Dear Praying Friends and Family,   I hope this letter finds you all well in the Lord Jesus and rejoicing in His service! Writing a prayer letter is a great way to take a break from routine and reflect on what the Lord has done over the past few weeks. It also warms my soul to remember our family and friends back home. Thank you for all you do for the Lord allowing us the privilege to serve in the mission field of Ukraine. We pray for you all collectively and individually as the Lord puts you on our hearts and minds. We pray the Lord keep you all strong in His word and grace while the fiery darts fly (Eph. 6:16).

Thanksgiving/Harvest: Our annual Harvest service was a blessing this year. We all came to church dressed in our Ukrainian “Vishivanka” shirts and blouses. It gave us the opportunity to thank the Lord for His goodness by inviting one of our local missionaries to preach and update us on his work in a town about three hours away, called “October.” We prepared an offering ahead of time to provide him with enough firewood to heat his home for the winter. We also had a Thanksgiving get-together with other missionaries in Ukraine. It is always a highlight of the year to sing hymns, enjoy fellowship, and pray together in ENGLISH(!) with others who miss their families, friends, and churches back in the States.

Soul Winning and Fruit: Over the past few months it has done my heart good to hear many testimonies from our members who are bearing fruit as active soul winners. One of our young ladies, who recently graduated high school, has entered the work force and is witnessing as she goes. She rejoiced to tell how she led two people to Christ at work. We’ve had several others tell of neighbors and relatives who have received the Lord Jesus over the past few weeks. We are also seeing fruit in our ministry here that is rare for this field and I think that it is only seen by missionaries who stay in the ministry and can see God work building the believers up by His word over many years. It takes several generations to get to the level of many churches in America. We have come to the conclusion that training leadership for the pastorate is going to be made possible by second generation Christians, those who grew up in Christian homes. The exceptions are few. Our members are truly bearing their crosses for Jesus’ sake by making decisions that are very unusual for this culture and it costs them something to be in God’s will. May the Lord give us more like these!

Building Project/Fund Raising:It is encouraging to see the Lord’s blessings on our building project. Already a couple of churches and individuals have contributed giving us about 12% of what we need to begin. We believe it would be prudent to first raise enough to do everything needed to finish the outside before breaking ground. This would include: the foundation, purchase and set the containers, roof, insulation, windows, doors, and finishing the outside walls. We have been proceeding over the past year or so with baby steps, doing all the less expensive projects that have to be done in preparation for the real building project itself.

Building Project/Fund Raising(continued): So far we have put up a fence and gates around the parameter of our property. Local law dictates that a security fence must be around the property before building can begin. We also had to reroute gas lines to the fence line…at our own expense. The gas company said we had to do all the work ourselves including pay for the materials and then when all was ready they came and did the hookup. We also managed to put in new septic tanks. There is one more baby step we need to take and that is to get a three-phase electric line run to the church for the welding work. The electric company said that it will cost $2000 but they do not have anyone employed at the moment to do it. Our present meeting hall is 15×28 feet and we are maxed out with a pulpit, piano, baptistery, and 70 people. We look forward to having room to grow…and breathe!

Youth Meetings:Our church hosted a one-day youth meeting with the Limonski church which was run by our students in the Bible Institute. It was a good time, with good fellowship, and good preaching about our great Savior.

Answers to Prayer: On the week before Thanksgiving we breathed a big sigh of relief as we finished the final step in our registration process and we are good for another year! We thank the Lord for the opportunity and for your prayers for us to get this done without too much time wasted. Now we need to exit the country with my son Sam to get him a visa in the coming weeks and would appreciate your prayers for him to not run into any problems.              The Lord answered your prayers for Galya and Sveta who recently received Christ. Sveta is really getting “plugged in” as they say. The Lord Jesus is very real to her and it is obvious that He is answering her prayers. They were able to finally find a house before the cold weather hit and could afford it with the love offering that was provided by the Ukrainian immigrants in the US. I was happy to see that their new home is not far from the church giving us easier access to minister to them as they grow in the Lord. The children are able to come to church clean and with clean clothes due to having running hot water inside their house. The Lord is good!             We are thankful to finally have my car fixed but only after another engine overhaul. It turns out that the engine block was cracked all along. After four major engine overhauls and a lot of money, it is now fixed and running well. Thank you for praying and please continue to pray for the salvation of man who was able to finally figure out the problem and fix it for us.

As the holiday season approaches, we miss you all more than ever. Thank you for your friendship, prayers, support, and all that you do for the Lord that gives us the privilege and opportunity to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May the Lord bless you as you serve Him! Until our next prayer letter or our meeting in the air!    That Ukraine May Know Him, Christopher Rue Phil. 3:10