Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
In the beginning of March, we had to unexpectedly deal with a housing problem. The landlords of the apartment we had been renting for the students for a few years sold it. We had to look for a new place. In Ukraine there are no strict laws about giving enough notice and sometimes they just give you no time. Thank God we were able to find a new place within a week and the problem was resolved. Sadly, if you are a renter in Ukraine you can be asked to vacate the premises by the end of the next day even though you had a legit rental agreement. The great news is the Jesus guarantees us a place in Heaven and He never neglects His promises.
In the end of the month our students had a week of practical evangelism in Kyiv, Konstantinovka, Bela Tserkva and Slovyansk. During the week our students distributed the tracts and had some personal approach conversations with public. In Bela Tserkva one lady with a child started coming to the church services. This was the second time they came, and she said she enjoyed the atmosphere in the Lord’s Church.
Also, the home study group brings good fruit. The students get together in the apartment that is rented by the Institute and have a Bible study. They invite neighbors to join. Starting from September of the last year they’ve had a regular Friday night study. The instructors helped them occasionally. But now more then ever some new visitors join them for the Bible Study.
In March our first-year students had the Book of Job (taught by Dmitry Galyuk) and the Wisdom Literature (Dennis Sopelnik), while the second year students had Religions of the World (Albert Bagdasaryan) and Contemporary Religious Thought (Dennis Sopelnik).
I had a wonderful opportunity to join Shevchenko District Church of Christ in Kiyv on the last Sunday of the month. Our graduate Yuriy Romanov is their preacher. He is working really hard and contributing a lot to the growth of the congregation. Yuriy graduated one year ago and since then he’s been teaching the sound doctrine to the brethren in Kiyv. Yuriy has a beautiful family with his wife Katya and their son Matthew. They do a lot for the Lord. This congregation numbers 25 people now. Since the history of this congregation is very complicated and they’d been through a few splits, in my opinion, all things considered, they are doing well now and work really hard on the growth of this congregation.
Our home congregation plans to host the Ladies Day in April. Our sisters do it regularly once a year. Usually we have a good attendance from different parts of Ukraine. We request your prayers for the event.
Our sincere gratitude goes out to all churches and individual supporters of the Bear Valley Bible Institute ministry. I’m very positive that so far we’ve accomplished so much due to your faithful sacrificial efforts and support.
God bless you, Your brother Dennis Sopelnik.