Despite what JD might tell you, I am not taking this out of context. These are the exact words spoken as JD looked over the lunch options. And just like JD, there's been a lot of heart change happening here during our stay. Many brothers have heard of the expositional preaching philosophy for the first time. Some commented and thanked for the clarity and approachability of...

Dear Gateway FamilyGreetings from "somewhere" out in the frozen tundra of Ukraine called Bil'che, near the city of Lutzk. Yes, it is cold, between 15-28 F, but nothing that we were not expecting. Well, it has been a full and hard week of ministry so far. We finished up our conference on the outskirts of Kiev hosted at a camp/conference center owned and run by the Scriptur...

I know! I Know! The title of this update doesn't make any sense, does it? But you need to know that Gateway has a new celebrity in town and his name is Jay Z well, that is what the brothers have been calling JD throughout this week. Not because they know that there is a rapper by the name of Jay Z, but because in the Ukrainian tongue it is extremely hard to pronounce the ...

Okay, no trains but plenty of buckwheat muffins. Pastor Rod and I knew we were in this for the long haul as soon as we were presented with a bag full of buckwheat muffins from Yuliya. Nevertheless, after an overnight plane ride with limited sleep, we needed the pick-me-up and buckwheat never tasted so scrumptious at the time. Buckwheat aside, we finally arrived at the camp...

Dear family, Thank you again for your prayers. We arrived at home safe and sound and I am recouping before going back to a normal routine of life. First of all, I can't tell you how much Alex and I are grateful to be part of Gateway. Being able to go back home to Ukraine and serve was a really rewarding experience, not to mention, encouraging. Something that impacted me...

There's nothing sweeter than being home. Family, friends, your own bed, and cheeseburgers... But, being away from home allowed me to ponder upon our eternal home: God's Kingdom. It also pointed me toward the implications of missions, particularly this trip, and the goal that one day we will all bow down and worship the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. Our time in Ukraine remi...

Well, although we are all packed and ready to catch the plane in just a few hours, I wanted to send you a final update on our last couple of days. On Sunday we all attended Salvation Church where both Roman and Vovo are pastors. Roman is not in Ukraine due to family matters, but Vovo kept us focussed and was a great encouragement. We really enjoyed meeting the people of S...

Today was our last day of the conference. The attendance was a little lower today due to the fact that a wedding was taking place in one of the churches and many of the brothers needed to be available to attend. Still, the day was full of warmth, hard work and helpful reflections on our conference. The men finished up their small group studies on 2 Timothy 3 and 4 and then...

The follow article was written a couple of days ago - but we have been without wi-fi... ______________ It has bee a couple of days since I shared some thoughts about our time here in Rivne, so I want to keep you updated. Yesterday we took a day trip to Ostrih (pronounced Ostroh), a town outside of Rivne that is significant for both its literary and military history. It ...

12 February 2016 7:30am (I wrote this last night, but our internet was down so I wasn't able to post) Greetings! It's 6:30pm here on Friday, our last full evening of instruction. It's been a joy to see the pastors grow and interact in their small groups. Pastor Rod has done a great job in laying the foundational principles of Simeon Trust, and the men are always fully ...

Today is Thursday, February 11, 2016, and I am waking up having had a full day of activity and ministry on Wednesday as well as a full night's sleep. God is good! [Our Hosts: Albina Peter] Yesterday, in the morning we went on a walk into downtown Rivne with our host, Albina and Tanya Evans, an American missionary from Maryland. Tanya came to serve here in Rivne seven ...

Due to the work schedule of most of the men our conference is taking place in the evenings from 5-9 p.m. Yesterday, as the conference continued, we had our first "small group" time where each of the men wrestled together with the text of 2 Timothy. It was so extremely encouraging to watch six groups of men huddled around small tables, diving into 2 Timothy tentatively, eag...

After a long 24 plus hours we finally arrived close to midnight on Monday in Rivne. Most of us rested well on the plane, given the usual traveling circumstances. Yuliya did a great job in helping us maneuver seamlessly throughout airport customs, as we were well on our way to getting picked up in under 30 minutes from when we landed in Kiev, Ukraine. Alex (or Sasha) picked...