Ministering in Ukraine
Hello, and welcome to the internet home of the Sobie family! My name is Scott, and our family has a desire to serve the Lord by serving the people of Ukraine where Oksana, my wife, was raised and where we have felt the call of God. This web site is an opportunity for us to post regular updates so that you, our friends and prayer supporters, can effectively know how our family is doing, what we are doing, and how you can pray! May Jesus Christ be honored and glorified! Thank you, and we hope that you enjoy our site!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
The Wind of Change
It was an astounding comeback.
Five years ago, in what was called Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, Victor Yanukovich exited the scene of Ukrainian politics in what appeared to be finality and disgrace. The Moscow-supported presidential candidate who had, in his youth, served two jail sentences for assault, had his seeming victory overturned after his followers were accused of fraudulently rigging the election. Hundreds of thousands poured onto the streets to protest, and Mr. Yanukovich was
Ukraine
Population: 48 million
Percentage of Evangelical Christians: 2%
Life Expectancy: 66 years old (77 years in the U.S.)
HIV/AIDS: 1.5 out of every 100 (highest in Europe)
Suicide rate: Twice as high as U.S.
Abortion rate: 80 abortions for every 100 births (sixth highest abortion rate in the world)
Thanks for coming by our website! Please sign our guestbook, and if you’d like to email us, we’d love to hear from you!
PHOTOS OF THE MONTH
- Please continue to pray with us for Carlee, Nathaniel, and their children as Carlee continues to need God’s touch in her battle against breast cancer. She is in Ohio undergoing radiation treatments now. More details can be found on their site and on my sister, Danielle’s site. Thank you for helping us pray!
- Please pray about my upcoming meeting with the Balki village council, where they want to ask me some questions about our ministry center. Pray that God will give me wisdom to speak and favor in their eyes so that God might receive glory.
- Pray for God’s blessing and wisdom in leadership for the new president of Ukraine,
And pray that God will bring spiritual awakening and conviction to Ukraine.
Click on camera to view photos
Thank you so much for your prayers for our family and ministry!
As many of you know, the presidential elections were a major event here in Ukraine this past month, and as can
be seen on this map, Ukraine was quite split in its choice of a new president. The populous, ethnically Russian, eastern part of Ukraine (where we live - the blue section) garnered the most votes, however, in support of Victor Yanukovich who is set to become the new president of Ukraine.
Please pray that the Lord would guide and direct this new administration, and that the freedoms that Christians and missionaries have enjoyed in Ukraine will continue.
We’ve had a good share of cold, icy, and snowy winter weather which is kept us mostly close to home during the past weeks. I’ve been able to pass my exams and complete my second semester of Biblical Greek as I continue to pursue my ministerial studies through distance learning with the help of the internet.
We also have continued to lead Sunday evening Bible study services in Dneprorudniy, and have kept busy with home education, having guests in our home, and reaching out to Ukrainian friends on a personal level.
As you will notice in our prayer requests, I was supposed to have had a meeting with the local village council. It was canceled and is being rescheduled due to weather, but they have asked me to appear before their council and answer some questions about the ministry center that we are preparing to open. I have a good relationship with the mayor and some of the council members in our village, but we see this as a very important step in building good relationships, being a witness for Christ, and sharing with them our vision to serve the village of Balki and show God’s love in a practical way. Thank-you for your prayers.
Thanks, too, for stopping here and checking out the news with our family! It’s so good to know that we have friends who pray and support us in this work to which God has called us!
EXTRA!
Our good friends, David and Elizabeth Shields, who visited us earlier in the summer have posted the daily journal of their time here in Ukraine! You’ll enjoy browsing through it and getting a flavor of our time together!
Victor Yanukovich
We thought that some of you might enjoy hearing the kids sing a song, so yesterday, during our devotions, we recorded this especially to share with you here on our website! Click the notes on the right to listen or download...
