November/December, 2002
Christian Friends,
Holiday Greetings! We hope you are enjoying the holidays with your loved ones. This will be the November/December edition of our newsletter. Please excuse us for the irregular communication as of late, due to lack of telephone after Lynn’s move, various computer problems and traveling to the USA.
We were thankful to arrive safely in America last week, after a quick 2 day visit in London with our dear friends, Mila and Melvin Bannerman (Mila was Linette’s interpreter in Donetsk). We were able to see a few sights in London on Saturday and worship with the church in Reading on Sunday. They were a very friendly group and welcomed us with lots of Christian love and a fried chicken lunch.
Although they are having some real winter in Donetsk right now, the Lord’s
work goes on. We have begun focusing our attention on small groups within the
congregation. We want each member to find his place in the church and to be
actively involved. In November, we began small groups for men and young adults.
A third small group was begun in December for ladies. This group will meet in
the home of one of our invalids, which will be a big encouragement to her. We
are excited about the potential for good that can be accomplished by means of
these small groups. Listed below are a few of the objectives of the small
groups:
1. To promote real Christian friendships.
2. To care for each other’s needs.
3. To encourage personal spiritual growth.
4. To provide an environment for friendly evangelism.
In the month of October we told you about the baptism of Ludmila. On December 10th, her family was united with her in Christ. Luda’s mother, Eza, son, Andrew, daughter, Marina and son-in-law, Ruslan were all baptized into Christ. We rejoice with the angles in heaven at the union of this family. We also rejoice that this makes a total to 21 souls added to the Lord’s church in the year 2002. Praise God!
On December 3, we observed National Invalid’s Day by putting together little goodie bags for 15 invalids in our neighborhood. Included in the bags was a flyer telling about the church of Christ in general and specifically about the Proletarsky congregation. Various members volunteered to deliver these bags and share a little Christian love with these folks who are in poor health.
As we close, we want to ask you to remember Gene and Mary Parker in your prayers. Gene recently had back surgery and will need some time to recover. Please pray for Gene’s good health, so that he and Mary will be able to serve God in the ways they feel are best.
We love each one of you and appreciate your encouragement and support as we work together to take the good news about Jesus to the people of Ukraine and to the whole world. May God bless you abundantly in 2003.
In Christian love,
Ray and Lynn