15,000 Missionaries

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Nathan

In 2022, not long after Russia attacked Ukraine, 15,000 missionaries arrived in Lviv. No, not the flesh-and-blood variety, but the paper-and-ink variety. More specifically, we are talking about 15,000 copies of Good and Evil, which shares the Gospel through a comic-book style presentation. There was no way we could distribute that quantity of literature ourselves, so we set up a program whereby individuals and organizations could request copies for their own ministries. Over the past two years, those books have slowly filtered out all across Ukraine into the hands of people that we never would have been able to reach ourselves.

Fast-forward two years, and we recently went to the shipping depot to send out the last batch of Good and Evils to our distributors. Pray for these paper-and-ink missionaries, that their message would be heard clearly. Also be praying for more of these missionaries. If God provides, we would love to do another printing.

Briana, Jonathan, David Steele, and I unload boxes of Good and Evil out of the Steeles' van at the shipping depot

Speaking of Good and Evil, about 200 copies were sent out, not to individuals, but to libraries. While 200 copies may not be that many, the fact that they are in libraries means they have the potential to be read by many more people. Be praying for these copies of Good and Evil, that they would be checked out and read by many!

Quantities of Good and Evil come and go, but one thing that has remained a constant through our years of ministry is our correspondence course, Bible First. I thought I would pass along a couple comments from people recently requesting enrollment. Here is the first: "I found the course through Google and I would like to study but I don't have the ability to travel places. I'm a mom of a big family, but in my free time, I would love to work through the course." And the second: "I found this course on the internet, because I have a desire to learn more about God's Word, so I will be able to live according to God's will."

In addition, our friend and fellow ETO board member, Ben Sargent, will be arriving in Lviv for a two-week visit at the beginning of November. While he is here, we plan to do some outreach with a fellow believer, Oleksandr Illchenko. Oleksandr has been one of our more active Good and Evil distributors, and has a lot of experience working with people that have been affected by the war, so it will be interesting to see how that goes.

War News

I'm happy to report that not long after our last report in early July, the power situation began to improve, to the point that we have been mostly outage-free for the months of August, September, and October. Unfortunately, even without additional Russian missile attacks on Ukraine's power infrastructure, as the temperatures drop, demand for power goes up, increasing the chances of future outages.

Speaking of Russian missile attacks, thankfully, things have been quieter on that front as of late, with the notable exception of the missile attack on Lviv on September 4, with a couple of the missiles striking our old neighborhood, killing several, and damaging buildings we used to walk by every day.

The aftermath of the September 4th Russian missile strike on an apartment building (left side of the photo) on the street we used to live on. One of our favorite grocery stores is right across the street (short dark gray building).

But striking even closer to home was the news that our good friend and former ETO staff member, is missing (likely killed) in action. Be praying for Serhii's wife, Natallia, and his children, Francishka and Julian, as they process not only the grief, but also the uncertainty of what really happened to their husband and father.

Family

Lydia is a little over two months into an herbal anti-Lyme protocol, and we are excited to report that she is finally starting to make some progress! She still suffers from aches and fatigue, but it's nice to see some glimpses of the old Lydia coming back!

As far as my health goes, over a year of detoxing has finally brought the levels of various toxins (heavy metals and toxic chemicals/molds) down to normal levels. The next step will involve optimizing some hormone levels, as well as some other things. Like Lydia, I am thankful to be feeling somewhat better, and am looking forward to more progress!

Thankfully, the rest of the family is doing well, and everyone is growing like weeds! The cooler fall weather has been a treat after a hot summer, and we are soaking it up as much as we can before winter sets in.

Kiera recently celebrated her first birthday!