Greetings, dear brothers and sisters,
News from the Bible Institute.
God has blessed us with the new academic year at the Bear Valley Bible institute - Ukraine. This year there 5 students on the program. All of them and their families are from the territories where the active warfare is taking place. We are trying to provide some financial aid for them and pay their rent. By taking care of the physical needs we let the students study and devote themselves to the educational process without distractions. We are grateful to the brethren and congregations in the USA who provide the opportunity for our students to be get training and become the qualified preachers in Ukraine.
If you remember the history of our Institute in Ukraine it was founded in Kramatorsk and from 1997 to 2007 it rented a place from a private college and started training preachers. That was the time period of church growth in the Donetsk region. Almost every city would have a congregation and there were dozens of baptisms every month. Then the Institute moved to the city of Gorlovka and it started a new chapter in the history of the Bible Institute. And the building in Kramatorsk that we used for 10 years is now destroyed by missiles. Unfortunately Satan destroys what's dear to us and has value for us.
The first subject that our students had was Hermeneutics (taught by Dennis Sopelnik). Now Jim Sherman is teaching The Scheme of Redemption and Family Life. These are important courses necessary for the future ministers of the church.
We are also starting the Masters' program for our graduates. We have 6 students as of right now and we are in the process of developing the schedule for them. This will be the first recruitment of the last 5 years. We are in constant need of Ukrainian Instructors and for this reason it's very important for us.
News from Bela Tserkva Church of Christ.
We are trying to spread the Gospel with the help of food packages distribution. A lot of people are signing up for their turn and we are using the contacts as the opportunity. Also we ship the food packages to the terrorists that were reclaimed after the occupation. Mostly to the people we know personally and the people who are connected to our Christians. This is also a good way to demonstrate the Lord's love.
Last Saturday we had a seminar for our students and the church members on Apologetics. It was conducted by our American brother Michael Houts who works for the NASA. It was very interesting and educational.
Our government is preparing us for the hard winter. Most likely there will be shortages of natural gas, electricity and water because the Russians keep destroying the infrastructure of our cities with the missiles' strikes.
We ask you to keep praying for us and for our Instructor Valentin who is serving in the Military Forces of Ukraine. Please also pray for the speedy return of peace to our country.
Last month I had to have a knee surgery connected with meniscus tear. Please pray for me as the post surgery recovery is accompanied with some difficulties.
Thank you for your help and support. May God keep you.
Your brother,
Dennis Sopelnik