While I’m in America, ministry in Ukraine never stops.  Our faithful team continues to spread the love of Jesus in orphanages, boarding schools, dorms and wherever they go.  As most of you have heard, we had an extremely tough winter this year, with temperatures lower than we’ve seen in a long time.  It was difficult to keep warm for many living in apartments and homes, but even more difficult for those who are homeless.  Recently one of our team members met this young gypsy lady living on the streets with her baby.  She bought her some food and hot tea, and offered her help with finding a place to live.

Please continue to pray for the homeless and those in need.  Our team encounters situations like this often.  Pray for us, that we would have the wisdom, favor and resources to help with their physical and spiritual needs and that the eyes of their hearts would be open to see the goodness of a Father that loves them.

I’ve been having a great time in America so far seeing old friends, meeting new ones and sharing about the amazing things God is doing in Ukraine.  For those interested, here is my traveling schedule for March.  If you are in one of these areas and would like to talk or meet up while I’m there please give me a call at 763.276.3068. 

March 1-10           Portland, Oregon

March 12-14         Kansas City, Missouri

March 16-21         Ramsey, Minnesota

March 22-28         Halifax, Nova Scotia

March 29-April 2  Toronto, Ontario

Recently, I was at my church in Krivoy Rog for a meeting when I ran into my pastor.  He greeted me and invited me to come see him in his office when I was free.  I had no idea why, but I gladly and curiously agreed. I walked into his office where he was meeting with a few other ministers and waited to hear what he had on his mind. He turned to me, asked a few questions and then said, “Max, I’m a couple of years late in doing this, simply because you’re always so busy, but I believe it’s about time that we made you a pastor.”  I was shocked!  So right then and there everyone prayed and laid hands on me and I was ordained as a pastor with Church of Praise.

Although the new title won’t change much, since I’ve been ministering inside and out of the church for several years now and will continue in that, it was such an honor for me to know that my pastor, who is an amazing man of God, sees and acknowledges the call of God on my life.

A few weeks ago, on January 8^th, we held our annual Christmas Celebration for kids from all over Krivoy Rog.  Like our Back to School Celebration, we invite kids from orphanages and other churches to come and take part in a special program created just for them.  Our program this year was very different, but incredibly awesome.  We all knelt before the new born King of the world, and as a gift to Him we prayed to give Him our hearts – so cool.  The kids loved it and we did too!  I believe God is taking us to a new level in our children’s ministry.

 This winter we’ve had an unusual lack of snow.  We all know that kids love snow, so this was a big deal for them.  They had been praying for God to send it.  As a special surprise we rented a snow machine!  I’m sure you can imagine how excited they were to get something they didn’t have but really wanted.  Even the small things like that can show kids how much God loves and cares about them. 

 Thank you to everyone who took part in praying for the celebration and giving to help provide gifts for the kids.  You helped us create a special day that I’m sure they will never forget.

As we all know, Christmas is coming up very quickly. Although it does not take place until January 7th in Ukraine, we have already started preparations for our yearly Christmas Celebration that we do at the church. We have already started purchasing items and packing the gifts and have over half completed! However, we still need more to ensure that every child that comes will leave with a present. This celebration is a great opportunity to share the joy of the birth of Christ and this special season with children from orphanages and villages. If you would like to participate in this outreach, it would be just $5 per child, which pays for not only the gift, but also transportation to and from the celebration. Let’s make this a very special celebration for all of these children and show them that they are not forgotten and that in God they can have true hope!

It’s awesome when we have teams come to help us. It’s even more awesome when those teams choose to come back. They are able then to see things from a different perspective and minister in a different way. Recently, our new friend Hanneke returned for a couple of weeks to work with the ministry after she was here with her team from Holland this summer. I wanted to share with you a little of her experience.

Last summer I came to Ukraine with a Dutch team to do ministry with True Hope Ukraine. After this crazy, awesome and spectacular time, I decided to come back to Ukraine on my own. In the past, I’ve traveled to several countries, but I’ve never gone back to a certain place. So being here for the second time is special and different to me because to recognize places, people and especially the kids in the dorms and orphanages and to be recognized by them is totally worth everything.

For the last week and a half I’ve been working together with True Hope again and it has been a great time! We visited dorms, played with kids, hugged them, cooked local food, ministered in villages and we even visited, for the first time, a prostitute on the highway to talk and to pray with her.

What I like the most over here, besides the people, culture and language, is the fact that you can talk about God everywhere and that people are definitely hungry for it! It’s different in the Netherlands where there are even rules for evangelism in public places, which of course limits people to talk about what they believe. In Ukraine though, the awesome thing about being free to share my faith, is that it challeneges me to step out, to be radical and creative. I’ve learned over here that sharing Jesus with babies, kids, prostitutes or a bunch of teenagers, doesn’t need to be difficult, like it often is in my own country. Seeing that one person, spending time, talking, loving them and especially giving away loads of free hugs, is what it is about. This is what Jesus did and I believe that’s why it’s one of the most effective ways as well to make an impact on someone’s life!

I’ll definitely come back for a third time!

Hanneke van de Weetering from Holland

God is constantly reminding me how important it is to bring hope to others.  Not long ago I received a phone call from a family I had never met that lived in a village a couple of hours from Krivoy Rog.  I honestly don’t know how they got my name and number, but they called to ask if I could come and visit and pray for their youngest son who is very sick.  Last week I went to visit them and when I arrived we sat down to talk and get to know one another.  They began to tell me their story. 

 Several years ago, the family really needed money and so the father decided to leave and go find work in Russia.  He was gone for quite some time, and they did not hear from him.  They were worried and had no idea what happened.  A family friend came to them and said he found out the father was in trouble – sick, living on the streets with no money or food.  So the family gave the friend what little money they had to bring to the father in Russia.  After that there was still no word from either the friend or the father.  Three years went by since the father had left and the entire family had given up hope.  They believed that he was either dead or had found another life for himself.  No one expected him to return except his daughter.  She prayed and hoped the entire time that her father was alive and would return. 
One day there was a knock at the door and there stood the father.  He was alive and well and had been working in an area where there was little to no opportunity for outside communication.  He had not left or forgotten about his family, but was working and saving to be able to come home to them.   With the money he earned they were able to remodel their small house and live for a while.  Now their son is sick and the doctors have no idea what to do with him.  They need a miracle.  I was interested to find out that although this family had called asking for prayer, they themselves were not believers.  We talked together and prayed and I believe that God is moving in their lives and in the life of their son.

 I wanted to share this story with you because the subject of hope is very important in my life.  It’s important because hope is the first step to faith.  Even when everyone else had given up, the daughter had hope that her father would return.  Hope is powerful, and how much more powerful is the hope we have in our good and faithful Father.   It is for this reason that we continue to minister and do what we do because the true hope that we have to give changes lives. 

 Ephesians 1:18, Romans 5:5
When you’re praying for the ministry here, please also remember to pray for this family.  That the hope they have will grow into a strong faith in God and that their son, Sergey, will be healed.

Public transportation – I’ll admit, it’s a lot better than walking, but when you have to get to a hurting kid in a hurry or you’re trying to bring six boxes of clothes to an orphanage, it can make something that should be simple, very difficult.  I have been amazed by how God has exponentially expanded our ministry over the past couple of years.  He has opened doors for us to serve not only in our city of Krivoy Rog, but in villages and towns all over Ukraine, and I’ve realized that we can do so much more if we had a more efficient way of getting from one place to another.  So I am excited to announce, to those of you who haven’t heard, that we are officially raising money for True Hope’s first vehicle. 

 Although vehicles are much cheaper in North America, it’s very difficult and expensive to ship and keep one here.  For that reason we have decided to find a good used car here in Ukraine.  Our goal of $10,000 should be enough to pay for the car, taxes and registration.  I’m praying and believing that with your help, we will have that car by the end of the year and be using it to visit orphanages that are too difficult to get to by public transport in the winter.  

If you would like to give to this specific need, your gift can be sent to the following address and please make sure to note that your gift is for the car fund. 

True Hope Ministries
145 Turnberry Trail
Big Lake, MN
55309

Thank you to all of you who stand behind us in prayer and support.  We could not do what we do without you.

The Back to School Celebration went really well and was a great success! God showed up in a powerful way and the anointing was so great that no one wanted to leave. It was an incredible celebration. Thank you for your prayers and support!