Prayer and Praise

If you read my main “The View From Here” blog, you know that things have been a little rough for the last few months for me. Things are such a jumble it is hard for me to really separate what is a Praise Report and what is a Prayer Request!

• My car has broken down again and is currently under repair. L Out of the blue the muffler just fell off again. L And (according to the initial diagnosis) it needs a new starter.  
• Please pray that the mechanic will determine that these are things that he is responsible for (since he did the last repairs, muffler, etc. that have now fallen apart again!) and if anything new that God will provide the funds for these repairs.
• THANKFULLY it ran for the bulk of the time when the team was here, which was a huge blessing, and when the muffler fell off it was in places (yes, it fell off in two parts, yahoo…) where I could pick it up so I didn’t have to buy a new one. 

• I woke up recently to a strange hissing sound. Upon investigation I waded into standing water in my hallway and bathroom. A pipe had burst and was spraying water everywhere. The direct spray blasting the wall had resulted in the cheap paint job on the walls peeling away. I shut the pipes off, but not all of them (I didn’t know). L And the result was the office below us was flooded. L A computer monitor, telephone and maybe more things were ruined. So far my landlord hasn’t asked me to pay for any of that (and I don’t think I should since it was a pipe that he was supposed to replace long ago).
• Please pray that my landlord would not ask for any money for this when I go to pay my rent soon and that nothing more like this would happen…at least for awhile! L
• Also pray that God would provide the funds, time and / or right people to repaint the bathroom. (Ukrainian building materials are so different than the US – usually poorer, weaker, etc. – that I am hesitant to try and paint myself for fear that the walls themselves will be damaged and break away like those in my living room that drop great chunks of plaster regularly!).
• THANKFULLY I did wake up (I’m a really sound sleeper, so that in itself is a miracle!) and so the damage in my apartment wasn’t worse.
• THANKFULLY the landlord’s haven’t yet asked for any money from me for this and so far in my 6 years living here in their apt. they have overall been very fair and honest.
• THANKFULLY it has been a few months since my last plumbing disaster. J  

The Tree of Life Staff

• All three of my employees have quit to take other jobs. We had a big feast and prayed, laughed and cried together on their last day. I am glad for them and see God’s blessing for them in these new positions. They all blessed me greatly by saying how they wouldn’t have been able to take these other jobs if it were not for the professional and / or personal growth they experienced at Tree of Life. I have lost other employees, but this time it feels different.
• Please pray that I would have wisdom of when or if to hire other employees and if so for God to direct me to the right ones.
• THANKFULLY they have all moved on to good new positions for them. I am blessed to have been a part of that. 

• I take medicine for an inactive thyroid and recently, at a doctor’s recommendation, increased the dosage – something he said probably should have been done year’s ago. I still need to get in to a doctor and get a full blood check and physical. It has been too many year’s since I have seen a doctor.
• Please pray that both the funds and time would be available to do this and that God would give me wisdom as to which doctor to see.
• THANKFULLY my health has been such that I haven’t needed to see a doctor in years! J
• THANKFULLY the increased dosage greatly relieved me of some extreme depression I was battling.
• THANKFULLY God knows which doctor I need to see and when. J 

• Our church seems to be making the transition to our new pastor , Ukrainian national Alyosha Satenko. The Markeys and Gourleys (our former missionary pastors) have been sent out by the church here as missionaries to Kyrgistan. Aloysha preaches in Ukrainian, so that has been a stretch for me as I speak Russian.
• THANKFULLY God is helping me to really understand more Ukrainian than I anticipated! I am enjoying the increased “consistency” in our services now (only 2 languages – Russian and Ukrainian, rather than than three…English being non-existent in the service now). It is actually easier than switching languages, etc. I love our pastor and his family and have long had a good relationship with them.
• Please pray that God would continue to guide me as to how I can help with the ministry of the church.  

• Although I don’t want to go into specifics here, if you read the news you know that our country is going through its own problems politically, etc.
• Please pray for righteousness to rule, corruption to be driven out and order brought to this country. 

• Mid September I will meet with a group from READ ministries regarding Christian book distribution in Ukraine. From the initial phone conversation I had with them, this contact seems really God ordained.
• Please pray for wisdom as I meet with them and for all of us to hear God’s voice regarding any possible partnering in ministry, etc.
• At the end of September I would like to go to Kyrgistan with a team from our church here in Kyiv. We will be going to Bishkek where our former pastor and his family are now living. I am really excited to be a part of the new work that God is doing there and the great openness that the people in the midst of this Muslim nation have shown towards the Gospel.
• Please pray for the funds for me to go on this trip and for God to pick the team, shutting the door for those that are not supposed to be there (including myself!) and to open wide the doors for those who He has chosen to be there.

ETC. 

• Also my computer just days ago crashed. I haven't had a chance to try and find someone to help try and fix it.
• Please pray that all the info on there is not lost!