T.E.A.M. Ukraine is a ministry of the Evangelical Free Church of Canada Mission

Easter Sunday follows the Orthodox tradition and in Ukraine was one week later than in North America. Remembering what Jesus has done for us in always a positive  when we remember the amazing sacrifice what God, through Jesus, has made available for us if we will reach out in repentance and accept His amazing act of love in dying for our sins. God's love transforms us each day and shapes us into the image of Jesus! This is God's plan for our lives! Our Easter Sunday began with attending an Easter Sunrise Service along the Dnieper River in Dnipro where we joined with another EFCC church. Nineteen of us gathered that morning to read Scriptures (Matthew 26-28), sing some songs and share God's Word.  Singing songs  Sharing at the Sunrise service  A group picture  Looking across the Dnieper River On Friday, Pastor Andrey had asked if I would be willing to share a short message. Pastor Andrey interpreted for me yesterday and it was a p...

Weeks seem to come and go quickly! We always have learning Russian as our main focus, but with having a yard, that also entails that we keep on top of things or, as most of you know, upkeep can spiral out of control very quickly. We went to cut grass earlier in the week, but the cord came out of the mower and stayed out! We finally got the recoil repaired and had Victor find us a new cord as the other one was not worth putting back in. Once we had everything installed, we were off and running. The grass got cut and the yard instantly looked so much better. The only problem is this: it needs cut again. The joys of summer, but we will not complain as it is great to be outside.  Lots of tulips and the grass cut This past week the gas company showed up to connect our home to natural gas. When they did the renovation last year, they disconnected the gas and all we had was electric heat all winter. It worked well, but the problem with electric heaters is that the ele...

Another week has gone and a new one is in store. For many of you, last week was when you celebrated Good Friday and yesterday, Easter Sunday, when we celebrate the resurrection of our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ. Thank you Jesus for Your amazing love and sacrifice! Yesterday in Ukraine was Palm Sunday and next Sunday is Easter. We get two weeks to remember what Jesus did for us on a cross almost 2000 years ago when He died to pay the price for our sins. Thank you Jesus! Last Tuesday, Shannon and I went to a neighboring community called   Солоне (Solonne). We picked up some new chicken feeders and waters as the chicks are getting bigger and they are going to make a move to their new home later in the week. As we drove in and out of Солоне , they have a cross set up as you enter the community. It is similar to other places with its style. You will notice that it has a lower bar and that one side points up and one side points down. If I remember right, it...

It seems like time sits still at times, but in regards to doing a blog, the time flies between posts! We spend a lot of our time working on Russian and we have language lessons twice a week with Ulzana. We are enjoying Ulzana's teaching, but Scott is still struggling to get the right words matched up for using in sentences and other topics. The challenge is to keep at it and hope that one day the light comes on in a greater way. Last Monday as we were planning our day, Garry told us that they were butchering a cow and if we were available to help, there would be some meat for us. Throughout that day we mainly deboned the meat to turn it into hamburger. Shannon made some stew meat and we keep a few ribs to make a meal and it was tasty. Nice  BIG ribs! Spring is well on the way here and today we are experiencing the best rain we have had this year. It is steady but gentle and will be great for the crops that are in, the crops still to go in, the alfalfa and the ya...

In between studying our lessons, we go outside and do some yard work for a while. We have filled another wagon with junk from construction debris, filled in two large holes with broken bricks and dirt and created a fire pit out of bricks. Now we just need to make time to sit outside in the evening to enjoy it! We also look forward to it being a time where we can sit with the students and Garry and Teresa and build friendships.  Our new fire-pit About a week ago, while cleaning the yard, we found some guests...a pair of hedgehogs. They were very cute and actually friendly as you can see from the pictures. They were buried underneath some rubble in our yard, which got cleaned up, so we moved them to the vacant yard next door. We are going to see if we can find them again.  Our new friends  Yesterday, we went at cleaning the area around the outhouse! We finally dismantled it and what a job! They just moved it ahead over the years and the junk and metal that was pa...