May 1, 2018

Dear Friends,

Fast and furious! That sums up the first four months of 2018 for us, and there is more to come in May. Teaching at Word of God Bible College in January and February, then a month of almost non-stop teaching in Brazil and two weeks in Zambia has filled our calendar – not to mention the hours of prep time and travel. In Brazil I spoke in nine different cities, usually two hours a day, but sometimes four and even eight hours in a day!

Conference at Camp Betel, Sousas, Brazil

After returning from Brazil I went to Lviv in western Ukraine for a two-day conference with Mark Musser where I spoke about the biblical roots of the holocaust.
 
A week later I headed to Zambia from April 7-23 for two weeks of teaching in Livingstone, Lusaka, and the village of Chipembi. Typically, the conferences there are six hours a day. We packed a lot of teaching into our time in these three places.

Recently discharged Army Ranger Captain, Tyler Beck, joined me there and did some of the teaching. He is a young man with a heart for missions who wanted to get a first-hand look at a mission field. It thrills me that there are Americans in the generation of young adults who are doctrinally oriented who want to serve the Lord. After returning to his home in Houston he wrote:

Having never personally observed missionary work, I am very grateful for the opportunity to watch, listen, and participate. Especially relieving to me was the confirmation that many missionaries and pastor-teachers stay mission focused, not allowing themselves to be distracted by the worldly needs of their audiences or themselves. I was thrilled to see the 100% focus of you and your fellow soldiers on the accurate communication and clarification of Biblical truths, rather than focusing on changing Zambians’ worldly circumstances. We know that wherever there is yearning to understand the Mind of Christ, there will be sound Bible teaching. The Lord is utilizing your sacrifice to build up the faith of many Zambians. I distinctly observed this while meeting many of their church leaders and witnessing the eagerness of the renewal of their thinking with regards to some specific issues…. I could tell, by their frequent applause in some cases, that they were very ready to finally hear sound teaching on those issues.

Teaching in Lusaka, Zambia

Back in Ukraine I will teach a two-week course at the Bible College and then an all-day conference at Word of God Church. Then we will wrap up the school year and head to the States for our summer ministries. Phyllis has been working hard to coordinate all of our travels and speaking engagements.

Mark Musser, board member for JFM Ministries since its inception, has been doing a lot of work here recently. Mark worked with us in Belarus for a year and then was with us for six years in Kiev. After planting and pastoring a church in Olympia, WA for 10 years, he and Caren and their son Paul will be moving to Yerevan, Armenia at the end of summer. Caren will be teaching at an international school and Mark is hoping to establish a beach head for ministry there. Also, because of its proximity to Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, he will be able to work even more closely with our ministry.

He finished two weeks of teaching at the Bible College here in Kiev and then went to Belarus to minister to the church we there many years ago. If that were not enough, he also led a Discipleship Makers conference in a town not far from Kiev and headed up a two-day conference in Lviv, Ukraine. His wife and daughter joined him here and taught women’s conferences. Amazing family!

We are so grateful for your prayers and your support. We are privileged to serve the Lord in these different areas where we have opportunities to teach the Word of God. But we know that we are merely part of a much larger team, and we could not do this without you. Thank you.

Finally, I will share an urgent prayer request.  Please read the following article and remember to pray for Ukraine. https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12228/ukraine-russia-invasion

By grace alone,

Jim

Dear Friends,

We bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people, for unto us a child has been born, and unto a Son has been given. His name was called Jesus, for He saves His people from their sins. So we proclaim the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. That light is the light of men, the true light that lights every man coming into the world. Thanks be to God for His ineffable gift.

The year’s end is upon us. How the past 12 months have rushed by. Of course, time isn’t going any faster and perhaps we are all going slower, but one thing is certain, our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. Our time is a gift from the Lord to be used wisely to accomplish His purposes and we are commanded to redeem time. As stated in the epigram:

Only one life, ‘twill so be past
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Whatever time the Lord gives us in the future, may it be spent to accomplish His purpose. This will, indeed, make it a happy and blessed new year.

But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God. My times are in Your hand” (Psalm 31:14–15).

Upon our return to Ukraine from our summer tour in the US, we immediately immersed ourselves in the work. We opened the new school term at Word of God Bible College with my teaching a course on soteriology, the doctrines of salvation. In October I taught a survey of the 12 Old Testament historical books. Right after that I worked with Mark Musser and his team in teaching Galatians and Life of Christ modules of DM2 material. Then it was off to the east of Ukraine (five and a half hours on the express train) to the city of Kharkiv to teach a two-week course, “Man, Sin, and Salvation” at Ron Minton’s International Baptist Bible College.

Phyllis and I went to Israel for two weeks to attend a Christian Leaders conference held at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. This was a 50-hour conference designed to educate Christian leaders about the Jewish holocaust that took place under Adolph Hitler. This was a very sobering conference as it presented facts about the slaughter of more than 6 million Jews as well as prevailing attitudes among Europeans at the time who knew what was going on and either approved of it or chose to ignore it. The anti-Semitism seen in Hitler was also widely held among many other nations in Europe. In fact, more than one fourth of the Jews were murdered, not by the Nazis but by groups and individuals living in countries occupied by the Germans and who were sympathetic to their philosophies.

The single driving force behind Hitler’s schemes was his long-held hatred of Jews and an intense desire to rid the world of every single one of them. In his book “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle) he declared that he believed he was doing the work of the Lord in seeking to destroy the Jews. Just before he committed suicide he wrote in his last will and testament:

“… But before everything else I call upon the leadership of the nation and those who follow it to observe the racial laws most carefully, to fight mercilessly against the poisoners of all the peoples of the world, international Jewry.”

Set down in Berlin, April 29, 1945, 4:00 o’clock
~Adolf Hitler

We see anti-Semitism rising again in Europe, and, indeed, around the world as evidenced by the recent vote in the UN against America’s declaration that it would move its embassy to Jerusalem. Ultimately this is a statement of rejection of God and His choice of Israel. Yet, it is through Israel that the world is to be blessed, for the Savior of mankind came into the world a descendent of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David.

May the Son of Abraham, the Son of David, whose birth we celebrate at this time of year, bring you peace and joy, confidence and stability, and purpose of life in the coming year.

One chilly and rainy evening while we were walking back to the hotel in Jerusalem, I noticed a long line of media vans with satellite dishes sprouting from the roofs. I commented to Phyllis that something was going to happen. Then we were surprised to see the American flag being projected onto the walls of old Jerusalem, followed by images of the Israeli flag, and then both together. We didn’t know what was happening at the time, but it was thrilling to see it, nevertheless. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me to get a photo. When we got to our room we turned on the news and watched President Trump make his announcement of moving the American embassy to Jerusalem. We did get a couple of pictures the next day which express the attitude of so many in Israel.

Our schedule for the coming spring is ambitious, with two courses to be taught at Word of God College, three weeks of teaching in Brazil and two weeks in Zambia. What a privilege we have to teach the Word, and what mercy the Father has bestowed on us in giving us the health and the stamina to continue serving Him.

We thank all of you for your prayers, your encouragement, and your support.

Only by grace,

Jim and Phyllis

September 2017

Dear Friends,

We have begun our 25^th year as missionaries in eastern Europe. We have been so blessed over the years as we have had the privilege of serving the Lord in this part of the world. The greatest joy is in seeing people come to faith in Christ, growing in their spiritual lives, and then going on to serve the Lord in their own ministries, both in Ukraine and in other countries.

We are back home in Ukraine after a summer of ministry in the US. We visited 24 churches in 12 western states in 2 months. I drove the entire circuit (about 10,000 miles) except for a flight to Ohio. The Lord provided us with a good vehicle that performed beautifully, even in the 118 degree temperatures in Phoenix, and the high mountains in Utah and Colorado.

We started out in Texas, visiting several churches and also getting to spend a little time with our son and his family. Then we headed west, going through New Mexico, Arizona, California (where we spent some time with our daughter and her family), Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, and finally back to Houston. It was wonderful seeing so many friends along the way, as well as being introduced to some churches we had not visited before.

We had a wonderful visit with Ukrainian friends who are now living in Vancouver, Canada. At the end of tour I flew up to Ohio to attend the 55^th reunion of my high school class. So many of them have gotten to be old folks. I, on the other hand . . .

We got out of Houston just as the hurricane Harvey was coming in. I am grateful we were able to change our tickets and get a flight out before they closed the airports. There were some hitches along the way, and some of our luggage got lost for about a week, but we are so glad to be back in Kiev and working in the ministry here.

Our Bible college has started. I have already taught the first two-week module. We have six new students who all are very enthusiastic about studying with us. This is going to be another very full teaching schedule for me. I will be teaching six different courses at the college this year, plus a course at another seminary. In addition I will be doing some teaching with Mark Musser in DM2 conferences here in Ukraine. In addition, in November, Phyllis and I will be taking a 10-day course for Christian leaders being conducted by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.  I am planning to go to Zambia in the spring, as usual, and to Brazil if we can work out the schedule.

Word of God Church is flourishing under Ukrainian leadership. I still teach some classes, but most of the teaching is now being done by Ukrainian men who were trained in the ministry here. They are doing a wonderful job in administration and leading the church in evangelism, prayer and ministries.

We give thanks to our heavenly Father for all of you. We are so grateful for your prayers, your encouragement, and support. You make it possible for us to carry on this work.

By grace alone,

Jim and Phyllis

May 31, 2017

Dear Friends,

We are almost finished with our spring semester. It has been a whirlwind of activity since the first of the year. I taught two courses at Word of God Bible College, and two courses for the International Baptist Bible College. One course was in western Ukraine and the other in the far east of Ukraine. I wrote earlier about our trip to Brazil (April News Update), and after that I spent two weeks in Zambia and Malawi.

It was my first time to go to Malawi, a small country just to the east of Zambia. A couple of pastors had attended our conference in Lusaka, Zambia last year and invited me to come to their country. I flew into Lilongwe and took a six-hour bus ride to Blantyre, after waiting at the bus station for four hours. Needless to say, I was rather travel weary when I arrived. After a night’s rest I got up the next day and taught 8 hours. The next day was a bit of a breather with only 4 hours. The response was really positive and they clamored for more. I hope that I can return next year. In Zambia I did two week-long conferences, one in Livingstone and the other in Lusaka. I taught a survey of the Old Testament. Most of the people knew nothing about the Old Testament except for a few stories, such as the flood, David and Goliath, and Daniel in the lion’s den. They were really excited to learn about Israel, the divided kingdom, the captivities, and the reason why the prophets wrote their books. They asked for a New Testament survey for next year.

I just returned from my trip to Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine. This is one of the cities where there was fighting with Russian-backed separatists a couple of years ago when Russia took control of the Crimea and invaded eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainians have control of the city now, but it is only about 10 miles from occupied territory. There were numerous military check points along the road, and my train was two hours late getting in because we had to wait on sidings a couple of times due to military trains taking precedence on the railway.

The pastor of the church where we held the conference had an interesting story. When the fighting was taking place, he sent his family to Kiev. He stayed behind to be with the people of his church. One night he had gone to the church to be on watch. He got a call in the middle of the night that his house had been shelled and was completely destroyed. Had he stayed home, he might have been killed in the shelling. The church building was never attacked, but a school building not far away was taken over by the Russians. This became the site of a short but fierce fight between the two armies. The Ukrainians prevailed and the insurgents were defeated. What has not been widely reported in the news is that the conflict continues. Just in this month there have been at least 27 deaths and several hundred wounded. Since the conflict began there have been close to 3,000 deaths and more than 20,000 wounded.

Below is a photo of the school building. To my right is the pastor of the church. The other two men are pastors from western Ukraine.

In Lysychansk I taught eight hours a day for three days in a row, and finished up with four hours on Saturday. That is a bit of a challenge, but I was so pleased with the students who endured to the end. The response was enthusiastic and they want to know when I can come again.

Word of God Bible College will end the school year this week. We will have graduation ceremonies on Friday, our annual banquet, and then a special service at Word of God Church on Sunday.

Phyllis and I will fly to the US on June 5th and start our summer schedule. This year we will be visiting churches in the western part of the US, going to churches in Texas, New Mexico, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Colorado and Oklahoma. We are going to squeeze in a short vacation and see our children and grandchildren along the way.

Click here for our summer itinerary and the churches we will visit. You can also find this on the Calendar on this website.

We praise the Lord for His mercy and grace that allows us to serve Him. We have been blessed with the health and strength to carry on. We are so grateful to all of you, for your prayers, encouragement and support. Thank you.

By grace alone,

Jim & Phyllis