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January 2001 This past year has been one of transition for us here in Ukraine. God has blessed in many wonderful ways. January Susan began monthly meetings with the ladies of our church. God blessed and the average attendance was 20 women eager for God's direction in their lives. I met twice a month with the men at a local school gymnasium and we had a great time of sports, fellowship and studying the Word of God. February We rejoiced in our one-year anniversary of printing and handing out our own gospel tracts. We saw 495,000 tracts given out in 12 months time. The Lord blessed and we saw many people trust Christ as a result of receiving a tract. March Our church moved from a large cultural house (sweltering in the summer and freezing in the winter) to a four-room apartment (comfortable all year round) next door to our home. This enabled us to have a separate room for our growing Junior Church. At the auditorium the children were meeting in a large storage closet, which was not always available. April We hosted our first ever Baptist Blowout with many of the other missionaries from Ukraine attending. We had 25 visitors and everyone enjoyed some great preaching, good old-fashioned camp meeting singing, and the ever-present Baptist (American-style) food. May Our full-time Bible Institute was started with seven students. Susan taught English and gave piano lessons while I taught Soul-winning and through the book of Romans verse by verse. We also taught a course called Practical Theology. June Hounded & harassed by a local crooked "mafia-type" tax official we were eventually forced into hiding for the rest of the summer in order to protect the ministry that God had given us. We moved to another area in Ukraine but fortunately God had previously given us the green light to move there. So we know we are still in the Lord's will for this ministry. Praise God! July We ended our weekly meetings at the military hospital. In ten months time we saw 584 soldier boys, aged 18-22, trust Jesus Christ as their Saviour. AMEN!! October After we moved and settled in to our new home we resumed the Bible Institute and began two more churches, one in our hometown and one in a nearby village. God has been faithful in bringing the people in. November We were able to help a regional children's hospital with some of the medical supplies that were so generously donated by our supporters. We were also able to donate both medical supplies and warm winter clothing to a clinic in a village of 6,000 people. The Lord enabled us to personally supply some of the poor people with much-needed woolen socks, scarves, hats and gloves. These were people who had no heat in their homes. December We presented our Christmas program and the Word of God to both a local children's hospital and an orphanage in the village. Over 200 children heard the story of Jesus' birth and the plan of salvation. Many of them had never even heard the name of Jesus or the story of His birth. We would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your faithfulness to our ministry both financially and in prayer. We hope that the enclosed pictures will be a blessing to you. We know that many of you have requested updated pictures of us and we thank you for your patience. Sincerely in Christ, Dr. and Mrs. Michael Todd :That in all things he (Jesus Christ) might have the preeminence. (Col 1:18) |