While we all love teaching, we are discovering that getting out of the classroom environment and into the “real world” experiences of our students is both valuable and enriching to our teaching. Each trip provides us with opportunities to better understand the context of our students’ lives and ministries.

This “on-the-job” setting can help our teaching to be more “case” specific and enables our advice and encouragement to be more practical and concrete. Our most recent journey took us about 80 kilometers east of Zhitomer to a village called Zeremlya, where KTS student Volodia serves as pastor. It was a busy, but worthwhile weekend.

We began on Saturday morning by conducting a “mini” Bible conference in the nearby village of Bratislav (where Volodia’s father has served as pastor for several years). The teaching time was followed by a wonderful meal prepared by the women of the church. After the meal, professor Andy Rist had the opportunity to talk with several aspiring young church leaders about the basics of sermon preparation. At least a couple of the young men expressed an interest in seeking further training and wanted to know more about KTS.

The next day, we preached at Volodia’s church and had a great time of interaction with the people both during and after the service. Our fondest memories, however, were the times of eating and sharing with Volodia and his family. They were gracious hosts and served us generous meals. His two daughters sang for us and recited poetry (at our request, of course). And there were heartfelt discussions about the ministry challenges in his church, which gave us the opportunity to encourage him, pray with him, offer ideas and suggest resources for further study. We returned to Kiev with a greater awareness of the needs of one of our students and a greater passion for the task God has given us at KTS.

From the KTS Compass, Spring 2012

On Sunday, various people participated with songs and poems. We had several visitors, which was wonderful! Pastor Sasha preached an evangelistic message, after which Dima also shared the gospel. He invited those interested in repenting to come forward and pray for salvation. One lady prayed to receive Christ and four others prayed for forgiveness for sin in their lives! Praise the Lord!

And, of course, no Easter celebration would be complete without sharing our Sunday meal together! Everyone brought food, so there was quite a feast. Tina also made her delicious Easter bread (Paska), which we all love.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Jesus is Risen, and He is Risen indeed!!

This year according to the Russian calendar, we will celebrate Easter on April 15.

Finally, it seems like spring is coming to Tambov. It’s nice to see the ice melting and the snow disappearing more each day.  There is a lot of water around, but we hope it will pass quickly.

Thank you very much for keeping us in prayer. The following are a few specific requests:

Ministry
The regional pastor of Tambov recently asked us to come to a smaller church in Tambov to help them. We are preparing an Easter musical with the youth in this church.  We will present the musical in our church as an evangelism outreach and then we will have opportunity to present it in a couple of local orphanages.  Having this kind of an ‘event’ is what opens the door for us as a church to have a ministry in the orphanages.  We are grateful for this opportunity to share the gospel.  We are still going to Mychcap, a town 180 km from Tambov, to visit post orphan kids to continue our relationship with them.

Rehab center
We are so glad to see lives being changed through the study of God’s word for 7-8 hours a day for 2 month. For example, Dasha – a 24 year old drug addict finished this program and is now back home in Moscow living her new life in the Lord. Zhanna and Olya, alcohol addicts from Tambov, also started a new life after they completed the rehab program.  There are also the discouraging realities of addiction as well.  Andrey and Anton went through the program but went back to drugs, please pray for them.

Tuesday Bible study group
We are still growing, 12 to 17 people, and new people are coming.  Some are coming as follow up after their time in rehab, most of them are new believers, but there are a few unbelievers who come also. Five of them want to be baptized this summer. We are studying 1^st John right now about God’s truth and God’s love. As they apply what they are learning, they are witnessing to friends and are very excited about how God is using them. 

Ladies Bible Study
Alesya continues to meet on Sunday afternoon with a group of ladies from church who have been studying the book of Philippians.  She is encouraged to see several of the women learning to study God’s Word using the Inductive method, doing their home work and participating in the group study. 

Family
This year brings us to our second Home Service with SEND International.  We will be in the States for 5.5 months starting June 12 to December 1. This is the last school year for our youngest son, Erik. The summer will be busy visiting supporters and in August, settling Erik at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

Please pray with us during these busy days of ministry while we also prepare for the time we will be in the States.  We want to connect with as many of our partners as possible.  We also, of course, look forward to having our family all together at times during the months we are home.  We need wisdom to manage our time wisely.  Thank you again for praying and partnering with us in the work here in Tambov.

Because of Him,

David and Alesya Andrusyak

Friday was a mustard seed day with Meg.

We began planting seeds a year ago when we met Meg after teaching her business writing class. After class, she followed us downstairs and abruptly told us she wanted to be our teaching assistant for the summer English program. We responded that we didn’t pick the TAs and she’d have to discuss it with the dean in charge. We encouraged her to do that, realizing her English was excellent and she could be a big help to our teaching staff.

When summer came Meg was one of several TAs but not the one in charge. I suspect she thought she should be in charge, but again, it was not our choice. She asked to sit in on a class of professors, but then caused disruption by handing notes to the professors correcting their English grammar. I had to talk with her and get her to back off. She was NOT the teacher, I reminded her, but an observer, a teaching assistant.

“But they were wrong!” she balked.

“Not your responsibility.” I reminded her.

As the weeks passed Meg began to soften a little. She walked a large museum with my husband on a field trip and let him discuss the possibility of a creator, all the while protesting it was not scientific. By week three she was even willing to be a “bridesmaid” in a mock wedding. A few days later she took on a major project of duplicating DVDs of program pictures for all the participants.

Friday we met Meg at a subway stop and went to the aquarium. We walked, laughed, talked, and enjoyed a day with fish. The closest we got to a Kingdom discussion was our expression that we didn’t think fish just evolved.

Over lunch we learned how complicated the entrance tests are for grad school, and how long she’s been studying to take them. We found out that she’d love to study abroad, but she helps care for elderly grandparents who have a hard time navigating 15 flights of stairs to market. We parted from an even softer Meg with hugs and a promise to meet again.

In email follow-up, she expressed concern that she wasn’t as good a tour guide as she’d like to be. We responded that she was a great tour guide and it was time she quit demeaning herself. We told her we’d be praying for her exams. A quick response thanked us for praying for her and for our encouragement.

Mustard seeds. Little ones planted day by day, month by month. One day I am sure there will be a bush big enough for the birds of the air to find rest.

When we went to the temporary housing in Ishinomaki and visited Mrs. Omura, she was crying as she told about this, and sorrowfully told us, “I should have been swept away along with my husband…”
Aside from listening, we comforted and encouraged her.

She lives alone in a temporary housing unit, cold in the winter temperatures, with only one quilt, which covers the heated table in the daytime and her body during the night. We gave her a blanket that the Taiwan Chinese Christian Relief Association (CCRA) had sent. Before leaving, we prayed for her. After the prayer, she said tearfully, “Thank you! Thank you! These aren’t tears of sadness, but tears of gratitude.”

Lord, You promise that You are “near to the brokenhearted” (Ps.34:18). May Your closeness be known by these disaster survivors in Japan.

-Tina Lin

Timothy Yoder
Saturday, we drove to the top of a mountain to get a panoramic view of Skopje. We also visited the center of the city and saw a beautiful statue to Alexander the Great (Aristotle's student!). Really had a nice time seeing some of the city and getting acquainted with the SEND team. The PBU students went to a youth meeting where they got to share their testimonies. Jon and Jeremy got invited to play soccer with some of the guys Sunday night.

Timothy Yoder
Today, Sunday, we met in the church in the eastern part of the city. Anni led the worship, and I preached. It was a great morning of fellowship and encouragement. The church is about 35 people - lots of smiles and warm wishes in the Lord. Today we are meeting with the SEND team for worship. Jon is going to bring a message. Things are going great.

Jeremy McAlack
Just got back from playing soccer with the boys of Macedonia! Jon and I connected on a couple goals, including a beautiful header! Soccer is one of many ways we've been able to connect to the people of Macedonia. So far on this trip I have been able to share my testimony twice. Each time has been an encouragement to me and strengthened my faith. I am thankful to everyone back home who is praying for this team and for the Jackson's for hosting us and making us welcome. The food has been incredible and yes Mom I have actually felt full and had plenty to eat, I know that is hard to believe. We begin teaching English tomorrow at 6:30pm Macedonia time. Continue to pray for us.

Timothy Yoder
PBU students shined tonight in Skopje! Jon preached a great sermon on prayer, Ashley played guitar and led us in worship. Both Ashley and Jeremy gave encouraging testimonies, and then they distributed flyers at the big university dormitory for the English classes which start tomorrow. The word is that there is lots of interest. Now the guys are playing soccer with some new friends.

Philip Jackson
Our first night of English classes went extremely well with 44 students. The students came out of their classrooms at the end seeming very pleased with what they were learning and the interesting way they were being taught.

And Tim did a superb job on the "Faith and Reason" talk back at our house starting at 8:30pm...with a question and answer time afterward. PRAISE GOD for the way it was received. One of our regular attenders who is "close" told Tim that she felt God brought him tonight...pray for V. Thanks!

Ashley Mitchell
My turn to post! =) It has been AMAZING so far! and it's only Tuesday! It has been awesome to get to hang out with some of the people of Macedonia! It was great to be able to share my testimony twice, once with the team and once with the Macedonian teens. It was cool hearing them all try to share in English as well! One of my favorite parts so far though would definitely have to be going to the orphanage to hang out with the kids! They are precious and so much fun! Our first classes were awesome as well! We went out afterward for coffee with some of the students. It was a great time of fellowship and learning about our different cultures. So excited to go up to the cross at the top of Vodno today and for classes tonight! =)

Jeremy McAlack
We started this Wednesday with a prayer meeting at 6:00am with our humble team of brothers and sisters of Macedonia. It was a great, peaceful time of reflection for all of us. It is so amazing to me that I can be sitting in a room, in another country with believers of Jesus Christ and see, with my own eyes, the work of God in the hearts of many. What a blessing it is to be an instrument of the Almighty God and witness the abundance of fruit in Macedonia. Before I left America, I had a burden for missions and had been contemplating how it would be possible for me to do Missions in the future and what that might look like for me. This trip has helped me understand that it is possible to do Missions anywhere God wants to take me. I have learned, as long as I have my faith and trust in God, He will use me in any and every circumstance to further His kingdom. I am excited to be mindful of what God has in store for me during these next few days here in Macedonia. Please be in prayer that I would not dream too little for our amazing God. As a godly man prayed this morning, "Help us all to have God-sized prayers!!" Too often I forget that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and He wants what is best for me and you. Everything that happens is for a purpose that is for His Glory.

Timothy Yoder
Pray for our Bible study tonight. After English class, I will be sharing about Faith and Reason at the Jacksons. We have been inviting a lot of people and are hoping for a roomful. We have met a lot of seekers and there seems to be strong spiritual interest among many of the people we have met.

Philip Jackson
It was sad saying "goodbye" to the team today....what a great week we had together. Thank you Tim, Jon, Jeremy, and Ashley for giving 100% of yourselves to serve alongside of us this week. God used you to open doors and make new contacts. We are grateful for your labors of love!

Thanks to the families of the above mentioned wonderful people as well. Thanks for sending and supporting them. Your contribution was equally valuable, and we will all enjoy the eternal reward of sharing heaven and Jesus with Macedonia brothers and sisters in Christ! Amen!

-Sarah Milks, SEND MK

-a village worker

When we went to the temporary housing in Ishinomaki and visited Mrs. Omura, she was crying as she told about this, and sorrowfully told us, “I should have been swept away along with my husband…”

Aside from listening, we comforted and encouraged her.

She lives alone in a temporary housing unit, cold in the winter temperatures, with only one quilt, which covers the heated table in the daytime and her body during the night. We gave her a blanket that the Taiwan Chinese Christian Relief Association (CCRA) had sent. Before leaving, we prayed for her. After the prayer, she said tearfully, “Thank you! Thank you! These aren’t tears of sadness, but tears of gratitude.”

Lord, You promise that You are “near to the brokenhearted” (Ps.34:18). May Your closeness be known by these disaster survivors in Japan.

–Tina Lin

Last week, two SEND families, the Tarters and Suzukis, assisted a Japanese volunteer organization in salvaging photographs found in the disaster area from last March's earthquake and tsunami.  Photos marred by sand, water, sun and bacteria needed to be carefully rescued out of photo albums, dry cleaned, catalogued, digitally photographed, then delicately washed with water to retard the rate of decay.  These photos would then be taken back to display halls in Rikuzentakata where displaced people could look for their family pictures. 

This volunteer organization is trying to digitize the photos so that an online library of sorts can be created. However, they were lacking both funding and manpower. Suzukis and Tartars stepped up.

Paul Suzuki says, "Our family decided to tackle a large photo album together since it was important not to get the stacks of pictures mixed up with others.  As we began to carefully cut through the faded album we could literally see "snapshots" in the life of a Tohoku family chronicled over the course of decades as a young man and woman got married, had kids, went fishing, visited grandparents, and lived life.  It was more than sobering.  I prayed that this family was still alive somewhere, that they would recover their precious memories and that someday, somehow, the hope of Jesus would pour into their lives."

An interesting perspective that I never considered before came out during our discussion: some of the guests thought that the woman was maybe a prostitute and that she might find a different way of making money since she was forgiven by Jesus. Other’s thought that she would continue in this sin because she felt lucky for not being punished when caught. The concept of forgiveness is a difficult one for many Japanese to understand. This message was not an exhaustive message on God’s forgiveness, but hopefully God will use it to whet the appetite and increase the desire to know more about the Bible and this Jesus who came to save all from their sins. 

Of the 21 ladies who came, 18 are non-believers and have little to no knowledge of the Bible and its message. I am humbled that God has given me the opportunity and challenge of explaining His message to these precious women.