(Part of the email that Ray sent with the newsletter: As you have probably have heard, we have been busy with our brother Oleg in the hospital here. He is 22 and has no family of his own, except for his church family. He has been diagnosed with viral encephalitis and has begun receiving treatments in Kiev. We are hopeful for a good recovery. Please remember him in your prayers.)

NEWSLETTER FROM PROLETARSKY

Fall began early in Ukraine. We had some very low termperatures in September and had to get out the coats much sooner than expected. The leaves didn't even have time to change colors before falling to the ground.

We returned to the city of Theodocia in southern Ukraine to spend several days with the church there. Most of the members are teenagers and they have a real thirst to learn more about God's Word. Each evening we studied English at 5:00 and Bible at 6:00 with the teens.  While we were there, we challenged them to learn the books of the Bible and several of them met the challenge! We were able to have 2 picnics with them to enjoy some Christian fellowship and the beauty of God's creation. During the daytime we visited with families who had  initially been contacted in a summer campaign, to follow up with them and try to develop their interest in studying the Bible or visiting services.

We also had the opportunity to visit with a new congregation in Dolinovka (a village between Simferopol and Theodocia.) That congregation was started as a result of Bible correspondence courses from World Bible School. Since our visit there two more souls have been added to their number.

The events of September 11 made a deep impression on the people here. Russian President, Vladimir Putin, made a statement to the effect that it was not just a tragedy for America, but for all civilized people of the world. We were absolutely overwhelmed by the outpouring of sympathy and support shown by our Christian family as well as non-Christians and total strangers who realized we were Americans.  Many prayers continue to rise up for those injured and the families who lost loved ones.

It seems that September has been a month of good-byes. Gene and Mary Parker returned to Texas for a few months to raise funds for an addition to the Proletarsky building and to spend time with their families. Doug and Marge Reeves moved back to America. Doug has  served as director of the Ukrainian Bible Institute for the past 4 years. He will assume new duties, overseeing all of the foreign branches of the Sunset School of Preaching in Lubbock, Texas. Doug and Marge will be sorely missed in Donetsk, but we trust God has an even greater work in store for them. We look forward to seeing them next year when they return to check on the school here.

Our hearts rejoice over 3 baptisms in the month of September. An older couple, Raisa and Vladimir, whose daughter is a Christian, were added to the body. Also, Natasha was baptized into Christ. Her  mother, Galina, has been a faithful member of the church for six years and her four-year old son, Zachar, attends the children's classes. We had one baptism in October, Tonya, the daughter of our Armenian friends. Erma, Seyron and son, Rafick, were baptized in the summer during our campaign and we were delighted to see Tonya united with them in Christ.

As mentioned earlier, Gene and Mary Parker are gone and so far, our building is still unheated. Gene spent many hours trying to get all  the necessary approvals before they left. We are prayerfully hopeful that we will have heat before the end of the year. A big hole has been dug down to the gas main in anticipation of the approval to connect. It has only gone down to the upper 20's, so why hurry?

Near the first of October, we received several boxes of clothing sent from the Woodland Hills Church. Thank you to Jean Britt for sending the boxes and to those who donated items. Several of our members, neighborhood friends and needy children were helped because of your generosity. We still have a need for clothing for children, ages 6 to 16. Smaller sizes will work because most of these children are small for their ages. We also received some boxes from Andrea Britt and her friends in the Atlanta area. Your help is greatly appreciated.

We have had several opportunities in the past few weeks to teach English in two schools. One is the Institute where Lynn's interpreter, Nikka, graduated. Ray has been able to teach Bible twice a week to upper class students who are potential interpreters for summer campaigns. Several of them worked last summer and need additional  Bible knowledge. The second school is a private high school. While the lessons are not Bible based, some good has already come from them. One young lady, Alexandria, has begun attending worship, teen classes and has viewed three of the Jule Miller filmstrips. We never know what may come from such opportunities.

October ended on a sad note. First, was the passing of Vladimir, one of our new members. He was taken to the hospital for an operation near the beginning of October and died on the 26th. Several of our members attended the funeral even though the family lives way out in the country. The men did a good job with songs, prayers, and a talk. That is a new experience for them since all funerals in the past had no religious service or only ones conducted by the Orthodox priests.

During the last couple of weeks in October, our good friend, faithful Christian brother, and strong leader in the church became very ill. Ray and Koyla took him to Kiev on the 31st where he was admitted to a hospital for treatment. He has a form of encephalitis, but the doctors feel that it is treatable. We, as well as people the world over, are praying for his quick and complete recovery.  Several of you have met Oleg and know how special he is and important to the Proletarsky church.

We appreciate your continued support and prayers. May God bless you for your help with the work in Ukraine.

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."
Numbers 6:24-26