Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
In this letter I'd like to share with you some news of the events that took place in July and the beginning of August.
The warm summer weather has remained in Ukraine for a while now and it's the time for summer vacations. However, this year so many people are afraid to leave the security of their homes and there are still some places where churches congregate with reduced attendance. The quarantine is still recommended and the government divided the territory of Ukraine into a few zones. If the number of cases is still very high in a certain place it's declared a red zone, and the whole city infrastructure is shut down except for the grocery stores. The government decided that the school year will start as usual but if the number of infected students grows the schooling will return to the online mode. For this reason, the classes for the second year students will resume in Bela Tserkva as usual and I hope the students will arrive safely. But we won't have the first year students this time. First of all, our recruitment efforts were very limited, and, secondly, people don't feel safe moving to a different place fearing COVID 19.
I will also share with you the news about our students ' summer practice.
Ilya Zhuravlev work in Brovary alongside his father who is the local minister as well as our graduate and the Instructor. They organized a summer retreat for their congregation in one of the neighboring villages called Pukhovka, and two women were baptized as a result. Ilya teaches youth group and takes part in worship services.
Nazar Semikoz had his summer practice in Brovary and Slovyansk. His dad is a minister in Poltava and also our Instructor. He also often helps his grandfather who is a minister in Liman by teaching the Bible classes on-line. They Skype him and he teaches the class. He takes part in worship services in Brovary.
Bogdan Antipenko has his summer practice in Bela Tserkva. He taught a few Bible classes and helps with maintenance and routine chores. We attempted street evangelism as well by distributing Christian pamphlets and invitations.
Marianna Medvid is our student from Ternopol where she teaches women and children. The congregation baptized Irina and Marianna spends a lot of time with her, doing follow up teaching.
We are thankful to all congregations who support the work of the Bible Institute. We are thankful for your work and your trust in our Ministry during this most uncertain times. May God bless you and keep you safe.
Your brother and co-worker,
Dennis Sopelnik