Check out our website at www.gogainers.com!
 

Our Summer in the States!

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for the lack of newsletters in the last months.  I promise to get you all caught up on what has been going on and to keep up with the newsletters from here on out!

We spent a couple of months in the States this summer, from May 23rd to July 27th.  It was a wonderful time filled with visiting family and friends, reconnecting with our supporters, visiting all of our supporting churches where Jon preached and/or we did a presentation about what God is doing in Ukraine.  Although we did have some time to just relax and unwind, it was not what most would think of as a vacation.  We visited a different church almost every Sunday, visited with several small groups, met with several Missions Boards, and held several informational meetings complete with dessert! Despite the work, we had a great visit and were able to get to see ALL of Jon’s family, brothers and sister and all the nieces and nephews, and we also got to get together with my mom’s side of the family for a reunion/baby shower, and my dad’s side of the family when they came down to the Quad Cities!  The boys learned how to shoot an air rifle (with adult supervision of course), visited Uncle Patrick at the fire station in Eldridge, went camping in the backyard, rode their bikes up and down the lane, swam in the pool donated by a friend, went to their first real baseball game, complete with a ferris wheel ride, hot dogs, chips and pop and fireworks, went to 2 different zoos, went to Lagomarcino’s, played on the tractors at John Deere Commons, went to a couple of movies, went on breakfast dates with Grandpa Gainer, visited Grandma Barbie and Grandpa Kevin and went swimming in their neighbor’s pool, went geocaching with a friend, and thoroughly enjoyed the American foods they can’t get here, like popsicles, brats, good hamburgers, Mexican food, Chinese food, blueberries, Cherry Coke, Twizzlers, peanut butter, slushies, and they really loved helping Grandma Gainer pick and eat the fresh veggies from the garden!  Lauren just loved getting all kinds of attention and she loved having her own special small swimming pool all to herself!  

A HUGE THANK YOU to Clinton Church of Christ, Havana First Methodist Church, Mount Pulaski Christian Church, Bettendorf Christian Church, Trinity Lutheran Church, Church of Love, and Faith Lutheran Church for their amazing support!  We are so blessed to have you as part of our team and what God is doing here in Ukraine!  
 
Summer Camp

This is the second year that we have had our Compass Family Camp down on the Azov Sea.  It was a wonderful time filled with love, laughter, relationship and team building, worship, Bible study, and the best part…..3 BAPTISMS!!!!! 
The theme of our camp this year was “Crossroads”, and throughout the week, we had 3 people who had been at a crossroads in their lives who decided which way to go.  A father, mother and their 20 year old son came forward and repented and gave their lives to Christ! And we had another 3 people in Compass who were definitely standing at a crossroads in their lives.  They had repented of their sins and accepted Jesus as their Saviour, but they hadn’t yet made the first step of obedience in following Him, baptism.  We knew for sure that Tanya was going to get baptized, but we weren’t sure about Vitali and Vika until the actual day of the baptism.  But they came to us and told us that they were ready to move forward and make their commitment to fully, wholeheartedly follow Jesus and that they wanted to be baptized too.  We are always excited when someone decides to follow Christ, but when those people are your close personal friends whom you have been sharing the Gospel with for 2 1/2 years, it takes it to a whole new level.  Everyone was in tears as we watched Tanya, Vitali and Vika walk down the steps, and onto the beach.  We sang several songs and then Jon and Ivan walked into the sea where they prayed and then asked Tanya to join them.  They baptized Tanya and everyone cheered and clapped and hugged her.  And then came the moment Jon and I have been waiting 2 1/2 years for.  Vitali and Vika held hands and walked out into the sea together.  They turned around, still holding hands and Jon and Ivan prayed over them.  And then, still holding hands, Jon and Ivan baptized them both together.  There was not a dry eye on the beach.  Even the people who had gathered around who weren’t with our camp were misty eyed! As I stood there, hugging our dear friends and listening to the waves hit the beach, I was overcome by the amazing love and power of God.  He is so faithful and we are beyond blessed to be a part of what He is doing here.  Our camp ended with a bonfire on the beach complete with roasted hot dogs and Smore’s, praise music and fellowship. Praise God for all of the blessings He gave throughout the camp and for the new believers who we can now call brothers and sisters in Christ!
COMPASS!!!!!

When Jon and I moved here to Ukraine, it was to be church planters.  Although we had no idea what that would look like, or how to make it happen, we have been taking small steps over the last 7 years that have led us to where we are now.  Compass was started about 2 1/2 years ago in the hopes that it would eventually become a church, and we have had a steady attendance of around 25-30 people a week coming to read the Bible with us, have fellowship, sing praise and have tea and cookie time together.  In order to be able to apply for official church status here in Ukraine, you have to have a certain number of baptized believers.  In the other article, I told you about the 3 people who got baptized at our Family Camp, but what I didn’t tell you, is that the other 3 people who repented at camp, Vitaly, Natasha and their son Anton, were baptized last Sunday!!!!  So, with 6 new baptized believers, plus the people who were already believers, we now have enough people to start the process of becoming an actual church! We are both unbelievably excited, and a little nervous to start this new process, but we are so thankful that God has led us this far, and we know that He will be with us every step of the way!  We have narrowed down the area where we would like to plant our church, and have a realtor searching for properties that will work for our needs.  Please pray for us as we learn what all we will have to do to make our goal a planting a church a reality, and that God would give us wisdom and patience to wait for HIS good and perfect will.  

 
 
We just finished our 4th United Marriage Encounter Weekend in 3 years on October 6-8, 2016.  There were 16 couples in attendance, and we were blessed to have our 3 American couples with us again as well.  We are thrilled with the outcome of the Weekend, as well as Ukrainians excitement of how to keep this moving forward and make it a truly Ukrainian Weekend. Thank you to all of you who prayed and gave to make this Weekend a huge blessing to all in attendance!!!!
 
Prayer Requests…

1.  Please pray that we would be wise in following God’s plan for Compass.
2.  Pray that the Holy Spirit would strengthen and continue to grow the faith of the 6 new believers; Tanya, Vitali, Vika, Vitali, Natasha and Artyom.
3.  Pray for Jenny as she continues to homeschool Alex and Jonah.
4.  Please pray that we would be bold in speaking out in faith to everyone we encounter.
5.  Pray that we would be an shining example of Christ’s love through our thoughts, words, actions and attitudes.
Share
Forward
Copyright © 2016 GoGainers.com – Kontaktmission USA, All rights reserved.