Paetkau's Place

So, every spring there are a few old trees around the camp that need to be cut down.  At times this is simple, at other times, due to power lines and buildings, not simple.  Last Saturday Alicia & I were out at the camp with some others, working on various projects.  It was close to the end of the day, and one of the fellows found me and said, “John, I need your help before we leave.”  He was carrying the chain saw.  Hmmm.   Earlier, he and I had looked at two trees that were very dead and needing to come down.  But due to wires etc, we thought that we would leave them until we had more help and ropes etc.  So, I was slightly curious and nervous regarding what he needed help with.

So we go down to where those two trees were standing.  He tells me, “stand over there and yell if the tree starts to fall the wrong way.  It shouldn’t but just in case, as I won’t be able to tell right away which way it will be going.”

Click here to see the video….

Lots of fun….. and still lots of work to do.  And we need people around the world to partner with us in prayer and finances.  We are looking forward to 4 camps this summer:

- English Camp (we are expecting around 50 teens between ages 13 & 17 at this camp)

- Kids Camp (we are expecting between 80-100 children between ages 7 & 12 at this camp)

- Teen Camp (we are expecting between 80-100 teens between ages 13 & 17 at this camp)

- Camp for disabled children & their caregivers (we are expecting 40-50 children & 40-50 caregivers at this camp)

We need prayer: there are a lots of challenges in putting together these kinds of ministries

Please pray for: 

- the leadership: that God would be preparing their hearts to minister to the campers through their time spent together at the camp, through the relationships that will be built, through the program and the activities…

- the campers: that God would be preparing their hearts to to be impacted by what they experience and hear; that they would grow closer to Christ through their time at camp

- for finances: there are a number of campers coming who will be coming that will be fully sponsored by the camp.  At both the kids and teen camps, there will be a number of campers from one of the orphanages in the region.  The camp for the disabled children is 90% sponsored, as the families do not have the support systems here as they do in the west, and their financial situations are very difficult.  This camp is a huge blessing to them, and we desire to have the maximum amount of participants possible, but we need to raise the funds from here in Ukraine and from the west to make that happen.

Thank you for standing with us in prayer.

Please consider standing with the summer ministries financially:

We have three areas of ministry needing funds this summer:

- disabled childrens camp ($ 5000)

- sponsoring orphanage kids & low income family kids ($ 2500)

- camp renovations and upkeep ($ 2500)

Every contribution helps. If 50 people give $200, we will meet the project.  If 100 people give $100, we will meet the project.  If 200 people give $50, we will meet the project.  As they say, many hands make the work light.  Please pray and ask God what part He would have you take in this ministry.

Click on this link for more information on the projects

http://www.thepaetkaus.net/2013-summer-camp-partnership-opportunity/

Donate to these projects by downloading this form and mailing it to SEND International or donate online at https://www.send.org/donate/?contributable=369

Thank you for partnering with the churches here in these ministries

If you have any questions etc, please feel free to contact me

Have a great day,

John

Hi Everyone,

A brief update:  Leanne’s mom

This past Monday (May 13) Leanne was contacted by her sister in Saskatoon re her mom.  Mom’s health was deteriorating rapidly, and it was evident that she would soon be going home to be with her Saviour.  Leanne was able to get a flight on Wednesday, (May 15) and was able to be in Saskatoon by suppertime Wed night.

Leanne was able to spend 2 good days with her mom before her condition began to deteriorate.  This was such a blessing for Leanne and her mom, and we praise the Lord for that gift.

On Saturday (May 18) evening Mom went home to be with Christ.

We are sad, yet rejoicing for Mom is now with her Saviour, and she is free of the illness that has plagued her for so many years.  Again, we are reminded of the comforting words that Paul wrote in  1 Thess 4:13-18, for we do not grieve as those who have no hope, but we have hope in our risen Saviour.  This is the last one of our parents to go home, so we look forward with anticipation to someday seeing them all again.

Please pray for Leanne and her siblings as they go through the process of grieving and saying goodbye.

Thank you for standing with us

John

4 the 5 of us

131 March April 2013 Paetkau News & Notes

Христос воскрес! (Christ has risen!)

We are in the midst of our Easter celebrations (which fall in May this year on the Eastern Orthodox calendar) and enjoying the great spring weather.  Here are a few updates of events and happenings in the past few months.

Let it snow – or Praise the Lord for cell phones!

I put Lanae & Alicia on the 6 a.m. train for Kiev and prayed for a safe trip.  The ground had been brown and clear 12 hrs earlier, but 8 inches of      snow had already fallen thru the night, with more forecasted.  It was worse the farther west you went, and the kids were supposed to get to the far western part of Ukraine by that evening for a mk get-together.

At 11:30 a.m. the train (running late) reached a station on the outskirts of Kiev, and that was as far as it was going to go for another 6 hours.  The central station was attempting to dig out tracks so that trains could come in and depart.  At that point, Kiev had already had 12 inches of snow in less than 12 hours, and by the end of the storm they would have 30+ inches in 2 days.  This was the start of the great adventure.  The girls gave us an update by phone, jumped off the train and found a taxi and made their way to a nearby subway station.  They were in a race against time, as two other mk’s were waiting for them on a bus at the central railway station.  The bus departed 10 minutes prior to when the girls arrived, so they booked seats on the next bus. This proved to be fruitless for within 30 minutes they received a call from their friends – “we are on our way back to the station, all roads heading west are closed.”  The four of them eventually were able to get tickets on a train heading west at 5:00 a.m. the next morning.  They ended up sitting on the floor in the overcrowded train station all night since transportation in the city had been shut down by the storm.  The stories they had to tell.

We delayed our trip into Kiev for a couple days in order to let the road become passable.  We drove in through the beautiful countryside – fresh snow and bright sunny skies.  The roads were a challenge, and Kiev was a white knuckle trip as we slid and bumped our way through bumper to bumper traffic across the city.  The last 40 feet took over a half hour, as we attempted to spin our way closer to the apt entrance to unload all of the stuff we had brought.

The kids had a great time, we got some stuff moved to Kiev, and took part in a few important meetings.  On the way home, water was running everywhere as the massive amounts of snow began to melt.

International Students

Sumy has a large post-secondary student population.  Approximately 50,000 students are enrolled in the multiple universities and institutes here.  Approximately 1000 students are from a variety of African, Middle Eastern, and Central Asian nations.  A number of the African students attend local churches, and our team here has had opportunities to partner with them at various times.  They held a 3-day student conference over a weekend in March, for 100+ attendees.  The common language is English, and they asked us as native speakers to come and share in the weekend.

This is another door that God is opening for our team.  Sara, through her English Club ministries is meeting a number of foreign students.  The believers in this student group desire to reach out to their fellow international students, and have a vibrant fellowship group.  Pray that God would give our team and the local churches wisdom in how to bridge into this ministry.

Summer Ministries are coming

Summer ministries are just around the corner.  Lord willing, in a few weeks it will begin with 5-day vbs style camps held in the evenings in the neighbourhoods near the church.  At the end of June an English Camp will be held at Grace Camp with 45-50 teens attending.  Many are from non-church homes and attend English clubs here in Sumy and in a nearby city, so this is an important part of the ministry calendar for those ministries.  After that it is into a 10-day childrens camp and a 10-day Jr High camp, followed by a weeklong camp for disabled children and their caregivers.  We are all involved in various aspects of these ministries, which is always interesting, challenging and rewarding.

Please pray for the leaders who are preparing (wisdom, creativity & endurance), the campers who will be attending (open hearts, safety, impacted lives) and for the finances needed (many of the children are subsidized as they are from low income families etc.  The camp for the disabled is almost completely subsidized as the families have no support systems and very low incomes).  If you would like to participate in the summer ministries project, please go to www.thepaetkaus.net/2013-summer-camp-partnership-opportunity for more information.

Transition is happening…

As part of our transition to Kiev we have taken occasional trips into Kiev for meetings.  If possible, we travel with a vehicle and take a load of stuff along to get it unpacked and put away.  Our last trip included the opportunity to have the van breakdown in rush hour traffic on the “ring road” – 3 lanes bumper to bumper and of course, we were in the middle lane.  Turn on the flashers and stand there wondering what to do.  By the grace of God we stopped near an open market, and there were a couple guys working on a car by the curb.   They hopped out into traffic and helped me push the van to the side of the road.  Eventually we got a tow, which got us going again – for about 5 kms.  Long story short – unload vanload of household stuff into another van, leave it parked on the side of the road till morning and then tow it to a garage.  Praise God it was a simple problem that could be fixed in a few hours with a few parts purchased at the nearby auto-market.

Our missionaries in Ukraine are involved in a number of ministry areas, and I (John) will be assisting in various ministries where an “extra pair of hands” are needed for a time.

This year has been designated “Year of Missions” by the Baptist Union of Ukraine, and our team has been involved in various ways assisting in preparing Ukrainians to serve in countries of the former Soviet Union – both for short and long term ministries.

There are also many individuals from closed countries who live, work and study in Ukraine.  God is opening doors to ministry to these different groups.  The Ukrainian evangelical church is beginning to see these people in their midst, and are praying and investigating how to reach out to them.  This is a huge shift in thinking for many.

One team of missionaries is reaching out to international students.  Another team will be deploying to a new area of the country to minister with another cultural group.  Others are involved in teaching at the seminaries and bible colleges located in different places around the country.  All are involved in local churches which are seeking to grow and reach out to their neighbours and beyond.  There is a lot going on, and we are looking forward to what part God has for us in the coming months.

Easter in Ukraine

This year Paskah (Easter) was celebrated in early May here in the countries which follow the Eastern Orthodox calendar.  This has created a few challenges for us, as a number of other national holidays also fall in early May.  This means gov’t offices work at odd times, creating havoc for getting paperwork done.  Two of our teammates are in the midst of the registration process, and we have spent numerous hours going from office to office.

But in the midst of this is the joy of knowing our Saviour is risen and lives today.  On Easter Sunday our day started with a 5:00 a.m. service at Sumy Grace Church.  We then traveled to a small church 25 km (15 miles) outside of the city for a 10:00 a.m. service.  After the service and a potluck lunch, back to Sumy and the evening youth service at 6:00 p.m.  Monday, another service at 10:00 a.m. and then out to the camp for an afternoon potluck and fellowship with a number of the Grace Church members.

People coming and going….

Bruce McKay, our teammate who is presently on home service in Canada had to make a trip back to Sumy for the month of May because of registration issues.  Laws here continue to evolve, and therefore create interesting situations for us as foreigners.  In consultation with the officials here, it literally was the best solution to bring him back.  So Bruce is around, enjoying the sunshine and warm weather (back at his place they were still shoveling the walks) and helping us prepare for the camp ministries.

Val Omelchuk, a former teammate also flew in last week for a visit here in Sumy and other parts of Ukraine.  She served with us here in Sumy for a few years early on, and now lives in Canada.  It has been great to see her and the continued relationships she has here in Ukraine.

In the meantime…

As part of our normal routines, life has continued to be filled with a variety of experiences.  Leanne, along with homeschooling Alicia & Daniel has had a number of extra events as she is part of the church choir.   Spring in Ukraine always has extra dates on the calendar that are religious holidays, and the choir has sung more than usual.  Lanae has been very involved in the English club ministries 2-3x a week, out a number of mornings at the riding school and singing in the choir.  Alicia has music lessons and other youth related activities going on.

Five of the churches in the city participated in a “Clean Streets, Clean Hearts” day prior to Easter.  Our church, along with the other four took a portion of the city streets (near areas used for relaxation and strolling) and spent a Saturday morning cleaning up the garbage.  Over 250 bags of garbage were collected.  The city administration was very thankful for the help getting the city ready for spring.

One area that has been encouraging for me (John) is helping our young men develop their preaching skills.  This past 6 months I have been able to not be part of the regular Sunday evening preaching schedule, as young men in the congregation have been taking part.  What I have been doing for them is preparing a brief outline of the passages that they will be preaching on – which they can use as a foundation or as their outline – which has given them both the confidence to try and helped them to learn how to work through the passage.

More photos are posted on our website at www.thepaetkaus.net/photoalbum

Have a great day,

John

4 the 5 of us

# 129 Winter 2012-2013 Paetkau News & Notes

Hi Everyone,

It’s spring. No, it’s winter. No, it’s spring…..no, it’s…… Just as we know many of you are, we wish the weather would make up its mind.  A few days ago we were enjoying the snow basically gone and the birds beginning to sing.  This past weekend more snow fell in 24 hours than would fall in a normal month (approx 18 inches/45 cm) which completely shut down the country…. Someday……

The past four months have been very challenging.  Ministry has continued as per the usual but with a few extra items thrown in (more on that in a bit).

Around Dec 20 we began to sing “its beginning to look a lot like Christmas” because it looked like the snow was going to stay around for the 25^th.  And it did!  It was the first white Christmas that we have had in Sumy for a long time.

Dec 24^th, Grace Church had its annual Christmas Eve Service.  It was standing room only, as guests came, especially family members, relatives and friends of church members – many who are non-church.  The young adults did a great job of putting together a drama/program – a story about a businessman who had no use for Christmas (kind of a modified scrooge).  Lots of music (choirs, solos, etc) and the puppet team (with Lanae & Alicia) did a great job with a black light/white gloves story through song.  No picture of that one, since the only thing visible in the dark room was the glowing white gloves waving and acting out the story.

On Dec 28^th those involved in the ministries to the disabled held an afternoon Christmas outreach.  Again 50+ people came and enjoyed themselves and heard the reason for the season.

New Years Eve wrapped up the month with the usual youth all-nighter at the church.  Lanae & Alicia survived the entire night, arriving home at around 5:30 a.m.  I (John) went until 1 a.m.  I was the token “old guy” who took part in the service portion (from 11 p.m. till 1 a.m.) giving a short message.  At midnight, the fireworks, food and fun began.

By God’s grace, the snow stuck around and even more came down for the Jr High Winter Camp from Jan 8-12.  36 teens from around the region came and had a great time.  A neighbour kid came along and his mom told Leanne afterward: “after camp Ruslan was perfect.  Thank you for what you did there”.

26 men and in a few of their young sons came together for the day out of the camp to eat shashleek (Ukrainian bbq), to play soccer, to share and prayed together. The weather cooperated so that there wasn’t a lot of snow on the field and the temperature held steady so that time could be spent outside. As I looked at the faces of a number of the young men, I saw those who two years ago weren’t in the church. God is working.

God is working in the young people. Since Christmas three college-age students have accepted Christ. Praise the Lord! God is also working in the foreign students. Sumy has approximately 1000 university students from Africa and the Middle East. There is a strong group of Christians in that number and they are working to reach out to their fellow students. We had an opportunity to participate in a conference put on by the African students. It was quite the cultural experience and exciting to see how God is working in the nationalities of the world.

God is working in the lives of individuals. The past few months have been very difficult ministry-wise in one sense. There have been significant issues in leadership that have had a major impact on life and ministry. In another sense, it has been so encouraging to see how God has raised up and matured a number of individuals who are taking on ministry roles etc. and moving the churches forward.

That factor – the growth and maturation of individuals and ministries and other factors that are related to our family and ministry are all part of what God is using to show us it is time to transition out of Sumy. See this link for a longer explanation: http://www.thepaetkaus.net/ministry-family-transitions

Needless to say, this hasn’t been a simple decision. We have lived in Sumy since 2000, and have seen God do great and wonderful things. We’ve also gone through very difficult times, and can echo the words of many: “we don’t know exactly how we got through, but by God’s grace we did”.

So we begin to look to the next stage ministry in life. It’s interesting how God works out details – an example is the apartment that we rented in Kiev. Basically, it’s a miracle, and a huge answer to prayer. Read the story here.

In the meantime we’re in the midst of the usual: weekly ministries, preparing for summer ministries and living life in Ukraine. Alicia and Daniel are working hard at school. Leanne is working hard at teaching/overseeing their programs. Alicia is working hard on her piano, and Daniel’s working hard at being 11 years old. Lanae is taking riding lessons and helping take care of horses a few mornings a week and is involved serving alongside our teammate in the English club ministries. Leanne, along with the homeschooling role has being building into the lives of a number of individuals, walking with these gals and encouraging them. Packing and tossing are also becoming part of the routine. We hope to have everything but the essentials we need for camp moved by the end of June. I (John) have to go to Kiev every few weeks for meetings etc., so I’m taking a van load in each time.

So we are beginning to transition out of our roles of ministry in Sumy, and into new roles which will be based out of Kiev. We will still be involved in the ministries in Sumy, but in a different way than in the past.

Summer is just around the corner, and we are all going to be involved in camps. It’s going to be interesting.

Have a great day,

John (4 the 5 of us)

Partnering opportunities for 2013 Summer Ministries

@ Grace Camp in Sumy, Ukraine

Partner in Prayer:

2011 Sumy Grace Church Camp for the disabled

This summer a number of camps and conferences will be taking place.  Many of the campers are from non-church homes, and this is their only “touch” with the Gospel, and opportunity to spend time in this type of environment.  Camp is an effective ministry—as one mom told us after this past winter camp, her jr high boy “was an  angel.  Thank you for what they did there!”  God is working in the hearts and lives of young people here in eastern Ukraine.  Pray that God would use the ministries to draw people closer to Christ, wherever they are in their relationship with Him.

- pray for the preparation: program prep, leadership prep, site prep

- pray for the leaders: that God would prepare them and work through them to impact the lives of the campers

- pray for safety: that God would protect everyone and keep everyone safe

- pray for the campers: that their hearts would be open to God’s Word, and that their time at camp would bring them forward in the walk with Christ from whatever point they are at

Partner with finances:

Please pray about partnering with the following projects.  Funds receivedwill be allocated according to the number: Once project 1 is funded, then on to project 2, after that on to project 3.

2012 10 Shashleek (bbq) at Grace Camp (SGC disabled ministries)

We have 3 ministry opportunities at Grace Camp in which assistance is needed:

1. Disabled Kids Camp (1 week in July)

Children with cerebral palsy or other disabilities and their parents or caregivers come for a week of fresh air and activities planned for them by the Grace Church Disabled Ministries team.  This is an ongoing ministry throughout the year.  There are monthly events held at the church for these families, and then a week of summer camp.  These families do not have the

support  systems as in the west, so funds are very tight.  The camp heavily subsidizes this weekof ministry because it is so important and having such an impact.  Please pray about partnering with this ministry.

Project amount: $ 5,000

2012 SGC disabled ministries Christmas service

2. Sponsoring kids from low income homes and orphanages (two 10 day camps, kids & Jr high)

Each year a number of campers come from low income homes or they may spend most of the year at an orphanage and part of the year atcamp or a relative.  These families cannot afford to send the kids, so the camp subsidizes their fees.

Project amount: $ 2,500

3. Washrooms at Grace Camp

2012 07 GC English camp cabin bible study

Slowly but surely the facilities at the camp are getting upgraded.  Boys and girls washrooms (with sit down toilets!) are being prepared on the main floor of the shower building.  Plumbing is in, floor are tiled and the next step is installing toilets, sinks, finishing the walls etc.

Project: $ 2,500

Donate to these projects by downloading this form and mailing it to SEND International or donate online at  www.send.org/sumy-grace-camp

One aspect of moving which we did not relish was finding an apartment. Our apartment in Sumy has being a real blessing to us, for though we live in a high density area we still have a great view and enjoy the river nearby and parks etc.  This is not something that we hoped for in Kiev, but we definitely didn’t want to be looking out of our window at another building etc.  But in the midst of this, we also accepted the reality that an apartment large enough for our family (which would also let us have a cat) may not be the easiest to find so we preparing ourselves for whatever happened.  In discussions with our teammates in Kiev who would be looking for us, we only asked for 4 things: 3 bedrooms, a balcony large enough to put our bikes in, that our cat could also come and preferably above the 3^rd floor.  The real estate agent felt that those requirements were already a fairly big challenge given the area that we were looking at, so we expected a long & arduous process. But we did pray about a number of other things – our wish list as it were (view, light, a park etc) that would help us survive and adapt.

It is amazing how God answers prayer and works out details!

I (John) had to be in Kiev for leadership meetings in February, and I was going to be going in one morning on the train and coming back the next day in the afternoon on the train.  Alicia came with me, and we planned to wander around (do a little scouting) of the area of Kiev that we hoped to live in that next morning while we waited to catch the train – basically getting our heads around the idea that this is going to be ok.  The day we arrived in Kiev I was told that there might be a possibility to see an apartment the next day.  The next day Alicia & I came up out of the subway tunnel and I received a phone call – we needed to meet the agent in just over an hour to look at an apartment.  Ok.  I turned to Alicia and said, lets go for a walk – we get to look at an apartment in a bit.

Detail # 1:  Alicia is the only one of the kids who expressed any desire to be part of the process of evaluating apartments.  So here I am, standing in Kiev with the kid that needs to be along, planning to look at an apartment that I didn’t know I was going to look at 4 days before when Alicia decided to come along.

Our teammate John jumped on the subway and met us in order to come with us for the meeting.  We figure out a map where the address is, and make our way towards it.  We stopped for directions, and then made our way to the street on which the building was located.  I came around the corner and Alicia & I turned to each other and said, this is a good start.

Detail # 2:  Leanne was really praying that we would have a park, and view of trees etc.  The entrance to the building faces a fair sized park, and we are only a 10 minute walk from a nearby lake/park.

park in front of the building

We met the real estate agent and the landlords, and made our way up to the 9^th floor.  We walked into the apartment, and within two minutes we said to each other, “this is it”.

Details # 3,4,5,6,7,8…..: All of the bedroom windows face the park.  Lots of natural light.  Lots of space, very roomy feeling.  Kitchen windows face out over another open area, great views, no buildings a few meters away.  Teammates with kids (whom our kids will be involved with) live in the near vicinity. And a whole bunch of other things which are just a blessing from God, much more than we could ever have imagined.  For example, the living room can easily be used for hosting overnight guests & events. Also, the apartment is partially furnished. The storage units (both free standing and built in) and other furniture that is there means that we only have to move a few pieces with us, basically leaving the apartment in Sumy well furnished for whoever will use it next.

All we can say is thank you to our heavenly Father.  The details that He took care of – like having Alicia along on that trip etc overwhelm us.  We can see God’s hand in each part of it, and it is such a blessing.  This entire process of transition is not easy, and God continues to show that He is walking with us through it and taking care of us.

So we continue on this road forward……

Have a great day,

John (4 the 5 of us)

Life in Ukraine has always been interesting.  We have always held our ministries here with an open hand, and have sought to be used by Christ to further the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) in whichever way He gives us opportunity.  One primary area that John has been involved with here in the Sumy Region has been leadership and ministry development.  Walking alongside national pastors and ministry leaders facilitating them in their ministries, helping give and provide training, mentoring, coaching and a general helping hand.  When we came to Sumy in 2000, it felt a bit like the “wild frontier”, with a few churches and minimal ministries.  Over time, we have been blessed with being part of developing a number of individuals and ministries.  It has been exciting to see them grow and expand.

We returned in July, 2012 knowing that in 2015 we would be transitioning out of Ukraine for an extended period to facilitate our kids into their next stage of life.  So it was in our minds that during this term we would need to be working towards that transition, more of wrapping up and passing the baton.  What we didn’t know is that when we returned in the summer of 2012 we would soon realize that it was already time to begin to transition out of our present ministries in Sumy.  It became clear to us that we had reached the “hand off” point in various areas.   It was time to step out of the picture.  We have reached stage four in the ministry facilitation cycle in the majority of our ministries here in Sumy.  Here is a description:

In the midst of all of this, we have been in the midst of some very difficult circumstances with ministry and leadership.  As we walked with ministry leaders here through these challenges, it was also a time of God showing us that they have reached a stage where they can and need to step forward without us here on site as part of the next stage.

In the meantime, our mission leadership here in Ukraine and in North America has been praying about the needs of the Ukraine team.  There are a number of areas where they need help with different ministries which impact three primary areas.  Those being that the team is branching into new areas of ministry with unreached people groups, another area of ministry is seeking to facilitate the growth of Ukrainian missions both in country and beyond, and the also the overall facilitation of the ministries of our team in Ukraine

We approached our leadership late last fall with the dilemma – we see that we need to transition out of Sumy, but we do not see that God wants us to transition out of Ukraine.  Any ideas?  Well, that started a lot of discussion, prayer and soul searching.  This type of transition isn’t easy for any of us, as it means a lot of changes.  But in the end, this is the route that we see God leading us.

The plan is for us to transition to Kiev and for John to become a “floating” ministry team member, joining different ministries & leadership teams to assist on various projects in order to help them in the areas that are most critical.

So, what is the timeline?  Good question.  It depends on a number of factors, but this is the plan.  Lord willing, by September 2013 we will be living in Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine.  We could be moving as early as spring, during the summer or in the fall.    Please pray for all of the details that are involved in the transition.  Please pray especially for us as a family, for Sumy has been home in Ukraine for a long time.

The ministries of SEND will continue here in Sumy.  They are not dependent upon us, and we are looking forward to what God has next for the team here.  There are some exciting opportunities on the horizon, and we are looking to help see those developed over time.  We will let you know more when we can.

Thank you for walking with us, in our lives and in our ministries here.  If you have any questions, comments etc, please feel free to contact us

Have a great day!

John, Leanne, Lanae, Alicia & Daniel

New Years Day we spent part of the afternoon out on a lake near our place.  We were attempting to help Lanae & Alicia make it through the day while they recuperated from
the youth all-nighter at the church.

С Рождеством Христовым!

Merry Christmas everyone!

from our family to all of you!

# 128 November 2012 Paetkau News & Notes

November was the month of election fever both in the US and in Ukraine.  On our side of the water the obvious political games were played.  These included having new playgrounds appear in the neighbourhoods and a really well equipped (including artificial turf, stadium lights and bleachers) soccer field and practice areas.  I guess some good came out of a process that had a foregone conclusion.

With the cooler weather, the mobile market has moved into our area.  On the weekends we will have two or three cars pull into our area selling a variety of fresh goods.  The latest participant has a wagon from which they sell milk, vegetables and fresh pork.  It makes for an interesting view from our window (and for the other 3000-5000 people who can see it from their windows).

It has been a busy month with lots of “normal” stuff going on, nothing spectacular, but the usual day to day ministries and life.  Meetings – maybe we should call November the month for meetings.  Meetings to plan for the Jr High Winter Camp @ Grace Camp (Jan 8-12).  Meetings with our SEND Sumy teammates as we seek God’s direction for the next steps in ministry here in our region.  Meetings with church leaders as they are facing challenges and opportunities.  Meetings with our SEND Ukraine teammates – to enjoy American Thanksgiving together and then a day of discussions regarding ministry issues.

The college met for another 2 day session, which is always an encouragement to those attending and those teaching.  This time around Rich Strahm, a missionary and professor at Kiev Theological Seminary came out to teach part two of his missions course.  18 students from around the region enjoyed the teaching and the fellowship.  The next session will be late in December with another SEND missionary teaching part one of a course on homiletics.

Birthdays seem to come and go with troubling regularity.  Leanne celebrated her birthday early in November and I celebrated mine early December……  We are beginning to feel our age, especially this past two months as our elevator has been closed for repairs.  Walking up and down 5 flights of stairs does have its benefits, which we have been reminding ourselves each time (especially on the way up while carrying groceries).

The kids had a few new experiences this month.  Lanae & Alicia travelled across the country by train and bus to join up with their fellow SEND MK’s for a weekend.   11 hrs each way with transfers etc made for a few good stories.  They did great navigating the various situations and had an excellent time.  Leanne, Alicia, Daniel & I went into Kiev for 2 nights/3 days for the US thanksgiving and meetings and Lanae held the fort in Sumy for us.  Our teammate also came in for the weekend, so Lanae decided to stick around Sumy and be the English speaker at the 2 English clubs that took place while we were gone.  She is also studying German on Saturdays and didn’t want to miss the lesson.  So with those activities and the cat to keep her company she made it through the 3 days.  That was stretching for us too.

There are new photos posted on our site at www.thepaetkaus.net/photoalbum

Have a great day,

John

4 the 5 of us