The wedding!

Just a photo and some information on the newlyweds; Igor and Julia. They spent some time in the Carpathian mountains and have found an apartment of their own to live in. The wedding had alot of American influence and was very similiar to a wedding in the U.S. It is traditional, though, to carry flowers to the wedding. After the ceremony, you have a chance to give the bride and groom your blessings, the flowers and other gifts. Julia had a "sweets" reception with ice cream, tortes, jello, cookies, and fruit. It was beautifully decorated and many were in attendence. Kyle got to drive the couple around town as they had their pictures taken in various parks. Maya was able to make some "heart-shaped"cookies for the reception. It was a blessing to be a part of this joyous occassion!

What's going on in ministry...

There will be a volunteer team coming from Florida next month. This group has come to Ukraine several times. Next month they will be doing an ESL blitz in Novoyavirvsk. We will couple the English lessons there with Bible studies to try to spread the gospel in this village that is located halfway between L’viv and the Polish border. Please pray for us and for the team as we make final preperations.

Kyle attended a conference in Kyiv last week that was quite informative. Neil Cole is a pastor church planter from California. He has started a movement of multiplying churches that has started more than 500 churches all over the west coast, Asia and Africa. His methods are quite revolutionary. He has taken the parables and teachings of Jesus and made application to church planting. Kyle is hoping to find ways to put into practice the ideas and methods that he outlined in this conference. The book that Neil wrote outlining these things is “Organic Church”.

Grapevine Church-September

During this month, Grapevine Church organized an English as a Second Language (ESL) Week of classes. These classes were coupled with Bible Study and now are being followed up with an effort to start small group Bible Studies. Many of these participants joined us in worship on Sunday afternoon during that week. A group of volunteers from Arkansas joined us in making this effort possible. The leadership of this church spent many hours preparing for this and we are blessed to see how they are serving our Lord in this capacity. "May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among the nations." Psalm 67:1, 2

Grapevine Church

Most recently, a church has started in Ukraine called Grapevine which is now meeting in a rented hall. This church was formed from a group of people participating in English Clubs and now has 8 new baptized believers! Many of these believers have been believers for a long time, but just recently made the commitment to follow in the obedience of Baptism. It was a great experience, one like I have never been a part of...seeing these people baptized in a quarry on a damp, rainy day. As Kyle preached the second Sunday after this service, he brought meaning to the experience.

We arrived that Saturday afternoon at a military type place where a large pool of water was dug out. It was near a forest where the plan was to cook-out as part of the celebration. It was raining on and off with a mild rain, but as the baptism service began, the rain began to come down heavier...you could hardly hear. As soon as the last person was baptized, the rain almost came to a cease. Not long after, the sun came out and the rain stopped. Kyle mentioned that sometimes life is like that day. Life is full of storms and the rains will come, often harder when we are being obedient. As we continue to walk in faith, though, God will carry us through and one day the sun will shine again...with new brightness.

Recent Camp Experience

We had a wonderful camp at the Sea of Azov. This camp was put on by the Grapevine Church planting team from L’viv. We had more than 50 campers including the leadership team, and the group of Americans. We started our day with morning exercises and participated in lots of games. Our church planting team got some great experience leading Bible studies and witnessing to friends and acquaintances. And we had a great group of Americans helping to help with the Bible discussions. The team of 6 from Alabama included an 81 year old and an 83 year old! We also had two college students from FL, who stayed to work at the sea camp after helping with us with a kid’s camp in Horodok. So, if you are timid about serving God overseas...don't be...God calls all ages from all walks of life!

Praise the Lord, at the camp we had 10 people repent. We are having Tuesday evening meetings to let everyone from the camp keep up their new friendships. Many of these people are ready to continue in Bible studies that we will begin this Fall. Please pray for us as we try to follow up with this intense week of Bible study.

A little about our family...

Kyle and Maya have been married for 11 years and from the very beginning God implanted in their hearts a love for missions. What started with summer mission trips to Jamaica, evolved into a thirst for something more. After a number of years of moving back and forth from city to city, job to job...God finally said it is time. They were ready to go to the mission field as career missionaries with the International Mission Board. Leaving family, friends and keepsakes behind they traveled with two boys and one on the way to L'viv, Ukraine.

L'viv is a a beautiful city with a lot of Polish influence yet struggling financially from being under communist rule. As they landed in a frozen terrain, God continued to make each step clear..."yes, this is where I want you".

The stories of struggles in the first year are not uncommon to hear among missionaries...many times the years contain numerous struggles. The McLane's are no different. With 2 children born on the field and full-time language study, shuffling tasks became endless. Learning how to live, how to serve, how to best be used by God...well, you just call it part of the race. "We have troubles all around us, but we do not give up. We do not know what to do, but we will not be defeated." This Children's parapharsed version of 2Cor. 4:8 puts it all in perspective. Now, be assured, that we have been filled with blessings, adventures, joy, laughter and fun. In many ways, our struggles are minimal compared to what many of you have faced the past couple of years and are facing. Be encouraged faithful one...stand firm and do not give up!