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Porter Memorial Baptist Church in Lexington, KY continues to be a friend to the Church Planting Department at Kiev Theological Seminary. First, their Senior Pastor, Dr. Bill Henard, developed our course on "Prayer" and taught it the first time. And now we are excited about the Volunteer Team from Porter Memorial being here to hold a medical clinic with one of our church planters. Be in prayer for the team as they conduct this medical clinic to give credibility to this young church planter who seeks to evangelize his city in the midst of an Orthodox community.
Back to Kyiv! Friday and Saturday
The team has finished the medical clinic in Rovenki and we arrived back in Kyiv this morning (Saturday, August 22, 2009; 8:00 local time). The clinic was a huge success and the team was magnificent to be able to see 247 patients in 4 days! Praise God. We had a wonderful time and even in the trials of sickness and ups and downs of life; the team was a wonderful blessing to Oleg, his church and his community.
On Friday, Oleg and his church hosted a picnic with Shashlik (shish ka bobs) in the park. It was a great time of fellowship and great food!
Natalia one of our translators with Michael, explaining what UK on his t-shirt was.
Michael and Joan rockin' the short sleeves while the rest of the group had on jackets and sweaters!
Enjoying some juicy watermelon!
Larry, Jane, Oleg and his family,
The team will be in Kyiv for the rest of today and will finish their journey home on Sunday.
Pray for:
Travel safety on the flights; connections to be made and their luggage to arrive with them in America
Continued rest and recovery for those who were sick this week
Larry that his back will not hurt him too badly and he will be able to comfortably make the trip home.
Day 7 Wednesday
Joan and Jane both interviewing patients, with Natali and Vica respectively as translators.
Praise the Lord for a full team today! We are so thankful that those who were sick are on the mend and we are praying that those who have not been sick stay that way.
Today at the clinic the team saw 64 patients. Amazing! At the end of the day everyone was tired, but pleased with the chances to meet people and offer help for their physical needs as well as their spiritual needs.
Church Planter Oleg and Michael smile watching the activities of the clinic.
Larry doing the ever needed job of counting the meds for the pharmacy.
Thursday will be the last day of clinic and we hope that we will be able to see as many patients as we did today.
Pray for:
Continued recovery for those of the team who have been sick.
Protection of health for those who have not.
A productive and fulfilling day tomorrow.
For each of the people we saw today, that God would continue to work in their hearts.
Day 6, Tuesday
Please pray for the team and the translators and the doctor and his wife... the translators and Joan were sick yesterday with some kind of bug, and during the night our IMB representative, Susanna caught the bug too.
Join us as we intercede for them all.
Day 5, Monday
Joan and Natalia taking a patient's medical history.
Monday we had a full day of seeing patients from the community! It was a busy day. By the end of the day the team had seen 44 patients. Whew! They were tired, but seemed to be in good spirits about the day and all they had seen and done.
Jane taking the vital signs for the doctor.
When the team arrived at the church in the morning to set up for the clinic they were greeted by a handful of people to see the doctor. Once they got in to a groove, it took no time for us to move people through.
The ever ready pharmacist, Michael!
The team even had the opportunity go out with the translators and meet people and invite them to the free clinic! There were a couple of people who came to the clinic just to see if it really was free. Do not worry – they were pleased to discover it was indeed free. Our doctor was gifted a bag of apples because he would not accept money for his services.
Larry and Vica talking to the patients as they wait to see the doctor.
The team is planning to have a similar day on Tuesday. The only exception is they plan to return to the church in the evening to participate in another youth service! The youth who currently attend Oleg’s church and several youth from the town have made it their mission to assist with our translation needs and have learned when Jane is asking to put the thermometer under someone’s tongue. They think it is great fun to tell the adults what to do!
Prayer Requests:
A steady flow of patients through the day.
That God will direct people to our clinic and that we will be intentional in sharing the Gospel with them.
For continued health and rest among the team.
For the security of the medication – it is at the church overnight and the whole town knows it is there.
Praises:
The wonderful weather.
The people we have been able to see so far.
Health among the team.
Day 4 Sunday
Sunday, we attended service again at Oleg’s church and Larry had the opportunity to share a wonderful word with the congregation from God’s Word.
After lunch, the team headed back to the church to set up for the clinic. We managed to get things set up just in time for our first clients to arrive! We saw members of Oleg’s church today and have asked them to invite all their friends and family from the community. Today we were able to see 30 patients and look forward to seeing that many (or more) each day.
Prayer Requests:
Continue to pray for the health of the team as they begin to interact with some sick patients.
Rest and good sleep for each member of the team.
That evangelistic opportunities will abound for all members of the team.
For our supply of medicine to last through till the end of our clinic.
That the team will be a blessing to each other and the residents of Rovenki.
Day 3 Saturday
Saturday night we went to the youth service at Oleg’s church. There were about 20 people there and we had a great time of fellowship, singing, teaching and games. It was nice for the team to meet the youth of the church and interact with them.
We have arrived in Rovenki! Praise the Lord. The team made the 16 hour train trip in one piece, but I know they were thankful to get off when we arrived in Lugansk.
We have our feet back on solid ground... at the train station in Lugansk... see it spelled above the cross over.
We got to Oleg's rehabilitation center and went right to work.
Counting out meds is time consuming, but necessary.
The team is looking forward to attending the youth service tonight at Oleg's church. Please continue to pray for the team as they adjust to their housing arrangements, the food and the schedule for the week. Tomorrow we will attend church at Oleg's church and will begin to see paitents right away. We are hoping to see church memebers tomorrow and will ask them to invite their friends from the community to come to the clinic during the week.
Prayer Requests:
Health for the team
The schedule for the week to come together.
Continued combining and sharing between the Ukrainian and American teams.
Larry is having some trouble with his back and is in pain to stand and walk to much. Pray that he will have relief and comfort.
Praise:
Michael is feeling better! So far no one else has gotten sick.
Day 2 Friday
The team at the train station in Kiev waiting to board the train for Lugansk.
Joan and two translators, ... in a coupe on the train.
Larry, Jane and Mike on the train.
Day 1 Thursday
The team arrived Thursday morning and were met by Church Planting Director, Joel Ragains, along with MaryEllen Ragains and Susanna Mizell also from KTS (Kiev Theological Seminary) and Volunteer Coordinator, Brad Atkins. From the airport they went to their hotel to shower and get settled in before heading out to shop... maybe not Larry's favorite activity. :) ... but he waited patiently.
Later the team came to the Ragains' apartment to call home, use email and to eat supper and to just get acquainted.
We are all sitting back after Taco Salad, Coffee, and dessert. (L-R) Susanna, Jane, Joel, Joan, and Larry)
TEAM REQUESTS: Please be in prayer for all of the team members to be in good health for the rest of this trip, but especially for Mike... he apparently came down with some kind of a "stomach bug" right after supper. The good part is that he has, not one, but two personal nurses to look after him, as well as a doctor and his nurse wife!
Below, Mike, resting in the living room.
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