Dear Prayer Partners:

February flew by! Seems like I am still catching up with life in Odessa after being in the US for 2 months. I also had several days of vertigo and had to miss two clinics. But I was grateful Holly, my new nurse practitioner, was able to cover the Valentinovka clinic, since it only meets every other month. Continue to pray for Holly as she focuses on learning Russian. She is helping me in clinic once a month. Even with more snow and ice, we have not missed a single clinic because of the weather! My clinic assistants were praising the Lord for that during our prayer time recently. God is in control!

I don't write often about the Bocharova clinic, as it is primarily a help to retirees from several local churches. It is my busiest clinic since it is in the city, just a mile from my apartment. Last Tuesday, we saw about 75 patients!  Lydia came in February with a long list of problems typical of the elderly. But she shocked me when she asked, "Can you give me something that will help me die?" She had quit attending church a few years earlier, her best friend had died, her husband was drunk most of the time, and she felt very alone and depressed. I shared with her how God could be her Savior and friend and give her hope and peace. She does not want any visitors because of the way her husband treats them, but how desperately she needs fellowship. She came back to clinic Tuesday, and was feeling some better and reading her Bible. Please pray for Lydia, that she will be encouraged by Scripture, that she will start going to services again, and that she will come to know Jesus as Savior. The name of the church on Bocharova Street is "Hope for the People". How appropriate for a hurting world! 

I was encouraged that there were a number of unsaved patients there Tuesday, as that clinic tends to be 95% believers. One man drove over an hour from the south side of Odessa because his parents are my patients in Vasilivka, a village near New Kubanka. Another lady lives near the church and came with problems not responding to local treatment. She was very open to the gospel, and promised to visit the service this Sunday. Pray for her salvation. Pray that other patients at the Bocharova clinic will find hope in Jesus Christ.

We had a great day in Kubanka in February. Holly saw patients at the prayer house while I made home visits with Lonya. It was wonderful to have time to sit and talk with patients. Volodya is now homebound because of his lung disease since we cannot get oxygen at home. He had attended services regularly in past years. Lonya shared the gospel with him and his wife Anna simply and powerfully, and they both prayed to trust Christ as Savior! They eagerly accepted Lonya's offer to come on Wednesdays to study the Bible with them. They are asking questions and reading the large-print gospel of John that I prepared on my computer. Last Wednesday, Volodya asked where the Bible came from, and had it changed over the years as it was handed down from generation to generation and copied in different languages. Great question! Lonya showed him the Scripture about God's provision, and did an overview from Gen-Rev in 1 hour. They were so pleased to understand at last the basic reason for God giving His Word--to reveal Himself to us and His plan of salvation.

Clinic in Shamanovka was interesting. The roads were still awful, covered with snow and ice. But we got there! We found that a funeral was taking place in the "club". We had had the clinic in January at Grisha's house, but he was not available. The lady, whose funeral it was, had died at his house while they are both drinking, and she had fallen and hit her head. Please pray for Grisha, as he claims to want to be a Christian, but his life in the village does not reflect Christ. We made several home visits in the village. At the last house, about a dozen people surrounded me at the car, clamoring for attention! That is quite uncomfortable, as I much prefer private medical consultations. The Lord gave me grace, to try to deal with each patient quickly and individually, so they could all get to the funeral. Pray that the club will be available this month.

The Wednesday Bible study at Shamanovka is progressing well, as we go through "The Story of Hope". Sasha and Natasha, Roma and Maria are regular, and others have visited. They are eagerly embracing each new Scriptural principle. Continue to pray for their salvation. The shortest route from Shamanovka to Kubanka is just a curvy dirt track. When covered with ice and snow, it becomes a roller coaster! Lonya tried it a couple of weeks ago, and I prayed intensely the entire nervewracking 20-minute trip. PTL for the safety He gives. Lonya got stuck in the mud there last week. This past Wednesday, we made it without incident, but the mud and intermittent snow drifts keep your attention on the road!

Thank you for praying for Tanya, the church leader's wife in Sahanskoye. She is recuperating from the surgery and radiation for breast cancer. Her oncologist has delayed a decision about chemotherapy as Tanya's white blood cell count was very low. Continue to pray for direction in that decision.

Yanokovich was inaugurated as president of Ukraine recently. He is a close ally of Russia. It remains to be seen what effect that will have on missionary activity in Ukraine. Pray for God to keep the door open for evangelism, if that is His will.

I am waiting on documents from the USA to complete my registration in Odessa. Please pray for this process, that is necessary for me to live long-term in Ukraine. Please pray that God will send these documents to me safely with a group coming to Odessa next weekend.

Our ABWE Church Ministries Institute still needs volunteers for construction teams. Contact Tim Rose, the project manager, at tsrose@abwe.cc

I am planning a medical team for the first two weeks of November, which will be anchored by ophthalmologist Dr. James Oakman. Pray for an optometrist to join that team. If you are a health care professional who is interested in serving the needy patients in the villages of Ukraine, please let me know.

March Clinic Schedule

2    Makarovo

4    Krasnosyolka

9    Bocharova

11   Kubanka

16   Sahanskoye

19   Limaniy

23   Berdinovo

25   Shamanovka/New Kubanka

Thank you so much for joining me in prayer for the hurting in Ukraine!

Leaning on The Rock

Miriam

Psalm 62:6-7

Sincerely,

Miriam R. Wheeler, MD

ABWE--Odessa, Ukraine

Vonage internet phone: 864-248-4845