 THE UKRAINE REPORT - JANUARY 2021
Happy New Year from Ron and Nancy Minton in Ukraine. We spent most of December, 2020 in the States. Time goes by so quickly. We had hoped to visit some grand-kids, but almost all were sick. But the last few days they were well enough for us to visit for a short time. The other family lived too far away and we didn’t have the time to get there. We will be grandparents again soon. That will give us ten grandchildren. The first is now in college. They grow up quickly so influence your kin while you can. Thank you for you partnering with us. We are proud to be your missionaries and if you gave money or prayed for us, you equally share in God’s work over here. Last year was an amazing one for the ministry and we wanted to send you a summary. 2020 IN REVIEW: BIBLE COLLEGE The 2020 Bible college year ended strong. Like almost every other ministry, Covid-19 slowed everything down, but we had scheduled extra classes and some were cancelled just as we predicted. But by God’s grace, even in “2020 - The Covid Year,” we had the most classes since we started in 2005. We had even more classes, but we do not include some shorter non-credit classes. Some info is as follows: 1. In 2020 we had 28 classes - an all time high since our start in 2005. 2. In 2020 we used 12 different teachers - an all time high. 3. In 2020 we had our first class in one new Ukraine city. 4. In 2020 we had more than 100 first time students take classes. 5. During 2005 - 2020 the total number of people who have registered and taken at least one class was about 2,100 (final statistics will be known in a month or two). 6. During 2005 - 2020 the number of classes increased 13 years and was the same 3 times. HEALTH In December we went to the States for four weeks and had combined 12 medical events - tests, minor treatments, and checkups. Thanks to the mercy and grace of Jesus, we both are still healthy. When we returned to Ukraine we had a very hard time because of Covid test requirements confusion at the airports. We both had Covid tests and were both negative. In many areas, we really experienced the wonderful grace of Jesus in 2020. PRAYER NEEDS: - Travel restrictions making scheduling more difficult - One new country, Estonia, where we plan to start classes - The large number of people being trained in the Bible college - Our health, helpers, and churches in these difficult times It looks like 2021 will be a great year. Always thank the Lord because He has given all of us the chance to serve Him wherever we are. We can only do what we do because of the grace of God and your prayers and help. Хвала Христу, Он спас меня! Ron and Nancy Minton in Ukraine
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 Ron & Nancy Minton Dear Friends,
We are currently in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and Ron is teaching a Bible College class on Bibliology - the Bible. Our goal is to give the students an unshakable faith in the truth and inerrancy of the Bible. On Friday the class will be completed and we will go back to Dergachi, our hometown and get ready for more classes - it just keeps growing. Nancy has a new helper, Marina. They try to keep up on all the admin, house chores, children’s outreach, etc. They do a lot together but we never get fully caught up. I am sure you know this feeling. We have good health, and Nancy still is finishing up the garden - when we are in our city. Our garden gave us tomatoes, zucchini, cabbage, broccoli, pumpkins, many apples, and some pears. We are thankful for everything. The Bible college is still going strong. It is a challenge just to keep the schedules updated as some visitors have travel restrictions, etc. We started out 2020 with a lot of classes and then Covid slowed everything. But there must have been a pent-up demand for classes because we have started in one new location and will be in another as soon as travel allows. Even in this Covid year, we will possibly have 27 classes, an all time high for our 15 years. Only God can keep things going like this. Already we are praying about the 2021 Summer Evangelistic English Club which will be held in our backyard. We regularly see neighborhood children and they run up to us and ask about the next club. They call it camp even though they go home every day. We will need two American girls who have finished high school or who have only one year left. They will teach very basic conversational English to Ukrainian children. They will live with two Ukrainian girls from our churches. It is basically June 6-August 15, ten weeks. We invite those who are interested to speak with their parents and pastor and contact us by email. We will send them the details. We ask your prayers:
Thank you so much for helping us win Ukrainians for Christ. We count you among our dear friends. Pray for Peace in Ukraine. Ron and Nancy Minton  Hello All,
During this time of change and uncertainity, no matter how things look or how we feel, we know that God is in control. The main thing we want to let everyone know is that we are safe and healthy here in Brazil. We are experiencing many of the things here that you all are experiencing there in the US including stay at home orders and closures of nonessential businesses. Our team has also prayerfully decided to temporarily halt ministry in our rural communities. This decision was made mainly to protect those we serve with less than optimal health and lack of access to sufficient resources because at this time, there are confirmed cases in the city where we live, but no cases in these communities at this time . While it has been hard to stay away, we believe this is the best way to serve them at this time. Our team is using this time to focus on our families and also for group prayer and Bible study online. One of our team goals for this year was for all the team members to begin learning English so Lisa and another bilingual team member have been teaching English online for team members. Before Coronavirus arrived, we were able to complete two important trainings. One on Godly leadership and another with World Challenge in use of Community Health Evangelism (CHE), the tool we are using in community development. It was a great time of learning and fellowship for our entire team. We are looking forward to putting our new skills and knowledge into practice as soon as we are able. Especially in this uncertain time, we want and need your prayers and partnership. We again want to thank all of those who currently partner with us. If you feel God is calling you to begin partnering with our ministry or to increase your current partnership, contributions can be made through CTEN, either online at www.cten.org/dalewhittom or by mail or phone at CTEN, PO Box 291307, Kerrville, TX 78029-1307, 800-872-5404. Praises
Dale & Lisa Whittom  Dear Pastor and Friends,
Since we have not been able to return to Ethiopia we have been able to take care of some personal health issues. We are staying at home now here in Missouri as requested, for the good of our health. Now that the Corona virus is in Ethiopia, the American Embassy is advising all Americans that wish to return to the United States to make their travel plans quickly while there are still commercial flights available. Ethiopian Airline is currently the only airline with direct flights from Addis Ababa to the United States. For those who prefer to remain in Ethiopia, they are advised to be prepared to stay for an indefinite period of time. There is only one hospital in the capital city of approximately 8 million that will be treating those diagnosed with COVID-19. PRAY FOR YOUR MISSIONARIES! Many of the country people are blaming all foreigners, including missionaries, for bringing COVID-19 into the country. Satan uses many such things to attack God’s mission. PRAY FOR YOUR MISSIONARIES! Papua New Guinea also has confirmed cases of the Corona virus. We have not heard of any deaths in the country from our people there. PRAY FOR YOUR MISSIONARIES! National pastor from Papua New Guinea, Birua Sialas, was recently here in Missouri for a short visit. Some of the missionaries and friends were happy to greet him. There were prayers and tears as he returned to PNG. Our brother, Tura Mako, leads the church in Fitche. The Sunday school is blessed as Tura teaches the Word of God. Abdi Boru Primary School has been recognized by the government as the “Best private school.” Both the Northway Baptist Church and Abdi Boru School meet on the same property and minister to many children. Pray for Bro. Tura as he leads the church and school. Thank you ministry partners for your prayers and faithful support. Your missionaries, Frank and Karon Auterson 
 Dear friends,
Here is the latest... Medical updates: We came from Ukraine January 1, 2020 for medical treatment and analysis. We are well, but we do not travel much now because of the virus related restrictions. Ron finished 39 days (he calls it 40 to remind him of Jesus’ time in the wilderness) of radiation treatment on March 11 in Amarillo, Texas. Everything signals his health is very good. On March 12 we went to a great missions conference in San Diego. On March 1, Nancy and some grandkids, etc. went to a big concert at a church in Pampa, Texas. She went to the restroom and it was dark when she returned to her seat and she fell on the steps. We treated her right wrist area for a bad bruise and she wore a wrist movement restriction gadget. She did normal work, etc. but on April 1, we had a routine checkup and the doctor wanted to x-ray her arm. It clearly showed the wrist bone was fractured that night, but was healing itself. The doctor said to keep using the arm wrap thing and to keep working outside, walking, mowing, etc. Thank the Lord for his grace in our lives. On another medical note, one grandson broke his leg working in our back yard on April 8. Seems there’s never a lack of happenings around us :) Prayer items:
Bible College: We were able to have a good number of classes in the Bible college before Covid-19 slowed things down. We have had to reschedule other classes, but we, like many churches, are doing some things differently for a while and in a few days Ron will teach a course online for students in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Please pray for the college. We have two or three cities where we plan to possibly start some classes in the fall. The cities are in Ukraine, Georgia, and Estonia. With the state of the world, only God can make things happen, so we totally depend on Him and his timing. Service: This Easter season, let’s remember that God does not need any of us in order to accomplish His work of bringing people to Him. I received an email from another missionary who gave me some of these thoughts. God has been working and will continue to work. It is only by the wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus that we (all Christians) are allowed to serve Him. He loves us, his children, no matter what, and I am always amazed that God allows me to be in ministry for Him. He does not need us and we are not worthy, but just knowing and appreciating that fact qualifies us to be Jesus’ partners. They crucified Him, but Acts 2:24 says it was impossible for death to hold him. We are therefore on the winning team because our Captain cannot lose. The resurrection guaranteed it all. Easter is now past in America, but in Ukraine, it is April 19 this year. Let’s all pray for God to continue to use His own Word to bring more people into the fold. Thank you so much for helping us win Ukrainians for Christ. We count you among our dear friends. Pray for Peace in Ukraine. Ron and Nancy Minton |
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