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, July 10, 2010
Building Relationships through “The Lighthouse”
"The Lighthouse 516" ministry center in our village has very quickly become a hub of activity and curiosity! We have prayed daily that the Lord would bring people who need to receive His Word and be exposed to a Christian witness, and not a single day has gone by since the opening when people have not stopped in.
The most frequent visitors are village children with names like Sasha, Nastya, Vanya, Ira, Valya, Daniel, Yegor and many others who eagerly come by not only for the Saturday
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 pray with us that God would bless the seeds that are being planted through the work at the ministry center. We are already praying about the next step, and thinking about using the August VBS to be a springboard into starting a Sunday school ministry at the “Lighthouse.”
- Pray for Joel and Loriann, the team from America, the Dneprorudny church believers, and us as we prepare for the coming VBS outreach in less than a month. How we need the help, wisdom, provision, and blessing of God!
- With the start of our village ministry, we have had to decline many invitations for other ministry opportunities, but there is one that we have decided to accept: Immediately after the VBS, I have been asked to teach a two week English / gospel outreach course at the Zaporozhye Bible College in a nearby city. I appreciate your prayers as I prepare for this special summer ministry.
Click on camera to view photos
Greetings, dear friends! The summer seems to be moving by so quickly!
The first month of ministry at the “Lighthouse 516” center in our village has been exciting and eventful. More and more people are finding out about us, and there seems to be a constant stream of visitors.
On Saturdays, we have two groups for children’s English lessons, and each lesson involves a time of sharing God’s Word with the young people.
The library has drawn children and adults alike and many people just stop in for a free cup of coffee or tea, and to get a Christian calendar or other gospel literature. Some just enjoy sitting in the attractive library room or on the park bench outside by the flowers Oksana has planted.
Everyone is amazed that all that is offered and done is free of charge and this opens up many doors to share about the love of Christ. Parents are happy to have a “hang-out” for their kids that provides a good influence.
We enjoyed a special visit and time of preparation with our friends, Joel and Loriann Matchak who work with the IBLP seminar ministry in Kiev. We will be hosting a ministry team from a church in California that they will bring down in August for a VBS which will include children to whom we are reaching out at the “Lighthouse.”
Oksana and I enjoyed a nice little one-day “work/vacation” as we took a quick trip to Kiev to purchase more children’s materials for the ministry center (which we could see were desperately needed). We enjoyed the time together and accomplished what we needed to.
David and I went to Donetsk, about five hours away, to get rear windows installed in our new van (since it has previously been a cargo van). It was a great father/son time, and in spite of all the special places we visited and things we did in
the city, I was touched when David told me, “Papa, my favorite part was just talking with you so much!”
Tomorrow, July 11, little Dalina turns six years old, and it is so hard for Oksana and me to believe how fast the children are growing! They are all (except Damara) taking piano lessons and doing well, and also enjoying every chance they can get to play outside and enjoy the warm summer weather.
We thank you so much for remembering us in your thoughts and prayers. We love Ukraine, but we sometimes feel so far away from you, our friends in America. It’s always such a joy to hear from you and know you are praying for us.
God bless you richly!
