Kirsten and Riley, our Denver Bronco cheerleaders!
Sweet Anika, four months old.
Brock and Lance for the church Fall Festival
Laura and Garrett, who is working toward being an Eagle Scout.Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Grandkids again!
Kirsten and Riley, our Denver Bronco cheerleaders!Sweet Anika, four months old. Brock and Lance for the church Fall Festival Laura and Garrett, who is working toward being an Eagle Scout.
Three Interesting Groups
I've got to tell all of you about the three interesting groups we were a part of last week. Well, actually Frank was in only two of them, but I was in all three. However, one was interesting and challenging because of the spiritual warfare going on; the second was interesting because it was fun and with some people we hadn't seen for years; and the third was interesting because Laura and I did it together and it was fun and different!
Ist Group
The first group of the week was our Insight Group on Wednesday night. If you don't know what an Insight Group is, you can go back to early October and read my posting about it. This week we had a different leader, a woman named Susan, who worked to keep the group on the subject of how we build internal defenses and isolation to avoid facing the life-controlling issues that are in our lives. Dean, one of the prisoners, is really growing spiritually and has looked at himself somewhat clearly about the issues in his life. He shared about his feelings and how he depended on the blood of Christ to give him the grace and strength he needed each day in prison; also how he was overwhelmed by the thought that Jesus had shed His blood for him and his sins.
A few minutes later a young woman whose name I won't mention spoke up and said that she was uncomfortable with all this talk about "blood" and "death." She didn't like it and requested that we not talk about it any more. Now she had admitted in an earlier session that she had dabbled in Satanic practices and worship, so this comment about blood and death sent chills down my spine, so to speak. Satan hates for us to talk about Christ's sacrifice which involved blood and death. This young woman is still open to Satanic attack and he wants her to focus on the "hypocrites" in the church rather than her own needs and how Christ can free her from Satan's bondage. She has built her internal defenses so strongly that they are deeply ingrained in her being. She needs our prayers. I wish I could give you her name, but I just feel that I should not do that. One of the important aspects of an Insight Group is that the members must not reveal in detail issues that are brought up in the group. But this young woman needs our prayers and she needs counseling from an experienced, mature counselor. Let's pray that the leaders of the group will be able to help her through some of the issues in her life.
Group 2
On Friday we were in a totally different kind of group. Last weekend was homecoming at Southern Nazarene University, our alma mater. On Friday noon there was a luncheon for the various missionaries in the area, both retired and furloughing like us. The food was okay, but the fellowship was great. We met several folks who were in school with us and we caught up on forty years of life events! One had some news that sobered us. She and her first husband had been good friends of ours and he had been Frank's best man at our wedding. Now they are divorced and he is away from the Lord, doing nothing. She has remarried and is very happy with her second husband. She looks almost the same as she did forty years ago, same kind of glasses, same hairstyle, a few more pounds, but not many.
Another friend Frank was happy to see was another of his classmates, Stephen Heap, a missionary to Brazil. Stephen is one of those guys who is faithful, steady, and deeply spiritual. It was fun to see him. And there are several others I could mention as well, but won't take the time now. Of course, we enjoyed meeting all the dear old folks who served so faithfully through the years and have now been retired for some time. What missionary pioneers they were! Going to unevangelized areas of the world and spending their lives for Christ. It was great to meet them.
Group 3
Now the third group was totally, totally different. On Saturday Laura and I took a class at the local quilt shop here in Oklahoma City. It wasn't traditional quilting. It was a class that taught us how to make bowls and baskets using cotton clothesline cord and fabric. There were five other ladies in the group as well as the teacher and we all had a good time together. My bowl was in bright aqua blue and purple. Laura did a Christmas bowl in bright red and green. It was fun at the end for all seven of us to show what we had done and how different each bowl was depending on the fabric that had been used. I should have taken a picture or two and posted them here so you could see our work. Maybe I will do that in the coming week. Ladies who take quilt classes are fun to be with. We all want to help each other and get ideas from each other. I wish I could take more classes, especially with Laura. No kids around, just us. It was a great bonding time.
Ist Group
The first group of the week was our Insight Group on Wednesday night. If you don't know what an Insight Group is, you can go back to early October and read my posting about it. This week we had a different leader, a woman named Susan, who worked to keep the group on the subject of how we build internal defenses and isolation to avoid facing the life-controlling issues that are in our lives. Dean, one of the prisoners, is really growing spiritually and has looked at himself somewhat clearly about the issues in his life. He shared about his feelings and how he depended on the blood of Christ to give him the grace and strength he needed each day in prison; also how he was overwhelmed by the thought that Jesus had shed His blood for him and his sins.
A few minutes later a young woman whose name I won't mention spoke up and said that she was uncomfortable with all this talk about "blood" and "death." She didn't like it and requested that we not talk about it any more. Now she had admitted in an earlier session that she had dabbled in Satanic practices and worship, so this comment about blood and death sent chills down my spine, so to speak. Satan hates for us to talk about Christ's sacrifice which involved blood and death. This young woman is still open to Satanic attack and he wants her to focus on the "hypocrites" in the church rather than her own needs and how Christ can free her from Satan's bondage. She has built her internal defenses so strongly that they are deeply ingrained in her being. She needs our prayers. I wish I could give you her name, but I just feel that I should not do that. One of the important aspects of an Insight Group is that the members must not reveal in detail issues that are brought up in the group. But this young woman needs our prayers and she needs counseling from an experienced, mature counselor. Let's pray that the leaders of the group will be able to help her through some of the issues in her life.
Group 2
On Friday we were in a totally different kind of group. Last weekend was homecoming at Southern Nazarene University, our alma mater. On Friday noon there was a luncheon for the various missionaries in the area, both retired and furloughing like us. The food was okay, but the fellowship was great. We met several folks who were in school with us and we caught up on forty years of life events! One had some news that sobered us. She and her first husband had been good friends of ours and he had been Frank's best man at our wedding. Now they are divorced and he is away from the Lord, doing nothing. She has remarried and is very happy with her second husband. She looks almost the same as she did forty years ago, same kind of glasses, same hairstyle, a few more pounds, but not many.
Another friend Frank was happy to see was another of his classmates, Stephen Heap, a missionary to Brazil. Stephen is one of those guys who is faithful, steady, and deeply spiritual. It was fun to see him. And there are several others I could mention as well, but won't take the time now. Of course, we enjoyed meeting all the dear old folks who served so faithfully through the years and have now been retired for some time. What missionary pioneers they were! Going to unevangelized areas of the world and spending their lives for Christ. It was great to meet them.
Group 3
Now the third group was totally, totally different. On Saturday Laura and I took a class at the local quilt shop here in Oklahoma City. It wasn't traditional quilting. It was a class that taught us how to make bowls and baskets using cotton clothesline cord and fabric. There were five other ladies in the group as well as the teacher and we all had a good time together. My bowl was in bright aqua blue and purple. Laura did a Christmas bowl in bright red and green. It was fun at the end for all seven of us to show what we had done and how different each bowl was depending on the fabric that had been used. I should have taken a picture or two and posted them here so you could see our work. Maybe I will do that in the coming week. Ladies who take quilt classes are fun to be with. We all want to help each other and get ideas from each other. I wish I could take more classes, especially with Laura. No kids around, just us. It was a great bonding time.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Russian Language Study
One very important thing that Frank and I have been working on is studying the Russian language. Since we have had more time recently, we have been working with the Rosetta Stone program to begin to get a basic understanding of Russian. Frank is way, way ahead of me. He has a much easier time hearing the variations of sounds and then repeating them correctly. I can't seem to get the correct pronounciations.
One very important word that we must learn is the word for 'hello'. A transliteration of the Russian word is: ZDRAHfst - vwee, which sounds something like zdravstvuite. I cannot get the first syllable, zdr. I'll just have to keep practicing and hope that sooner or later I'll be able to get the z and the dr to come together correctly! The word for 'hi' is much easier and I can say it without any problem (sort of). preeVYET. Not too bad, except that it is not suitable to use this word with older people or people in various positions of authority. Young people use it casually with each other, but never with older folks.
We have found a young Russian woman to help us twice a week. Olga is a student at Southern Nazarene University, which is nearby, and she was very pleased to have the opportunity to earn a little extra cash and help us practice her language. Olga is actually at SNU on a tennis scholarship, she is not a Nazarene and is not very familar with spiritual issues. She is a member of the Russian Orthodox Church and was put into contact with SNU through an international tennis organization that matches colleges with students who want to get to the U.S. and play competitive tennis. I haven't taken any pictures of her yet, but when I do I'll post some here. We're thankful that we were able to find her and learn some Russian from someone who is native to Russia.
One very important word that we must learn is the word for 'hello'. A transliteration of the Russian word is: ZDRAHfst - vwee, which sounds something like zdravstvuite. I cannot get the first syllable, zdr. I'll just have to keep practicing and hope that sooner or later I'll be able to get the z and the dr to come together correctly! The word for 'hi' is much easier and I can say it without any problem (sort of). preeVYET. Not too bad, except that it is not suitable to use this word with older people or people in various positions of authority. Young people use it casually with each other, but never with older folks.
We have found a young Russian woman to help us twice a week. Olga is a student at Southern Nazarene University, which is nearby, and she was very pleased to have the opportunity to earn a little extra cash and help us practice her language. Olga is actually at SNU on a tennis scholarship, she is not a Nazarene and is not very familar with spiritual issues. She is a member of the Russian Orthodox Church and was put into contact with SNU through an international tennis organization that matches colleges with students who want to get to the U.S. and play competitive tennis. I haven't taken any pictures of her yet, but when I do I'll post some here. We're thankful that we were able to find her and learn some Russian from someone who is native to Russia.
Two months later!
Friends, it's been almost two months since we've written on the blog. Gosh, I didn't realize how long ago it had been. Actually, September and early October were fairly quiet for us. We didn't have many meetings, so we haven't traveled far. We've stayed home a lot and caught up on things that had been neglected. We got a prayer/newsletter written and sent out and many of you have already seen that.
INSIGHT GROUP
By the middle of October, things were getting more interesting. As we've mentioned earlier we took a Living Free training course in July to facilitate small groups in the church, helping people face and overcome life-controlling issues. We are hoping that this will be really useful in Ukraine. Well, in order to become full-fledged faciliatators we have to go through the first group ourselves, not as facilitators but as ordinary participants. There aren't many groups meeting in our area of Oklahoma, but Frank found a group not far from us. The Mustang Assembly of God Church has a number of groups meeting, and we were able to get into the entry-level group, called an Insight Group. The interesting thing about this group is that it is primarily made up of inmates from a nearby correctional facility (i.e. prison) as well as their wives and girlfriends, and a few other folks from the community. We're definitely like fish-out-of-water in this group, but so far it has been extremely educational.
One of the men has been in prison for five years and has grown spiritually in a wonderful way. Sometimes he mentions how he witnesses to other prisoners, and the reactions he gets from them. Another young man mentioned this week how one of his major emotions is insecurity and jealousy. He has a very attractive girl friend and he is always worried about how men will hit on her while he's in jail and he won't be able to protect her or be there just to be with her. One young woman mentioned how she is angry over things that have happened to her in the past and how she doesn't trust people because of these things. Another woman mentioned how she is trying to stop smoking and how the Lord brought to her attention that she needed to do that.
It is wonderful to see these men come in with their Bibles and participate in the group. Of course, some of them don't say anything. In fact, Frank and I haven't contributed much to the discussions. We know we are different, better educated, and have been serving the Lord for a long time, and we don't want to seem to be like know-it-alls, or get too preachy. If anything, we need to share some of our emotions and feelings just like they do. We actually just want to be accepted as part of the group just like the rest of them. That may take a few weeks or more to accomplish.
COMING EVENTS
We'll try to do better in the coming months to keep you informed and up-to-date on what's happening in our lives. November will be busy and then of course December will be full of events. This weekend (Nov. 1-2) we will be in Wichita, Kansas, at a missionary convention held at a large Methodist Church. The following weekend we will be in Wichita again at a convention held at a satellite church of the Methodist church we're in this weekend. Does that sound okay? Is it clear? I hope so. More to come . . . . . keep tuned in.
INSIGHT GROUP
By the middle of October, things were getting more interesting. As we've mentioned earlier we took a Living Free training course in July to facilitate small groups in the church, helping people face and overcome life-controlling issues. We are hoping that this will be really useful in Ukraine. Well, in order to become full-fledged faciliatators we have to go through the first group ourselves, not as facilitators but as ordinary participants. There aren't many groups meeting in our area of Oklahoma, but Frank found a group not far from us. The Mustang Assembly of God Church has a number of groups meeting, and we were able to get into the entry-level group, called an Insight Group. The interesting thing about this group is that it is primarily made up of inmates from a nearby correctional facility (i.e. prison) as well as their wives and girlfriends, and a few other folks from the community. We're definitely like fish-out-of-water in this group, but so far it has been extremely educational.
One of the men has been in prison for five years and has grown spiritually in a wonderful way. Sometimes he mentions how he witnesses to other prisoners, and the reactions he gets from them. Another young man mentioned this week how one of his major emotions is insecurity and jealousy. He has a very attractive girl friend and he is always worried about how men will hit on her while he's in jail and he won't be able to protect her or be there just to be with her. One young woman mentioned how she is angry over things that have happened to her in the past and how she doesn't trust people because of these things. Another woman mentioned how she is trying to stop smoking and how the Lord brought to her attention that she needed to do that.
It is wonderful to see these men come in with their Bibles and participate in the group. Of course, some of them don't say anything. In fact, Frank and I haven't contributed much to the discussions. We know we are different, better educated, and have been serving the Lord for a long time, and we don't want to seem to be like know-it-alls, or get too preachy. If anything, we need to share some of our emotions and feelings just like they do. We actually just want to be accepted as part of the group just like the rest of them. That may take a few weeks or more to accomplish.
COMING EVENTS
We'll try to do better in the coming months to keep you informed and up-to-date on what's happening in our lives. November will be busy and then of course December will be full of events. This weekend (Nov. 1-2) we will be in Wichita, Kansas, at a missionary convention held at a large Methodist Church. The following weekend we will be in Wichita again at a convention held at a satellite church of the Methodist church we're in this weekend. Does that sound okay? Is it clear? I hope so. More to come . . . . . keep tuned in.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Preparing for Ukraine
We were supposed to be leaving for Ukraine at the end of September, but that isn't going to happen. We haven't gotten all of our support raised yet, so we can't go until we get it. We have about 2/3s of it raised, but we still have a long way to go before we get the rest of it. The economy of the U.S. hasn't helped us at all this year. People and churches are becoming very careful about where their money goes, and, to be frank, money is becoming scarce both in the churches and in homes. One church recently dropped our support because the money simply wasn't coming into the church the way it had been and the church didn't have it to send for us. This really hurt us because that church supported us with more than $250 a month. Right now we are hoping and praying that we'll be able to leave at the beginning of 2009. Pray along with us that God will speak to people and churches about our needs, but especially about the needs of Ukraine.
We feel as though we need to do something concrete to show people (and the Lord) that we are really serious about getting to Ukraine. So in August we started studying the Russian language. Frank is really doing good. He is working through the Rosetta Stone language lessons and is just about through Level I. He hears the sounds so much better than I do (this is Chris writing), and having learned Greek while in seminary, he finds the Cyrillic alphbet much easier to learn and follow. I'm struggling along, still in the early stages of Level I. I've made flash cards with the alphabet letters so I can get that memorized with the proper sounds. If the letter looks like a 'c', it should sound like a 'c', right? Wrong!!! It sounds like 'ess', or 's'. 'B' sounds like 'v'. Etc., etc., etc. And there are some letters which are totally new and different.
We're also doing lots of reading that goes along with the small group Turning Point ministries which we are looking forward to using in the Ukrainian churches. Not only do we have to do the reading, but we have to submit summaries to the Turning Point Ministry to receive credit for it. Fair enough. The material is interesting, but there's a lot of it. I'm getting ready to read the book, Caring Enough to Confront, by David Augsberger. This has to do with confronting people with life-controlling issues in order to help them overcome their problems. I'll write more when I've finished the book.
So much to learn, so much to remember, so much to put into practice when we finally get to Ukraine.
We feel as though we need to do something concrete to show people (and the Lord) that we are really serious about getting to Ukraine. So in August we started studying the Russian language. Frank is really doing good. He is working through the Rosetta Stone language lessons and is just about through Level I. He hears the sounds so much better than I do (this is Chris writing), and having learned Greek while in seminary, he finds the Cyrillic alphbet much easier to learn and follow. I'm struggling along, still in the early stages of Level I. I've made flash cards with the alphabet letters so I can get that memorized with the proper sounds. If the letter looks like a 'c', it should sound like a 'c', right? Wrong!!! It sounds like 'ess', or 's'. 'B' sounds like 'v'. Etc., etc., etc. And there are some letters which are totally new and different.
We're also doing lots of reading that goes along with the small group Turning Point ministries which we are looking forward to using in the Ukrainian churches. Not only do we have to do the reading, but we have to submit summaries to the Turning Point Ministry to receive credit for it. Fair enough. The material is interesting, but there's a lot of it. I'm getting ready to read the book, Caring Enough to Confront, by David Augsberger. This has to do with confronting people with life-controlling issues in order to help them overcome their problems. I'll write more when I've finished the book.
So much to learn, so much to remember, so much to put into practice when we finally get to Ukraine.
August Summary
Okay, it's September and I'm behind. But before I write new things, I'm going to give a summary of what happened in August. It was a good month for us as far as family is concerned. We visited our son Evan and his family twice in August. The first time was so we could see our new little granddaughter, Anika Faith. She is a sweetie! Lots of dark hair and very petite. The second time we visited was so we could attend her dedication to the Lord at church. It's always fun to play with Kirsten and Riley. Riley is warming up to us and has become friendly, so we feel really good about that. 
Anika Faith, aged six weeks
Kirsten, aged 4, and Riley, aged 2 1/2
We had great fun too when we celebrated Lance's 1st birthday the first week of August. His party was a little late since he was born on July 26th last year, but his mom wanted to be sure that we would be home so we could be there. Have you ever seen a one-year-old dig into his birthday cake? Well, it's messy but fun! We think he is adorable. He actually prefers his grandpa Frank to grandma Chris, but that's okay. His big brother Brock is just the opposite.
Lance, aged 1, before cake
Lance, after cake!
We haven't had any meetings this past month, so we spent most of the time at home catching up on chores around the house and helping Frank's mom with doctor and dentist appointments. All in all, a good month.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Borderland: A Journey Throught the History of Ukraine
What are we reading these days? I thought I would start mentioning some of the books that we are working through as we prepare to go to Ukraine. We have a ton of books that we have to read for qualification as facilitators for Living Free seminars. And from time to time I'll tell you about them because they touch on some very important issues that the world is facing today.
But I want to share with you today a book on the history of Ukraine. Frank and I both love history, so it was natural that we would want to find out as much as we could about the past and and how it affects the present in Ukraine. Our friends in North Carolina, Mark and Christa Graham, gave us a book entitled Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine, by Anna Reid. The author is not actually a historian, but a journalist who has spent some time in the country and her writing is interesting, definitely not just dry names and dates. She starts from the earliest recorded history and proceeds to the recent past. What did I learn from the book?
But I want to share with you today a book on the history of Ukraine. Frank and I both love history, so it was natural that we would want to find out as much as we could about the past and and how it affects the present in Ukraine. Our friends in North Carolina, Mark and Christa Graham, gave us a book entitled Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine, by Anna Reid. The author is not actually a historian, but a journalist who has spent some time in the country and her writing is interesting, definitely not just dry names and dates. She starts from the earliest recorded history and proceeds to the recent past. What did I learn from the book?
- One of the interesting things for me was the beginnings of Kievan Rus. Moscow wasn't even founded when Kiev became an important city which received visitors from western Europe and the Mediterranean region.
- Christianity is old in Ukraine; the churches are beautiful; and Orthodoxy has suffered just as the people have suffered.
- I love the stories of the Cossacks. But much of it is romanticized and not true to historical fact.
- Throughout its post-Kievan Rus history Ukraine was never a nation until the Soviet Union fell. It was always regarded as a borderland buffer, fought over by Poland, Russia, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Consequently, the people of Ukraine are a ethnic mixture which includes Tatar blood as well as European. And the people of Ukraine struggle with the concept of nationhood.
- The Jews in Ukraine were decimated just as the Jews in Germany were. And their numbers were almost equal to those killed in Europe in World War II.
- The Ukrainian people suffered horribly from Stalinism during the period between the world wars, and they suffered horribly from both the Nazis and Stalinists during World War II. It's a wonder there were any Ukrainians left to survive and develop after the war.
- Ukraine is a land divided. The western part is the heartland of Ukrainian nationalism. The eastern half is much more sympathetic to Russia and its influence. The people of these two regions speak differently, think differently, have different cultures, and struggle to accept the other.
- My heart was broken by the suffering of this land. The people have little trust in their government, little faith in God, and great need to hear the gospel.
Missionary Day at Camp Sychar
Tuesday, July 29th, was Missionary Day at Camp Sychar in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. I'm not sure how many missionaries were actually there, but there were at least seven "official" missionaries from World Gospel Mission and some more who just came in for the day because the camp has supported them for a long time. It was a great day!
Frank and I started our day by being a part of the youth meeting. (By the way, Camp Sychar is a great family camp with more than 100 teens present.) We were the only missionaries who spoke in the youth meetings, so we felt a certain responsibility to do a good job. The music rocked, the counselors were groovy, and the whole atmosphere was young! Needless to say, Frank and I, oldsters that we are, trembled a bit at the thought that we were supposed to get and keep the attention of these kids. But the Lord helped! He gave us the right things to say, in the right way, and kids listened. Frank gave them a challenge: How big is your world? I gave my testimony about how the Lord had called me to serve Him when I was a teenager. Later in the day we had a number of teens who came up to us and said that they really enjoyed hearing us. So we weren't toooooo far off the mark with our presentation. We pray that God called someone or two to serve Him as missionaries someday, somewhere.
The afternoon was fun! The camp had a Missions Festival on the campground with booths set up for kids to play games and win tickets for prizes. I think each game, no matter what, cost 25 cents. All that money went to missions.
Kids got their faces painted.
Counselors got whipped cream in the face!
Some missionaries sold balloons.
And we redeemed tickets for prizes.
We appreciate Camp Sychar and the support it has provided for us through the years. Not only was Missionary Day great, but the preaching services were edifying and the music was wonderful. Thank you Camp Sychar for a wonderful week.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Camp Sychar, Mount Vernon, Ohio
Yep, we're heading towards Mt. Vernon, Ohio, this weekend to spend three or four days at one of the few remaining interdenominational holiness campmeetings still left in the eastern U.S. Camp Sychar has supported us for several years, and we look forward to being with friends we have made there in the past. I wish I could say that everything is air conditioned and comfortable, but I'm afraid it isn't. The weather is supposed to be in the mid- to upper-80s next week, and the humidity is always high is Ohio! We will be presenting our work and needs on
Tuesday, which is Missionary Day, but we want to be a blessing to the folks everyday that we're there. We will probably leave on Wednesday or Thursday and head west again toward Oklahoma and home. More to follow.
Tuesday, which is Missionary Day, but we want to be a blessing to the folks everyday that we're there. We will probably leave on Wednesday or Thursday and head west again toward Oklahoma and home. More to follow.
Living Free
Well, there's a lot to catch up on right now. I'm going to start with a two-day course we took in Chattanooga. It's called Living Free. You can see it at www.livingfree.org. The basic purpose of Living Free is to help Christians (and others if they so desire) to break free of life-controlling issues such as substance abuse, behaviorial problems, and difficult relationships with others. It is not a counseling program, as such, and it does not consider itself to be psychology. It works on the theory that small groups within the church can help everyone, not just those who seem to have problems. We can take a good look at themselves, sometimes through the eyes of others in the group, and find help spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. The program uses three things to help each one: the Word of God, the Spirit of God and the people of God.
Our training was to enable us to use the material in the church, and to train others in using it. Actually, the two days were just the beginning of the training. We have a list of books to read and we are supposed to participate ourselves in some of the groups. We have a year to finish up the training process. Our field leader in Ukraine, Ernie Smith, is really excited about us doing this. He feels that the program can really help new Christians in the young churches overcome some of the big problems that are keeping them back from becoming all that they can be. One of the best things about this program is that all of the materials have already been translated into the Russian language and will soon be available for free download from the internet by those who have been trained to use it.
While we were in Chattanooga we stayed again with Frank's childhood friend Ken Anderson and his family. We had a lovely time with them and especially enjoyed their backyard swimming pool! It was a real treat for us to cool off in the evenings in the pool. I can't swim, so I just paddled about the edges of the pool, but Frank got out into the water and and learned some new water games from Ken and his family. The Lord gave us a wonderful week with them before it was time to move on to far-western Pennsylvania for a service in Genesis Church which has supported us for quite a few years. The drive from Chattanooga to New Castle, Pa., was beautiful. We enjoyed driving along some back roads and seeing "wild and wonderful" West Virginia along the way.
Our training was to enable us to use the material in the church, and to train others in using it. Actually, the two days were just the beginning of the training. We have a list of books to read and we are supposed to participate ourselves in some of the groups. We have a year to finish up the training process. Our field leader in Ukraine, Ernie Smith, is really excited about us doing this. He feels that the program can really help new Christians in the young churches overcome some of the big problems that are keeping them back from becoming all that they can be. One of the best things about this program is that all of the materials have already been translated into the Russian language and will soon be available for free download from the internet by those who have been trained to use it.
While we were in Chattanooga we stayed again with Frank's childhood friend Ken Anderson and his family. We had a lovely time with them and especially enjoyed their backyard swimming pool! It was a real treat for us to cool off in the evenings in the pool. I can't swim, so I just paddled about the edges of the pool, but Frank got out into the water and and learned some new water games from Ken and his family. The Lord gave us a wonderful week with them before it was time to move on to far-western Pennsylvania for a service in Genesis Church which has supported us for quite a few years. The drive from Chattanooga to New Castle, Pa., was beautiful. We enjoyed driving along some back roads and seeing "wild and wonderful" West Virginia along the way.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Pictures of Anika Faith
Evan sent us some pictures of Anika Faith, so we'll share some of them with all of you. They are all good, but I especially love the one of big sister Kirsten with all her fly-away hair and her big smile! Riley is still not sure how she feels about the baby. Lori went home from the hospital yesterday and is recovering quickly, surprising the doctors and nurses. Continue to pray for all of them.
We will add here that Laura took Brock for his three-month check-up with the specialist for his Legg-Calve-Perthes disease. The doctor took fresh x-rays and said that it appears that Brock has a mild form of this disease and it may not get any worse, while it may get much better. He has his next check-up in four months. Laura was very pleased and encouraged. As we were also.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
On the Road in Ohio
This past weekend we were near Canton, Ohio, at a little town named Waynesburg. The Little Country Church is there and has been a strong supporter of World Gospel Mission for many years. This is our sixth time to be at the church and we spoke in both the morning and evening worship services. Several folks there have had support in us through the years and it was good to see them again.
One of the nearby attractions southwest of Canton is the Amish country in Holmes County. It was super-busy on Saturday in Berlin, Ohio, where we stopped for a while. I love going through antique malls, and enjoyed the one in Berlin, not to mention all the quilt shops and Amish furniture places. The Amish food is delicious, but probably not so good for someone trying to watch their weight or cholesterol.
Tomorrow, July 10th, we are driving to Nashville, Tennessee, where we will visit an old friend from India, Dr. Paul Beals, who was a visiting professor several times at South India Biblical Seminary. From there we will go to Chattanooga for our counseling training next week. We'll try to write again from Chattanooga. Thanks for your prayers.
One of the nearby attractions southwest of Canton is the Amish country in Holmes County. It was super-busy on Saturday in Berlin, Ohio, where we stopped for a while. I love going through antique malls, and enjoyed the one in Berlin, not to mention all the quilt shops and Amish furniture places. The Amish food is delicious, but probably not so good for someone trying to watch their weight or cholesterol.
Tomorrow, July 10th, we are driving to Nashville, Tennessee, where we will visit an old friend from India, Dr. Paul Beals, who was a visiting professor several times at South India Biblical Seminary. From there we will go to Chattanooga for our counseling training next week. We'll try to write again from Chattanooga. Thanks for your prayers.
Anika Faith Dewey
Anika Faith was born on Monday, July 7, at 10:10am to our son Evan and his wife Lori. She weighed in at 6 lbs, 14 oz., and was 20 inches long. Evan said she has a big mouth! We're not sure exactly what he means except that he said when she cried her mouth looked huge. Big sister Kirsten, who will be four in August, is being very motherly and wants to hold the baby all the time. Big sister Riley, who is two, was more worried about Mommy and wanted to sit by Mommy on the bed.
Not everything was rosy when Anika was born. When the placenta came it brought the uterus with it, which is called "inverted uterus" and can be fatal to the mother. This is a very serious and rare complication. In fact, neither of the doctors who worked on Lori had even seen it before! The doctor and nurses swung into action and took Lori to surgery where the second doctor was finally able to get the uterus back inside after a two hour struggle. Lori needed four units of blood and was given lots of medication to stop the bleeding as well as to help with the pain. She was groggy a lot of the day after being taken back to her room. But she was able to hold the baby, and the doctors say that except for being very sore inside for some days she is okay. We are thankful for people who were praying for Lori and the baby. Evan called us several times and kept us informed of what was happening so we were able to pray too. He says that Lori may be able to come home today, which is Wednesday, the 9th.
When we get more pictures of Anika, we'll be sure to post them here. By the way, Anika is Scandinavian for Anna. At least, that's what I read online.
Not everything was rosy when Anika was born. When the placenta came it brought the uterus with it, which is called "inverted uterus" and can be fatal to the mother. This is a very serious and rare complication. In fact, neither of the doctors who worked on Lori had even seen it before! The doctor and nurses swung into action and took Lori to surgery where the second doctor was finally able to get the uterus back inside after a two hour struggle. Lori needed four units of blood and was given lots of medication to stop the bleeding as well as to help with the pain. She was groggy a lot of the day after being taken back to her room. But she was able to hold the baby, and the doctors say that except for being very sore inside for some days she is okay. We are thankful for people who were praying for Lori and the baby. Evan called us several times and kept us informed of what was happening so we were able to pray too. He says that Lori may be able to come home today, which is Wednesday, the 9th.
When we get more pictures of Anika, we'll be sure to post them here. By the way, Anika is Scandinavian for Anna. At least, that's what I read online.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Grandbaby on the way!
We just talked to our son Evan. His wife, Lori, is expecting a new baby any day now. She is having some contractions, but nothing else seems to be happening, so if the baby doesn't come this weekend, she will have labor induced on Monday morning, July 7th. The baby is a girl to go along with the other two sweet little girls they have. We're excited, but a little disappointed that we won't be able to see her until August after we finish this July roadtrip to Ohio, Tennessee, and back again. When we hear more, I'll write more.
I've been thinking recently about my own family (this is Chris writing). I have two sisters, no brothers. Evan and his family are kinda like us. Three girls, but closer together in age that my sisters and I are. We three are still pretty close and try to keep in touch. Email has really helped in that line, along with cell phones. I'm the oldest, so I think I have an idea about how little Kirsten (almost 4 years old) will feel as time goes by. I'm going to watch Riley (aged 2) and now this new little one to see if I find any similarities between them and my two sisters because of their birth order.
Sometimes I think I read too much! I read about the effect of birth order a long time ago and my sisters and I pretty much fit right into the characteristics that our places in the birth order are supposed to have. How will Kirsten, Riley, and ????? develop? It'll be fun to watch.
I've been thinking recently about my own family (this is Chris writing). I have two sisters, no brothers. Evan and his family are kinda like us. Three girls, but closer together in age that my sisters and I are. We three are still pretty close and try to keep in touch. Email has really helped in that line, along with cell phones. I'm the oldest, so I think I have an idea about how little Kirsten (almost 4 years old) will feel as time goes by. I'm going to watch Riley (aged 2) and now this new little one to see if I find any similarities between them and my two sisters because of their birth order.
Sometimes I think I read too much! I read about the effect of birth order a long time ago and my sisters and I pretty much fit right into the characteristics that our places in the birth order are supposed to have. How will Kirsten, Riley, and ????? develop? It'll be fun to watch.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
July on the road
Friends, soon Frank and I will be hitting the road for the month of July, so I want to write a few lines before we leave home. We will be leaving early morning on the 4th of July and driving toward Ohio. On Sunday we will spend the day at the Little Country Church near Canton, Ohio. So we need to get there Saturday night. This is going to be another l-o-n-g drive from Oklahoma City.
We will be having services at several different places in the Ohio-eastern Pennsylvania area, but there are two major places where we'll spend some time. First, we will head to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for a two-day seminar to help us learn how to teach others to be counselors in the church. This is a really serious need in Ukraine. Dysfuntional family life is one of the greatest issues that Christians face there, and we hope to be able to teach Ukrainians how to approach others and use good counseling materials (which are already available in the Russian language). The title of this program is "Living Free" from Turning Point Ministries. We are keen to take this course and give ourselves better preparation for our work in Ukraine. The dates of the seminar are July 14 and 15, during which time we will be staying again with Frank's long-ago friend Ken Anderson and his family. (See our earlier postings in February to read about Ken and his great family.)
Then toward the end of the month we will be at Sychar Campmeeting at Mount Vernon, Ohio. This is one of the old holiness campmeetings still in existence and it has supported us for four years. We are eager to get back there, meet old friends, and share our message about the needs of Ukraine.
We plan to stay at WGM headquarters in Marion, Indiana, for part of the time. While we're there, we're going to work on producing some DVDs to send to various churches and friends who haven't had a chance to meet us this year or to hear much of what we'll be doing in Ukraine. If you would like to see the video, the webpage is www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW5Hul1F_N4. Or, go to wgm.org----click fields----click Europe (find Ukraine)----scroll down and click Frank and Chris Dewey----click check out ministry pages----click our ministry video. It sounds complicated, but it actually goes pretty fast. The video will come up and you can see and hear us as we share our excitement about going to Ukraine.
No more for now. I'll write again next Monday to let you know how things go for us next weekend. Thanks for your prayers.
p.s. I notice that when I click on the above link, I get to youtube, but it tells me the video is not available. I typed in "Frank and Chris Dewey" in the Search box, and it took me right to our video. Hope this helps if you've tried it and couldn't get it to come up. (Sometimes I wish I was a computer wizard!!! Then all of this would work the way it's supposed to. I think.)
We will be having services at several different places in the Ohio-eastern Pennsylvania area, but there are two major places where we'll spend some time. First, we will head to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for a two-day seminar to help us learn how to teach others to be counselors in the church. This is a really serious need in Ukraine. Dysfuntional family life is one of the greatest issues that Christians face there, and we hope to be able to teach Ukrainians how to approach others and use good counseling materials (which are already available in the Russian language). The title of this program is "Living Free" from Turning Point Ministries. We are keen to take this course and give ourselves better preparation for our work in Ukraine. The dates of the seminar are July 14 and 15, during which time we will be staying again with Frank's long-ago friend Ken Anderson and his family. (See our earlier postings in February to read about Ken and his great family.)
Then toward the end of the month we will be at Sychar Campmeeting at Mount Vernon, Ohio. This is one of the old holiness campmeetings still in existence and it has supported us for four years. We are eager to get back there, meet old friends, and share our message about the needs of Ukraine.
We plan to stay at WGM headquarters in Marion, Indiana, for part of the time. While we're there, we're going to work on producing some DVDs to send to various churches and friends who haven't had a chance to meet us this year or to hear much of what we'll be doing in Ukraine. If you would like to see the video, the webpage is www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW5Hul1F_N4. Or, go to wgm.org----click fields----click Europe (find Ukraine)----scroll down and click Frank and Chris Dewey----click check out ministry pages----click our ministry video. It sounds complicated, but it actually goes pretty fast. The video will come up and you can see and hear us as we share our excitement about going to Ukraine.
No more for now. I'll write again next Monday to let you know how things go for us next weekend. Thanks for your prayers.
p.s. I notice that when I click on the above link, I get to youtube, but it tells me the video is not available. I typed in "Frank and Chris Dewey" in the Search box, and it took me right to our video. Hope this helps if you've tried it and couldn't get it to come up. (Sometimes I wish I was a computer wizard!!! Then all of this would work the way it's supposed to. I think.)
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Next stops: Iowa and Minnesota
Well, friends, here I (Chris) am at home and Frank is on the road. I feel a little guilty about not being with him as he travels, but for various reasons I am staying home during the month of June. First of all, I have a couple of doctor appointments---nothing serious, just those yearly check-ups and follow-ups. Secondly, I just needed to stop and stay at home for a few more weeks. When we travel, my weight balloons and I have a lot of stomach trouble due to my intolerance of high fat foods. So, I am fighting to get my weight back down to what it was before we started traveling and I'm trying to really watch out for those foods that make me have abdominal pain and IBS. I'm on the treadmill almost every day and am feeling pretty good.
But that means that Frank has to travel by himself for long hours on the road. Right now he is in Oskaloosa, Iowa, attending the Iowa Holiness Association Campmeeting. We lived in Oskaloosa before we went to India. In fact, our son Evan was born in Osky. We know a lot of people there and World Gospel Mission has a strong presence in the area. Frank is the assigned missionary for the campmeeting and speaks on Thursday and Friday. When I talked to him on the phone last night he was in the old, old cemetary in University Park, the home of Vennard College. The cemetary is a wonderful old place. You can see the headstones of many of the old holiness preachers and missionaries. In fact the grave of Cecil Troxel, the first WGM missionary (to China) almost 100 years ago is there. There's nothing scary about that cemetary. It is a wonderful place to roam and read the headstones of marvelous people who served the Lord so faithfully.
Now, on to more serious things. If you've been reading the news you know that there are floods in Iowa. Frank says that Oskaloosa is okay, but some of the places he wanted to visit next week may still be underwater. He has two cousins in northern Iowa, one near Waterloo where there was some flooding. So he's going to play it by ear and wait to see how the situation develops. Later next week he will be in central Minnesota for another campmeeting. He's not in a good place as far as weather is concerned right now or next week!
What am I doing at home? Walking the treadmill, quilting, seeing doctors, checking up on Frank's mom, and spending time with our Laura and her kids. All in all, a pretty good situation!
Pray for Frank as he travels and continue to pray that our financial support will come in so we can get to Ukraine in the fall. Thanks for thinking about us.
But that means that Frank has to travel by himself for long hours on the road. Right now he is in Oskaloosa, Iowa, attending the Iowa Holiness Association Campmeeting. We lived in Oskaloosa before we went to India. In fact, our son Evan was born in Osky. We know a lot of people there and World Gospel Mission has a strong presence in the area. Frank is the assigned missionary for the campmeeting and speaks on Thursday and Friday. When I talked to him on the phone last night he was in the old, old cemetary in University Park, the home of Vennard College. The cemetary is a wonderful old place. You can see the headstones of many of the old holiness preachers and missionaries. In fact the grave of Cecil Troxel, the first WGM missionary (to China) almost 100 years ago is there. There's nothing scary about that cemetary. It is a wonderful place to roam and read the headstones of marvelous people who served the Lord so faithfully.
Now, on to more serious things. If you've been reading the news you know that there are floods in Iowa. Frank says that Oskaloosa is okay, but some of the places he wanted to visit next week may still be underwater. He has two cousins in northern Iowa, one near Waterloo where there was some flooding. So he's going to play it by ear and wait to see how the situation develops. Later next week he will be in central Minnesota for another campmeeting. He's not in a good place as far as weather is concerned right now or next week!
What am I doing at home? Walking the treadmill, quilting, seeing doctors, checking up on Frank's mom, and spending time with our Laura and her kids. All in all, a pretty good situation!
Pray for Frank as he travels and continue to pray that our financial support will come in so we can get to Ukraine in the fall. Thanks for thinking about us.
Friday, May 30, 2008
The Merry Month of May 2008
I know, I know. It's been a month since I've added a new entry here. Our month has been busy, and while we're home I can find so many things to do that I can't do when we're on the road that I forget about writing on the blog. So, I have a month's worth of news to catch up on!
We arrived home on May 2nd, and we both immediately crashed for about a week. I started to do a little quilting, Frank caught up on email and other items, and we both just basically didn't think too much about mission business.
However, on May 15 we headed toward Bailey, Colorado, via Dalhart, Texas. We lived in Bailey for two furloughs in the 1980s, along with Frank's retired parents. The Platte Canyon Community Church in Bailey has been a faithful supporter of us for more than twenty years, and we wanted to visit old friends and report on how the Lord is doing new things in us and with us as we prepare to go to Ukraine. We had a lovely time with all of them, especially some of the older folks who remembered Frank's folks as well as our kids when they were growing up.
Another thing we did was to visit our old house which Frank's dad built in the late 1970s after he and Mom Dewey retired. 
We enjoyed seeing Mt. Rosalie again. We used to see this mountain every day when we left our house and headed towards the main road. The deer have multiplied and are totally unafraid of humans. This picture is of deer grazing in the yard of our former home, paying absolutely no attention to us at all. All in all, visiting our old friends and home in Colorado was wonderful. The weather was perfect, the scenery was beautiful, and the fellowship with old friends was good.
One of the benefits of going to Bailey was that we could stop for three nights in Dalhart, Texas, with our son, Evan, and his family. We hadn't seen them since Christmas, so we were both eager to see our little granddaughters, Kirsten and Riley. Their mommy is going to have another little girl in early July and we needed to catch up with her and hear how she's doing too. We like to say that Kirsten is three going on thirty-three! She will actually be four in August and she has a great vocabulary and interest in everything. Riley is two and is really good at it! if you know what I mean. She's shy, very independent, and loves that word "no."
Kirsten "helped" Frank make up the bed, and Riley was really good on the sliding board in the park.
Evan continues to work for his father-in-law on the farm and take online classes to prepare for a degree in aviation safety. Lori stays at home and has a small business making cakes! She does about three a week and is really good at it. She's planning to slow down in a couple of weeks before the new baby arrives.
How can we close this without a recent picture of our little Lance, our daughter's ten month old baby? Here he is, just about as handsome as any little boy should be. We are crazy about all our grandkids----Laura's three and Evan's two and three-quarters!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Marlton, New Jersey
Not much to write this week. We are east of Philadelphia, across the Delaware River, in Marlton, New Jersey. Beginning Sunday (tomorrow) we will be in a missions conference at Wiley Church, which has supported us since 1976. The conference will end on Wednesday night, April 30, and we will head toward Oklahoma early Thursday morning. We plan to make the trip in two days, so we should arrive home sometime Friday evening. We're ready to go home! Pray for our travel, and also that we will be a blessing to people at Wiley Church. Thanks for thinking about us.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Mount Vernon and Arlington National Cemetary
One of the great advantages of being on Homeland Ministry Assignment is being able to see parts of our beautiful country that we otherwise would not be able to visit. During our week in Maryland we took one day to drive down to Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. It was wonderful. The weather was gorgeous, the grounds were beautiful, and we had such a great time going through the mansion and strolling the paths. It was crowded with lots of school groups, but there was plenty of room for us all. The view from the veranda out to the Potomac River was beautiful.
After spending the day at Mount Vernon, we decided to stop at Arlington National Cemetary which was directly on our way back in the late afternoon. I am so glad we did! It was a wonderful experience walking through the grounds, reading memorial markers, and seeing the Washington Monument across the river. But the highlight of our time there was watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The military rituals are very meaningful and touching as we saw several wreaths laid before the tomb and heard taps played each time. We also saw the graves of Robert F. Kennedy and John F. Kennedy, as well as memorials to both the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles. We wish we could have stayed there longer to see all of it.
West Virginia
Well, friends, we had a great weekend last week near Martinsburg, West Virginia. The Snyder Bible Chapel is in a beautiful setting in the hills and valleys of eastern West Virginia. We were there for their annual missions conference along with Jim and LouAnn Smith of World Gospel Mission and John and Trisha Fraser of OMS International. John and Trisha are missionaries in Budapest, Hungary, and were there with their three children. The youngest is only four weeks old--little Jonathan. We spoke five times and had wonderful fellowship with everyone in the church. This church as taken several life-shares in our ministry in the past and we felt that we were with old friends.
This week we have been staying in Westminster, Maryland, with our hosts Royal and Patty Mattoon. Their basement is fixed up as an apartment complete with stove, sink, fridge, tv, etc. So it really is a great place for us to stay. Royal and Patty were our hosts in February when we were in their church for a missions conference also.
This weekend we head back to Pennsylvania where we will be in a small church on Sunday morning, filling in for the retired pastor who is now in Florida. Then next Wednesday we head to New Jersey for meetings in that area. We will be in the missions conference of the Wiley Mission in Marlton, New Jersey. This conference will last through Wednesday, April 30. After that we head home to Oklahoma for a few weeks of catching up on things at home.
We appreciate your prayers for us during these meetings. We still have a ton of support to raise and it is coming in very slowly. Of course, the economy is not helping us at this time, and people are just not ready to commit themselves to long-term financial support. Pray that their hearts will be moved and they will be obedient to what God wants them to do to help us get to Ukraine in the fall.
This week we have been staying in Westminster, Maryland, with our hosts Royal and Patty Mattoon. Their basement is fixed up as an apartment complete with stove, sink, fridge, tv, etc. So it really is a great place for us to stay. Royal and Patty were our hosts in February when we were in their church for a missions conference also.
This weekend we head back to Pennsylvania where we will be in a small church on Sunday morning, filling in for the retired pastor who is now in Florida. Then next Wednesday we head to New Jersey for meetings in that area. We will be in the missions conference of the Wiley Mission in Marlton, New Jersey. This conference will last through Wednesday, April 30. After that we head home to Oklahoma for a few weeks of catching up on things at home.
We appreciate your prayers for us during these meetings. We still have a ton of support to raise and it is coming in very slowly. Of course, the economy is not helping us at this time, and people are just not ready to commit themselves to long-term financial support. Pray that their hearts will be moved and they will be obedient to what God wants them to do to help us get to Ukraine in the fall.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Web-link reminders
This is just to remind all of you of our two other Ukraine-related websites:
The field website is www.sevenloaves.org.
World Gospel Mission's official website is www.wgm.org.
The field website is www.sevenloaves.org.
World Gospel Mission's official website is www.wgm.org.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Pray for Brock
This is Brock, our five year old grandson. He was the Very Hungry Caterpillar in his pre-school program. That's our daughter, Laura, with Brent, her husband. Brock is a happy, cheerful boy who loves soccer and anything with wheels. He had an accident on the day before Good Friday when he fell off his swing in the back yard. By Friday morning his leg was very painful, although there were no bruises. Laura and Frank took him to see the doctor that morning and the doctor took x-rays to see if there was a hairline fracture. Well, there wasn't a fracture, but the doctor discovered that Brock has a disease of the hip joint called Legg-Carve-Parthes Syndrome. Something cut off the flow of blood to his hipbone and it has started to die and shrink. There isn't any cure for this, but with care the bone may begin to grow again. So, for now Brock cannot play any team sports (like soccer), he cannot wrestle with his big brother, and he cannot do anything that will add pressure to the bone and cause it to crumble more. The specialist will check on Brock every three months to see what the progress is.
Pray for Brock because our busy boy is going to have to give up a lot of the things he enjoys for now. We think the "accident" was providential because the doctors were happy that the disease was found early enough to reverse its effects.
By the way, Brock's big line at the end of the story of the Very Hungry Caterpillar was "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!" Grandma Chris is happy she got to be there to see it.
Sweet Lance
I can't pass the chance to put up a picture or two of our sweet little Lance. He is Brock's baby brother and he was eight months old on March 26th, and he is adorable. He loves people. He is going to be a sociable boy. Pick him up and talk to him and he gives a big grin. Grandpa Frank obviously likes him! We are crazy about Lance.
On the Road Again
Well, it's been two weeks since I've written in the blog, so it's time to get caught up on what's happening in our lives.
We drove to northern New York, arriving at Peirrepont Manor on Saturday, March 29th. We have been in the church there at least three times before and we felt welcomed by the pastor and his wife. The pastor is also a dairy farmer, so he was busy during the day getting his cows taken care of. We stayed with a wonderful retired couple, Chester and Ruth Rudd. They had a lovely house and we were upstairs with our own bathroom and comfortable bedroom. Our service on Sunday, March 30th, was good and we enjoyed a carry-in lunch afterwards.
One of the highlights of our time in New York (besides the coooold weather!) was being able to visit a missionary friend from India. Buelah White is 82 years old now; she never married and devoted her life to young village women in the state of Andhra Pradesh. She was principal of a school for these young women where they learned to read and write, they studied the Bible, and learned some practical skills like sewing. They all loved her and many of them keep in contact with her even now. Buelah retired in 1990 and returned to her family's home in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. What a change from hot, dusty, dry Andhra Pradesh. We stayed one night with Buelah, sharing old memories and hearing about her life in retirement with her cat.
Last weekend we were in a church in northwestern Pennsylvania at a small town called Emlenton. We participated in their missions conference where Frank preached both services on Sunday. He did a great job! After we left there we returned to Harrisburg, Pa., to spend a few days with Jo and Truman Long. We stayed with them in March when we were in their church's mission conference, and they invited us to come back if we needed a place to stay for a few days. We have enjoyed their friendship for a number of years and the fellowship is always good in their home.
Tomorrow, Friday, April 11, we head toward Martinsburg, West Virginia, where we will participate in another missions conference. It's only a 2 1/2 hour drive, and we must be there by 3:30 in the afternoon.
Pray for us right now. Both of us are having stuffy heads from colds and we don't have a lot of energy. We'll probably be running on adrenalin during the weekend since we'll be speaking at least four or five times, some shorter, others longer. Both of us sort of crashed today. Praise the Lord for wonderful friends like Jo and Truman who gave us a lovely room with it's own bath, upstairs away from everything that was happening downstairs.
I'll write more next week. Thanks for your prayers.
We drove to northern New York, arriving at Peirrepont Manor on Saturday, March 29th. We have been in the church there at least three times before and we felt welcomed by the pastor and his wife. The pastor is also a dairy farmer, so he was busy during the day getting his cows taken care of. We stayed with a wonderful retired couple, Chester and Ruth Rudd. They had a lovely house and we were upstairs with our own bathroom and comfortable bedroom. Our service on Sunday, March 30th, was good and we enjoyed a carry-in lunch afterwards.
One of the highlights of our time in New York (besides the coooold weather!) was being able to visit a missionary friend from India. Buelah White is 82 years old now; she never married and devoted her life to young village women in the state of Andhra Pradesh. She was principal of a school for these young women where they learned to read and write, they studied the Bible, and learned some practical skills like sewing. They all loved her and many of them keep in contact with her even now. Buelah retired in 1990 and returned to her family's home in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. What a change from hot, dusty, dry Andhra Pradesh. We stayed one night with Buelah, sharing old memories and hearing about her life in retirement with her cat.Last weekend we were in a church in northwestern Pennsylvania at a small town called Emlenton. We participated in their missions conference where Frank preached both services on Sunday. He did a great job! After we left there we returned to Harrisburg, Pa., to spend a few days with Jo and Truman Long. We stayed with them in March when we were in their church's mission conference, and they invited us to come back if we needed a place to stay for a few days. We have enjoyed their friendship for a number of years and the fellowship is always good in their home.
Tomorrow, Friday, April 11, we head toward Martinsburg, West Virginia, where we will participate in another missions conference. It's only a 2 1/2 hour drive, and we must be there by 3:30 in the afternoon.
Pray for us right now. Both of us are having stuffy heads from colds and we don't have a lot of energy. We'll probably be running on adrenalin during the weekend since we'll be speaking at least four or five times, some shorter, others longer. Both of us sort of crashed today. Praise the Lord for wonderful friends like Jo and Truman who gave us a lovely room with it's own bath, upstairs away from everything that was happening downstairs.
I'll write more next week. Thanks for your prayers.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Meet our son, Evan
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Happy Birthday, Evan! Evan was born on a cold, snowy Palm Sunday, March 23, 1975, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. We are proud of our kids and are grateful for the fact that both of them love the Lord and serve Him.
Evan has a beautiful wife, Lori, and two little girls, Kirsten and Riley, that he is crazy about. (We're crazy about them too!) And . . . another little girl is coming their way in early July.
Evan and Lori live in Dalhart, Texas, and he works for his father-in-law on a large farm. He has a pilot's license and is seeking to find just exactly the right place where God wants him and his family to be. Pray for Evan and Lori that they will find the perfect place to serve the Lord in the future. We are proud of our son.
Catching up after a month!
Wow, it has been ages since I've written on the blog. It just didn't seem to work into my schedule at the time, and I got side-tracked with other things. Anyway, here's a brief look at the past month. By the way, I'm writing from our home in Yukon, Oklahoma. We had a two-week break over Palm Sunday and Easter. I'm so glad that churches don't want missionary services on those weekends! It's given us a chance to get home, take care of some family issues and relax a little in our own comfort zone. But we're back on the road the day after tomorrow, Thursday, March 27.
We spent the end of February near Keymar, Maryland. We were in a good missionary convention at the Evangelical Wesleyan Church there and enjoyed the fellowship of many people in the church who overfed us and seemed like old friends. We have been in that church for their convention at least twice and one other time on a regular weekend. We had planned to spend a few days sight-seeing around Washington, D.C., but the weather was so cold it just wasn't practical to be outside much. We stayed for ten days in the home of a retired pastor and his wife, Rev. Royal and Patty Mattoon. We were actually in a little apartment with a small kitchen, so we didn't need to bother them much as far as meals were concerned. Patty and I are both quilters, so we talked a lot about quilts. They are wonderful people and we enjoyed our stay with them.
From Keymar we moved on to New Jersey for a Monday night meeting on March 3rd. A Dr. Edward Roberts had contacted our northeast regional director to find a missionary who could share in his missiology class, and since we were in the area we were happy to go to Newark. Newark is actually a rather gray, grim town, but across the river we could see the skyline of New York City. We were picked up at our motel by a young black man who had attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK. The school was located in the basement of an old big church. Most of the students were in the late 20s or 30s, worked during the day, and took classes three nights a week in the Bible school. OH, did I mention that we were the only white people in the building??? Yep, the church was a black church and Dr. Roberts directs the school, although he is the pastor of another black church in the city. They were wonderful, friendly people. We had a great time with them. I teased Frank that this was probably the only time he ever taught a missiology class where the students were amening and praising the Lord the whole time!
From Newark we headed towards Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where we were in another missions conference at the New Love in Christ Church. The New Love church has supported us in India for many years, and we have been to this church at least five times through the years. We stayed with our old friends, Jo and Truman Long. We have stayed with them at least two times in the past and felt like right at home with them. The conference was very good and we had fellowship with several other missionaries who also participated. Again, we were overfed and felt like stuffed turkeys!
We finished in Harrisburg on Sunday afternoon, March 9, and headed home. We had planned to follow I-70 all the way west to St. Louis, but that weekend Ohio was hit with a huge snowstorm and roads were treacherous. So we took I-81 south to eastern Tennessee and caught I-40 west. I-40 passes about two miles from our home in Yukon, so it worked out good, although the trip was a little longer that the northern route. Coming south through Virginia and west through Tennessee was a very nice drive, we would love to see it in the late spring or autumn. It's a beautiful part of the country.
Well, we got home on March 11th and had time with family, as well as catching up on things around the house. We had a good day on Easter with Laura and her family as well as Mom Dewey. We leave again on Thursday, March27th, heading toward northern New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and West Virginia. We're hoping that this time around we will be able to get to Mount Vernon and other areas around Washington, D.C.
Please pray for us as we travel and present the needs of Ukraine, as well as our own needs of financial support to get to Ukraine by the end of September. Pray for safety on the roads and contacts with people whom God has prepared by burdening their hearts for the lost souls of this world.
We spent the end of February near Keymar, Maryland. We were in a good missionary convention at the Evangelical Wesleyan Church there and enjoyed the fellowship of many people in the church who overfed us and seemed like old friends. We have been in that church for their convention at least twice and one other time on a regular weekend. We had planned to spend a few days sight-seeing around Washington, D.C., but the weather was so cold it just wasn't practical to be outside much. We stayed for ten days in the home of a retired pastor and his wife, Rev. Royal and Patty Mattoon. We were actually in a little apartment with a small kitchen, so we didn't need to bother them much as far as meals were concerned. Patty and I are both quilters, so we talked a lot about quilts. They are wonderful people and we enjoyed our stay with them.
From Keymar we moved on to New Jersey for a Monday night meeting on March 3rd. A Dr. Edward Roberts had contacted our northeast regional director to find a missionary who could share in his missiology class, and since we were in the area we were happy to go to Newark. Newark is actually a rather gray, grim town, but across the river we could see the skyline of New York City. We were picked up at our motel by a young black man who had attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK. The school was located in the basement of an old big church. Most of the students were in the late 20s or 30s, worked during the day, and took classes three nights a week in the Bible school. OH, did I mention that we were the only white people in the building??? Yep, the church was a black church and Dr. Roberts directs the school, although he is the pastor of another black church in the city. They were wonderful, friendly people. We had a great time with them. I teased Frank that this was probably the only time he ever taught a missiology class where the students were amening and praising the Lord the whole time!
From Newark we headed towards Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where we were in another missions conference at the New Love in Christ Church. The New Love church has supported us in India for many years, and we have been to this church at least five times through the years. We stayed with our old friends, Jo and Truman Long. We have stayed with them at least two times in the past and felt like right at home with them. The conference was very good and we had fellowship with several other missionaries who also participated. Again, we were overfed and felt like stuffed turkeys!
We finished in Harrisburg on Sunday afternoon, March 9, and headed home. We had planned to follow I-70 all the way west to St. Louis, but that weekend Ohio was hit with a huge snowstorm and roads were treacherous. So we took I-81 south to eastern Tennessee and caught I-40 west. I-40 passes about two miles from our home in Yukon, so it worked out good, although the trip was a little longer that the northern route. Coming south through Virginia and west through Tennessee was a very nice drive, we would love to see it in the late spring or autumn. It's a beautiful part of the country.
Well, we got home on March 11th and had time with family, as well as catching up on things around the house. We had a good day on Easter with Laura and her family as well as Mom Dewey. We leave again on Thursday, March27th, heading toward northern New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and West Virginia. We're hoping that this time around we will be able to get to Mount Vernon and other areas around Washington, D.C.
Please pray for us as we travel and present the needs of Ukraine, as well as our own needs of financial support to get to Ukraine by the end of September. Pray for safety on the roads and contacts with people whom God has prepared by burdening their hearts for the lost souls of this world.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Keymar, Maryland
Right now we are in Maryland. We participated in a great missions conference this past weekend in the Keymar Evangelical Wesleyan Church along with other World Gospel Mission missionaries. We are staying with a retired pastor and his wife. We have eaten way too much food, but have had wonderful fellowship and made some new friends.
We are not scheduled at this time for a service on Sunday, but will be in Newark, New Jersey, on Monday evening, March 3, speaking in a college class which is learning more about missions and missionaries.
The weather is cold and rainy today in Maryland. As we go further north we will probably run into snow. Pray for our travel and that everything we say and do will represent Christ and challenge people with a lost world.
We are not scheduled at this time for a service on Sunday, but will be in Newark, New Jersey, on Monday evening, March 3, speaking in a college class which is learning more about missions and missionaries.
The weather is cold and rainy today in Maryland. As we go further north we will probably run into snow. Pray for our travel and that everything we say and do will represent Christ and challenge people with a lost world.
A new friend from our blog
Christa and Mark Graham with Matthew, Caitlin (back) and Abigail We had a great time last week spending a few days near Raleigh, North Carolina, with a friend we made through blogspot. Christa Graham found our blog when she googled "Berdyansk". She and her husband are in the process of adopting a child from Ukraine, actually from Berdyansk. Christa, her oldest daughter Caitlin, and a good friend are in Berdyansk now, working on the adoption. They left Monday, Feb. 25th, and plan to spend a week in Berdyansk. We are praying that everything will go well for them. We were able to put them in touch with our field leader, Ernie Smith, and it was an encouragement to them to know that they would be able to worship on Sunday with a wonderful group of Ukrainian Christians.
Dr. Stephen and Ruth Ann Gunter
We also had the opportunity to have lunch with Frank's old college roommate, Stephen Gunter and his wife. Frank and Steve were roommates for approximately 3 1/2 years at Bethany Nazarene College in the 1960s. Steve is now Associate Dean for Methodist Studies and Research Professor of Evangelism and Wesleyan Studies at the Duke Divinity School. (Ain't all that a mouthful!) Anyway, seeing some of these old friends reminds us that we have aged as much as they have!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Old friends meet
Frank and Ken 44 years laterAnother great part of our week in north Georgia was having the chance to meet an old friend. When Frank was a teenager at Lushington Hall in Ooty, India, one of his friends was another MK named Ken Anderson. Ken's parents were working in Andhra Pradesh in southern India. After leaving India, Frank kept in touch with Ken for a while, but then lost contact and 44 years have passed since they last saw each other. Recently Frank found Ken's email address through another old friend from India. He immediately re-established contact, and we made it a point to visit Ken and his family here in northern Georgia.
The Anderson family
Ken is now Dr. Ken Anderson, a professor of vocal music at Covenant College on Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. He and his wife, Lois, have six children. Lois is also an MK who spent part of her childhood in Mexico City. The two oldest children are young women. One is married and the other is now teaching music at Hebron School in Ooty, India. Their other children are four young men still at home, and they are a great bunch of kids. Ken and Lois graciously allowed us to stay with them for a few days between meetings and we have had a wonderful time with this lovely Christian family.
Communication potentials on the web
What a great week we have had! We left Clanton, Alabama, last Saturday and drove to Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia, which is just across the Tennessee-Georgia state line south of Chattanooga. We had services on Sunday morning in the Ft. Oglethorpe United Methodist Church. The pastor, Rev. Mark Davis, is a person who wants to see missions work around the world and in the local community. He is truly a missions facilitator.
Pastor Mark introduced us to a TV producer who loves the Lord and wants to help missionaries communicate their needs in a way that reaches the most people with their message. We really believe that this is going to be a tremendous help to us as we raise our support, both prayer and finances. On Wednesday we met with some of his people who interviewed us on camera and will produce a video for us that will be posted on a website designed especially for us with opportunities to broaden our support base. This is costing us absolutely nothing! What wonderful people to serve the Lord by helping Christian workers communicate their needs! We'll keep everyone posted in the coming weeks as to the status of our website.
Please pray that this will prove to help us communicate our needs and the needs of Ukraine. Especially pray that it will bring in the finances we need to reach Ukraine in September.
Pastor Mark introduced us to a TV producer who loves the Lord and wants to help missionaries communicate their needs in a way that reaches the most people with their message. We really believe that this is going to be a tremendous help to us as we raise our support, both prayer and finances. On Wednesday we met with some of his people who interviewed us on camera and will produce a video for us that will be posted on a website designed especially for us with opportunities to broaden our support base. This is costing us absolutely nothing! What wonderful people to serve the Lord by helping Christian workers communicate their needs! We'll keep everyone posted in the coming weeks as to the status of our website.
Please pray that this will prove to help us communicate our needs and the needs of Ukraine. Especially pray that it will bring in the finances we need to reach Ukraine in September.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
101 Years Young
How could we have forgotten to post this news???? Yesterday, Feb. 8th, Frank's mother, Edna Dewey, celebrated her 101st birthday. We sent her flowers and talked to her twice on the big day. Her assisted living center had a nice party for her and she had several calls from old friends and family. Mom Dewey is the oldest living missionary in World Gospel Mission. She and Dad spent 32 years in India at South India Biblical Seminary. See some of the pictures posted earlier just to see how great she still looks. As she puts it so bluntly, "Just because you're old doesn't mean you have to look like a prune."
Many more happy birthdays, Mom.
Many more happy birthdays, Mom.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
On to Georgia!
Well, we have one more day here in Alabama and then on Saturday we head to northern Georgia to a southern suburb of Chattanooga. Our stay here has been good. Wednesday morning we were awakened at 5:30am by the warning siren. Tornadoes were in the area. We were assured by our host that it was a severe thunderstorm warning, went back to bed, and then were roused again at 6am by another siren. We went down to the basement for about half an hour, then went back upstairs to our room. Clanton didn't have any tornadoes, but northern Alabama was hit along with Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas.
Our meetings on Sunday were good. In the morning we were at Rocky Mount United Methodist Church and in the evening at Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church. The people were incredibly friendly and interested in both places. We had a great time with both groups. We are praying that they will remember the needs of Ukraine and the Lord will ask them to support us and our ministry there.
One last thing: at a mall in southern Birmingham we met a tall, gorgeous young woman named Natalya from Ukraine. She was working at one of the kiosks in the middle of the mall. As we visited, she shared that she was from the historical, beautiful city of Lviv. That's one of the places we hope to visit one day. We told her about what we were planning to do, and she told us about her home. We love making new friends from Ukraine! Hopefully we'll find a few more during the coming months.
But for now, it's on to Georgia!
Our meetings on Sunday were good. In the morning we were at Rocky Mount United Methodist Church and in the evening at Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church. The people were incredibly friendly and interested in both places. We had a great time with both groups. We are praying that they will remember the needs of Ukraine and the Lord will ask them to support us and our ministry there.
One last thing: at a mall in southern Birmingham we met a tall, gorgeous young woman named Natalya from Ukraine. She was working at one of the kiosks in the middle of the mall. As we visited, she shared that she was from the historical, beautiful city of Lviv. That's one of the places we hope to visit one day. We told her about what we were planning to do, and she told us about her home. We love making new friends from Ukraine! Hopefully we'll find a few more during the coming months.
But for now, it's on to Georgia!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Greetings from Clanton, Alabama
Here we are in Alabama, heart of the South! Southern hospitality and good friends. We are staying with long-time friends of World Gospel Mission, Dr. Phil and June Simms. They are wonderful people who have helped many WGM missionaries through the years. Dr. Phil has been on the WGM Board of Directors for a long time. Some years ago they realized that missionaries traveling on deputation (oops! Home Ministry Assignment) often need a place to stay for days at a time. So they created a "Prophet's Chamber" on the second story of their lovely home. It is a suite of rooms with big bedroom, a sitting room, and bathroom. We have stayed there before and are there right now, enjoying their Southern hospitality.
Yesterday th
ey took us to Birmingham IMAX theater to see the movie "Mummies: Secret of the Pharoahs." I really don't think it was their "cup of tea", so to speak, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. After that we went to eat in a great restaurant before heading back to Clanton. Here's a picture of them at the IMAX theater.
Yesterday th
ey took us to Birmingham IMAX theater to see the movie "Mummies: Secret of the Pharoahs." I really don't think it was their "cup of tea", so to speak, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. After that we went to eat in a great restaurant before heading back to Clanton. Here's a picture of them at the IMAX theater. Our meetings have been small, but enjoyable. We have renewed friendships with a number of people who have prayed for us and supported us financially for many years. One of the things we have noticed is that some of the churches do not have many young adult couples who participate in mission meetings. Many of the folks have been senior citizens, lovely Southern ladies and gentlemen. Praise the Lord for them. But the church needs those young couples! Missions need those young couples! Pray that the churches will find a way to communicate the needs of the entire world to these men and women who are the future of the church and of World Gospel Mission.
We will be here in Clanton for another week. On Sunday we have two meetings, morning and evening, in Methodist churches. During the weekdays when our time is free we may do some antique looking, check out one or two historical sites, and catch up on our reading. I'll let you know how that goes when I write next week!
Monday, January 21, 2008
www.sevenloaves.org
If you have a few minutes, check out the Ukraine website, http://www.sevenloaves.org/. It will introduce you to all the WGM missionaries and the work they do in Ukraine. It will give you some idea of our needs and theirs.
You should also check out the World Gospel Mission website at www.wgm.org. It has tons of information about the fields, the missionaries, and how it can help individuals and churches promote missions.
You should also check out the World Gospel Mission website at www.wgm.org. It has tons of information about the fields, the missionaries, and how it can help individuals and churches promote missions.
Life on the Road
It's time for another update on our lives. The month of January has been slow for us because we did not have many meetings scheduled for the first three weeks of the month. But things will begin to pick up now and we will be heading out for a six-week time of Home Ministry Assignment (formerly known as deputation).
We leave OKC on Saturday, Jan. 26, and drive to Clanton, Alabama that day. It's a long drive, but not long enough to divide up into a two day drive. We will be having meetings in Alabama and Georgia for a month, then head toward Maryland and Pennsylvania where we will be in two mission conferences held by churches which have supported us for a number of years. If you read this, be sure to say a few prayers for us as the Lord brings us to your mind. Safety in travel, good weather, and especially receptive hearts to the needs of Ukraine and how we will be actively engaged in meeting those needs. We need good offerings, and we need people who will be willing to make a commitment to support us financially for four more years.
Life on the road in fun in some ways, but difficult in others. I (Chris) like the travel, sitting beside Frank in the van, talking, seeing new sights, and maybe even stopping along the way to browse in an antique mall, visit a quilt shop, or see some historical site. Sometimes we have quite a bit of time on our hands between meetings and that gives us opportunity to visit some places that we otherwise wouldn't see.
Life on the road can be difficult though because we spend so much time in the car that we don't get our good exercise in as we would like. I usually gain weight, and that is a big problem for me. Another problem for me is that I can't watch my diet the way I would like to. I have to be very careful of high fats or else I have attacks of pain and IBS. When you're staying in other people's houses and they are kind enough to welcome you and help you, you don't complain about the food! At least we don't. But I have experienced some very bad attacks while we've been on the road, and it's mostly because people are so good to us that they want to serve us what they consider to be the very best food. And that usually isn't good for me. I never know when these attacks will happen, and it's always just a little embarrassing for me to have to excuse myself to lie down or hide in a bathroom.
So as the Lord brings us to your minds, please say a few prayers for us. We appreciate it.
We leave OKC on Saturday, Jan. 26, and drive to Clanton, Alabama that day. It's a long drive, but not long enough to divide up into a two day drive. We will be having meetings in Alabama and Georgia for a month, then head toward Maryland and Pennsylvania where we will be in two mission conferences held by churches which have supported us for a number of years. If you read this, be sure to say a few prayers for us as the Lord brings us to your mind. Safety in travel, good weather, and especially receptive hearts to the needs of Ukraine and how we will be actively engaged in meeting those needs. We need good offerings, and we need people who will be willing to make a commitment to support us financially for four more years.
Life on the road in fun in some ways, but difficult in others. I (Chris) like the travel, sitting beside Frank in the van, talking, seeing new sights, and maybe even stopping along the way to browse in an antique mall, visit a quilt shop, or see some historical site. Sometimes we have quite a bit of time on our hands between meetings and that gives us opportunity to visit some places that we otherwise wouldn't see.
Life on the road can be difficult though because we spend so much time in the car that we don't get our good exercise in as we would like. I usually gain weight, and that is a big problem for me. Another problem for me is that I can't watch my diet the way I would like to. I have to be very careful of high fats or else I have attacks of pain and IBS. When you're staying in other people's houses and they are kind enough to welcome you and help you, you don't complain about the food! At least we don't. But I have experienced some very bad attacks while we've been on the road, and it's mostly because people are so good to us that they want to serve us what they consider to be the very best food. And that usually isn't good for me. I never know when these attacks will happen, and it's always just a little embarrassing for me to have to excuse myself to lie down or hide in a bathroom.
So as the Lord brings us to your minds, please say a few prayers for us. We appreciate it.
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