About the team, the national conference and the vacation :)

Hi everybody! This will be a small post so I'll share with you a little about myself and about some events which happened in August. I'll start from the end, that is from the most important - from the team in which I serve :)
I already shared with you on this blog earlier about the team of Athletes in Action Ukraine. We have some changes in a positive direction ;-)

You probably remember that I shared about our team leader, Andrey Shepelenko (from the left to the right, the first one from the left), who together with his wife, Yuliya Shepelenko (further on the photo) served as team leaders in the Campus ministry in Dniepro (on the east of Ukraine) for about 7 years. They were there in the beginning of building the team and the movement and now they are at the beginning of AIA Ukraine but already with their two kids.)) Further on the photo is Dima Doroshenko who came to Christ through the sports students Campus ministry. Next after myself on the photo is Dima Melnik who came to Christ through soccer practices organized by the Shepelenko Family and the students team in Dniepro. Dima M is our new full time staff. He further served in Kiev in the Campus team there and now he joined our team. We are very happy and thankful to the Lord for His guidance! Below on the photo is our key volunteer, Yura Kvashuk who is in charge of the soccer coaches in our Sport Community, also he is a break dance and hip-hop coach :) There are some other people who plan to join us but we'll talk about this another time)

After the trips to the sport conference and to our national Cru staff conference and the vacation time (for which we thank the Lord and we thank you ;-) it's time for the semester planning. God is good! And all the time! ;-) He blessed us to do a tremendous work during these days. Now we need power and wisdom of Our Lord to realize the plans and for this we need your prayers ;-) Please pray for our first sport communities next week to start, for the kids and their parents from the summer project to return to us, for the possibility to find a good gym in the church neighbourhood where we serve, for the development of the volunteers and for us as a team. John 13:35 New International Version (NIV)
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

About the vacation (the trip to my native places)

The Lord had rest and He commanded to us to have rest as well, to have so called "recharge" in order not to get "rotten" but "to blossom" :)

I went to Odessa, my native city where I spent my "christian childhood", I visited my friends - American missionaries who I met 20 years ago when I was yet a non-believer. Now they live in Odessa and serve on the basis of Presbyterian churches planted there, now they have 3 daughters and the oldest got 18 :)))

 On these photos Andrea (on the left in the brown top) gave us a workshop how to paint with acrylics. She invited a non-believer to it, who Andrea met in the English club which she and her husband and other missionaries in Odessa do on a regular basis. I also invited the girl from the Campus ministry who just moved to serve in the team there ;-)

Also I met my childhood friend, Alena, who lives in Odessa who heard from me first how I became Christian, who i shared a lot about God and Gospel. Last year she prayed the prayer of repentance with me after one more call/challenge I made to her. She continues searching the Lord. Please pray she woud dig in into God's Word, so that she'd see His truth and the importance and the sincerity of the church which she could attend. 

Also I went to my native town in Odessa region, called Izmail where I studies in the school, in college and where my parents are buried. On the photo is my brother, Valera. I pray for him for many years and also for the repentance of my other relatives. He works on the cruise ships and usually is away for several months. I wanted to use the opportunity to spend my vacation time with him. God blessed and even though we quarrelled, we reconciled, we had fun together, accomplished some work about our home, we ran together at our local stadium and tried to talk about God but unfortunately my brother gets astray and doesn't want to take things seriously which I would to reach him with. Periodically I talk to Him through God's word and i hope he just doesn't want to show what touches his heart. Please keep praying for him and for my sister, Ira, and for my nephew - Vova. 

About the national staff conference 

At the end of August our AIA team and other teams of our mission "Ukraine for Christ" (that is Cru Ukraine) came to our once per 2 years national conference near Lviv (the city at the west of Ukraine)
This was a cool time of good reminders and instructions about unity, patience and long term patience, acceptance, humility; of prayers, of an inspiring worship; and also the time of morning runs, volleyball games, of a funny Talents show; also of the fellowship in small groups with the people who are not from AIA team. 

After the conference God blessed our team to visit on our way a historical place of the 17th century near Lviv - Pidgoretskiy Castle)))

  Praise the Lord for such blessings ;-)

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My personal:
Thanks be to the Lord for giving a possibility of such rest and thanks to Him for my team;
for my sister (Ira), my brother (Valera) and for my nephew (Vova) - for their true repentance;
for the right man from God for me to serve together if it's His will and if it's His will for me to stay and serve Him as single, that i would live with it easily (such a special prayer request ;-)

Thank you for your prayers and support! I was glad to hear from some of you and i'm looking foward to your news again or from those who didn't yet shared and i pray as well for you ;-)
With love in Christ,
Anya