I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Gal. 2:20
Dear <<First Name>>
He is Risen! That is the common greeting here in Ukraine at Easter time. The proper response is, He is Risen Indeed! Unfortunately, many people utter these words because it is tradition and they have no understanding of their significance. They have no understanding of how the resurrection impacts their lives personally and what it means to have Christ living in me. Their Easter traditions also including visiting the church with a basket of dyed eggs, Easter bread and other food items so that they can have their basket blessed. There will be long lines outside of the orthodox churches on Easter morning as people wait to have their basket blessed and then go home to enjoy a time of celebration with their families. It is also the one time of year when unsaved family members and friends often will agree to attend a church service. The villages where we hold monthly clinics will all be having special Easter services which often are attended by some of our patients who do not regularly attend. This month during our regular clinics we will be handing out invitations to these services. Pray that many of our patients will decide to attend and that the message of the Gospel will touch their hearts. Ukraine celebrates Easter on April 28 according to the Orthodox calendar.
Thank you for your prayers for our new clinic in the village of Zarya. We have continued to have a good turn out each time and Pastor Roma has been pleased with the new contacts he has been able to make. Pray that as relationships are established, we will have more opportunities to share the gospel with patients. Pastor Roma & his wife have 3 young children. They have been traveling the 30 minutes out to the village from Odessa several times a week in order to conduct ministry there. They are now in the process of purchasing a home in the village and hope to be able to move their family out there by the beginning of summer. Pray for all the details of the purchase to be worked out and that God will provide all that is needed for them to be able to move. They are anxious to be able to live in the village and to be able to develop deeper relationships with their neighbors.
God blessed our Choose Life board meeting. We were able to adopt our board governance policies and to appoint a new chairman of the board, Pastor Igor Kucher. We are grateful for his willingness to serve in this way. Pray for him as he adjusts to this new role. Pray also for wisdom as we consider potential new board members. You can read more about the ministry of Choose Life in our recent newsletter.
Please continue to pray for Dr. Miriam as she prepares for her departure on May 3rd. There are still many details to take care of before then. She has been able to visit some of the village clinics for a few hours and hopes to be able to visit the rest of them this month. Pray that she will continue to gain strength and will be able to make these visits. On one of her visits this past month, a patient who she has shared the gospel with many times over the past seven years was finally ready to repent and accept Christ! What a wonderful answer to prayer! Pray for M to grow spiritually & to be a powerful testimony to her neighbors. Thank you for your part in this ministry!
Rejoicing in the power of the resurrection!
Holly Friesen
