And now...a word from Kellie!

I can't believe that I am sitting in our apartment in Kiev only 9 days after leaving Detroit. . .and I am rejoicing in God's gracious kindness to us. The transition has been very smooth and enjoyable.  Our apartment is very nice and extremely clean!  We have windows (a screen on only 1, but I guess flies don't come up to the 4th floor very often!) and wonderful cross-ventilation.  So it has been pretty cool here even when it gets in the upper 80's during the day.  I have a very small front-loading washing machine (very common here) and have already done several loads of laundry that I have to put out on our enclosed balcony on a drying rack to dry.  I love all the fresh air, and we have not missed air conditioning (at least I haven't).  We have gone to the outdoor market about every other day and bought all kinds of beautiful fresh fruit and vegetables.  We also were able to do some stock-up shopping with Rick and Marilyn Perhai last weekend at a place like Sam's Club.  It is a little frustrating not to be able to talk with people, but tomorrow language school starts, and I want to really pour myself into it.  The people are very nice and patient especially when we buy something and are not sure about how much to pay them.  We went to a wonderful small church plant this morning that is just a ten-minute walk from our home.  It looks like a place that we will want to continue to be a part of.  They are very loving, joyful people, and we had a great time of fellowship.  We were also impressed with the depth of the preaching and the evident commitment to glorifying Christ by savoring Him. Thank you for your notes and phone calls.  We will try to get back to everyone, but it may take a little while.  We can tell that you are praying much for us.  Thank you so much.  Jerry will add some pictures to give you a little more idea of the culture around us.  We love you and are thankful for you.

With joy and anticipation,

Kellie

Online...Finally!

After several failed attempts, we are finally up and running on the Internet. This first blog will be a bit brief, as it is going on 2:00 AM here in Kiev on Sunday morning--but I really wanted to get this blog going. We have had a good week just getting set up in our new apartment, shopping at the neighborhood market (more on that later), getting familiar with our surrounding community, meeting fellow team members (Steve and Nancy Wooden, Andy and Holly Rist, and Dave and Sharon Benzel) and even our Ukrainian neighbors. It has been a busy but refreshing week. Tomorrow (in just a few hours) we are off to church at a new church plant (called Faith, Hope, and Love Church) and then lunch with another SEND couple from my hometown of Indianapolis (Mark and Charlene Canada). We hope to get several more pictures online by tomorrow to give you a feel of life here in Kiev. In the meantime, we are gearing up for language school which starts on Monday. Thank you again for your notes and prayers. Even though we have had some difficulties getting online, all in all we have had a very blessed first week. Most of all, we are thankful for the Gospel! No matter what our circumstances are, our standing with God is firm because of Christ's righteousness in our behalf.

Exulting in His grace,

Jerry and Kellie

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