, as did Tamara, another elderly woman presently working full-time. Alla is an eighty-year old great grandmother of six who also submitted to the Lord in early July. A middle-aged lady with a disability, named Taya, was saved by grace in mid-June. And finally, let's not forget about Oleg's conversion. He's a man who spent seven long years in a Ukrainian prison, because of a drug addiction, but now he's free in Christ. Please put each of these names on your prayer list as they begin this both rewarding and difficult journey of faith. Also remember Vova, another former inmate who says he'd like to be immersed. While I believe Vova's desire is sincere, I also sense that there's still a lot in his life preventing him from starting over. Nevertheless, if Vova does eventually reach that point, maybe KRCC could experiment with prison outreach in the future. Just a thought ….
Incidentally, the Odessa Mission has chosen to take a break from the soup kitchen ministry for the rest of the summer. We will probably resume outreach in September. The main reason we're doing this is to filter out what doesn't belong. Many people are just coming for a free meal and are clearly not interested in spiritual things at all. They're just looking for another miraculous sign (free food) rather than seeking Christ, who is the Bread of Life. We just feel that this filtering process is mandatory if we're to make the most of our funds, time, and efforts.
A Bit of Trivia for You
Most of you are probably aware that Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures released the blockbuster film "Captain America: The First Avenger" this summer. What you might have missed was the fact that they also gave global distributors the option of shortening the title to "The First Avenger" because of anti-American sentiment around the world. Well, thankfully, only three countries agreed to change the title of the film. The bad news is that Russia and Ukraine were two of them. South Korea happened to be the third. While that doesn't surprise us, it does vividly show that American missionaries are swimming against the current in this neck of the woods, which is why we desperately need to raise up nationals to continue our evangelistic efforts here. I know you're praying away in that respect and we want to thank you and encourage you to keep up the good work. God knows our needs and He will definitely provide if we remain steadfast.
From the Bottom of our Hearts
The Odessa Mission just wants to tell our faithful supporters how truly grateful we are for everything you've done for us and continue to do. Times have been very tough lately. There's no way to emphasize that enough and certainly no explanation needs to be given. And while we've heard about how many missionaries have lost up to half of their financial base, during this economic downturn, we are astounded to say that the level of monthly support we currently receive has actually shown a slight increase. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all theses things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). Thank you for believing those words and believing in us. We are indeed the "luckiest" missionaries on earth.
Making A Difference Together,
John, Iryna, Stefany, and Charleze
The Odessa Mission, Ukraine
| Missionaries | Forwarding Agent |
| John and Ira Murphy | Bill Ware |
murphmission@hotmail.com |
5330 Mechanicsville Turnpike
Mechanicsville, VA 23111 wmrware@verizon.net |
| Checks should be made out to | Gethsemane Church of Christ with “Odessa Mission” on memo line |
Emmett.Murphy@macuniversity.edu |
| Contributer | Amount |
| Community Christian Church | $1,200.00 |
| Cabin Swamp Church of Christ | $75.00 |
| Winter Haven Church of Christ | $50.00 |
| Fairview Church of Christ | $300.00 |
| JOY Class/MCC | $75.00 |
| Williamsburg Christian Church | $225.00 |
| Chapel Church of Christ | $201.10 |
| Tidewater Christian Church of Christ | $238.24 |
| Mechanicsville Christian Church | $1,650.00 |
| Calvary Christian Church | $150.00 |
| East Northport Christian Church | $396.33 |
| Lebanon Christian Church | $1,000.00 |
| Gethsemane Church of Christ . | $869.75 |
| Highland Springs Church of Christ | $400.00 |
| Over '50's/Olivet Christian | $75.00 |
| Olivet Men's Ministry | $110.00 |
| Catherine Harris | $45.00 |
| Jim Jutchinson | $101.95 |
| William and Diane Ware | $150.00 |
| Bruce and Charlene Jaqua | $325.00 |
| Wayne and Diana Murphy | $75.00 |
| Rick Hannon | $800.00 |
| Joyce Wiggins | $40.00 |
| Dorothy Hogg | $50.00 |
| Marjorie Hubbard | $150.00 |
| Olena Oxypchuk | $50.00 |
| Expense | Amount |
| Salary | $3,675.00 |
| Housing* | $2,100.00 |
| Hospitality | $25.00 |
| Church Rent | $750.00 |
| Correspondence | $41.48 |
| Transportation | $5.00 |
| Legal Fees | $0.00 |
| Outreach | $517.27 |
| Medical | $798.94 |
| Miscellaneous | $72.13 |
| Benevolence | $50.00 |
| Bank Expenses | $25.00 |
| Total Contributions | $8,802.37 |
| Total Expense | $8,059.82 |
| Bank balance 4/1/11 | $10,464.69 |
| Expenses | $3,700.00 |
| Funds sent to Ukraine | $6,000.00 |
| Bank balance 3/31 | $8,187.27 |
| Deposits** | $7,422.58 |
| Mortgage outstanding | $37,502.87 |