Hello dear brothers.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind… (Rom. 1:28)
As you know, February was a busy moth in the life of our country. There was a treaty signed in Minsk, according to which both sides have to cease-fire and move the heavy artillery away from the conflict areas. Ukraine kept its part of the treaty, but the insurgents of the so-called republic continues shooting and making the situation in the area even worse. At this time, our brother in Christ and BVBIU graduate, Maksim Gaykov was injured. He stayed in Gorlovka together with his family and continued serving the Lord there with many other Christians. When he was on his way home, a bomb exploded several feet away from him. The injury was not life threatening, and we have already sent money to pay for his medical treatment. A splinter of a bomb hurt the soft tissue of his leg. Unfortunately, there are thousands of such injuries and deaths among the civilians. We ask you to continue praying for peace in Ukraine.
Bear Valley Bible Institute in Ukraine
The classes at the Institute continue to take place. In February, Denton Landon and Ralph and Cindy Williams visited us. We are grateful for their ministry and work at the Institute. Denton taught Isaiah to the first-year students; Ralph taught Paul's epistles 1-2 Timothy and Titus to the second-year students. Ukrainian teachers continue teaching via Skype. The classes go according to the schedule, and students get everything that we have in the program in full extent. We are looking forward to the arrival of our brothers Johnny Mack Young and Garth Hilton in March. Then we'll have a week of evangelizing campaign and a Spring Break. Studying 1-2 Peter and Jude, we often noticed the key word “suffering”. It’s a very familiar topic for many of us. Last year and the beginning of this year brought many changes and difficulties in our lives, but we continue praising the Lord and want to spread the good news about the Savior. We have nine men and one young lady studying in the program.
Institute Church of Christ
There are more people now who know about the church in Ternopil. Last month, we had four visitors who attended Sunday services and asked questions. A young lady, Masha, attends our services regularly. We try to be a very open and friendly congregation, teaching the sound doctrine nevertheless. We have been renting that building for seven months now, and only now people start coming and learning about us. We are making our way around. After our friends, the Tebels, moved to Canada, Bogdan and I preached on Sundays and taught Bible classes in the middle of the week. We try to involve all brethren at Sunday service. Each of them participates in worship. We have youth group meetings on Tuesdays and Bible school for kids on Saturdays.
On February 14, Cindy Williams taught a Bible class for ladies on “Following Christ.” Oksana interpreted for Cindy and led singing. Vera had a workshop on making souvenir candles for the ladies. It was a very memorable and encouraging day for our sisters in Christ. On February 24 (Tuesday), our sisters prepared for men a special event full of games, quizzes and fellowship. We enjoyed that time we spent together.
There are about 20-22 people attending our congregation. Mostly these are students and their families; there are also some local Christians and visitors.
We plan to have a major evangelizing campaign in March, giving brochures on the streets, and having personal Bible studies with people. We continue praying for God's work in Ternopil.
Thank you for your prayers and financial support of the Institute, church, and our students. If you have any questions or comments, please write to me. I'm always open to work together.
Your brother and coworker for the Lord's cause,
Dennis Sopelnik
To see Dennis’ report with pictures, please click here.