Get the Latest on Matthew’s work with the Church in Mariupol, Ukraine.

FINAL REPORT NOW ONLINE

Sat, 10 May 2008 10:44:42 -0400

My formal report on our recent trip to Mariupol has been completed and is available for download. I will be mailing out hard copies to the congregations that contributed financially on Monday, May 12. Thanks again for your prayers and support for us while we were away. You are much appreciated.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

As we hear new things concerning the work, we’ll keep you updated!

matt

Final Report Almost Ready

Thu, 8 May 2008 22:05:06 -0400

Hello everyone! It’s been awhile since I’ve written on the Ukraine Update blog. Since I signed off on March 22, we had a gospel meeting here at Brownsburg (March 23-28) and then I held a gospel meeting in Tacoma, Washington (March 30-April 4). Once we got back to Indiana, I took a few days to relax and get settled back into my regular located work. It’s been good to be back in the office on a regular basis.
I presented a report on our Mariupol work to the Brownsburg congregation on Sunday evening, April 6. The report was well received. We recorded that report on video and I am in the process of copying DVD’s for distribution to those who are interested. I should have those ready by the first of next week.
I appreciate your patience, as I know some of you have been waiting to get a formal report of our work from Ukraine. I hope to have the written report published on this website over the weekend, and get hard copies of the report out to congregations and various individuals by Monday (May 14).
Thanks again to everyone who helped make our trip to Ukraine possible.

On American Soil

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:28:01 -0400

Hi guys!
Matt here, writing from JFK airport in New York. It’s good to be back on American soil again. We’ll be boarding our flight to Indianapolis in about an hour. We’re excited to be home and looking forward to being reunited with our families later this evening.

Thanks again to everyone who made our trip possible. I’ll be sending out a formal report in the next 3-4 weeks.

matt

Final Post from mariupol

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:57:03 -0400

Hi everyone!
Hear that the sun is shining in Indianapolis today...and I know that’s a good thing since it sounds like Indiana has gotten a good amount of rain this week. Hoping that the weather will continue to be good through the weekend.

We had a good day today and topped it off by going over to the Kostin household one last time to meet with the church. Valentine was not present. We were disappointed by that. Galena told us that he got a phone call around 11 AM today & left with some friends shortly thereafter. He didn’t show for dinner. We’re really sad not to get a chance to say goodbye to him. Other than that disappointment, we had a good time with everyone, although things were a little subdued with our departure coming up tomorrow. Kipp and I both started things off with some words of encouragement and urged them to keep on keeping on. I read from Colossians 1:9-12 and said that what Paul prayed for the Colossians in those verses is what I pray for them. We told them we loved them and their progress in the gospel is a source of great joy for us. They asked us to come back someday, and we certainly hope that God will bless us with that opportunity.

After dinner, we exchanged addresses and hugs. Then it was back to the hotel, where we are now. I’ve taken a little break from packing to type up this blog. We fly from here to Kiev in the morning, where we will spend the rest of Friday. Our plane for the US does not depart until Saturday morning. We are sure looking forward to being home...on American soil.

We ask for your prayers as we travel home. I just cannot thank all of you enough for your prayers, uplifting words, and financial support to make this trip possible. You all have been such a blessing to us. One last thing,...I just could not have had a better travel partner than my brother, Kipp. Not only is he my spiritual brother in Christ, I love him like the brother I never had. This is our third trip together and when the opportunity to do foreign work comes again, he’ll be at the top of my list as a traveling companion. Trips like this can either make or break relationships, and through the years, ours has only been strengthened. We work well together and I hope God grants us another opportunity to work together.

Well...that is all. Matt signing off from the Spartak Hotel in Mariupol.

God bless!

Wednesday wrapup

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:41:00 -0400

Hi everyone!
It is Wednesday evening here, and its been two days since I have written in the blog...so I think I better bring all of you up to date. We are doing well. It’s been a great week and gone by very fast.

After Monday’s study concluded, we went back to our favorite new restaurant - the Goose & Swan. Over dinner, Kipp did an absolutely fabulous job of turning a conversation into an opportunity to speak with Vera about obeying the gospel. Through her translation work over the last 5 years, Vera has been absolutely instrumental in helping us teach and equip the saints here. She has worked with us, as well as several other teams of preachers. With her translation of our studies, preaching, and written material, she knows a great deal about the gospel, but yet has not made the decision to become a Christian. She told us she does think about it, especially when you start to consider what is to come. She went on to say how difficult it would be, how her family would not understand, etc. As we continued to talk I thought I could see her eyes tear up, just a little. And then, wouldn’t you know, the band and karaoke singer downstairs turned up their music to a level where we could barely hear each other, and the conversation ended. We solicit prayers on Vera’s behalf. Each team of preachers that has been here has endeavored to plant seeds in her heart, and we just trust that with time and the right situation that those seeds will bring forth a new spiritual life.

On Tuesday, we spent the morning here at the hotel and then enjoyed a good part of the afternoon at the home of Evgenia. It was a delightful afternoon. She served us lunch, and it was just good to talk with her and catch up on how she has been. She was one of the original converts from 2002. Evgenia quit worshipping with the congregation in late 2006. She cited some problems going on in the church that she could no longer tolerate as for her reasoning of not attending. Evgenia was especially excited to hear of our coming, and has been at most of the studies since we have been here. She has assured us that she is going to continue worshipping with the saints after we leave. We feel that this is a real accomplishment and testimony to the value of our being here over the last few weeks. Did I mention she served us lunch? She just kept bringing out food. We were treated to Ukrainian borsch, some steamed beef wrapped up in some eggroll type thing (we just ate it..didn’t ask questions), and some ice cream and cookies! It was just a great afternoon.

Today, we exchanged some money to meet some benevolent needs of the Christians and walked around town for a little bit. After that, we came back to the hotel for lunch. You know, when we walked in, we noticed the waitresses glance our way, and then there was this shushed, but animated discussion. They were fighting over us. Yes! That’s right! No..it’s not what you’re thinking. Since neither one of them knew English, they weren’t excited about serving us. The young lady who lost out, finally came to our table. She gave us English menus. We pointed to the item we wanted. She then would write it down in English and then go and compare it to the Russian menu. She really tried hard, and was actually friendly. We appreciated her attitude, so we made sure to leave her a good tip.

After lunch, I spent a good part of the afternoon prepping for tonight’s study...on the role of women. We decided to teach on the subject for two reasons. One, we have observed Valentine’s automatic dismissal of and refusal to listen to the women in the congregation. He needs to learn to treat them with respect and value their opinions. They are part of the congregation too. Secondly, Valentine asked us why we used Vera as our translator at Sunday worship services and not a male translator. So...I used tonight’s lesson to teach on this subject from those angles. As for the female translator part, we explained that when Vera translates ... she is not teaching over a man ... she is simply repeating our words in the Russian language. As one of them told us during the discussion, she is assisting in breaking down the language barrier between us. She has not assumed a leadership role and this in no way violates the scriptural prohibitions in 1 Tim. 2. I also broke down 1 Cor. 14 for them and explained that it was written to address a specific situation in the Corinthian church and the prohibitions in 14:34-35 were to a certain group of Corinthian women (the wives of the prophets) and not to the church as a whole. 1 Cor. 14 does not apply in situations today as we do not have spiritual gifts in the church. We wrapped up the study by speaking directly to and challenging Valentine. We told him he needed to be more respectful and appreciative of the women. He is the only male in the congregation capable of leading them in worship (Mansoor is mentally handicapped). These guys seem to get offended easily and we encouraged them to work on overlooking each other’s imperfections and concentrate on working on growing closer together. Overall, I feel that it was a good study tonight.

With tonight’s session, the teaching part of this trip is effectively over. On Thursday we will be here at the hotel in the morning and hope to get out a little in the afternoon, before going back to Valentine & Galena’s for dinner. Everyone in the church wants us to come over for a “farewell dinner.” It should be a great time. Everyone here has invited us to come again and have let us know how much they appreciate our teaching and encouragement.

I just cannot say enough about how this trip has been a blessing to us. We have been humbled by their kind expressions of love and the gifts they have given us. And, all of this would not have been possible without the financial support of many of you who read this blog. Thanks to all of you for your prayers. We ask for your prayers again, as we will be on our way home over the next few days.

More later!

At the Goose And Swan

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 05:19:11 -0400

Hello!
We had a great Sunday, spending time worshipping, eating, and enjoying the hospitality of friends. It was good to be out and about again after we spent most of Saturday here at the hotel.

After worship, Vera, Kipp, and I went to the Goose & Swan Restaurant. It’s a good place to eat and more economical than the place at the hotel. Why is it called Goose & Swan? Well, its based on a Russian fairly tale about a witch, a boy who the witch tried to eat, and a girl who had to come save him. Can’t remember exactly where the goose & swan fit in, but anyway it’s a great place to eat. (We’ve had Vera try to explain this fairy tale to us twice already...and still don’t understand...) The waitresses dress in traditional Russian clothing and the place is really decorated nice. They fix a chicken plate that is really good. And believe me, about the only thing we’ve been eating at the hotel restaurant is pork....so chicken is a delicious alternative.

We also ventured out to the central market. I have been wanting to pick up a gift for Emilea and Zack and we thought this might be the place to do it. Walking down the unpaved street next to the market, with the vendors lined up on both sides of the street, gives me flashbacks of Algodones, Mexico - just S of the California/Arizona border. You can find just about anything and everything you want at these places. Shoes, clothes, personal hygiene products, fresh food, supplies for your home, you name it...it’s there.

We spent some time with Vera and her husband. They are such a great couple and look to be very happy. Andre works for the local university as a physical ed teacher/trainer. In fact, a couple of Andre’s guys are currently trying out to represent Ukraine in the Summer Olympics in Beijing. Pretty cool, huh? Andre has completely remodeled their flat and it looks really nice. We spent about an hour with them enjoying the hospitality and warmth of their home. We left there thinking that it would just be wonderful if we could get this couple interested in the gospel - as they would both be a tremendous asset to this church. We’re doing our best to plant some seeds, make a good impression, and hope our work will bear fruit down the road.

After leaving Vera’s we came back here to the hotel, where we spent the evening watching movies and relaxing. It was a great weekend for us. As we now find ourselves in the home stretch of this trip, we will spend the week teaching on Revelation, the role of women in the church, and seek to work out some problems between Evgenia and Valentine. We will meet with Evgenia on Tuesday afternoon, and are hoping to meet with Valentine on Wednesday. Our work here wraps up on Thursday evening. On that night, the church family wants to fix us a “farewell dinner.” That should be interesting...just holding out for no raw bacon fat...which we’ve not had to endure yet. : )

Have a great Monday you guys!

Saturday Update

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 01:11:50 -0400

Hi everyone!
In many ways it is hard to believe that we are already to this part of our trip. In many ways, it seems this year’s trip has gone by fast. That’s a good thing! Kipp and I feel that we had a productive week this week, teaching three nights on Jehovah’s Witness doctrine and the last 2 nights on improving relationships between the brethren. I thought Kipp’s lesson Friday night did a great job in making a connection with everyone on being patient with each other and using caution with the words we speak.

We have met with the brethren 9 times and decided that we would take Saturday off. By Friday night, you could tell they were tired and we felt they needed a break. So we spent today reading, relaxing, and getting some exercise by walking to the city center and then to a park overlooking the sea. We both need the exercise, and getting out of the hotel room was a good thing. We figure we must have walked 2-3 miles. Our highlight of this evening was spent eating at the hotel restaurant.

Sunday looks to be busy as we will be meeting for worship and then we plan on going through the central market (always an adventure). Besides worship, the highlight of the day will be our going to Vera’s home where we will get to spend time with and meet her husband. We’re excited about that.

We’re both doing well...although Kipp has yet to get his sleeping on track. Probably about the time he gets adjusted, we’ll be headed home.

Thanks for your prayers for us. More later!

On Brotherly Love and Consideration for Others

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:51:25 -0400

Day 10 has come to an end for us. We had a great day today and I think, a profitable study this evening with the brothers and sisters that make up the church here. Earlier this week, we mentioned to you about how these guys got in a quarrel over taking Kipp and I on a tour of Mariupol. When things ended on Monday evening, there was an awkward silence as it was clear Valentine had made all the ladies mad with his stubbornness in insisting Kipp and I accompany him on foot without our translator as we went around Mariupol. On Tuesday and Wednesday evening, he was much quieter so we figured that his wife Galena set him straight (in a good way, of course).

When we walked in tonight, Valentine instructed Galena to give us some envelopes where we could have Vera translate our addresses into Russian. He wants us to write him after we go home. He was afraid that if the address was written in English that he would not receive the letter. (He is under the impression that the Mariupol post office doesn’t have a translator, etc.) The ladies in the room told Valentine that a letter addressed in English would have no problem getting to him, and he began to argue. And so,...for about five minutes they all tried to explain to Valentine that there would be no problem. He wasn’t buying it. Kipp caught a little of their exchange on video. Galena finally got it across to Valentine when she pulled out an envelope from Kipp, sent a few years back, that was addressed in English. After this, Valentine realized he was wrong. He quickly passed the buck however, when he said, “She (Galena) is always hiding things from me. This is the first time I’ve seen this envelope.”

It was with this scene that I opened my lesson on relationship responsibilities and the need to be forbearing, compassionate, and harmonious with one another. I started the lesson from 1 Peter 3:8-9, taking each word in the verse and discussing what it means. They all participated in the discussion and after covering these verses, I moved into the need to become better listeners. Finally, I told them that the things we had studied to that point were embedded in the principles of humility and love found in Philippians 2:3-4 and Romans 12:9-13. I think this lesson stood out in great contrast to what had been transpiring before the lesson began. We have the impression that such quarrels are a regular occurrence. And, while we all quarrel from time to time, it is important to learn that they should not let things progress to the point where feelings get hurt and grudges start being held.

Kipp and I ventured out of our hotel this morning and walked to the center of the city and walked through some shops. It was really funny when a clerk would come up to ask if we needed any help...or at least I think that is what she was saying. We would smile and say “Nyet Ruskie..” and then I said, “We’ll be back.” They just looked at us and off we’d go to another shop.

The weather this afternoon was by far the best we’ve had in Ukraine. It was warm and clear (at least on our side of town). The cloud of smoke from the steel mills blanketed other parts of town today so we had a clear view out our window.

Thanks again for your prayers and kind words. More on Friday!

A Look Around Town and a dining out adventure

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 05:31:44 -0400

Hi everyone!
We had a good Tuesday. Got to see some parts of the city that we had not seen before. Evgenia’s son-in-law met us at the hotel and took Vera, Kipp, and me around for a few hours yesterday. It was great! We basically got to see Mariupol from every side...and even got to go just outside the city to see what the surrounding countryside looks like. On Monday and Tuesday, the mornings were partly cloudy and warmer, but by the early afternoon a fog rolled in off the sea and when you mix that in with the pollution from the steel mills it makes the visibility really poor. We can’t figure out if there is more fog or smoke in the cloud...but it certainly is different. When the fog comes in, what had been partly cloudy and warm weather turns into a very damp cold.

Monday Update

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:30:24 -0400

Hello again!
We just settled in our hotel room for another night and wrapped up day 8 of our trip. It’s been a good day, with an interesting twist of events this evening that I’ll write more about later.

I am happy to write that we started today with a full eight hours of sleep the night before! Maybe, just maybe, my body is finally getting adjusted to the time zone. Kipp & I spent the morning reading and planning the week ahead before going out to exchange some money and eat lunch together. This afternoon, we prepped for the next couple of evening study sessions on Jehovah’s Witness doctrine and before we knew it, we were off with Vera to a print shop to print out some material for the church members and then to bible study.

Our study started out as normal...but we did notice a little extra conversing going on between everyone. Vera explained that they were having a discussion about taking Kipp and I around Mariupol to see parts of the city we have not seen before. In an earlier post, I mentioned how Valentine has insisted taking us on this excursion without our translator because he wants to spend the entire day with us and travel by bus and by walking. When we left on Sunday, we tried to explain to him that we needed our translator go with us because we thought we might appreciate things more if we could understand what he was saying. We have found that Valentine’s English vocabulary consists of “OK,” “come,” (which he usually says “come-come”) and “yum” (which he usually says “yum-yum”). Plus, we tried to explain that Vera is 6 months pregnant and doing a great deal of walking would not be good for her. He did not want to listen to us. We get a chuckle that when he thinks we don’t understand him, he gets a little closer to our face and repeats himself only in a louder voice. And it seems that every time we are with him, he has just eaten fresh garlic with his lunch or dinner. : ) We usually nod our heads and wait on Vera to tell us what he said.

After Vera let us in on what was going on, we went ahead with our study on Jehovah’s Witness doctrine. They took good notes and said everything was clear to them. We are going to continue the study on Jehovah’s Witnesses Tuesday evening. I think this will be something profitable for them since they seem to have had regular contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses recently.

Once our study ended, the discussion turned again to our tour of Mariupol. After we left worship on Sunday, Evgenia evidently contacted her son-in-law who has a vehicle and can drive us. There is room enough for Valentine, Vera, Kipp, me, and the driver. So....problem solved, right? No,...not really. Valentine kept insisting that this was not the way he wanted to do it and then he said that he didn’t want to go with us if we went in the car. This was over the objections of Evgenia, his wife Galena, and Elnora. Those three women were obviously upset with him and what had been a comical situation for us to watch suddenly took a bad turn when tempers began to flare. Evgenia, obviously frustrated, got up hastily to leave, and so did Mansoor and Elnora. That left us with Galena & Valentine and an uneasy and awkward silence. You could really tell Galena was upset with Valentine and I figure she’ll be setting him straight this evening.

What is interesting about this is just a few minutes before while Kipp was teaching we read Matthew 18:1-3 and were discussing how Jesus says one must become as a little child to enter the kingdom. We were reading this passage to refute the Jehovah’s Witness doctrine of hereditary depravity. Valentine agreed with Kipp that a Christian should conduct himself with humility and not hold a grudge, etc. So...these guys still have much to apply and put it into action on a practical level. Kipp and I will be sitting down with Valentine sometime tomorrow to tell him we appreciate his gesture, but that he needs to be considerate of the needs of others.

After the study ended, Vera found out that Evgenia has arranged to have her son-in-law pick us up at our hotel tomorrow and take us around the city. We are hoping that Valentine will be present and in a good humor.

We are both doing well, and having a great time. I appreciate all the responses via email and to the blog. And...thanks again for your prayers...not only for us, but for the Christians here in Mariupol.

More later!