Woodland Hills Church of Christ

August, 2003

It is hard to believe that the summer is almost over. It has been a busy, but most enjoyable summer for us here in Proletarsky, with August having almost perfect weather all month. 

We returned from camp on Monday the 4th of August and that gave us one week to catch up on a few things before our campaign began. Fliers were sent to 14,000 homes through the mail and many handed out by our members, inviting people to come view preaching on video. The videos have Bible lessons taught by a native Russian speaker and were made at one of the preacher schools in the USA. Attendance was not as good as we had hoped, but there were several visitors. One lady, Yelina, was baptized into Christ, making it worth all efforts and costs. These same films are to be shown in Budjonofsky the first week in September. Please pray for that meeting.

Our hearts were filled with joy this past week also, as a young man, Artur, also accepted Christ in baptism. His mother is a member of the church and has been asking us to pray for him for some time now. It is wonderful to have them united in Christ.

On Thursday the 14th we invited the teens from the Magistralney and Admin churches to join our teens for a picnic. We found a beautiful park, which is 4 tram stops from the church building and then a 15 minute walk into the woods. There was a pretty little lake, soccer field and plenty of room for other games. We enjoyed playing, eating, visiting and worshiping the Lord together. 

When Teresa was here in July, she left money for Lynn and Nikka to buy some things for several orphanages and children’s homes. That task was finally accomplished as medicine was purchased for three locations and diapers for five. It is especially heartrending to visit the Specialized Babies’ Home in Makeevka, as it is the home for babies who have been exposed to the HIV virus. They are kept in this home up to 7 years old and tested for HIV from time to time. Right now there are 65 children in this home. 

Our program to feed the needy continues and a few recipients have visited the church as a result. Because some of the recipients were told that in the past, people were given food by a church group and then given a bill later, Ray wrote a letter to include in each packet in August telling about the Lord’s church and that this food is completely free. It stated that if anyone should ask for funds to contact us and do not pay. It is sad to have to take such measures when trying to do good for people. Vanya continues to do a great job as head of this program.

Ray, Lynn and Nikka were blessed with a few days off at the end of the month. We spent a wonderful week in Yalta, Crimea, one of the prettiest places in the world. We rested, climbed mountains, rode horses and, thoroughly enjoyed God’s beautiful world. 

We arrived back in Donetsk on Saturday morning, August 30th and had a busy afternoon working with the teens. First, we met our teens at the building for a short devotional and sandwiches. Then, we traveled to the center to the Bible Institute building to meet with other teens from around Donetsk for an evening of fellowship. Our Vanya taught a lesson on being a Christian in a non-Christian world and then had four teams to perform skits on various aspects of this topic. They did excellent jobs of presenting creative and entertaining skits. We had around 32 present and play to do this each month with the help of Rhett and Yulia Rogers from the Kubychev congregation. 

Over the past three years, we have mentioned to you about Natasha, who is deaf because her ear canals did not open properly. She has had several plastic surgery operations, thanks to the generosity of many Americans, to pull up the skin around her eyes and now is ready for an ear operation. Doctors in Kiev say they can operate on her better ear and open the canal to give her partial hearing ability. This operation will cost around $3,000. Natasha and her grandmother attend worship frequently and we have hopes of teaching them the truth, in addition to being able to help Natasha. If you would like to contribute toward Natasha’s operation, please do so through Woodland Hills Church of Christ and mark your check for Natasha. 

We are sending a picture of Natasha and her grandmother and also a picture of Dennis and his father. A number of people in the USA contributed last year toward a heart operation for Dennis. He and his father attend worship across town, but came to visit us two weeks ago to show how great Dennis looks. Thanks be to God and to generous Christians around the world.

We love and appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you for your continued support and prayers. 


"Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you." II Thessalonians 3:16