You know that cheesy song by Daughtry? “I’m coming home, to the place where I belong…no I don’t regret this life I chose for me”… the lyrics keep running through my head. Maybe it’s because it is 1:30am, we’ve been back in Ukraine for about 36 hours, and I don’t feel an ounce of tiredness. Instead, I’m thrilled and energized to be back in L’viv. But Daughtry got it wrong when writing “these places and these faces are getting old, so I’m coming home.” When saying we’re glad to be back, it does not discredit the 4 great months in the States, mostly w/ family and friends, both in IL and NJ.
We’ve come back on good terms. My dad is recovering well; life went back to normal for our families. Our 2-wk. stay in NJ was spiritually and relationally refreshing. The kids are healthy and adaptable (as you can see from our picture, 2 minutes after our arrival).

But there is something to be said about flying into L’viv’s not-yet-finished-for-Euro2012 mini-airport terminal, being found by an airport employee, who said that Victoria (New Life’s admin) called to get us expedited out of the waiting area, to be greeted by Yulia (our sitter), Syava (Ben’s best friend), Andriy (who took over Boys Prison ministry) and Andriy (another great young preacher) – complete with Oreos and yellow flowers, to make a spectacle in the arrivals area with 4 checked bags, 5 carry-ons, 2 carseats, 2 little ones, Peter with our “trusty” white van (that was struggling to start that day…), and eager arms to help us carry everything through the snow and up the stairs.

Ben even overheard some US military talking about us, perplexed by who we were and the treatment we got! For the first time in a while, we were not paranoid about our visa status. Since we were out for over 90 days, our 90-day period starts over. So pray because we have 90 days to get a proper invite, which has been next-to-impossible to obtain. And that’s just the first step, before needing registration status and getting the visa.

The best part is that we are on the other side now. We left with the anticipation of Dylan’s arrival; we’ve returned with his 11-week-old, 14 lbs. of love in our arms, appropriately positioned under the painting of his namesake. I feel a completeness back in L’viv. Ben already attended a youth leaders’ meeting tonight, and there are great things on the horizon. February and March are starting to fill up; summer camps and interns are already in the works. 2012 holds many new things; to God be the glory for the past four months and new beginnings.

In the past two weeks, we certainly did a lot of eating, visiting, and catching up with old friends. Regarding family, only my (Kristy’s) Aunt Debbie lives in New Jersey, so we made sure to see her. Other than that, it was mostly visits with Fellowship Alliance Chapel attendees (including dinner at Pastor Marty and Laurie’s house! Thank you!). We didn’t take as many pictures as we should have, so no offenses should be taken if we don’t have pics up of your family! Know that we appreciated every conversation, every visit with our big “family” on the East Coast. Enjoy the photos. (See an earlier post for pics of our first week there.)

Ed and Nixie Laremore’s old mini-church, having one of many reunions that we try and set up when someone is in from out of town. Since 2006, our mini-church has scattered, but God faithfully brings us together, and we get to go deep and catch up in a short amount of time. We’re reminded how the Body of Christ needs our prayers and support. We love this group.

Again, the Body of Christ joined together. This is most of my old, all-girls Alpha group. We, too, try to do a reunion and hear about God at Work in each others’ lives. I pray Colossians 1/deep-rooted walks with Christ for these friends.

Here are the men of our mini-church. Pray for these guys as they lead their families, raise their kids, and make it their aim to please the Lord in all things. Even after 5 years in Ukraine, I would say that we lack this kind of group fellowship, characterized by love and a desire to grow in the Lord. Our one-on-ones are deep like this, but nothing in a group setting.

Here are Erik and Lauren, one of the families gracious enough to host us during this time. They got good practice. Lauren is due at the end of April. Together we’ve spent weeks in Czech, in Ukraine 3x, and have stayed in their home on multiple occasions. We love walking with these friends through life.

This is Kate, one of my bff’s from high school. We met on Student Council at 14. We love getting together, esp. since she moved to the East Coast (CT) just about the same time that we had one foot out of NJ. Despite the blistery snow storm that threatened the East, we were determined to see our plan through to meet in Manhattan. I LOVE NYC! Ben graciously offered to watch the kiddos (is this pic actually watching Dylan?) while we shopped (searching H&M for a b-day present for our UA youth pastor, Syava), and was treated to the Boathouse in Central Park (note the park in the reflection of the glass). Since I don’t have the means to live in Manhattan, it was time to get back to L’viv. Within 24 hrs., we were on a plane back to Europe. What a visit!

When you are a student, classes march on, regardless of what is going on in your home life. Last quarter we ended a study of the Pentateuch on 12/10, just in time for vacation and a few weeks to celebrate Christmas. But time flies, so January 3rd was the start of our next Fuller Theological Seminary class. We are in week three of “Systematic Theology 2 – Christology (the study of Christ), Pneumatology (the study of the Holy Spirit), and Soteriology (the doctrine of salvation).

Our last class wiped us out – too many late nights, between the discomforts from the pregnancy, the whole birth week, and then being up with Dylan and teething Marissa, in addition to at least 8 hours of homework each week. In our prayers for our studies, we always found ourselves begging God to give us both energy and a positive attitude about school, because we know that it is a huge privilege to be in seminary, and we truly do extrapolate so much from it. I was a bit nervous starting a new quarter because we were still reeling from the previous one, but I am so glad that we have pressed on.

Studying the theology of Christ – his names, his deity and humanity, the incarnation, his pre-existance and role in the Trinity, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the different beliefs about how someone obtains eternal life and is saved from hell – could the topics get any more interesting?!

Things change so quickly. First of all, we are praising God for my dad’s release from the ICU on Wed. and his entry into a regular room. (See my previous blog post for details.) It is a slow road, but we are so thankful for every single improvement. Continue to pray for the neurology side of this whole pneumonia issue. The docs are interested in getting him in to see other specialists in Chicago, so that is another praise.

Dad ~ this picture of the kids is for you in particular. Notice Dylan’s shirt. We are your biggest fans far away. Much love and praising God for your recovery.

But here we are in South Jersey. We flew in last Sat., and within 4 hours, we were up on the Fellowship Alliance Chapel stage, speaking to the congregation about our journey into full-time missionary work, and how God is calling each of us to have a heart for the world.

(Here’s Ed & Debbie Jurimas, friends of ours since we started at FAC. Their kids were in the youth group and 2 even served w/us in CZ. A cool side note- a pic in their slide show (they serve in the Philippines) has Jay, Dave Patty and some other GYI guys in it b/c Global Youth Initiative did a conference in Manila and stayed where the Jurimas’ work. Small world!)

We’ve gotten together with many friends. (Schiffmans serving God in Cambodia, we miss you!) Although we expected this trip to be more complicated since we have Dylan and Marissa now, it has actually been better than we could have ever expected. People are gracious and the kids have been really good (except for Marissa in this photo.) Our schedules are busy – I just spent 4.5 hours in Starbucks, meeting with different girls. Each night is a different dinner; each day is a different lunch or breakfast. Last night (1.12) we did our big missionary presentation where we can talk more in depth about our role change and the lives that we are impacting by the Lord’s grace. It’s hard to believe that our students from youth group are in their 20s. (Below we are celebrating Matt’s 22nd and Scott’s 24th!)

Things change so fast, but this is a place where we always feel connected and comfortable coming back. Much thanks to the Hibbards, too, for hosting our family, esp. during those nights when Marissa was teething…

I had visions of various different blog posts that I wanted to write over the past week. Ben and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary downtown Chicago. We said good-bye to my (Kristy’s) family on 1/2 and then to Ben’s family on 1/6. Dylan and Marissa turned 2 mo. and 17 mo. On 1/7, we flew to NJ for our 2-week supporter/church visit there, which we were really excited about. But all those events are in the past and I’m distracted.

We’ve been in South Jersey for a little over 2 days, and as always it is wonderful to be back there. But the trip has been marred by the fact that, on the night before we flew to Philly, my dad was hospitalized in the ICU with a case of pneumonia that he has still not shaken. He’s only 54, but he has had some serious migraine issues over the past few years that the doctors have not gotten to the bottom of. The pneumonia is an additional scary stress.

• Pray for Dad’s body, that it would grow strong so that he can fight off this pneumonia.
• Pray that after the pneumonia cloud lifts, the neurologists will be able to gain new insight into his headaches, their cause, and how to prevent them without being overly medicated.
• Pray that my family will grow closer to the Lord because of this really hard time.

Dad, here’s a pic we took of you and Dylan on the day we said good-bye. Look how he is looking up to you! We all love you so much. It is hard to know the pain you are in and the trials you are having, especially as we are far away. We are praying like crazy, and we have called on many others to pray, too. We believe in the power of prayer, and that you are God’s beloved son and under His care.
Proverbs 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
James 5:16 The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

A new year is here! We’ve already started the new year busy as we wrap up our time in the Chicago area. We leave for NJ on the 7th. Pray for us as we say our good-byes. I hate this part.

Highlights of New Years were: a date with Ben; praying through different spheres of our life and ministry for the upcoming year; Dylan occasionally sleeping through the night; a Skype call with our youth group in L’viv. It was awesome to see them gathered. The connection was terrible but we could make out faces and voices. Can’t wait to see them…less than a month.

We’ve packed and shipped ministry supplies and Christmas presents (people have been so generous with our kids…I always feel like a thank you card cannot express enough our gratitude…) We’ve spent all our gift cards that don’t work in Ukraine. (Too bad Portillo’s isn’t international. But hey, Starbucks made it, and we have their competitor, Gloria Jeans, not far from us in L’viv.)

I used to be a big resolutions person, but since my slogan for December has been Simplify, Don’t Complicate, I am trying to eliminate tasks from my life, not add them. So resolutions are out, but one thing I feel convicted about is Bible memorization. So I do resolve to spend as many hours in Bible memory as I do watching television this month. Thank goodness for i-Phone apps. I have started with 1 Peter 2:2-3 for 2012. It seems practical, as I feed Dylan each day. As he goes crazy for his milk, I realize that I want to be that zealous for God’s word. How cool that Paul even uses that imagery.

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it, you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.

We attended Blanchard Alliance Church on New Year’s Day and received a beautiful send-off from our church family there. A church leader stood and blessed us with words of Psalm 20:
³ May he remember all your sacrifices
   and accept your burnt offerings.
⁴ May he give you the desire of your heart
   and make all your plans succeed.
⁵ May we shout for joy over your victory
   and lift up our banners in the name of our God.

May the LORD grant all your requests.

 ⁶ Now this I know:
   The LORD gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
   with the victorious power of his right hand.
⁷ Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
   but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
Can you hear the horses
‘Cause here they come…

Dylan is laying quietly in my lap. We are listening to Florence and the Machine, doing a year-end finance recap. Ben’s somewhere in Michigan; Marissa is down for the night.

I breathe a sigh of relief. I think Christmas is over. Our Christmas started on December 23 and ended today, December 27. This is the norm for us, but we haven’t been back to the US for Christmas since 2008, so we’d forgotten!

December 25 and 27th celebrations were both memorable and cut short because of my babies’ vomit. On Christmas, around 6 & 7pm, Marissa threw up. 48 hours later, Dylan projectiled all over. (Trust us, this was no spit up.) This was our first bout with a stomach virus and I am certain it won’t be the last. (Much thanks to Ben’s sis, Sara and his mom for their help, since their festivities were also cut short, both of their houses were barfed in by our little ones, and our nephew Logan was hit with the bug 24 hrs. after Marissa.)

Don’t get me wrong, this little drama did not ruin our week. We saw so much extended family, relished being together, and particularly enjoyed watching Marissa and the kids open presents. Our “big” gift for her was mini accessories for her baby dolls, such as a baby pack’n'play, stroller, and bouncy seat. People have been so generous; our sitter, Yulia, is going to freak out at all the stuff we will “Meest” (name of our courier service) back home to Ukraine. I’m just thankful to have clothes for Dylan (when we left on 9/28, we had literally NOTHING) and to be able to fit back into mine!

A highlight for me this week was taking big family pics. We got both kids big picture frame collages so that they can look at their family whenever they wish. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Kristy’s Mom’s side of the family – December 22nd

Ben’s mom’s side of the family, with Grandpa Malten – December 25th

The Entire Williams’ side (Ben’s dad) of the family – December 26

This was the year of Marissa being afraid of being in every picture away from Mommy and Daddy. (JV Kids photo, all pics with Santa, now this) but every other great-grandchild could handle it. Many memories were made, to say the least.

This was the Christmas of feet-jams (what we called sleeper pajamas when growing up). Here are Marissa (16 mo.) and Dylan (6 weeks) with cousins Braedan (6), Logan (4), and Mason (6mo.). Next Marissa is with cousin Nicholas (12 mo.) It’s Marissa with all boys…even all the grand-dogs are boys.

I’m behind on emails, on to-do lists, on Christmas shopping, on pretty much everything. It would be natural to blame it on juggling a 5-week-old and a 16-mo.-old, but the truth is that it isn’t them at all. We just completed another seminary course last week. This one was on the Pentateuch (in Greek) or The Torah (in Hebrew).

It helped us dig into Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy (first 5 books of the Old Testament). Even mature students of Scripture can tend to glaze over books like Leviticus or the details of the Jewish law, so this helped us read with a fresh new insights. This book shares a view of the Jewish Torah from a Christian perspective. We liked the class – it was the timing that was difficult, with a baby being born during week 5 of 10, plus 2 challenging papers that were due since Dylan arrived. Most free time went to school work, but now we’re done and on vacation, visiting Ben’s dad and step-mom, getting some r&r, which includes reading WHATEVER we desire! Here’s the latest:

Our friends Gwen and Gary from CA got me this devotional. I’d heard of it b/c a bunch of JV ladies were obsessed w/ it. It is a beautiful 365-day read of daily advice, as though Jesus were writing it to you. I’ve done it for 8 days consecutively, and I am hooked. Here is a little teaser and my favorite line from the book so far:

“I equip you to face whatever the day brings. This sacrifice of time pleases Me and strengthens you. Do not skimp on our time together. Resist the clamor of tasks waiting to be done. You have chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from you.” Jan. 2 (Luke 10:39-42)

A friend recently lost her mom and had lots of questions about heaven, which partially led me to this book. I am usually quite skeptical about near-death encounters and peoples’ claims on heaven or hell (we had an incident at English camp one year with the book “23 minutes in Hell…don’t get me started). However this book stretched my faith, my beliefs in radical occurrences, and went back to the foundation about what the Bible says about heaven. I read it in 3 hours, which is my kind of book during busy seasons of life!

I am almost done with this book, another easy read. This one is great because it attacks the sin of fear and anxiety in the American heart. It is a good reminder for all of us – being afraid of school shootings, Muslims or other races or religions, terrorists, cancer, dying, predators, natural disasters, illness, financial troubles, job losses, and so on. The author shows how we live in a world plagued by fear, and how God challenges us to be people of faith who are not shaken by things that are fully in the control of our sovereign God. If you look at the root of a lot of sin, fear is at the heart (laziness, anger, apathy, a lack of forgiveness), and this book helps us overcome this.

Lastly, this is a book that Ben is currently reading for the JV Council. They read great books that are current and relevant to the context of ministry, life in Christ, and what is happening in the world. This book addresses the social media phenomenon and how big changes occur through such a channel. One of JV’s main focuses in the coming years will be to use social media as a mass means of evangelism for the glory of God.

Here is an article from our pastor. He loves writing articles, and I help by translating them into English so he can send them on to his international network. (If you’d like to read others, let me know. I have an archive of about 15 recent ones from 2011.)

I have chosen to feature this article because:
This is a remarkable project that we and some of our youth and Ukrainian church leaders are behind, in order to broadcast the Gospel to over 2,000 prisoners each day in a local penitentiary. Please pray for our ongoing efforts to record more Christian music, sermons, and testimonies (all in Ukrainian) so that these prisoners can hear about new life and decide to choose Christ.

The prison is located in the very center of the city. On the property today are incarcerated anywhere from 600 to 3,000 people, according to a director of the penitentiary. Also on the premises is a prison hospital and cells for those inmates with life sentences. Our church has done ministry in the prison hospital here for many years. Regularly we visit cell upon cell in the hospital, bringing the Word of God to those who are suffering in sin. According to the law of Ukraine, we have absolutely no access to the prisoners who are under investigation in the cells of this prison, but God has solved this problem in a really unique way!

Ten years ago we proposed a project to the prison administration. We offered to set up radio transmission hardware that would provide broadcasting access to every cell in this prison, as well as in the hospital, in the corridors, in the guards’ rooms, and in the cells for the inmates imprisoned for life. However, in the drawn up contract was the following clause: “each day from 7-8am and 7-8pm, we will have air time for the preaching of God’s Word to all corners of this prison through this radio broadcast.”  We also purchased all of the hardware and supplies needed to set up this network.

Each morning the prison workers turned on the audio cassettes called “Faith Comes By Hearing”. Once in a while the cassette recorders would break, so we bought new ones and tried to repair the old ones. Over the past ten years of Christian broadcasting in the L’viv prison, many of the speakers have been tampered with by the prisoners. (Some have been destroyed, others have had wires torn out.)

Once again the question arose regarding a full repair of the entire transmittal system. This would require the purchase of 160 speakers and transmitors, 1000 meters of wire, a repair of the amplifier. Plus there was a need to purchase new equipment that would allow broadcasting via CD rather than cassette.

We kindly thank American missionaries, Ben and Kristy Williams, who actively serve in our church and who assisted in the purchasing of this new equipment for the prison. In total we bought 160 speakers, 160 transmittors, one kilometer of wire, a new central radio system, and also repaired the amplifier.

However, we also deeply value our face-to-face time in the cells of the prison hospital, where we regularly visit. Now a deputy of the prison often visits our church with his family. Here at New Life, it would not be strange to witness a former criminal and a prison director embracing!

The blog is one of the first things to suffer when we are in adjustment mode and transition mode, but luckily our month-by-month pictures have not!

Dylan is now 5+ weeks. He’s a doll. This picture captures one of the best things about him recently ~ we’re getting very close to the sleeping- through-the-night phase! If he is all cuddled up in his little cocoon after his last evening bottle, he’ll sleep for a good 6 hrs. straight. 2 nights ago he slept from 8p-4:30am!

He is sweet and only fussy a few times a day. The challenge is feeding, changing, or helping Marissa when Dylan needs undivided attention or is having his bottle w/ the slow spout (which means a 45-min. feeding.) I think he looks just like Ben did when he was little.

Marissa is doing well with him. Sometimes she pinches him out of excitement or will lean on him too hard when he is in the car seat (she either wants to climb in with him or play with the straps and buckles), but overall, she really loves him. You can tell by the kisses she gives him and by the way she treats her little baby boy doll. She loves her play kitchen and animals of all shapes and sizes, especially live ones. We are adjusting well and enjoying the time with two of them.