Odessa Mission

May 2010 Newsletter

Oxonna's Ministry

Many of you have been faithfully praying for Oxonna since she started her new ministry with ACET, an organization devoted to fighting alcohol abuse, drug addiction, smoking, abortion, and promiscuity in society. We want to thank you for your support in these pivotal areas because the enemy is surely not interested in giving up his foothold on Odessa, whose current AIDS rate leads the planet. Experts say that by the year 2014, if things don't change, 10% of Ukraine's population will be HIV-positive. Official stats for Ukraine say that 550,000 have HIV with fifty people being added to the number each week, 120,000 die each year from smoking, 700,000 have been in rehab for drinking problems, 220,000 have been through drug rehab, and there are one and a half times more abortions than births. About 50% of the female population, who is of age, have abortions and most have more than one during their lifetimes. By the year 2050, because of Ukraine's addictions in the aforementioned areas, it's estimated that today's population will be cut in half. That's a decrease of over 20 million people in just forty years. What about the year 3000? Will Ukraine even exist?

Please also be praying for three of Oxonna's helpers from our congregation, Zhana, Dasha, and Vika, who are all between eleven and thirteen years of age. Zhana is currently the only one who has been baptized but Vika plans to be baptized this summer. I've also briefly spoken to Dasha about the need to be baptized and she seems fairly open to the possibility.

A few months ago, I shared some of Oxonna's preliminary goals for the ministry but now I'd like to give you an update on her expanding vision so that you can pray more specifically. In time, Oxonna hopes to:

Start her own corporation, which would resemble ACET. Doing that could secure potential funding from the government. Technically, by law, the government would even be required to provide her with an office free of charge. This option could also open many new doors for ministry that would otherwise remain closed. Adding volunteers and staff members would obviously be another long-term goal.
Arrange regular meetings with parents at the schools where she's teaching to inform them of the issues their kids are facing, which will hopefully foster greater instruction/communication within the home and supervision outside the home.
Raise awareness for her youth club meetings by placing ads in Odessa's most popular teen magazines. The two-fold purpose here is to attract young people to the club and possibly even get some media coverage too.
Develop a website for the corporation describing everything it does and represents. This will also allow us to enter the blogosphere where we’ll increase our influence, attract newcomers, and perhaps facilitate the structuring of joint-venture projects.
Continue getting out on the street corner with our message.
Eventually organize an annual summer camp for the girls from the club for more meaningful interaction and effective ministry opportunities.
Continue her education in the areas of psychology or sociology to better understand the mentality and needs of today's youth.
Train her disciples into leaders who will carry on this ministry and take it to new levels.
Organize domestic/cross-cultural trips to minister in places where the needs are great.
Take a two-month course on professional audio/video usage in Kazakhstan for the purpose of making films dedicated to our causes.

New Outreach Program Seems Promising

KRCC has begun a new outreach program involving street evangelism and benevolence, which seems to be producing some results. Although we just started it in early April, we've already seen nine new faces in Sunday worship. Two of them are elderly women who have come four Sundays in a row. Another woman has come twice and happens to be a friend of theirs. In fact, one of the women seems quite open to the possibility of being baptized and is clearly trying to get the others to join her.

Due to the circumstances, we're presently considering renting a larger facility on Sundays. Ira seems to think that our current office is stifling our growth potential and that returning to the cafe we used to meet in will help, especially in light of the kind of outreach we're doing. Please do keep all of this in prayer.

Thanks for everything!

With Love in Christ, John, Ira, Stefan, and Charleze The Odessa Mission, Odessa, Ukraine