Hello dear brothers, families and churches.
In Ukraine, spring gradually overcomes winter, and we are looking forward to the warmer weather. The temperature at the Institute is good for having classes and worship services.
February was a month full of events.
The Institute is doing well. First-year students had 1, 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles (taught by Victor Semikoz) and fist part of the Minor Prophets (taught by Dennis Sopelnik). Second-year students had Hebrews (taught by Albert Bagdasaryan) and 1, 2 Timothy and Titus (taught by Dennis Sopelnik). As you can see that in February we had only Ukrainian teachers, who shared their experience and knowledge, which they received studying the Bible and ministering at the local churches.
In March, we have two American teachers: Garth Hilton and Johnny MacYoung. They have made it safely to Ukraine and have already started teaching their courses. We need the help of our brothers, and it’s a good opportunity to receive encouragement and support from them.
We have other good news: in March, our first-year students Roman Rotan’ and Sergey Slastyonov started preaching in Illovaysk church of Christ. The church had experienced many troubles. We were praying and looking for those men who will be willing to serve there, and after long conversations with brethren from the US and the church in Illovaysk, we came to the common decision. We hope that our students will be God’s preachers, proclaiming His truth.
In February, I preached in Nikolayev, Maysakaya church of Christ (Gorlovka), and also visited Central church of Christ in Donetsk. They all welcomed me, and I didn’t miss the opportunity to tell about the Institute and to look for prospective students.
I hope you like holidays and surprises, because we (men) were surprised by the event our ladies had organized for us. On February 23, Ukraine celebrates the Day of the Defender of the Motherland. And our sisters prepared greetings and a festive program for us, defenders of the gospel. It was really very interesting and fun. We are so grateful for their work.
At the beginning of last month, a brother-missionary from the US David Binkley contacted me with a request to help the church during their absence. He and his wife Galina live in Nikolayev and preach the gospel there for several years. This time he had the scheduled 3-month business trip to the US, and he needed the help of the brethren who could substitute for him. We were able to provide such help, and our students travel to Nikolayev, and they preach there every Sunday. It really shows how important the work of the Institute is in the life of the church in Ukraine. We love this missionary and are looking forward to his return to Ukraine.
My wife and I keep visiting the orphanage, and we have good connection with those kids. Also the director of the orphanage is not opposed to cooperating with us and provided us an opportunity to work with those kids on a permanent basis. Praise to the Lord for these opened doors.
On March 9, we have planned a one-day lectureship on the topic of preparing the future elders in the church. Garth Hilton will be our guest speaker. We hope that there will be many representatives from local churches present here.
Thank you brothers, sisters and churches for your help and ministry. We pray for you during our chapels and thank God for you love and devotion. I want to thank all of the American and Ukrainian teachers, who are dedicated to this ministry and help us to train preachers.
God bless you!
Your co-worker,
Dennis
To see Dennis’ report with pictures, please click here.