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Belgorod News - August 2010 Dear Praying Friends, Even with the hot temperatures, there has been a steady stream of patients and several of our physicians/dentists worked through the 2-week clinic vacation in late July. All of them have received the good news that their licenses have been renewed but because the official paper that the license must be printed on is not currently available, they are still waiting to receive the actual documents. June 30 was the last day for our former lab technician, Larissa Petrovna and God graciously immediately supplied Svetlana Derevencha to begin the next day. Svetlana previously worked in this field but with five children, has been busy at home for a number of years. Our former lab physician, Lydmila Perendishley has been able to orient her to our lab and then later in July during the clinic vacation, Svetlana made long daily trips back and forth to a regional hospital in Odessa for further training. We praise the Lord for this provision and also for our continuing work with a large private laboratory in Odessa that allows us to offer a wider range of lab tests than what is otherwise available in our town. As is often the case, church attendance dips a bit in the summertime here, as people spend time at their dachas, either at the beach or out in the country. As they often have guests from all over Ukraine as well as from other countries, our members have unique opportunities to share God’s love and truth in that setting with lots of folks who may never go to church but who really need to know Him. Since early July, the Betin family has befriended Anya, the mother of a little boy who was a near-drowning victim brought to shore near their small beach house. Sergey helped with the resuscitation efforts and with getting him to the hospital in Belgorod. Though he has come a long way, little Elijah still has a long way to go in making a full recovery. He has now been transferred to a healthcare facility outside of Kiev, closer to their home. Galeena Bulybenko, an organist from the Kiev Conservatory of Music was been here with her daughter Olga for several weeks and she gave a concert at the church on August 15. Though temperatures were soaring that day, it was encouraging to see many new faces. Earlier in July, some visitors came with an unusual request – to use our church sanctuary for a wedding. A young man who is originally from this area and has lived for quite some time in Russia, came back to Belgorod with his fiance for her to meet his family. They decided to marry here and their pastor from Russia came to perform the ceremony. Also in July, one of the local charismatic churches approached the session about the possibility of using our church building for their worship service and other weekly meetings. This will be decided later next month. It would be a blessing to their church as well as helping our church in meeting expenses. Prayer Requests: - Praise the Lord with us for Olya, Dr. Nelya’s daughter, who completed medical school with honors this summer and will be doing an internship in OB/GYN in Kiev. Yaroslav Martinetz, the son of Lena, our physician’s assistant, will be beginning his studies at medical school in Odessa this fall. Please pray that the Lord will bless these young adults as they seek to serve people in the field of medicine. Please also ask the Lord to bless Oksana, Dr. Lilya’s daughter, and her fiance Nikolie, who will be getting married here in Belgorod September 5. And though it’s hard to believe, Masha, Dr. Anya’s little girl is heading off for her first day of school September 1. - Please pray for the completion of the church building and for skilled teams to help with specific projects. We are looking forward to a visit from Don and Nancy Underwood next week; Don will join in with other men of the church in finishing the 3rd floor rooms. A short-term ministry team from St Andrews Pres in Columbia, SC plans to come in October, helping with the spiritual building up of the church. - Please continue to pray for Dr. Lyuda Perendishley, the laboratory doctor who provides oversight for our lab as she is recovering from surgery and radiation therapy for cancer. Please pray little Elijah’s further recovery and for his mother, Anya. - Praise the Lord with us that the Lukoshkins received their US visas and please pray for them as they make plans for the trip. - Praise the Lord with us for recent generous gifts for the church and clinic building funds. Please pray that the Lord will continue to provide through His people the necessary finances for the church and clinic ministries and for the church building project. The remaining financial need for the church building is ~$60,000. The need for the clinic building (further insulation of walls/plastering/painting) is ~$7,000. We know that these are difficult economic times for many and as we praise the Lord for your generosity and faithfulness through the years, we ask Him to help you with your needs as well. Financial gifts for church ministry (Account #87700), the church building (Account # 095978), clinic operating expenses (Account #095983), clinic building renovation (Account #90962) may be sent to: Church/clinic web-site: www.christianclinic.org
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