"Still In Ukraine" - October 2020 Edition
Dear friends and family, greetings from Ukraine! The beginning of this month was filled with a lot of activity and work. Looking back, it doesn't seem possible that all this took place in just one month! Towards the end of the month, things have slowed down a bit due to recent rise in COVID cases. It seems most of Europe will be enforcing social distancing restrictions again. Our church here has recently moved to online services.
We have been monitoring the situation for Moldova but at this time, they are completely locked down with very serious restrictions in place. It doesn't look like we will be able to enter anytime soon. So for now, we will continue to bloom where we are planted and prepare to celebrate the holidays here in Ukraine. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve the church in Ukraine and also learn about the former Soviet Union culture. Although it wasn't what we planned, we know God is using this time to prepare us for what is to come!
One of the most rewarding things we have been able to do while in Ukraine is be a part of the Bible School Campuses around the country. We travel to Odessa in the South and Kaminsky in the East. We are in awe of the team here in Kyiv, who for each semester, teaches three weeks out of the month, traveling to cities 4-6 hours away. We honor Pastor Sergey and Pastor Sasha Tomyev for their vision to see the whole nation of Ukraine reached with the Gospel!
On these trips, we are blessed to fellowship with some amazing people, practice our Russian, teach the Word, and sometimes Michael is asked to preach. We love being invited into the homes and hearts of the Ukrainian people. Our last trip, we were able to share a little bit of our home church, Heavenview, with a Ukrainian family over lunch! It was so fun to connect our two worlds!
Another exciting development is that we were asked to start an English Club at the church! This has been an awesome experience. Tia is still teaching English online, but this is the first time she has ever organized and taught a large group of students on a basic/intermediate English level.
Offering a free, conversational English Club has been challenging but an incredible tool to get Hyphen-aged young people introduced to the church. We have had two first time guests and are hoping to see many more come!
When we realized we would be in Kyiv longer than we expected, we sat down with the church leaders to see how we could get involved. One way that we both could help was to promote the building project happening in Kyiv. God has miraculously provided land for the first ever UPCI Training Center and Headquarters Church in the nation of Ukraine. However, building in the capital city is no small financial feat.
The church here needs help. With the average Ukrainian making about $200 a month, please pray and consider giving to the work that God is doing here. We have seen first hand how people who have so little are giving so much as they strive to reach their country with the Gospel.
Click here to see a video Michael made to hear an update by Pastor Sergey Tomyev: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2535371836753831
Praise Report:
Thank you so much for all of your prayers. We were able to sell Michael's car and as a result of this, we can now celebrate the end of a two and a half year journey. We are debt free!
During that time, we paid off around $40,000 of debt. We did this by working hard and never stopped sacrificially giving to the Kingdom. We were still able to serve God with our time and resources while being wise with our finances. We give God all the glory because we know that by being good stewards of our finances we can now serve God more freely. The future is bright and we know the best is yet to come!
Prayer Requests:
1.) Pray for the nation of Moldova to open its borders soon!
2.) Pray for the local church here as there are several members who have recently been sick with COVID.
3.) Pray for one of our contacts. He is Muslim and has already connected us to others. Pray he will be open to Truth.
4.) Pray that our minds will be sharp and be able to pick up Russian quickly!
If you would like to become a partner with us as we AIM for the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI), there are various ways to give!
You will need our account number: 435813.
1. You can call 636-229-7900 to make a donation over the phone.
2. You can text "AIM65" to the number 71777
3. You can give a one time online donation or sign-up for an automatic withdrawal through Mobile Cause. Follow this link to give: https://app.mobilecause.com/public/peer_fundraisers/469368/peer_fundraiser_donations/new?vid=1sji8
4. You can enroll online to become a PIM (Partner in Mission). The PIM can be set as an automatic withdrawal or can be sent in physically each month.
5. You can mail a check to 36 Research Park Court Weldon Spring, Missouri 63304. It should be made out to Global Missions and memo'd to McBride AIM Account 435813.
*Please note if you give money directly to us, we cannot issue you a tax-deductible receipt or give you Global Missions giving credit.
Yours for the Kingdom,
Michael Paul and Tia McBride
