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Sharing Christ's
Compassion for Ukraine |
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Dear Prayer Partners: No, I am not personally pulling teeth in Odessa!
But a dentist and his wife just arrived there today, who will be seeing
patients in villages around Odessa next week, then Kharkov the following
week. Dr. Dale Louis and his wife Mary Ann have been on numerous
mission trips before, so we welcome their experience and wisdom!
Holly's cousin Sara Winsky is a nurse who is also a part of this
team. It is a smaller team than usual, but we know God ordained that
for this time. Please pray for Holly, as this is her first
experience in leading a medical team. Pray for patients,
that they will be open to hearing the gospel, and that they will be patient
as they wait. Pray for Pastor Lonya as he leads the evangelistic
effort and will be responsible for turning patients away, if there are too
many for Dale to see. Pray this can be done peacefully. The dates for
the village clinics are May 16-20 & 23-27. It is very hard for me not to be in Odessa while a team
is there, but I trust our loving Lord to fulfill His purpose in each of our
lives. E-mails and phone calls have been flying the last few weeks as I
have helped Holly and Lonya prepare, and have written several documents
myself for the team. We saw a wonderful answer to prayer today, as
Customs officials did not stop the Louises at the airport, so they were able to
bring in all their supplies without any problem or paying any duty.
PTL! Thank you for continuing to pray for my health.
I am a professional patient for a few weeks! I don't have any answers
yet for the reason for the pulmonary emboli (blood clots in lungs), so
continue to pray as we seek the source. I will see a hematologist May 23. The
thyroid scan will be May 27, which will determine whether the large nodule on
my thyroid needs to be biopsied. I am grateful to be feeling better, though I
still get tired easily. The name of the Lord is indeed a strong
tower, where I have found peace and safety. Let me share with you some blessings that occurred in
Ukraine before I left. In March I told you about Valya and Maria planning
their mother's funeral. Not only did they not serve vodka at the
funeral dinner, but also they did not invite an Orthodox priest to lead the
funeral! That offended many relatives so pray for their relationships. But
God was glorified as Pastor Lonya preached the funeral and a group from
Krasnosyolka sang. Maria told me later that she had accepted Jesus as
Savior and wants to be baptized! She has not talked to Lonya yet,
so pray for him as he insures her understanding of the gospel. In Shamanovka, Maria, Sasha and Natasha have all
decided that they want to be baptized this year! This is a huge
commitment to make in front of their Orthodox neighbors. Sasha has
continued teaching "The Story of Hope" to his sister and
brother-in-law. Now they have both repented and want to be baptized!
Pray for Pastor Lonya as he meets with all of them to determine if they are
ready for baptism. Valentinovka had wonderful services around the Easter
season as a group from the Peresyp Church led a service on Easter Monday,
then Volodya preached to the group of patients waiting for clinic on
Tuesday. Pray for Pastor Volodya as he teaches a Bible study
there with seekers and new believers. Thank you for your prayers for the March 26 ladies'
conference. There were about 120 ladies there from many
churches. God gave me strength to speak in Russian on the subject of a Biblical
perspective on illness and how believers can practically help the sick
and their families. Many told me what a blessing this was, so God used
it! And it was such a help to me personally to review Biblical teaching
as I face my own illnesses. God knows what we need. The Steering Committee for the pregnancy care center decided
to call our ministry "Choose Life!"
Now we are praying about a more generic name for the counseling center.
Pray for Holly as she leads the meetings of this committee during my
absence. Praise the Lord for Jenn Wichterman, the physical
therapist who served our patients for 2 weeks in April. This was
educational to village patients who have no access to such therapy.
Many patients were helped. I look forward to providing such a ministry
again in the future. Continue to pray for primary care physicians who can cover the
clinics during my furlough. One doctor has committed
for August, and others are praying about serving in Sept-Nov. Holly
will do the regular clinic schedule in June. July is vacation month for
my clinic assistants. Check out our website for calendar and photos: http://www.ukrainemedical.abwe.org/
. Thank you for partnering with me in prayer! Leaning
on The Rock, Miriam |
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