Teaching Adventures

  • 1 year of war

    Yesterday we couldn’t help but reflect on the past year. It was a year like nothing we have ever experienced before. As Canadians, we don’t have nearly the same experience our Ukrainian friends have had, but at the same time, as someone reminded us, ‘Your family, too, has been displaced from your home and work.’ True. We are quick to remember that there is always someone that has had it harder (like our close friends who have been separated from their husband and father since February 24, 2022) but it is also important to let ourselves grieve and see the difficult year this has been for our family as well.

    We really miss Ukraine, our teammates, and our friends. The work we had been doing there was starting to really build momentum. Our Bible teaching team had reached 18 people and we were really beginning to multiply (not to mention that our entire YWAM team had grown to just under 50 people and all of our ministries were growing and being really effective)!

    Now many of our staff have moved on, our team of 18 Bible teachers has shrunk to 13, others on our staff have left, and the 20 students who were going to study the Bible with us last March may never do that (because we were the only Russian option for an inductive study through the whole Bible). If we are able to run the course in 2024, hopefully some students will still be able to, but life changes, and people move on. This brings a particular sadness for us.

    But, thankfully that is not all we see. We also see the tremendous faithfulness of God. He has provided for us in every way. We found new ways to serve as Bible teachers in Europe, made new friends, found a new school for the kids, Ben has a new part time job, we have a new house to live in for now. And not only that, but we still have our friends from Ukraine staying with us from time to time. We even have friends from Ukraine living here in Budapest. Plus, we are still VERY involved with all of the humanitarian work going on in Kyiv and surrounding regions.

    And so, this was a passage of scripture from Habakkuk 3:17-19 that was very meaningful for us at the beginning of this year and still encourages us today:

    Though the fig tree does not bud
        and there are no grapes on the vines,
    though the olive crop fails
        and the fields produce no food,
    though there are no sheep in the pen
        and no cattle in the stalls,
    yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
        I will be joyful in God my Saviour.

    The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
        he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
        he enables me to tread on the heights.

    He has enabled our feet to tread on the heights, and no matter how hard it has been, we will continue to rejoice in the Lord, and be joyful in God our Saviour.

  • What is going on with that hair?

    If you saw Jay a few years ago, he had straight hair. Now, with that crazy introduction of being a teenager with new hormones, his hair has gone curly, and his biceps are growing, and he even has a little mustache!

    He has been playing basketball for the past few months and it is always fun to watch him take the ball down the court, go in for a lay-up, or shoot from the top of the key. He is really growing up in so many ways, but especially in his maturity. He is learning to love those who are more challenging to get along with, and he is finding ways to be himself (silly and fun!) while still showing respect to teachers and classmates.

    We are so proud!

  • Ready to Help

    One of our family values is, “We offer to help.” This is one of the ways that Cassie shines! Yesterday I was not feeling very well, but Cassie made sure to come in after school and see if she could help me with dinner or anything else. She really shows empathy and love so easily.

    Another example is this photo taken on New Year’s Eve. We do a chocolate fondue every new years eve, and Cassie always helps to cut everything up, get the chocolate ready, and make it all look beautiful! Our family just wouldn’t have that special touch without her!

  • Back to School/Back to Work

    We all headed back to work after a few days of unpacking and settling into the house we have rented for this year in Budapest. Pray for us to be fruitful, bringing beauty and order and life to everyone around us in the name of Jesus!

  • You have questions, we have answers.

    1) Are you really coming home for a whole year? 

    Yes, with the children in school now (they grow up fast!) it makes sense for our furlough year to correspond to the school year. We will be back at the end of June and stay until the summer of 2019.

    2) What does it mean to have a furlough year?

    Because our work here in Ukraine is around the clock, it is good for us to have seasons in Canada. We get away from our day-to-day responsibilities in order to rest, rejuvinate, get more equipping, and share with our supporters what they have been a part of! It makes us more effect, and healthy for the work we do here in Kyiv.
    3) How do you feel about coming home for the year? 
    We are excited. These past four years (since our last furlough) in Ukraine have been really great . We have seen so much fruit. We have also been a part of the leadership team here at YWAM Kyiv, which has meant additional responsibilities beyond leading our own Bible teaching ministry team. This has been a blessing, but it has also left us ready for a season away from leadership.
    4) Right now you live by others donating to your work on a monthly basis. Does that continue during your year at home?
    Yes we will continue to rely on our supporters and friends who believe in the work we are doing.
    5) So what will you do for a year?
    We will still be carrying some of the responsibilities of our work, even in Canada (the internet is an amazing thing)! After a summer of camping, and having our children spend lots of time with their family, we will see what God leads us to. There will be lots of different areas that we will be pursuing for the year: education, retreat, prayer, serving and teaching. However, the main goal will be to pray and seek the Lord what he would have us do during the next 4 years in Ukraine after our year of furlough. And of course, share with all of our friends and family the things that God has done since we moved here in 2010. Hopefully we will get a chance to visit friends and family that are outside of Manitoba as well.
    6) So does the Bible school (SBS) stop when you come home?
    No! Thankfully we have a great team here in Kyiv. Thelma Selvan is leading the SBS this year on her own (after co-leading with Ben last year), and she has an amazing team of people helping her. It runs from March-December. Next year in March she will lead it again! But please pray for her and the staff team- for many areas, but specifically finances. Most of our staff who are faithfully leading and teaching in the SBS live on less than $100 dollars a month (and their rent is half that amount). But they continue to trust God to provide for their needs because they believe in what they are doing. If you would like to expand the people you support in missions, please contact us and we can help you give to these workers who have proven faithful and trustworthy! As they say, not all of us can go, but all of us can send!
    7) What about your Bible teacher training and sending ministry (Titus Project)?
    Sonya Yakovenko leads Titus Project now here in Kyiv, and she does an amazing job! Every January she takes new graduates from our Bible school (and other SBS’s around the world) and trains them to be great Bible teachers! We have a growing reputation of being a great place to get trained and sent. She will also take over leading our Bible teaching team while we are gone. Please pray for her as she is also a part of our YWAM Kyiv leadership team so she has many responsibilities.
    8) So when do you actually arrive back in Winnipeg?
    We will be arriving June 20, with our three kids and our dog ‘Midnight.’ We will be living back in our little home on Melbourne. You can call us at 204-977-2950.
    We are looking forward to seeing everyone soon!

  • Kai’s 6th birthday

    Mom- So Kai, what do you like best about being six?

    Kai- I actually don’t like getting older, but I like birthdays. I like staying little.

    We like him little too. He can read, ride a bike, and do so many big boy things! Happy 6th Birthday Kai!

     

  • Visit from family

    The work we do in Ukraine and all over Eastern Europe/Western Europe is very rewarding. We love it! But one of the hardest things is being far away from family and friends. This past month we had Ben’s sister Lisa and her whole family come and be with us for a week after they spent some time serving in Romania. What a huge blessing that was to us! The kids loved having their cousins here, and we spent lots of days just being together. Eating, playing talking, and hearing about their amazing time in Romania. Thank you guys so much for coming to visit us in Kyiv, Ukraine! It meant so much! There are some great pictures (taken mostly by Cassie) to explore.

  • Jay’s 8th Birthday

    Well, it is official! He is now 8, and he wanted to have a big party with his friends playing lazer tag. We negotiated a little and decided he could do the big party if he was not expecting any gifts from us. It was a bit of a struggle, but the lazer party won out over a gift, and a great time was had by all! It was hard to get photos in the dark, but we tried :)

  • Our Annual Report

    Every year we report on what we have done in the past year and what is coming up to our home church and our supporters. We thought some of our friends and family might be interested in reading it as well, so here it is :) Let us know if you have any questions.

    2017 Annual Report Submission

  • Cassie and her fort

    So the other day Cassie tells me she has made a fort. It was a little corner in her room where the dresser is pulled out a bit from the wall and a blanket covers the entrance. I thought this would be fun for just one day, but she has been sleeping and reading in this tiny little corner for weeks! What a crazy girl!

  • Jay gets glasses!

    One day we were in the shopping mall and I wanted to test Jay’s ability to read Russian cyrillic. I pointed to a sign and asked Jay- “Can you read that?” He said, “No, the words are too blurry Mom”… and that is when I knew.

    After a few tests at the eye doctor it was confirmed, Jay has Myopia :( Sad but at least he found some cool glasses to wear, and it is so nice for him to be able to see clearly!

  • Howie on Leadership

    Dynamics of Leadership CD Set

  • A day in our life

  • How Kai likes school

    “One of my highlights from my preschool is I like to eat breakfast at home and I like getting my snack ready. Some of my low lights are I get owies on my knees when I slip, and sometimes I have to play by myself and I don’t really like playing by myself. And another one of my highlights is just going to school. I like school.”
    ~Kai- Age 5

  • SBS is coming…

    https://player.vimeo.com/video/249803429

  • Merry Christmas!

    We are so thankful for a white Christmas- it has been snowing for over a week and it is getting deeper :) We’ve built snow slides, snowmen, snow forts, and a snow volcano. We really enjoy snow, especially during the Christmas season.

    Tomorrow we will go to church and make a gingerbread house in the evening.

    Christmas morning we will open up some gifts from Grandparents and family…we will eat cinnamon buns and have all of the ywamers over for a Christmas dinner (at least the ones that aren’t gone to be with their families). It is a wonderful season of rest, family, and wonderful traditions.

    But I guess, the most challenging thing about Christmas is remembering that it is about Jesus. Immanuel. God with us. I hope that as a family we will be able to find that sacred time where the kids are settled, and the parents are in a good mood :) and we can talk a bit about why we celebrate Christmas- how it isn’t about the presents and the food, but about Jesus coming to be with us, for God ‘so loved the world that he gave his one and only son…’ This can be difficult to really celebrate and have our hearts in the right place, but it is worth the effort, to have the fullness of the season. We hope your Christmas is deep and meaningful!

    Merry Christmas!

  • Come do an SBS :)

    SBS Video 2017 from YWAM Kyiv on Vimeo.

  • Teaching in Georgia

    Nadia, Sonya and I (Angela) are in Georgia teaching people how to study the Bible. We started with Philemon, now we will spend two days in Ephesians and one more day to study Jonah with them.

    There are 10 students in our Bible course from many countries. Azjerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, USA, Armenia, Iran.I can’t put a picture of them in this newsletter because some of them are not allowed to be Christians in their country. It is so interesting to hear each one of their stories. One girl is a very new Christian and as we talked about when the letter to Philemon was written by Paul she said “Well, I guess it had to be written after Jesus rose from the dead.” Good point. :)

    Most of these students want to do the 9 month course we offer. Thank you to the many people who help keep Ben and I here overseas, we couldn’t do it without you!

    A few years ago I asked some of you to consider supporting financially our missionary Ukrainian friends Nadia and Sonya. It is a pleasure to be here with them teaching and I wanted to say thank you also to those who responded to that request and have faithfully supported them monthly.

    Be encouraged, people all over the world are still responding to the call of Jesus, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-10) and as you send us and pray for us you are a part of that!

  • This time of year…

    Cassie’s Blog- I just got into school, well maybe three months ago. Me and mom are reading a book called Anne of Green Gables. It’s about an orphan girl that’s adopted into a family that wanted a boy. She’s VERY dramatic she’s a Drama Queen… only much more expressive. 

    It snowed yesterday the big fluffy kind. I was so happy! Fall break  it’s more like winter break is coming. School is the best ever!  My teacher is nice but firm. In science were learning about plants and animals were growing them in class. In history were finishing up are unit about  The American Revolution. In math were learning about data and probability.

     

  • A Great Day! Our Team.710 planning day!

    We looked back and thanked God for all He has done (that is the feature picture, if you zoom in you can read all of the papers). We looked forward as well. But most of all we just listened. We took time to listen to God and to each other and it was a GREAT day! Of course there are still many things to think about and plan fort, and we wish we could have more time together, but we are thankful for the day we had! And Ben and I are thankful for this great team that we can spend time with and work with every day! See more pictures from the day here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/badoerksen/