Two nights before we leave...

Well, it is two more wake-ups before we leave for the Ukraine and see what God is doing in another part of the world. I am looking forward to seeing how others worship our Lord and how they get together in fellowship to encourage each other. We are going to spend most of our time in Odesa at a very "rustic camp" on the coast of the Black Sea. I know we will be there to help with english skills and to grow new relationships among other things. I am also bringing first aid supplies and a power point on AIDS prevention talking points. This is a topic that is common to all people but is starting to hit Eastern Europe especially hard. Please pray for our communication as that will be one of our biggest challenges. Also, pray for the Ukraine people there that they will hear the good news and will be excited to share it with their family and friends! Well, we are almost off and I am checking on my list of things yet to do.... Trish Tibbitts

Rejoicing in Heaven, Rainierview, and in the Miller home/hearts.

We are rejoicing with the God and his angels that 33 ( plus 3 more Sunday morning) kids were baptised this past week at Pleasant valley Christian Camp. Ethan had a great week of leading as a counselor . Here he is baptising a young camper.

Grace accepted Jesus' call and was baptised by her Sunday school teacher, school teacher, and her friend Mrs. Jo Cooksley.

We leave in two days and the excitement is building. we ask for your prayers. Thanks, the Ukraine team. PS. check out the skit that was shown in church on Sunday. WoW!! we serve a LOVING God. Bruce. oh, the site can be found on youtube.com it is called "Life house's everything skit." enjoy and ....

adding to the miller's recent blog....

i too am getting very excited and anxious to be there. it is amazing to be a tool in God's hand to fulfill His plan....to plant seeds in people's lives(even the size of a mustard seed). and then to stand back when you leave and watch the seed be watered and nurtured by others that God is using, and to see that seed become a plant full of LIFE!
may God give us wisdom for what to say. may He fill our hearts with His love and emotion. may He fill us with compassion and understanding, with grace and mercy, with knowledge, with patience. only one more week....yay!

---leah

One week until flight and adventure begins

The Tacoma team members met for prayer July 19th. Trish Tibbits and her husband Steve and the the Miller's -Bruce, Chris, Ethan , and Grace. (see picture).

Sunday when talking to people at church I begin to catch excitement not only for the trip this year but for the trips in the years to come. I can't wait to see God's faithfulness and blessing on the churches in Liviv and the role we can play in helping spread the gospel of Christ's love, grace and mercy.

update from leah

hello all.....
good news! i now have over half the money i need for the trip. which means i can pay for my food, housing and transportation, and.........my passport arrived in the mail today! God is showing Himself faithful, as He always does.

well, its less than 3 weeks until we leave! doesn't seem like the day will ever come, yet it also seems very close. please continue praying for our preparation for the trip, and for the preparation of the hearts of the people who will be at the camp. non-believers in Ukraine can be very hard in their hearts, it can take quite awhile for them to open up and receive God's love and teachings into their lives. it's a concept many Ukrainians do not know, unconditional genuine love. so many of them have been hurt by their family's, they feel betrayed. many have grown up as orphans, or abandoned by parents. i don't know the extent of the people who will be at the camp, but i do know that no matter the situations people come from, that God can melt them. i've seen it many times in the other time's i've gone to Ukraine, and i've seen it here in the states. so please pray for them, and us, that we would be instruments in God's hands. prayer is the key in something like this. God says he won't do anything unless we ask him, so lets ask for miracles!

also pray for no lost luggage when we get to Kiev. there hasn't been a time when any of the teams i've gone before with that someone hasn't lost luggage, but we don't have time to stay in Lviv and wait for it in this trip, so pray that everything arrives with us!

goodbye for now.....

Here is a picture of our church plant team. We are participating in a camp to help kick start the new church that begins meeting on August 19th. There are seven members. Please pray for Ruslan (pastor)and his wife Olena, Andry and his wife Olena, Olya, Anya, and Marianna. The elders of Hosanna church are "setting them apart" in a time of prayer during a recent service. We are sending out our best evangelists, four small group leaders, and two strong couples among the seven.

The team has already begun work in an area of our city with about 400,000 people and churches representing less than 1,000 believers. The camp list already has twice as many people as places for them from this area. Please pray for the new church, the response of the people of this area, and for the logistics involved in camp.

Tennesse team member- Leah mcCarroll

well, it's now only 1 month until we go, and i cannot believe how close it's getting. i remember when mrs. chris asked me back in december if i'd like to go with them to Ukraine in the summer, i couldn't believe it! my heart has always been for Ukraine and it's people. i've been there 2 times before, but i haven't been there since 2004, and i really didn't know when i would get the chance to go again. my first thoughts when i was invited was, yes of course!! i missed the place very much and i wanted to go back very much, but my mom reminded me that i must pray about it, and of course, being the practical mother she is.....she reminded me that at the moment i did not have the finances. i had $300 i'd been saving for the next time i went, hardly enough to cover all the costs. but i had no doubt that if i really was supposed to go, that God would cover the costs for me. so i began to pray earnestly, and i really began to feel a peace about it. so i stepped out in faith, i renewed my passport and bought a plane ticket. i still don't have all the money yet, but i have no doubt that it will come.
i'm super excited to stay with a local family in Lviv also....i've never stayed with a Ukrainian family, but i love the people there, and it will be such a great oppertunity for me to practice my Russian and Ukrainian speaking!! please pray for me to remember my vocabulary and grammar hahah! also that God would use me, and the whole team, to do HIS work, and that our own agenda's wouldn't be put ahead of His.

This team will be taking part in an evangelistic camp that will serve as the kickstart for a new church plant. We had to cut off registration because we have twice as many people signed up as we have spaces for. The Millers along with Hosanna Church are greatly anticipating partnering with RVCC to advance the Kingdom in Ukraine.