book = книга

I stepped into a bookshop in L’viv to purchase a city map during my second visit to Ukraine, in 2008.  I also learned that the Ukrainian word for book is “книга”.  A year later I found myself ducking into another bookshop, this time in downtown Kiev, to buy a map of Kiev showing all the bus, trolleybus, tram, marshrukas (minibuses), and Metro lines.  And I learned that book is also “книга” in Russian.  Later that week, I used my limited handful of Russian phrases in another bookshop, to confirm with the shopkeeper that he didn’t have any Russian Bible’s for sale; so I bought a Russian-English dictionary instead.

Ukraine has a strong literary tradition, and many Ukrainians are quite literate.   The western Ukrainian city L’viv boasted one of Europe’s earliest moveable type printing presses. Following the suggestion of one of the Ukrainian pastors I met in Kiev in 2009, one of my ministry goals in Kiev will be to learn Russian well enough to start a classic literature book club during my time in Kiev.  I co-founded and have been facilitating a monthly classic literature book club here in Chattanooga since 2008 (see today’s newspaper article about our group).  I desire is to serve and love people in Kiev by working to help create a commons around reading and discussing great literature, as I’ve done in Chattanooga.  The relationships that have formed around our common love of reading and discussing great literature have naturally given me opportunities to bear witness to Christ with non-Christians, who I count among my friends.

Please pray for me as I seek my monthly support, 80% by April 15th, full support by the end of June.  I’m eager to use the gifts God’s given me to bear witness to Christ in Kiev, equipping believers and telling non-Christians about God’s steadfast love in Christ.

 

prayers of faith

Thank you for praying for me!  God has called me to Kiev, and I know he is faithful to finish the work he’s begun.  He’s promised to answer our cries to him when we pray in faith, and he heard Jesus’ cry from the cross, and answered by raising him to life three days later!

Kiev regional map

God has graciously answered our prayers that I would be able to wrap up my responsibilities well at my job.  One project finished with the end of February, and my other ongoing project is being passed to two of my colleagues.  My last day working in engineering will be this coming Wednesday, March 21st.  That means my first day working full-time finding where God’s provided the rest of my Ukraine support is next Thursday, the 22nd!

I’ll be working toward having 80% of my support before April 15th, the registration deadline for the July pre-field training.  Through your prayers and generous giving, God has provided 68% of my overall support.  That’s 93% of my one-time budget and 61% of my monthly support.  Or in dollars, by April 15th I need to find $500 in new monthly pledges, and $725 in one-time gifts to reach 80% overall.

Seven $100 gifts, a $25 gift, and ten people pledging $50 per month is all I need to register for July training – is that something you can help with?

Thanks for praying with me on this journey of faith!

see the vision, pray with vigilance

Hi friends, would you pray for me this evening as I’m writing an update to my email prayer list? Pray that the vision of seeing Ukrainians grow in their knowledge of Jesus will excite me, pray with vigilance that I’ll write with focus and clarity, so that my writing encourages and builds you up in the grace of God.

If you haven’t seen my team’s video over on the video tab, or if its been a while since you last watched it, here’s the big picture of what my team’s up to in Kiev:

Exciting things continue to happen there: students have graduated from the seminary, a pastor has been ordained, and ordinary Ukrainian believers are growing in grace and becoming more like Jesus.

If your holiday schedule is anything like mine and my friends, you’d understand that I haven’t been trying to schedule Ukraine meetings this close to Christmas. Pray that I’ll work steadily on behind-the-scenes support raising stuff like praying, thank-you notes, Christmas cards, scheduling for January, and developing a few tools to use in the new year.

Pray with vigilance for me as I work, that God would establish the work of my hands and provide my support. The two major times my monthly pledged support moved forward were 17% to 34% in March/April and 36% to 56% in October/November, and the only thing I did differently in those months was specifically and consistently asking and reminding you to pray. So THANKS for your vigilance in prayer!

ora et labora

My support raising calendar is filling up.  Its not full–there’s still room for me to meet with you if we haven’t already (email me), but I’ve definitely got more meetings scheduled than a few weeks ago.

God is working through your prayers.  I asked you to pray, and to give.  You’re praying, otherwise I don’t think I’d have all of the following Ukraine meetings scheduled: a small group presentation in an hour tonight, meeting with a couple tomorrow evening, a lunch-time presentation for any interested coworkers this Friday, another small group presentation Sunday, meeting with friends in Knoxville Monday, another small group presentation the next Tuesday here in Chattanooga, and then a Wed. night presentation to my old church in Atlanta from my Georgia Tech days.  Thank you, and please keep praying.

If you noticed, there’s a big gap in my schedule there: next Tuesday through the following Monday, April 11th.  Pray that I’ll find people to meet with, individuals, couples, and small groups.  Pray that those people with whom I’ll meet decide to give generously to partner in sending me to Kiev.  Pray that they tell me or MTW a specific monthly pledge before April 15th.  Just think: they could be the very means God answers our prayers that I reach 60% by the 15th.  Have you made your pledge yet?

Ora et labora. Pray and work.  The Benedictine monks knew something about steady work over time, and over hundreds of years the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ transformed Europe from an appendage of Asia into a powerful center of culture and science that brought much good into the world.    Yet for the monks, their primary calling wasn’t to transform the culture, but to faithfulness in their writing, in their gardening, in their library, in their vespers, in the cultural tasks God called them to.  Sure, they bought into a lot of problematic theology, such as religious callings being better or more valuable than secular, but they got at least two things right: life should center on the grace of God in Jesus Christ (hence their motto, “Pax” or “Peace”), and we’re called to work as well as to pray.  God gives us work, and there’s value in doing that work well, for its sake, because it is a gift from God.

So where does that leave you and me?  We’ve a two part task: to pray and work.  If you’re committed to partnering with me and already praying, thanks!  Are you working?  Are you pursuing your calling faithfully before God?  Have you considered giving of the resources God’s given you to help sent me to Kiev?  I’m working reduced engineering hours and increased support raising for Ukraine: writing, emailing, calling, and telling people how God is building his kingdom in Kiev.  Pray and work with me as we long to see God’s kingdom come, here and in Ukraine.

population density

When I tell people that Kiev is a big city, about 4 million people, I often compare it to Atlanta’s size.  However, that’s only half the story.  When you start looking at how many people per square mile live in each city, you realize why Kiev feels larger than Atlanta.

In 2008, Atlanta had 4,018.4 people per square mile in the city proper, and 629.4 people per square mile in the greater metro area, which is what most people think of when they talk about Atlanta being huge. Kiev’s population density is more than double that of Atlanta, at 8,544.4 people per square mile. In Chattanooga, where I currently live, we have 1,264 people per square mile.  So then I was curious how Kiev and Atlanta stack up against the population density of other major world cities.

मुंबई (Mumbai) Density (2010) 59,368 /sq mi

London Density (2007) 12,331/sq mi

Chicago Density (2009) 12,649/sq mi

Nairobi Density (2009) 11,678.3/sq mi

Berlin Density (2009) 9,987.7/sq mi

上海 (Shanghai) Density 7,070.3/sq mi

北京 (Beijing) Density (2010) 3,391.4/sq mi

Київ (Kyiv/Kiev) – Density (2008) 8,544.4/sq mi

New York City Urban Density (2008) 5,435.7/sq mi / Metro Density 2,828.4/sq mi

Atlanta Density (2008) 4,018.4/sq mi / Metro Density 629.4/sq mi

Looks like Mumbai, India leaves everybody in the dust when it comes to packing in the people.

How close do you live to your nearest neighbor? What are the best reasons to live where the population is dense, or why do you choose to live in a sparsely populated rural hamlet?

humbled, excited, and needing sleep

When was the last time you were blown to tears by the grace of God? by his insistent, loving hand moving in your life and in your heart to show you (yet again) that He is the Sovereign, He is the King, and to reassure you that He is good, does good, and his covenant faithfulness or hesed pursues you all the days of your life? When was the last time you were deeply thankful for God saying “no” to your request–and not thankful because you initially wanted to be thankful, but only thankful because in your disappointment at the “no” you still knew that God has your best in view, that He knows what you really need? When were you last reminded that when you ask for something and God overrules you and says “no”, his promises are all still Yes in Christ Jesus?  When was the last time a good friend reminded you that God’s sovereignty and his providence are never opposed to each other in your life? when singing old hymns raised your eyes from navel-gazing to a jaw-dropping view of Jehovah’s grace and glory?

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:32)

God’s no to my request is actually yes to what I really need, and the thing is, He knows better than I what I need. Needless to say, I’ve been blown away by God’s greatness, by his majesty, by his love, by the comfort of the reality that He is enthroned, ruling for his glory and the good of his people–and that includes me, as undeserving as I am.

God has given me new, more demanding responsibilities in my engineering job (i.e., more hours, too), when I had hoped and prayed to reduce my hours for more time support raising. This was initially very disappointing and hard for me, but over the past two days God has done amazing work in my heart and through the prayers of his people.  I need your prayers that I will adjust well to my new schedule and have wisdom for my time-commitments.

Tonight I presented the Ukraine ministry to a group of friends brought together by an engineer who’s a former co-worker of mine. I’m so encouraged by friends and coworkers who give me the gift of time to hear how God is working in Kiev and calling me to serve there.

Part of what God may be reminding me with my new responsibilities and tighter schedule may be my limitations and my dependence on him. One of those limitations is my need for sleep, now.  Its yet another gift from my Keeper who doesn’t sleep.

moving forward

My support raising work is picking up a little speed! Tomorrow afternoon I’m driving to Birmingham, AL, to present my ministry to about 10 to 12 people at a dessert and coffee a friend has graciously organized. This should be a good opportunity to show my team’s video, to meet some new people, and to be encouraged by their giving me an evening to tell them how God is working in Kiev.

I’m hoping to visit General Assembly in Nashville one afternoon and evening next week for a few meetings with people from church I otherwise probably won’t be able to connect with face to face. Please pray that I can confirm the details of these meetings and get off work at 3:00pm Chattanooga time for those meetings.

Over the Independence Day weekend I’ll travel to visit family in Pennsylvania, and hope to tell some of my extended family about my calling to Kiev and invite them to support me. My Ukrainian cousin and his wife will also be at our Independence Day gathering, and it will be good to visit with them.

During the first week of July friends in Chattanooga are planning a dessert with some of their friends so I can tell them about the work in Kiev and invite them to consider supporting me. I will continue to schedule meetings with people locally and call friends who are in other cities to invite people to join my support team.

Please pray that I continue to build momentum in the work of building a team of supporters. I need faithfulness to continue working my full-time engineering job well, and energy to work consistently on raising support on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, as well as a few hours each Saturday.

Thank you for your important role praying for me. I will not be able to reach Ukraine or work faithfully apart from the support and prayers of my friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ. Thanks!

shifting gears to accelerate

With its five-speed manual transmission and turbo diesel injection engine, I love shifting through my Jetta’s gears to aid acceleration as I merge into high-speed traffic on the interstate. I especially love driving it with the windows down and sunroof open, just before dusk, when the setting sun casts its red glow across the sky. There’s exhilaration in acceleration.

I’m accelerating my Kiev support raising work, and I want you to share in my exhilaration: God is building his kingdom in Kiev, in your city, and in our hearts!  Are you caught up in the excitement of his kingdom’s coming?

Up to this point my pace has been slower than I’d intended, but now I’ve got most of the tools in place to pick up the pace of letters, phone calls, and face-to-face meetings, inviting you to consider giving to support God’s building his kingdom in Kiev by sending me there.

Recently I’ve been reading and reflecting on Proverbs each morning while eating my breakfast. There’s lots of practical, day-to-day wisdom and encouragement in verses like these:

“Prepare your work outside;
get everything ready for yourself in the field,
and after that build your house.” (24:27)

“Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,
but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.” (28:19)

I’m comforted when I remember that its the favor of the Lord that establishes the work of my hands. In other words, this process of raising support is yet another glimpse of his grace working in my life, another angle on the diamond-sparkling glory of Jesus.

With approximately seven months until my target date of full funding by Orthodox Christmas on January 7, 2011, I have a lot of work ahead of me. I need your:

1. prayers for diligence to pursue my work in the time God’s given me
2. participation when I call or meet with you; and
3. prodding (encouragement) to keep building my team of supporters.

There’s a lot of work in front of me right now, and the task looks pretty daunting. Yet as I shift gears, I’m reminding myself that the real work, the work behind the work, is already done: Christ Jesus died, and was resurrected bodily to life, securing my rest in him. Because of his work, I can be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that my work in him is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

And that frees me to enjoy the wind as I accelerate through the gears, perhaps on my way to meet with you face-to-face.

why giving matters

Some people I’ve had conversations with about my being a missionary raising support for serving overseas have questioned whether individuals should give to support others in missions. There are lots of reasons why giving matters, but I want to look at just one: how giving benefits the giver.

“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me … Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.” – Philippians 4:10, 17, 18.

Paul is excited because he sees the Philippians’ gift as a sign of their spiritual growth. He understands that our hearts follow our treasure, and opening our wallets often indicates what we really value. Follow the money. Paul sees that the gift they sent indicates they are partnering with Paul’s ministry to make Christ known where he hadn’t been proclaimed: they are excited to see God’s kingdom growing, and their giving demonstrates their partnership in the gospel.

Two quick observations:
(1.) The fruit increases to their credit. Giving in response to Christ given for us in the gospel increases our joy in Jesus. Paul sees that in a real sense, the Philippians actually benefit more in giving than Paul in receiving.
(2.) The gift is offered to God, not to Paul. It is “a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.” As Paul followed the Lord’s call in his life, his real needs created opportunity for the people of God to offer gifts back to God by giving to meet Paul’s needs.

So, what does this mean for me as I invite you, my friends, to partner financially in sending me to Kiev? This time of support raising is ministry, not simply fund raising. I am seeking to give you and others the opportunity to grow spiritually and increase your joy in Jesus by giving to support his work in Kiev. I am providing you with an opportunity to worship God with your wallets. So pray and consider giving to support me in Kiev.

Because people are ultimately giving to God, not me, I am free to tell you about the opportunity to partner with me in the gospel and not worry about whether you’ll “reject me” or not. After all, its not about me, but about what God is doing. Perhaps you’re giving to some other ministry–great! God gets the glory. Perhaps you are not able to give because of pressing family needs or job loss- that’s ok, but please let me know so I can pray for your real needs. God works all things for his glory and for your good, if you love him. I have the joy of reminding you how Paul closes the passage above:

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” – Philippians 4:19,20.

Rochester L’Abri Conference 2010

This past weekend I had the joy of attending the Rochester L’Abri Conference in Rochester, MN. Running all day Friday and Saturday, the weekend was full of plenary sessions and workshops on the power of the gospel to transform all that it touches. On Sunday, I worshiped with Trinity PCA and lunched with good friends before catching my return flight.

While at the conference I shared my future ministry in Ukraine with a number of people. One of the L’Abri workers in the Netherlands told me that there’s a Belarusian family with a vision to begin a L’Abri-type ministry in Belarus, but they were kicked out by the government and are now living and building their ministry in Kyiv, Ukraine. I hope to get in touch with them soon, and put them in touch with my team members in Kiev. L’Abri has been a blessing in my life and the lives of many people I know, so its exciting to think how the churches in Ukraine could be strengthened if their ministry were to grow in Kiev.

Thank the Lord with me for the work he is already doing in Kyiv, and the ways I and my team there may be able to support and come alongside the Ukrainian church.