Information newsletter "Community of the Good Shepherd" 1-2018

At the end of December, the youth hosted the Christmas Mandarin Party, and on January 13,
they held Ball Masquerade. The main focus of these two events was a proclamation of Jesus
Christ, an explanation of the purpose of His coming to earth. The youth had a great
opportunity to fellowship and to have a little bit of fun. Well, how can they go without
a holiday like this? The pastor conducted two very interesting meetings with the youth of
the church, where they heard the testimony and discussed some issues of a bachelor life.
Every Sunday, there were parental meetings in the church, because any upbringing
supposed to be initiated in the family. The participants discussed the God's purpose of  
marriage, the biblical understanding of happiness and the worship to God, and how the right understanding of these things affects our children.

For the first time Ukraine celebrated Christmas on December 25, along with the whole
Christian world. We were very excited to hear the chamber choir "Dominus," who came
to visit and serve us with their singing. The newborn Christ was glorified in poems ... and
in prayers. Andriy Bortniychuk had the opportunity to share the Word with us. And the topic
of the sermon was “The Amazing Glory of Christ,” in which the preacher has unfolded
the matter of human nature of the Savior. On January 7, the feast of worship continued.
There were poems and songs about the birth of Jesus Christ, Nativity plays, performance
by the chorus of bells and contests for children. At the end of the holiday, all the kids
received gifts. This time we had a guest-speaker Alexander Kalinsky, who offered
the congregation to consider the birth of Christ from a different angle, as the climax
of Son’s fulfillment of the Father’s will. “Thy will be done” is the major tenet of the victory
of faith. The Son of God proved that the will of God is the best scenario of life.



Outreach Camps  

Three sisters and a brother from our church took part in the all-Ukrainian English camp.
There were 100 participants, mostly unbelievers and youth, who studied 1John, under the title
“How Do You Know that God Is Your Father”? As many as15 people came forward and
openly stated that they want to become children of God and that God would become their
Father. Many also testified that their view of life had changed and that they had never heard
about what they were studying here. God demonstrated His overwhelming power! Thanks
to God that we can participate in His big plan of redemption! In mid-January, the Christian
floorball team along with friends and acquaintances went to the camp in the Carpathians.
God has created a good team and entrusted people, both young and older ones. Please pray
with us for the people who heard the Word that it will challenge them and cause the conflict
in their hearts so they would reconcile with God!



Ministry to Women and Moms of Special Needs Kids 

Recently, there was held a women's meeting in the church on the subject "The Choice that
Provided the Future," as well as the first church Christmas celebration for a large group of
mothers who raise children with special needs. Sisters of our church are actively involved
in the ministry of these incredibly resolute and brave moms. These women, oftentimes on their
own, are supposed to take care for special needs children, basically around the clock. For most
of them, this is a great challenge to come together and stay for long. For some kids, this can
be a real trial. However, we were overwhelmingly grateful to God for this short time that we
had together with these people. We pray for the further development of these ministries.

Thrilling Events in Families

This winter, there were engaged two young couples of Oleksandr Mariuca and Olga
Syroochenko, Andriy Kazmikur and Kateryna Alyonova in our church. The first couple held
their wedding on January 12th in Chernivtsy. Another exciting event happened on January 7th,
and it was the birth of the daughter Alicia into Alexander and Katerina Vashchuk's family.
We thank God for His wonderful design of the family! We turn to the Lord with prayer that
His grace and truth will preserve marriages and protect the children that He gives.