Leann's Blog

Camp of Rock 8 - Treasure Island

2011-07-30T15:35:00.007+03:00

This year's theme was Treasure Island - focusing on our treasure in heaven.

We had great weather,incredible helpers,and some amazing kids. In total we had about 35 different kids averaging around 26 kids each day. We taught everyone some hula moves, to say 'Aloha' and also to give the surf's up sign and say 'kowabunga'.

Amidst all the songs, games, and crafts - we had some good story times and prayer with the kids. A lot of different kids this year volunteered to pray at the beginning and end of camp, where in years past, only 1 or 2 children would give it a try.

One day I was sharing about joy and love, and showed the kids how Jesus had all the true love that existed in the world. But instead of keeping it to Himself, He decided to share it with each one of us. So each of the kids took one little piece of the heart. That was one thing they remembered on the last day. So, I'm glad! Jesus -keep planting and growing the seeds in these kids hearts and their families as well.

It is hard for me to believe that it has already been 8 years of doing our VBS/Kid's camp. I have seen so many of these kids grow up before my eyes. Just two weeks ago, a Ukrainian friend of mine was in a taxi and the taxi driver (who was in his early 20's) said he remembered how there were foreigners who did a kid's camp every year in his neighborhood. He remembered singing songs with us and how he won a new soccer ball at the end of camp. I know I remember my Vacation Bible School days so well, and now my roommate and I are the ones that these kids are going to remember for years to come.

Just wanted to put up a post since it's been so long and since camp just finished!

Blessings to you today!

-Leann

Ukraine 2010

2011-03-14T05:35:00.000+02:00

A look back at the work in the Ukraine in 2010!

Enjoy!

What you think about Jesus is the most important thing in the world...

2010-09-06T10:37:00.000+03:00

So who is HE to you?

What you know and believe about Jesus defines who you are and how you relate to the Lord. And because of your view of Jesus, that also affects the way you interact with others.

I was reading back through some of my old journal entries and I came across this one that I wrote a year ago to the Lord. It encouraged me to reread it, so maybe it will encourage you too.

You are faithful,

You are my righteousness,

You are my acceptance,

You are wholly everything to me,

You are my Father,

You are my Savior,

You are my keeper,

You are my joy,

You are my LOVE,

You are my best friend,

You are the lover of my soul,

You are my one and only,

You are my all in all,

You are the beauty that I see,

You are my song,

You are my strength,

You are my confidence,

You are my Word,

You are the one my heart beats for,

You are the air that I breathe,

You are my breath of life,

You are my living water,

You are my light,

You are my comforter,

You are my counselor,

You always listen to me,

You always understand me - better than I understand myself,

You are the one who ALWAYS loves me,

You are my banner,

You are my seal,

You are my covering,

You are my resting place,

You are my adventure,

You are exciting,

You are the author of my story,

You are perfect,

You are my perfect companion,

You are my Lord,

You are my God,

You are my Prince,

You are my King,

You are my Master,

You are the builder and architect of all my plans,

You are my pride,

You are my happiness,

You are my LIFE,

You are my PEACE,

You are my LOVE,

You are loyal,

You are faithful,

You are good,

You are beyond imagination,

You are the mystery,

You are kind,

You are gentle,

You are my hope,

You are my fire,

You are rich,

You are my provider,

You are my creator,

You are my beginning,

You are my end goal,

You are my inspiration.

There is no one else like You.

You are just,

You are calm,

You are my judge,

You are right

You are truth,

You are my bridegroom,

You are my understanding,

You are the approachable one,

You are my constant factor in all aspects of life,

You are my river of life,

You are the life-giving rain,

You are my HEALER,

You are my restorer,

You are my treasure,

You are my wonder,

You are everything to me,

You are my Home - wherever I am with you, there I am home.

Sometimes you just need to remind yourself about who Jesus is...

Spring time

2010-04-29T23:04:00.010+03:00

Spring is here. Flowers are blooming, trees are spreading out their leaves, it's even been 60 degrees!

I think I experience the same awe and amazement every spring, but it baffles me how quickly plants grow and blossom. Literally over one night, an entire tree will come into bloom with hundreds of blossoms. Or a tree will sprout it's tiny leaves -and then every day how quickly those leaves grow! It's astonishing! Then the flowers are another thing. One day you see a little green stub poking out of the brown earth, the next day it's tripled in size, and a few days later there is a tulip in full bloom!

Of course not every tree is as quick to bloom or sprout its leaves - some of them do take much longer. But they still grow so fast!

Watching the grass turn green this spring has been a good reminder that to me that the harvest is just around the corner, all the seeds planted do mature - at their time. Sometimes the transformations can be over night - sometimes they take longer. But the point is still the same - the seeds do grow! Praise the Lord that His Word never returns empty and void -but FULL!

So, here, if you will our a few of our new little "seeds":

(The children wait to greet us at the TB Hospital.)

I recently met a woman named Ella who runs a non-profit organization to help those with HIV/AIDS. She has an amazing heart and is very eager to work with believers. She asked us to help several children who are living at the Children's Tuberculosis Hospital who have HIV plus TB. Two of the girls are 11 and 12 years old, they are orphans and also gypsies - so no orphanage will take them in. We brought them the medicine they need as well as clothing. They've been living in the TB hospital for several years. Most of the children there are not orphans and come for about a year for TB treatment.

(One of the gypsy girls is pictured here - wearing the pink outfit.)

When I arrived at the hospital, there were about 25 children waiting to meet me and my teammate Amanda. They were from age 3-18 years old. And they were so excited to have visitors, they say people never come to visit. We just sang songs and shared a little about Jesus with the children. They are already awaiting our return!

(Kid's singing songs at the TB hospital.)

Here is a photo of our friends at the English Club called "Whazz up?" This is where I meet many different students from many different universities, and they are learning English! Hurray! A language I already know! But it's been such a great way to meet students - I just love it!

(Students at the English Club)

Sometimes you need a good laugh...

2010-04-13T17:34:00.004+03:00

This is a box of laundry soap that I found in the country of Armenia a couple of years back. I just now discovered it again in my room as I rearranged all of my furniture. Out from the depths of my bed fell this box....

...yes, that's right. A box of Barf.

After all, what is better to wash your clothes in, right?

In case you didn't catch that - "Barf means Snow!"

(And I'm betting Barf isn't the Armenian word for snow....)

Life is full of wonderful grammatical and English pronunciation errors here - I love it!

Sincere worship

2010-04-03T15:38:00.003+03:00

At my church here in Krivoy Rog, there is a married couple from Azerbaijan that normally sits a few rows ahead of me during services. I can't help but notice them sometimes during worship. I'm sure even words will fail, but I'm blessed just seeing them worship. He with his hands always half-way lifted in the air and she dancing or swaying slowly to the music - it just depends on the song. There's an anointing on them as they worship - and it's very visible. Every word spoken and sung appear to come straight from their spirit. It's plain to see their hearts are surrendered to the Lord.

I know them both a little bit. He served for several years as a missionary to some of the villages in southern Ukraine. I had the chance to work with him on several occasions. Every time he was so servant-hearted and radiating with joy. What an honor to work with people of such caliber.

A few years passed and at about age 45, he decided he was ready to get married. So he returned to his home country of Azerbaijan to search for a wife. Azerbaijan is a muslim nation (which is what he was saved from), so he knew finding a wife may not be easy. Also - because he wanted one closer to his age who had never been married before.

He was gone for about 5 months, but he came back with a wife. She was everything he was looking for - close in age, never been married, but when they first met, she was still a muslim. But she didn't stay a muslim for long - she gladly received the Lord Jesus as savior and was filled with the Holy Ghost before they were married.

She still doesn't speak much Russian (mainly Azerbaijani). But whenever I get the chance to stop and say "Hi" to them after a service - she always has a big hug for me, and he a gracious handshake and a huge smile. Even though she has few words she can say to me that I would understand - it doesn't matter, we are sister's in Christ!

They both just have a spirit of such joy and thankfulness. You don't meet people like them everyday. But if we take the time to look, we'd see there are treasures all around us!

Finally....back to blogging!

2010-03-31T22:02:00.002+03:00

After revamping the page a bit, I'm going to give it another go at blogging!

I know it's been a very, very long time since I've worked on my blog, but my new goals for blogging should make it happen more often! I want to blog about life in general, all the things that happen here, and whatever is on my mind - as well as ministry (of course.)

So here's to a new looking blog and a new year!

It's been a long time since I last wrote...

2009-11-05T06:16:00.003+02:00

Sorry I haven't written any recent blogs!

The nutshell update is that I am currently in America. I arrived here the 1st of September, I can't re-enter the Ukraine until the 1st of March. SO that is quite a long time. A lot longer then I would like.

Of course I love to see my family and friends, but it's hard to be separated from the ministry for so long!

I had to leave due to some changes in the laws of the Ukraine. Basically, I am required to register in the country now every three months - but when they put this law into effect, I'd already been there longer than three months. Therefore, I was unable to register and had to leave for 6 months. But this shouldn't be the case next year.

No matter what, God is faithful! He has a plan for me, and is leading and guiding me, even in this time in America.

;)

-Leann

Easter - Jesus has truly Risen!

2009-04-21T12:06:00.004+03:00

Easter was wonderful! We were able to celebrate with our friends at the English Club - we even did an easter egg roll! I was also able to attend an Easter Concert at the baby orphanage. The kids were so adorable, I thought you would enjoy seeing them dance too! Enjoy the video below!

The first of April....and still waiting for Spring to arrive.

2009-04-01T15:46:00.016+03:00

It's been a cold spring, I think we've had only two days that have even reached 50 degrees so far! But that will change soon, it has too!

Since I last updated this, I was able to spend a week in Israel with my family and some members from my church in America. We were there 10 days and I couldn't have asked for a better trip. I felt like I learned so much from my time there, I encourage everyone to go if you have the opportunity.

I truly loved the whole trip (minus the rain those first few days!) but the stand out moments would be walking where Jesus would have walked, and seeing the place He was held for the night at the high priest's home. It was very moving, as was the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Garden Tomb. Overall it was just a fascinating time and also a time to grow.

I returned to the Ukraine again on March 7th and have been trying to get back to work, but there have been some difficult circumstances to deal with. Since I'm not Ukrainian, I am unable to technically be the owner of my car. My friend Nadia, who "owns" my car is getting married this month and moving to Germany. SO, I had to switch all of the papers from her name to another friends name. And, he is a pastor in another state, so my car has been in a different city now for over two weeks. This has made it difficult to get around and do a lot of ministry. Hopefully, all the paperwork will be done soon and I'll have my car back.

I suppose it's been a good reminder of how more than half of the people in the Ukraine live, getting around on public transportation. Now, instead of a quick trip to the grocery store, it can take up the better part of an afternoon!

We've been helping out with a Canadian team that has been visiting here. Our friend Gregg is leading this team. So we joined them for a nearby village outreach day. It was a good time, I was able to minister to several Babushkas. We visited two villages that day.

Baby Orphanage: There was a two month quarantine that went on at the baby orphanage, due to illnesses going around, they just decided to keep everyone out. But today we were able to return. I was so glad to see those kids again, I've missed them! I look forward to our daily walks with them again (and hope the weather gets warmer soon.)

Sunshine Orphanage: Tomorrow I'll be joining that same Canadian team for a birthday party, it should be lots of fun. I'll try to get some photos up here.

So that is what is going on with me. Just waiting for my car! And praying about this year. I'd ask that you also pray for me and my roommate Amanda. We are losing our dear friend and translator to Germany, so after she leaves, I don't know what exactly we will be doing without a translator. We are starting to learn Russian again. I understand so much, but have trouble speaking back, especially using correct grammar. I'm not worried, God has it all in His control and in His plans. I would still appreciate your prayers for this upcoming year and what God's plans are for us.

God bless you guys!

Back in the Ussr

2009-02-19T17:26:00.002+02:00

Okay, well it's no longer the USSR....but I am back in the Ukraine. I just arrived today, and my luggage is not with me. But I've been told that the airlines will have it to me soon. It was a LONG two days, as a flight was canceled, I was re-routed through London. I ended up having 5 flights instead of four. But I made it. That is what is important.

So I am here, and as soon as I get everything back in order (apartment, car, paying bills...) then I will be off to the orphanage.

It's 40 degrees and raining here. When I arrived into the capital city last night, it was snowing. I think I'll take the rain over the snow.

God bless!

Listen to a message online that I preached.

2009-01-26T06:31:00.002+02:00

I was able to share at Crossroads community church on the 18th of January. So if you would like to take a listen, just follow the link below.

http://streaming14.finalweb.net/12/2575/2575/audio/1-18-09%20%20Missionary%20Leann%20Peterson.wma

Departure Date:

2009-01-17T00:34:00.002+02:00

Just a quick update, I have my tickets to return to the Ukraine and I am leaving on February 17th.

My Visa!

2009-01-04T03:17:00.001+02:00

Yesterday, my passport came back from the embassy. There was absolutely no problems at all, and I got the visa I was praying for. Praise the Lord!

Thanks for the prayers!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T01:52:00.002+02:00

It's been wonderful to be back in Wisconsin!

I was able to spend Christmas with my family and that is always a special time.

Since I've been back, I've been speaking at several churches and preparing to speak at a few more in January and February. Here are my plans:

Dec. 14th already was at Living Waters, what a great time!
Jan. 7th presentation at AWANA club at Zion Covenant
Jan. 18th preaching at Crossroad Community Church
Jan. 25th presentation at New River Assembly
Feb. 1st presentation at Bethel Covenant

Also, some have been asking about my visa for the Ukraine. All I know is that my passport is still at the embassy, and hopefully I'll have it next week! Since they haven't contacted me, I'm taking no news as good news! Thanks for the prayers!

I've really enjoyed seeing everyone since I've been back, it is always a time of encouragement and refreshing when I come home.

I plan to return about the second week of February to the Ukraine. I don't have a plane ticket yet, but when I do, I will keep this updated!

God Bless!

Heading to America

2008-12-02T09:15:00.003+02:00

The time has finally come! My bags are almost packed, almost.

Tonight I'll be getting on the overnight train, of what begins my long journey to America. After spending a day in Kiev, and 4 flights later (which is about 23 hours on planes and in airports), I'll finally reach Minneapolis. And I will be very tired. But I will be glad to be around English speakers and my family again, so in the end it's worth it.

These last few weeks have been very busy. I've been in Smylia twice, and been at the orphanages a lot.

I finally got all of the quilts from the "Sunshine quilt guild" distributed. Here is a photo with some of the kids from Sunshine Orphanage with their new quilts. The teachers thought the quilts were very beautiful. The kids were excited too.

And the children will really need the quilts this winter too, as the orphanages are having to cut back on everything from heat to electricity, to try to save money because of the economic crisis. So thanks to everyone who donated a quilt!

I hope to see you all soon in America!

Boxes

2008-11-06T18:57:00.010+02:00

After I wrote that last blog, and continued to stare at the boxes, I knew had to get that clothes handed out. So, my roomie Amanda and I went through and counted all the clothes (because know they need a list of how much clothing they are receiving.) And then we convinced the two guys to help us carry all the boxes downstairs and load up my car and a taxi (it actually took two trips in my car, and one taxi full.) We had to give out the clothes yesterday because Luke and Michael were leaving that night on the train, and then us girls would be left to carry all the boxes ourselves! SO, we got it done! The only thing that remains are the quilts to give out, as I want to give a few to some of the baby hospitals and orphanages, so that will happen sometime soon.

I just wanted you all to see the kids in their new clothes. They were really excited! Thanks especially to all the ladies who made hats & scarves, those were definitely favorites! Everyone wanted one!

Thank you so much if you donated clothes, money for shipping, or donated time making hats, quilts, or scarves, or if you helped to sort and box it all up. It was a lot of work, but it's finally been handed out! It was a huge blessing to the Sunshine Orphanage! The Director is very thankful to everyone as well. And I wish you could be here to hear all the children tell you "Spaceeba!" themselves.

November Already?

2008-11-03T10:41:00.008+02:00

Time sure has gone by fast! I've been back in the Ukraine for about three weeks now. And it is fall time, it is cold outside, and we still have no hot water! They turned it off in June, and have not turned it on to 'punish' people for not paying their bills. I however pay my bills, but still have no hot water.....communism. BUT, they did finally turn our heat on in our apartments on the 27th of October. I tell you, it is difficult to be bright and cheery when your apartment is freezing, and you have no hot water either! Thank God for heat! Enough of this though.

Armenia was wonderful! (Above is a few of our Armenian friends and Pastor Alex, and also Mt. Ararat.) I am so glad I went there for six weeks and really understood what it's like to live life there. It is so seemingly close to the Ukraine, yet so different. My Russian sure got a good work out, although many people don't speak Russian but can understand it. And Armenian is extremely difficult! But I'm glad we could go and be a blessing, and help to plant a new church, and speak at all the home groups and build relationships with the people. As I left I was extremely encouraged, I know the future holds great things for them. Their commitment as a church to prayer and fasting is something that humbles me. And they feel that they barely pray or fast enough! God honors the heart that hungers and thirsts for Him, so I know that there will be great outpourings of the Spirit in Armenia sometime in the coming days.

Since I've returned to the Ukraine, I've been staring at those 11 boxes of clothes sitting in our apartment. Looking through some of them, and preparing to hand them out. It looks like the time will finally happen this week to give them into the hands of the children. They will be so excited. I received so many beautiful quilts as well. I'm thankful to all those people in America who donated clothes and sent items.

I've been spending time at the baby orphanage which is located right behind my apartment building. It is a miracle, as the director can be very fickle. We haven't been there in about two years now, but once again we are able to help with the children. When I asked the director what help they needed, she told us their biggest problem was needing volunteers to help with the children, so that is what we've been doing! It's such a change from her attitude the last time I spoke with her several years ago. Praise the Lord!

Thank you for your prayers for our easy return into the Ukraine! We were very concerned after the problems we had leaving the country, but your prayers were answered as we had no problems at all getting back in.

That's it for right now. I head back to Smylia next week, and in a month from now I'll be back in America for the holidays.

Armenia!

2008-09-17T09:18:00.002+03:00

I'm in Armenia. The small country located south of Georgia, which is south of Russia; West of Azerbajan, and north of Turkey and Iran.

This is my fifth trip to Armenia. And I love it every time. Although the the heat has been pretty extreme, but God has been moving in spite of it! ;)

I've been preaching, teaching, and praying in churches and homes around the country. I've also been eating my fill of Armenian foods and drinking dozens upon dozens of cups of coffee. Coffee is what you get everywhere you go, coffee is Armenia. (Strong turkish coffee in little cups.)

I love Armenia. And I love to see what God is planning to do here. I see that I would definitely need to learn Armenian if I came here, since not everyone here speaks Russian. But most understand Russian. SO, my Russian has been getting a real work-out, as I try to speak it alot and also translate from Russian into English for some people. It's terribly difficult work, but so good for me.

Armenia is a land of mountains, and of Mt. Ararat. These people are the direct descendants of Noah. It's an old Christian nation. Many churches still perform animal sacrifices. The religion is old, and deep rooted. This is what needs to be broken through, the breathe of life needs to be breathed on this nation - so that Armenians will come into a relationship with Jesus Christ and leave all of the traditions behind.

I know the Lord has a lot in store for this land. I'm just glad to be here and helping in anyway I can.

Please pray for me and my roommate Amanda as we return to the Ukraine on October 11th. We had a bit of a struggle with some visa issues when we left, and we hope that upon our return there will be no problems.

Be blessed!

The end of Summer...

2008-08-29T01:06:00.012+03:00

It's been a while since my last blog, but I think has been due to lack of motivation due to my allergies that occur in August and September. It's been pretty miserable...BUT, I leave for Armenia on the 30th of August, so in Jesus Name, there won't be any ragweed there too, and I can breathe again for the first time in a month.

I'm really looking forward to the trip to Armenia. I will be there for six weeks working with two of my teammates - Andrea and Amanda, and we all are working with a Ukrainian missionary to Armenia. While there, I don't know all that we will have planned....but I do know we will be doing evangelism, leadership sessions, LOTS of preaching, possibly helping start a new church, and who knows what else. I'll try to update this blog while I'm there, but I really don't know how our internet connection will be there, normally it's incredibly slow. We'll see! So pray for me as we travel to Armenia and all the work that will go on there. (And also for a good translator there!)

So, what has been going on before the end of summer?

-Tommy Tenney visited - author and speaker. What an exciting whirlwind of a few days that was. I was ministered to by his preaching, so I'm very glad he was able to come. Thanks boys for bringing him!

CHILDREN'S CAMPS:

-Camp of Rock 5 - the Olympics theme. It went on for one week in our neighborhood. We had around 30 children attend, which is great. More than half of the kids were new kids who we'd never even met before. It was such a fun (and tiring) week. I was so happy to see all these new children hear the Gospel for the first time and learn how to pray. There was so much going on at Camp of Rock 5 - puppets, stories, games, songs, and even some prizes. We had a blast!

-Kid's camp in Gorodisha - This is one of the regions in Cherkasy Oblast where we work. Our team wasn't in charge of the camp, we just helped to provide the supplies to make the camp happen. I was able to attend one day of this camp, and wow, was I amazed! The materials they had were amazing- signs, crafts, t-shirts, stories that all went together! It was like a VBS in America! There were over 40 children in attendance at this camp, this is the second year they have held one in this village. I was so encouraged by the work these village ministers were doing. During the rest of the year, the leader has a Sunday School and many of these children attend. Praise God!

-Impromptu kid's camp - in a nearby neighborhood. There is a neighborhood that one of our Canadian friends went and talked with the kids once, and since then the kid's have been begging for some sort of program to be done in their neighborhood. Due to time and a lack of translators, we were able to hold two days of camp. The first day there were about 20 kids that came out, and then of course we had one old atheist/communist man come out who had to start making a big stink - trying to tell the kid's that there is no God. BUT in-spite of it all, we still managed to have a good day. DAY 2 of this camp, we were unprepared! We figured there would be about the same 20 kids back again, boy were we wrong when over 50 children showed up!! What to do? Of course we didn't have enough supplies for all the kids, but we just did what missionaries have to learn to thrive on, and that is going with the flow and using what you have. It was a bit chaotic, but it still turned out to be a great time. The kids sure were ecstatic!

SMYLIA - I've been back in Smylia twice. Once to celebrate 5 years of the missionary work going on in Cherkasy Oblast. Meaning that Pastor Dennis and his family have been there for five years now! We did some evangelism together and then had a big celebration of the work at the church that Sunday. The second time we went back, we made it out for a women's meeting. The women were celebrating one year of having a women's ministry. SO I had a great time being with the ladies and sharing their day with them.

Other than that, I've been staying away from the outdoors and the ragweed. And right now, I'm looking at all this stuff I'm trying to bring to Armenia and wondering how it will all fit in one suitcase. I'm sure it will work out in the end though, no problem at all.

Thank God for His love and for His salvation. Where would we be without Him?

Be Blessed, until later, I hope to update this from Armenia!

Kaniv Camp

2008-07-12T10:42:00.011+03:00

Last week we headed north to help Pastor Alexi open a kids camp in one of his villages. It took us over four hours to drive to Kaniv, but it was well worth the trip. Not only did we get the chance to help with this kid's camp, but we also had the chance to enjoy some of the natural beauty of the area. (It's so much nicer there than my home in Krivoy Rog! At least the nature is...)

The camp theme was, of course, the Olympics. We taught stories on champions from

the Bible and our theme verse was 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then run to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable wreath."

The first day of the camp was rather difficult, not many children participated and a few more sat around and watched. But after prayer, the following days were wonderful! By the second day we had a heap of kids and they all did a great job of participating in all the songs, stories, and games.

At the end of every day we had a Medal Ceremony where we gave medals to three children who had the most outstanding behavior for the day. It was actually a tough choice as the majority of the children all behaved so well.

We left before the camp was over and then Pastor Alexi and his helpers finished the camp. I heard that everything turned out great.

Children heard the Gospel for the first time, and that is the most important thing of all.

During the week of July 21st, we are planning to have a Kid's Camp in our own neighborhood. Please pray that it goes well. We weren't sure if we were going to have a camp in our neighborhood this year or not, because most of the children have grown up now and are at least 15 years old. But many have still been asking for us to do a camp for them, so we will.

The most difficult thing for us to do with children's camps is to come up with the ideas, we have no materials to work with, so we just have to make everything up on our own! If you or your church have Vacation Bible School booklets from the past or anything like that, that would help us with ideas, we would appreciate having those.

That's it for now! We have a big week ahead of us, on Monday we have Tommy Tenney arriving for half the week, (Author of the "God Chasers" books.) as well as several other guys. And we also have to be planning for our kids camp at the same time.

Prayer Requests

2008-06-21T16:11:00.005+03:00

Prayer Requests:

-For the glory of the Lord to fill the Ukraine!

-For hope to fill the hopeless.

-For salvations, deliverance, healing, freedom, and joy!

-For the doors to remain open into this land.

-For my Russian language skills to continually improve.

-For health, spiritual refreshing, continual revelation, and financial provision for myself.

Подготовлять Еду (It's time to cook food!)

2008-06-16T10:47:00.008+03:00

I recently spent a day with the oldest girls group at Sunshine orphanage teaching them how to cook. In reality, we provided the supplies and got a cooking lesson as well. After all, I'm no Ukrainian cooking guru. Luckily, there is a lady who was willing to teach us all about making vareneky. These are like a dumpling, often referred to English as a perogie.

On this day we made two types of vareneky: potato and tvoreg (a type of Ukrainian cottage cheese) filled. After they are all made, they get boiled -and then you eat them with sour cream on top.

Lessons in cooking may seem very basic, but if we didn't take the time to teach them, these girls and boys would end up graduating from the orphanage and never knowing how to cut bread!

We spent a good afternoon talking, laughing, rolling out dough, and in the end eating the fruits of our labors. The girls really enjoyed it. I asked them what their favorite part was, and it was of course the eating of the vareneky.

I tried to make vareneky on my own in America once, but now I've learned a thing or two more in case I ever attempt it in the future.

Gone Baptizin'

2008-06-16T10:46:00.003+03:00

Just got back from a trip to Smylia (3 hour drive north of Krivoy Rog), where we've been working with Pastor Dennis (whose last name is hard to pronounce) for the past several years.

This trip, we (Amanda and I -which is the entire Ukraine team), spent a day sharing at their leader's meeting - which is comprised of all the local village pastors that work in different regions who are under Pastor Dennis' ministry.

I was asked to teach on how to preach a sermon. It doesn't sound overly interesting, but they sure appreciated it. Most of these village ministers have little to no training, so tips on how to prepare a sermon were very helpful.

After that we headed off to do a baptism service for several new believers. The river was dirty and smelly, but the Lord can even use unclean water to represent the death of our "old man" and our resurrection into new life with Jesus Christ.

We did a lot of singing and praying around the river, I also had the joy of being bitten by many fire ants (never knew they lived in the Ukraine), but all for the Gospel!

Seriously though, praise God for these believers who made a profession of faith and I'm glad I was a part of it. And also that I was able to baptize them in Russian!

Now I'm back in Krivoy Rog and am planing to go to the market tomorrow to buy clothes for some of the orphans before they head off to camp next week.

Ok, until later, Be Blessed!

Ministry Goals

2008-06-15T00:31:00.003+03:00

My personal mission's statement is "My desire is to live each day in the knowledge of Christ and to always grow closer to His heart. I want to be breathing, thinking, living, knowing, speaking, meditating on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to bring other Christians into a deeper walk with the Lord. And I want to see those who don't know Him, to come into relationship with Him."

In the Ukraine, my focus is on:

-Building strong, healthy churches in the villages of the Ukraine. Doing so by equipping leaders for the ministry and helping them in any way possible.

-To see the needs of orphans provided for, and to see them mentored and taught about Jesus Christ. And to ensure a network of Ukrainians who will always be able to help them, even after they graduate from the orphanage.

-To reach university students through the English language, by participating in a local English Club. Then befriending them and sharing our faith with them.

-To travel to surrounding nations, such as Armenia and Georgia and began ministry there with established churches and Ukrainian missionaries.

These are my main goals, but I also do more things like Children's ministry, youth ministry, teaching, preaching in local churches, etc. You've got to be ready for everything as a missionary.

Credentials

2008-06-15T00:23:00.004+03:00

For those of you who are interested in the educational and professional side of my ministry.

I attended FIRE School of Ministry in Pensacola, Florida. The president is Dr. Michael L. Brown, who has written numerous books and been a prominent figure in reaching the Jewish community. FIRE was birthed out of the Brownsville Revival - the leaders saw a need to equip people for ministry whose lives has been transformed in the revival.

FIRE school, Church, and missions organization are non-denominational.

I graduated from FIRE School of Ministry in May 2002 with a degree in practical ministry. I went on to complete a third-year internship program.

I then became a licensed and ordained minister through FIRE, INC., which is the licensing branch of FIRE School.

I am a missionary out through FIRE International, which is FIRE school's mission organization. It is headed by Dr. Josh & Tobi Peters. FIRE International is an ECFA accredited organization. And there are currently around 200 missionaries on the field around the world.

How I got to the Ukraine

2008-06-15T00:09:00.005+03:00

If you read my testimony blog, you know my story. But what I didn't say is how I got called to the mission field and to the Ukraine.

My entire life I loved to travel, it was always in my blood. I went to Kenya with my best friend and her family (who are missionaries) for several months when I was 15 years old. It was an eye opening experience. And from that time on I planned to travel with my profession. (Although at that time, my profession of choice was going to be an English teacher in a foreign country, but God changed all that! Praise Him!)

So, as I went to Bible school at FIRE School of Ministry in Pensacola, FL, I knew I was going to be a missionary. I knew that was the calling I had on my life. I didn't know where though. During my school years, I went on a month long mission's trip to Cameroon in West Africa. It was a life-changing trip. I thought for sure I would graduate school, do my internship and head back to Cameroon. But God had something else in mind.

As I did my third year internship, it involved two semesters of classroom, and one semester on the field. So, I was supposed to go somewhere and work with some of the FIRE International missionaries for three months.

There was a team in Holland I was praying about working with, but in talking with the guys on the team, I discovered one of the guys was planning to go to the Ukraine. I thought, Ukraine is probably better than Holland - and it was the Lord.

This guy was only planning to be in the Ukraine for two months, but we (five of us) all ended up staying for five months instead of two. And I've been here ever since. That first year of our work as a team in the Ukraine began in the summer of 2003.

That first week in the Ukraine was scary, it seemed like everyone was always yelling at you and I just didn't know about this place. But by the end of the first week, I knew this was where I was supposed to be.

To be honest, I must tell you that during my first year at Bible School, I bought a large map of the world and put up in our apartment. I remember standing and looking at it, and I told God that I would love to go anywhere in the world, absolutely anywhere, except the former USSR! And where do I end up, in the former USSR! But I'm loving it and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I really believe that God knows me better than I know myself. If He would have given me the desire to go to this part of the world, I would have probably just gone and it wouldn't have been His timing. I could have ended up hating the former USSR and struggling with God about it when He called me to minister here. BUT, instead in His great wisdom, He just drew me to the Ukraine and revealed His calling after I got here.

I also want to let you know that I don't view being a missionary as a "job"or as my "work". Yes, being a missionary is my profession, but it's my entire life - ministry.

To tell you briefly how the first guy on our team came to the Ukraine was while he was working in Holland, he got on a train one day and met another missionary. This missionary did work in Holland and in the Ukraine. He told this guy how he should come to the Ukraine and he'd introduce him to a pastor friend, and that is what happened. And because of that chance meeting there has been a team in the Ukraine for the past five years and we've seen so much happen - healings, salvations, deliverance, new churches, and orphans mentored. (Just to mention a few.)

SO, now you know how I got to the Ukraine. And, I hope you see from my story, how you just need to be open, and let God be God, and take you were He wants you to go. It's really the only way to live! :)

My Testimony

2008-06-14T20:58:00.004+03:00

I grew up in a small town and I lived in the same house my entire life until I left for college. I was raised in the church (several different ones throughout the years), and had parents who were believers. My life was good, my family was good, I was blessed as a child.

During high school, my life changed a bit. Still, I was always a "good kid". However, once I got a job, I began to make sure that I worked every Sunday, as I was sick of the church. I felt like what I read in the Bible wasn't what I saw in the church, so I didn't really want to be a part of it. I remember I still loved God, I was just confused at the time.

Then my Senior year of high school came, by this time I had been on a youth retreat in Colorado with one of my youth groups (I was attending three different ones at the time), and the Lord touched my life there. I loved the Lord the best I knew how, I even started a prayer group at the high school that met in the mornings before school began. BUT, then I started to become very depressed, and even quit attending my own prayer meeting I had started. Things were about to change though.

I signed up for a mission's trip "around the world" for the summer after my Senior Year. On this trip we traveled to England, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Israel, China, and Hong Kong. It sounds like quite the trip, and it was!

On this trip I met a girl who was on fire for the Lord. I'd never met anyone like that before, and I felt like I was meeting the first real Christian in my life. (I know I knew many real christians at that time, but that is what my perception.)

During this trip, on the night of July 4th, 1999 at a dormitory in Slovakia - I was set free! That night I came under a spiritual attack, I had read in the Bible about demons and I knew they were real - but I didn't know they were that real! This girl and several of the other girls started to pray with me, and I was delivered from the demonic opression I was under. As we were praying, it felt like there was something left that needed to happen, and I knew it was my CD's. The music I listened to up until that point were unchristian and very ungodly, I didn't know that the music I listened to had a spiritual ramifications. So I took my CD's and as I broke the first one into the trash can, I felt actual literal chains lifted off of my shoulders. The chains were huge! And then I gasped because I'd never felt freedom before, and in that same moment I felt the Holy Spirit for the first time. All I could keep saying was "I'm Free! I'm Free!" The Bible tells us that 'Whom the Son has set free, is free indeed'. And that was what I was experiencing. I was also filled with the Spirit that night.

From then on my life was never the same, a week later on the trip we were in Israel, and I was so hungry for God. I'd read the Bible and it would speak to me, I'd go to pray and it would be exciting. I'd never known before how real God was, it was what I had been looking for my entire life.

When I returned from that mission's trip, everyone said I came home a completely different person - and that is truly what I was.

That fall I headed off to college in Indiana to study English Education. I still had all my plans for my future - but God had different ones. One night I was sitting in my dorm studying for my Grammar class, and I just said "Lord, I hate English!" And I heard the Lord speak so clearly to me "Well, what do you want to do then?" And I told Him "All I want to do is to tell people about you." I think He was pleased with that answer. I knew I couldn't stay at the school I was going to, I needed to go to a Bible School. I'd only heard about the Revival at Brownsville, in Pensacola, Florida. But I didn't understand what that meant. So, I decided to look it up on the internet, and as soon as I saw the page for their ministry school - I was gripped by the Holy Spirit. I knew I had to go there.

I was little bit nervous about going on my own to Florida. I emailed the girl from my mission's trip, whom I hadn't spoken to in several months, and much to my surprise, she told me she had also applied to the same school and would start the semester before me! God is good!

My time at FIRE School of ministry was life changing. I learned so much and grew in the Lord. I am so thankful He brought me there to learn and to meet the people that I did. The team I work with now in the Ukraine are from that same school. To find out how I ended up in the Ukraine....go to my blog on "How I got to the Ukraine."

I'm so thankful that the Lord touched me and changed my life. I can't imagine where I'd be without Him. I have nothing besides Him, He is my all in all. Nothing I do is on my own, or in my own strength - it's all because of Him and His anointing. I'm just so glad that He saw He could use a girl from a small town in Wisconsin for His glory.

Welcome to my blog!

2008-06-11T16:59:00.000+03:00

I just wanted to say "Hi" to everyone who has come to look at my website.

(And I needed to add a first post as well.)

I'll try to keep this site updated on a regular basis with pictures, stories, and prayer requests as events happen.

Thanks for looking at my page!

-Leann