Finally, the long awaited, blog has arrived!! The English for Missions blog is here!

TERNOPIL EFM BLOG

Every Monday, one student is assigned the task of writing a post for the blog. Students can write about anything, there are no restrictions on the topic. The options are endless!

By Friday, every student needs to comment on the blog.You too can comment and leave encouraging notes and bits of inspiration. The students will love it!

The Terrific Teachers will also be writing posts about funny moments in class and what we are doing. Don’t forget to leave comments for us!

First Class

For another glimpse, into the classroom watch EFM Students hard at work to see students using English and discovering who they are in Christ!

This was from awhile ago, but it keeps reoccurring. My wonderful roommate will often tell me at night “I go shower my teeth.” I laugh every time. Yesterday she said she was going to shower her face too. That’s a funny mental image…

This past weekend, Marichka’s mom came to visit. I tried to put my Russian to use, but I failed miserably. I was telling her “I like verenky, semki, borsch, and boys.” Boys? She sort of raised her eyebrows a little when I said this. Of course I did not mean to say boys, I was trying to say holoptsie which are the cabbage rolls. The difference between the word for boys and the word for cabbage rolls comes down to a hard ‘h’ or a soft ‘h’. Small things that make a big difference.

This video is for all the different English ministries that happen here at the base in Ternopil. We made it for the YWAM Ukraine conference in Lutsk a couple weeks ago. I’m just now getting around to posting it…

So our first two week of English for Missions are finished and we still have all 12 students! It has been quite a packed two weeks, but God was in all of it. I am so amazed at God’s faithfulness and seeing His hand in everything.

The School

Our first week was mostly spent in assessing where the students where in their language ability. This put a few people in tears, but we have been reassuring students that we simply need to know what they know. There is no way around it. Tough love.

We explained most of the procedures and expectations, gave lots of handouts, and just spent time together. Joanne started out our first week with several lessons on who God is. It was fun learning English while also learning about who God is. The students did lots of activities to bring out their expectations of the school and teachers and what their dreams and nightmares were about learning English.

I also taught a lesson on different learning styles and Allison did a lesson on devotions. We had a class picnic on Wednesday, did a craft on Thursday, and had a game night on Friday, we like to do fun stuff through out the week. Our week ended with a class covenant. We went over what we felt were important points to cover and put into practice, and ended with students signing a poster together agreeing that they would follow the covenant to the best of their ability. And week one was finished, and it was good.

Week two went much the same, except that we put students into groups based on their abilities. This allows us to focus more on what they need, they are also in multilevel groups, and then there are also writing groups. Lots of groups. We also implemented a fasting day on Wednesday. Every Wednesday we will be fasting breakfast and lunch together, instead of eating we are going to be praying and worshiping as one group! I love spending time with God with others who enjoy the same thing. Week 2 finished, and it was good.

Who knows what next week will hold!

First day of teaching!

Family, Friends, and Supporters,

This post is marking my year-long absence from the states and it seems fitting to give a full report on my goings ons. I will try and cover everything as best I can.

Health Care
Physically
God has blessed me in the last year with good health. I only had a small cold last fall. My glasses broke in the spring and I had to have them repaired, they are still not fully functioning but are at least useful now.
Mentally/Emotionally
I have not had need to visit any sanitoriums or “head doctors,” so I guess I am doing good. With the English school a little over a week away, there has been some added stress, but nothing overwhelming. When I first came here, I experienced the usual homesickness feelings (and still do from time to time,) but God has given me a great family here. Ternopil is now my home away from home.
Spiritually
This past year in my personal devotions, I studied such topics as Moses, steadfastness, the heart and purity of heart, and humility. God has certainly been challenging me to trust Him completely. I am truly coming to the realization that God’s will is freedom and His burden is light. I believe that I will be coming into a new level of trusting in God as the English for Missions school begins.

Foreign Policy
My travels this past year, have taken me from Ukraine to Turkey, Ethiopia, Moldova, Poland, and home. I will still have to be making border runs, so I may be frequenting Poland and Moldova. My relations with people here have also been growing. It is an important policy to build and keep relationships with the people of Ukraine. Since being here, I have helped in weekly English cafes, English classes, and English clubs. I have also helped set up team building events for youth groups and other church groups. I have assisted in hosting various teams and individuals through out the summer. In this next year, I plan to the majority of my attention to the English for Missions school. This means that I will not be committed to any of the previous English activities. I will continue to foster relationships with those that attended the English club I ran. This will mostly be done on weekends.

Education
In this past year, I graduated from the Discipleship Training School in Ternopil, Ukraine. Here I learned valuable lessons such as servant leadership, the Father heart of God, grace, the heart of worship, and missional lifestyle. I was able to put this all into practice on our 2.5 month outreach. After graduation, I set myself to designing and setting up the English for Missions school. In the first week of September, I was able to attend the University of the Nations workshop to learn more about the U of N and about other English schools. This was a wonderful experience for me to simply connect and gain a bigger perspective of Youth With A Mission.

Economy
Allow me to brief you on the economic side of my life. The money that is given to me goes towards, food, normal personal items, my apartment, traveling expenses, visas, staff fees and functions (conferences and workshops.) I have also designated a portion to go towards the English for Missions school. School supplies, registration fees, student scholarships are included in this sum. There is another portion that goes toward fellowshipping. Building relationships are important, this is often done over tea and cookies or with a meal in a restaurant. I want to be able to easily build those relationships and bless those that I am in contact with. I am also sure to put some money towards savings and tithings. In the next year, I see a need for increase support for the school. I would like to find support specifically for student scholarships, if you would love to be a part of this school and help and student attend, let me know!!

Thank you again and may God bless you all.