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Debbie Myers |
Sending Church: |
Dear Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, June 2010
I want to deeply apologize to those of you who have not heard from
me for a long time. Last month I sent out personal letters to my supporting
churches and a few individuals. However, I wasn’t ready yet to send a letter
out through Charity Baptist Missions. This has been a very hard letter to
write, but I want you all to know what has been going on for the past few
months.
First of all, I was able to get registered at the government office in Odessa.
Also, I and the Krishtalevich family are doing well health-wise. The
Krishtaleviches also have been able to get a lot of work done on the addition to
their apartment. Thank you all so very much for your prayers for these things.
Concerning the health of my step-father Bob Reeder, many of you know about his
hospital stay in January. He had a severe diverticulitis attack and was
hospitalized with internal bleeding. He was in such a critical state, I made a
last-minute decision to fly to the States on January 12th. Praise the Lord,
after my arrival, Bob improved and was released. However, during one of his
check-up visits to the doctor, they discovered that he had bone cancer.
Apparently, Bob has had it for the past 2 years and it is quite advanced. My
stepfather is 74 and doesn’t want to undergo chemotherapy. He is just trusting
in the Lord, and trying natural remedies.
I flew back to Ukraine on Feb. 25th, but already I was feeling the Lord was
leading me to return to the States. It was a terribly hard
decision to make. I had spent over 10 years of my life serving the Lord in
Ukraine, and I love the work and the people. I prayed and prayed, and my
friends in Ukraine and my home church in Kentucky prayed with me. I wanted to
make absolutely sure it was the Lord’s perfect will for me to
return to the US, and not just my flesh or personal feelings. The Lord gave me
one verse on the flight back to Ukraine in February, but on March 15th, He gave
me several very clear verses about His will and I knew for a certainty that He
wanted me to go back to the States.
After March 15th, things became very busy. I had lived in the same apartment
for 10 years and had collected many things for the work and many personal
items. The Lord blessed in that I was able to split the work items among three
churches: (1) Bro. Richard Maher & Bro. Paul Gray’s church in Lemansky; (2) Bro.
Chris Rue’s church in Razdelnia; and (3) Bro. Mark Priem’s church in Odessa.
Also, the Sunday School materials that I had worked on translating for the past
11 years were shared with 4 churches (the 3 already mentioned, plus Bro. Masato
Funakoshi’s church in Odessa). I personally know these pastors and their
churches and am confident that they will use these items to help reach others
for Christ.
Things got even busier as the time of my departure neared. I moved out of my
apartment on April 30th and the Lord mightily blessed in that I was able to stay
with the Rues my last week and a half. It was very hard, having to sort
everything and distribute it. But it was even harder knowing that I was soon
leaving Ukraine not knowing when or if I might ever return. I left Ukraine on
May 12th and arrived back in Kentucky on May 13th. The Lord blessed me with a
safe flight and especially that I was able to fly out with the Mahers who are in
the States right now on furlough. They were able to help me get some of my
personal items back to the States, for which I am very grateful.
Concerning the church that I had been working in, pastored by Bro. Vadim
Krishtalevich, right now it is temporarily closed. We hope and pray that in the
future it may re-open in a different location. Through the years many seeds
have been planted through preaching, evangelizations, tract-distribution and
Sunday School. We hope and pray that these seeds will grow. “For other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (I
Corinthians 3:11)
The past few weeks have been a time of adjustment and prayer. I know for a
surety that the Lord wants me back to the States. I also know He wants me to
help my parents. However, I am still not sure as to what else He would have me
to do here. I am working in my home church Sandstone Baptist, teaching Sunday
School, etc. But I am still waiting for the Lord’s direction concerning a job
and what other ministries He may want me to participate in. I sincerely
ask for your prayers for the Lord’s guidance and that I would clearly know the
Lord’s will concerning His future for me.
Concerning your support, I am so very grateful to all of you for
your faithful and generous support these past 11 years. It has been a
GREAT blessing and words can never express my gratitude. I appreciate
you all so very much for it and especially for your prayer
support. I know your prayers were what helped to bless the work and keep me
safe. Some have asked what to do about financial support now that I am back in
the States. From other missionaries, I have learned that some mission boards
ask churches to support returning missionaries for 3 months after they have left
the field to give the missionaries a chance to get back on their feet. If you
or your church would feel led to do this, it would be a blessing and a help.
However, I know that times are tough right now and maybe you or your church
already has another missionary you have been wanting to support and my leaving
the field may free up the funds to support them. Praise the Lord!
If you don’t have a missionary in mind, and if you would like to support another
missionary in Ukraine, I have several friends who are great Christian workers on
the field. First of all, there are Bro. Richard Maher (mahers2ukraine@juno.com),
Bro. Paul Gray (thinketernally@yahoo.com) and Bro. Chris Rue (ruemissions@yahoo.com)
who all receive their support through Charity Baptist Missions. [Bro.
Maher and his family are in the States right now on furlough until September
24th; they would love to come by and present the Lord’s work in Lemansky,
Ukraine. If the Lord lays it on your heart to invite them to your church, Bro.
Richard’s cell phone number is: (513) 259-5916.] Other
missionaries in Odessa are Bro. John Spillman (spillman@te.net.ua) and Sis.
Polly Irvine (piinukraine@yahoo.com) who are through BIMI; Bro. Masato Funakoshi
(masatofuna0126@yahoo.co.jp) who is through Titus International and Bro. Mark
Priem (markpriem@yahoo.com) who is out of his home church in Wisconsin. I have
known these missionaries (except Sis. Polly who just came to Ukraine last year)
for 11 years and they are all dedicated Christians seeking to tell lost
Ukrainians about our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. If you are
interested in knowing more about them and the work the Lord has placed them in,
you may contact them directly by e-mail or contact me by phone (606-523-1538) or
e-mail: deboramyers@yahoo.com
Again, I am SO very sorry for the great delay between letters. Please forgive
me and I would please ask that you pray for the following requests:
* For my step-father Bob Reeder’s health
* For wisdom and guidance on what the Lord would have me to do here in the
States (job, ministry)
* For all those who have been witnessed to, to get saved
Your fellow servant, Sis. Debbie Myers Ephesians 3:20-21
Dear Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
October 2009
I am very sorry that it has been so long since my last prayer letter. Praise the Lord, I have been back in Ukraine for a month already. I arrived here on September 15th. I really enjoyed my time in the States and I am grateful for the opportunity to have seen so many of you and to have met so many new friends. It was also a great blessing to be able to work in my home church and to spend time with my family.
Thank all of you SO VERY MUCH for your prayers for my documents and for my trip. Praise God, I finally got the letter I needed from the Department of Religious Affairs. Then, when I sent off for my visa, the Ukrainian Embassy did it very quickly (in 3 days) and all my documents were ready. The Lord blessed my flights, and glory to God, when I arrived in Odessa, I had no trouble with passport control or customs.
Now in 90 days I have to get registered to be able to stay in Ukraine. I have talked with other missionaries here in Odessa, and praise the Lord, there seem to be no difficulties in getting registered with a religious visa at the moment. I will need to get registered around December 13th.
While I was in the States, Sis. Natasha Krishtalevich, (the wife of Bro. Vadik Krishtalevich who is the Ukrainian pastor of the church that I work with in Odessa), taught Sunday School in my place. Praise the Lord, since my return, she still has a strong desire to teach. So now we have split the children into two classes, with Sis. Natasha taking the younger ones, and I, the older ones. I plan the lessons and prepare the handout sheets, and Sis. Natasha helps prepare the crafts and games. Praise the Lord, for another willing and able servant!
When I spoke at some churches in the States, I asked you to please pray for Bro. Vadik & Sis. Natasha Krishtalevich and their 5 children because they live in a one-bedroom apartment with Sis. Natasha’s parents. (Her parents sleep in the living room and the Kristaleviches all sleep in the bedroom.) The Lord mightily blessed them with permission to build additional rooms onto their first-floor apartment. (Permission is very hard to get from the city government and usually it has to be bought with a bribe.) The mayor of Odessa himself gave them permission and even supplied them with some money that they used to build the foundation. (In Ukraine any family with more than 2 children has special status as a family with many children; the Krishtaleviches have this special status and it helped give them the opportunity to talk to the mayor directly.) The Lord has blessed them in many ways with the construction and they already have the walls, ceiling and windows up. They are doubling the size of their apartment and also enclosing the yard with a fence and gate. I know this is a direct result of your prayers and we are extremely grateful to all of you. If the Lord might lay it upon your heart to help Bro. Vadik with construction costs, you can send a gift through Charity Baptist Mission. Please inclose a note with your check that it is For Bro. Vadik. Thank you all so much and may the Lord bless you richly in return!
So far no one has visited our church from the evangelizations that were held this summer, but many seeds were planted. Praise the Lord, after the evangelizations, several people called saying they will come to our church. Please continue to pray that God would work in their hearts and that they would come, and especially, that they would get saved. [1st Corinthians 3:7, So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.] Please also pray that God would again open the doors to the ladies’ prison. Bro. Vadik said the first service there went extremely well. He is waiting for the opportunity to go again, but so far the prison hasn’t given him permission to come.
Thank you for your prayers for my health and for the health of our church members. I am doing well and Bro. Vadik’s knee is doing better. Please continue to pray for the health of the Krishtalevich children, especially Ilya. He is very susceptible to colds and has had a bad cough for most of his young life (he is only 13 ½ months old). Thank all of you so much too for your prayers for my step-father, Bob Reeder. He is doing ok at the moment, but I would ask you to please keep him in your prayers.
On a sad note, Sis. Paulina from our church here in Odessa passed away on October 1st. I am very grateful to God that I was back in Ukraine and had been able to spend time with her before her passing. She was a very dear saint and will be greatly missed by all of us. Her funeral was an opportunity for the Gospel to be preached and many seeds were planted in the hearts of her lost relatives and friends. Please pray that God will water these seeds and that the lost will get saved. I know for Sis. Paulina, it would be one of her greatest joys to have all of her brothers and sisters with her in Heaven.
Right now I’m still praying to see how the Lord would want me to use English in the ministry here. I have already asked Bro. Richard Maher and Bro. Paul Gray about teaching English in the village of Lemansky again. Also, I do not have to teach at the English courses here in Odessa, but I will be visiting classes and hopefully getting the chance to witness and to invite students to church. Please pray that the Lord would guide me and give me wisdom on how to use English for His glory.
Our church has already purchased some Bibles, but if anyone would like to help with that cost and/or with future costs of printing tracts, you can send a gift to Charity Baptist Mission with a note stating it would be for, Debbie Myers/Bibles.
Again, I am so very thankful to all of you for your prayers for me and for the Krishtaleviches. I also have deep gratitude for your financial support. You are all a HUGE blessing and I pray that the Lord will richly bless you in return!
Please remember these
requests in your prayers:
* For all those who have been witnessed to to get saved
(at the evangelizations, at Sis. Paulina’s funeral, tracts given out, etc.)
* For permission to hold another service at the ladies’ prison
* For my registration in December
* For Bro. Vadik & Sis. Natasha Krishtalevich and their family (health,
construction, etc.)
* For my step-father Bob Reeders health
* For wisdom and guidance on how to use English in the ministry
* For our church to grow spiritually and in number
* For the political and economic situation in Ukraine & the US
* For the Lord’s protection
Seeking to serve Him in
Ukraine,
Sis. Debbie Myers
Proverbs 18:10
Prayer Letter June 2006
Dear Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My last prayer letter began with how cold this past winter was in Ukraine. We had a late, cold spring, but now summer is here and it sure is hot! However, no matter what the season is, praise God, the Lord's work continues and He still answers prayer! "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." (Galatians 6:9)
Thank you all SO MUCH for praying for the elections here in Ukraine! Praise God, everything went very well and there were no demonstrations. However, Ukrainian politicians are still trying to figure out who will hold different government posts. Praise God, the process is going peacefully, but please pray that the government will be the way God wants it to be and that religious freedom will remain in Ukraine.
Praise the Lord, my home phone is working again. Many thanks to all of you who prayed!
Praise God, our Sunday School has grown by one member. A new boy, Slava, age 6, has been coming for over a month now. He is a neighbor of the Spillmans. Hopefully, some of the other neighborhood children of the Spillmans' will start to come. Praise the Lord, in the last month; we've also had a couple of visitors.
Recently one of our church members, Natasha, testified that she felt her mother was very close to salvation. In the past her parents (who are both lost) have been extremely against her being a Christian and attending a Baptist church. Natasha has been praying for them and witnessing to them for almost 6 years. Praise the Lord, that her mother's hard heart has softened.
God also mightily blessed me with registration until June 2007! Usually I am only able to get registered for 3 months at a time. However, at the end of May the government agency allowed me to get registered for a full year! This is a great blessing and relieve of mind!
Concerning Russian Sign Language, two young women from the village of Lemansky recently graduated from a course on RSL at a local Baptist seminary. They are now certified sign language interpreters. Your generous financial support has helped me to support them in their studies. One lady Alonya will be working in her husband's church near the village of Lemansky and the other lady Christina will be working in a church here in Odessa.
My classes at the English courses ended on May 30th. I was able to witness a little bit to my students before they left, but unfortunately I haven't had the chance to witness again to Raisa, the head of the English courses.
However, the Lord has opened up new doors with English in the village of Lemansky. Starting in June, I have been going out once a week to teach English in the church there. Praise God, there has already been some fruit. One unsaved lady named Larissa, her son Egor and another boy named Sasha have been attending the lessons. Praise the Lord, Larissa and Egor have also visited a church service in Lemansky.
Alyona hasn't been back for Bible study, but she keeps telling me that she wants to. Praise the Lord, a lady named Anna that I used to meet with has asked me to do a new Bible study with her. (Anna is also a frequent visitor of our church services.)
We had ladies' meetings at our church in April and in June, and both of them went very well. Praise God at each meeting one of my unsaved former English students came. Praise the Lord, for the outreach He has given me through English!
In May the independent Baptist missionaries had a ladies' retreat in Crimea (the peninsula at the bottom of Ukraine). I, Sister Dawn Spillman and two other ladies from our area attended along with other ladies from around Ukraine. It was a great time of refreshment, and the lessons were a blessing and an encouragement.
In August the annual Youth Conference will be held in Cherkasy, Ukraine. I plan to go with the youth from Lemansky and to help out.
I want to thank you all again SO VERY MUCH for all of your prayers and financial support! You are a great blessing and I really appreciate you! May God continue to richly, richly bless you in return!
Please remember these requests in your prayers:
For the lost parents of
our church members to get saved
For our church and Sunday School to grow (spiritually and in number)
For people I've witnessed to get saved
For the health of our elderly church members (one lady Sveta recently broke her
arm)
For God's Will in the formation of the Ukrainian government
For Tanya in the nursing home
For the Lord's protection
Your fellow servant,
Sister
Debbie Myers
Deuteronomy 32:4