This, that and the important

Here are some of the building cranes at work building new apartment buildings in Nikolaev.









Here is a building in Nova Odessa that had smoke coming out of the chimney. I would like to think that it was heated for animals but in the near-spring weather, I doubt that anyone would bother to heat for their animals.













We've noticed again and again how poorly streets and roads are drained. This is an example from a recent trip to Nikolaev.

Most of the traffic police in Nova Odessa have stopped us often enough that when they start to stop us, they recognize us and wave us on. Today we were stopped by the police just around the corner from our house. They had a tractor stopped as well.




We had a stove that was given to us about the time Seth was born. We had it shipped to Ukraine on the first container with our other belongings. It lost a leg in the journey. It was too big to fit in a Kyiv apartment, but once we moved out of the apartments into the village, it has served us faithfully ever since. The last few months it has been "capricious" (that's the way our Ukrainian friends would say it). Sometimes the oven would work. Sometimes it wouldn't. This last week, it wouldn't, not even one day. The week before that it would, one day out of seven. So we got another one and are giving this one away to another family who can use the stove top.

But more important are the lives that we are trying to reach for Jesus. We are just now entering the Easter season in Ukraine. Orthodox Easter is on April 27th. So this Sunday we had about the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the children made donkey puppets out of socks.

Here are Andrei and Petya, brothers with their little donkey puppets.

Here is Nastya, a little new sweetheart from an unchurched family that we are glad to see coming! She really liked her donkey!

Here is Tolic. His nickname is "pipsqueak," but he's a special one. He, together with one other teenager, never want to miss a service. He has a very tender heart. He's full of enthusiasm and energy, sings all the songs loudly off-key. But who knows what he kind of leader he may become for God? Now that could be quite important!


Dima is the teenager that comes. Recently we were having a Bible trivia game and he knew answers that hadn't been mentioned in any of the services. That means he's not only been coming but he has been reading and remembering what he reads!! Thank the Lord!