Moving!

We are now in the process of moving to the other side of Ivano-Frankivsk. We'll be just outside the city limits in a house.

Here are some still photos from the advertisement video we saw:

The landlord lives in the garage/half-basement level, we’ll be renting the first floor, and a young couple will be above us. This apartment we're in has been what we needed, and it was good to have a place for our small group to meet, but it's been hard for some of us to be right here in the loud, bustling, crowded center of the city, without a yard. We're looking forward to a quieter place, even though it's farther away from everything. Our little dog will get to run around outside! It will be cheaper, too.

This will be the tenth (?) place Will and I have lived in. We hate the moving process, but at least this time we don't have too much stuff to move. Although, we have accumulated some here. It's confusing, too, because we came with almost nothing, and then people gave and loaned us things from several directions. I don't know who brought what and what is actually ours. We'll get it sorted out and move, and then we can let out a big sigh of relief.

New Life Camp

There are two "Kherson churches" in Frankivsk. Both were started or are led now by people from Kherson, and when it came time for official registration, both ended up officially registered in Kherson even though they're located here. We attend one, but we know people at the other. In August the other church asked us to help with their day camp. It was a very good, full four days! Bogdan and I went every day, and Will helped for the second half of the camp and at the parents' program afterwards. With one of our friends, I co-led the second youngest group, and I taught English classes. Each day there was a time for "master classes" or workshops when the kids could sign up for topics that interested them: crafts, painting, hairstyles and makeup, cooking, and English (and more). Bogdan enjoyed being in the little teen group with leaders from Kherson, local friends, and others. Once Will joined us, he was with them and also in my English classes.

One day a little girl in our group had to leave mid-day to go with her father to meet her new baby sister and bring her home from the hospital. She protested greatly and said that she could see the baby later, she wanted to stay at camp! She was very excited to be a big sister, she just didn't want to miss any of the fun.

Here are some camp videos.

Also, the church provided funds for a fun event for each team after camp ended. Bogdan went bowling with his friends, and this weekend Tanya and I took our group to a movie.

Den

The Kherson (and Ivano-Frankivsk) Christian community was hit hard last week when Den Malov died of the wounds he sustained while defending Ukraine. Den was active in leading various ministries before the war, and he kept helping people when the invasion came. He could have gotten out of military service, but when he was called, he went. We didn't know him very closely, although we saw him off and on throughout the years. Our closest contact came not with him, but with his parents. When we unexpectedly evacuated from Kherson in November 2022, we ended up at a camp in Odesa that first night. Den's parents had also found refuge there earlier and stayed on to help. They took care of us, fed us, played with our bunny (Den must have directly inherited his love of animals), and treated us like family. Now we pray for God to comfort them in the loss of their son. Since Den's death his father has had a stroke and is in the hospital. Please pray with us for Den's father and for everyone who is grieving now.