Happy New Year!

With the Christmas tree finally put away, our lives begin to get back to normal. We have celebrated Christmas on the 25th, Father Christmas, New Year's(picture of the "girls" at the New Year's Eve party), and Ukrainian Christmas on the 7th(family photo). In Ukraine, they have a traditional dish called Kutia which consists of wheat grain, raisins, nuts, honey and poppyseeds. Each family's recipe is always a little different. Maya and Scotland really enjoyed it on Christmas Day, but the rest of the family is not too crazy about it! On the 7th, Kutia is the first thing to be eaten and then the other 11 dishes, which is meant to represent the 12 apostles of Jesus. The braided bread we served represented the Trinity and the first star to appear in the sky was a reminder of the Star of Bethelehem. As we celebrated the many traditions of Ukraine, we also prayed for the people here who are living by traditions instead of knowing a Savior personally. We talked about the many traditions that families here often participate in and why we don't agree with them. One such, is setting a place setting for the deceased, placing gifts near icons and others. After the evening meal, children begin to carol throughout the neighborhoods and we were greeted by the first group after a time of prayer. We continue to pray for the truth of God's Word to be made known in the hearts of Ukrainians and that the lost would come to know Him as their personal Savior and Lord.

We were glad to be able to share the New Year with our church family, but it was an "all-nighter!!" It's hard to imagine that most of us stayed up the whole night, but it was a lot of fun too. We played games, ate (of coarse), sang and prayed together as we praised God for another year. May it be a year that will be filled with ministry opportunities beyond our belief!

The holiday season was a great time to share with our neighbors and friends, baked goodies. With some of the "sweets" a Bible and leaflet were given. May God's Word be read and not return void. Also, Maya has been able to share with a new friend many truths of God's word concerning fasting, prayer and other Biblical topics. At first this Ukrainian was a bit stand-offish, knowing that we are missionaries, but as time progressed she has began to ask questions. After a conversation, Maya set her at ease by assuring her that she did not come to Ukraine to "convert" her to her own beliefs...God does the converting. That the truth lies within God's Word...encouraging her to understand for herself the truth of salvation. She belongs to a traditional Greek Orthodox church...pray for her and many others who live by traditions instead of a relationship with a Risen Savior!