Dear Prayer Partners:

May was a blur of activity as I squeezed in all my regular clinics to make time for a trip to Kharkov. What a blessing to work with ABWE colleagues Dave and Penny Winget there and the Ukrainian evangelistic team.  We spent one day with each of 3 evangelists. The first evangelist hoped that we would visit 7 villages in one day! We did make it to 4 villages but did not get home until 10pm. That included one car breakdown and switch to another car. What a joy to serve patients who have little medical help and appreciate even the little bit we can do for them. The evangelists had great opportunities to share Christ with them. Wednesday we saw patients in a government clinic where the P.A. is a believer. She sat with me all day so it was a great time of fellowship and teaching. Pray for Galena's ministry to her patients there. Her clinic assistant talked to us a long time about the stress in her life of an alcoholic husband and asked many good questions about the gospel.

It has been a privilege to work with Lonya to teach ABWE's new discipleship study "The Way to Joy" to 3 ladies in Kubanka. We can see them growing in their relationship to the Lord as they dig into His Word, uncovering nuggets of truth they can apply to their lives, and to hear their prayers deepen as they learn to intercede for others. Natasha's neighbor Marusa has visited the study once and our services several times and expressed interest in salvation. Her husband died last week, so please pray for comfort for her and for her to turn to the Lord. Lonya was able to share the gospel with this man a few weeks ago when we made a home visit.

Last Thursday a carful of people drove up to the club in New Kubanka just as we were setting up our clinic supplies. One man was a relative of Kilya and had been hearing about the American doctor. So he invited friends to go with him to check out this free clinic. He also asked me to go visit his wife at home.  Lonya had some great conversations with these newcomers, and got directions from Michael. What was remarkable is that this is the very village that the Krasnosyolka church had been praying about as another outreach point for their evangelistic team!

Yesterday Lonya and I set off through the fields beyond Kubanka to search for this new village, Shamanovka. I was once again awed by Lonya's sense of direction as he chose the unmarked dirt roads veering off to either side with no landmarks in sight. We were grateful for my Honda CRV as we bounced over these roads. It was a miracle to me when we suddenly came upon a group of houses on a short stretch of paved roads that turned out to be the right place!  I treated Michael's wife Olga for her high blood pressure, and he asked us to go see another neighbor. It was sad to see this 65-year-old stroke victim unable to speak clearly or care for himself but still begging for cigarettes. His daughter was amazed to meet her first American in this out-of-the-way village giving free medical care. They had a New Testament and her little girl had been given a Jehovah's Witness booklet. They peppered Lonya with questions! Another neighbor begged for help and we drove to another house where five people crowded around me in one small room for consultations. Lonya arranged for them to open their "club" to a preaching service this Sunday! We will go there in August to hold a clinic the afternoon of the New Kubanka clinic. Both of those villages are so small, that I can see patients in both places in one day. So pray for this village of Shamanovka where God has opened a new door to us!

The next exciting event on my calendar is a team coming July 2 from my sending church, Johnston Chapel Baptist in Princeton, WV.  They will hold a children's camp July 6-11 then a youth camp July 12-14. Please pray for unsaved campers to come to know Christ as Savior and for the Christians to grow stronger in their faith. Pray for safety in travel and good health for the Johnston Chapel team and for safety for all the campers at a campsite on the Black Sea.

I am also organizing a team in September and two medical teams in October. Pray for God's direction and spiritual preparation of their hearts for their ministries. The medical team from Bible Center Church in Charleston, WV, urgently needs another dentist to join the team, as numerous patients are begging for dental care. Please pray for this need.

The saga continues of Ukraine changing immigration laws. A new law went into effect May 15 that states foreigners can only be in the country for 90 days out of 180 days, even if you hold a visa for a longer period of time.  It remains to be seen how this will be enforced. Friends in Kiev have not had any problems. Right now I am the only ABWE missionary in Odessa, as all my colleagues are back in the States working on their immigration status. Please keep this a matter of prayer. I will be going with Lonya to the OVIR office at the end of July to see if they will register me on my new private visa for an additional 90 days. They refused to register a couple of my colleagues who had gotten a private visa. I will have to leave the country at the end of 180 days (early November), probably for 3 months and will probably have to apply for a different type of visa. The situation is complex and still fluid. Pray for the Lord to direct our steps and to make a way for us to continue to minister here full-time.

Leaning on The Rock,
Miriam
Psalm 18:30-32