Tree of Life “Pre”-Update
Before I can let you know what we’ve been up to lately, I want to make sure that everyone knows what I have been doing here for the last 8 years (can you believe that very soon it will be 8 years that I have been here in
Ukraine?)…
Formally, I started a charitable fund and non-profit publishing house called Open Hands /Tree of Life that has facilitated ministry to street kids, participated in translating and publishing 4 books, sponsored numerous artistic projects (music, writing, etc.) of Ukrainian nationals, and actively supplied books, bibles and resources to churches and individuals throughout Ukraine via conferences, book faires, and fulfilling individual orders. Informally, (which has actually been more gratifying to me) Tree of Life has been a career training ground and stepping stone as well as a personal discipling environment for 5 Ukrainian employees who have gone on to work, ministry and life circumstances that (in their words) they couldn’t have stepped into without the experience they gained at TOL. (I hesitate to say all this, because I never want to get caught up in the whole “prove that my ministry is earning its keep” pressure… the same way that I have a hard time with those Christmas letters that are only filled with reports of good grades and awards and nothing of the struggles of life, because we’ve certainly had our share of them in the last 8 years… but, I want those of you who have prayed for, financially supported and overall been interested in my ministry to know the great fruit of your love and care.) Also more precious to me than any publishing statistics are the people that have reported how they have been taught and encouraged through the books and resources we’ve helped make available. Also in the midst of strong denominationalism here in Ukraine I feel like TOL has been able to be a bridge between churches, publishers, ministries and people. So…that’s what I’ve been up to. J There is SO much more that could be said (well, so much more that I could say, anyway!) but in this new spirit of shorter blogs, I’ll end it here. More tomorrow. J
Ukraine?)…
Formally, I started a charitable fund and non-profit publishing house called Open Hands /Tree of Life that has facilitated ministry to street kids, participated in translating and publishing 4 books, sponsored numerous artistic projects (music, writing, etc.) of Ukrainian nationals, and actively supplied books, bibles and resources to churches and individuals throughout Ukraine via conferences, book faires, and fulfilling individual orders. Informally, (which has actually been more gratifying to me) Tree of Life has been a career training ground and stepping stone as well as a personal discipling environment for 5 Ukrainian employees who have gone on to work, ministry and life circumstances that (in their words) they couldn’t have stepped into without the experience they gained at TOL. (I hesitate to say all this, because I never want to get caught up in the whole “prove that my ministry is earning its keep” pressure… the same way that I have a hard time with those Christmas letters that are only filled with reports of good grades and awards and nothing of the struggles of life, because we’ve certainly had our share of them in the last 8 years… but, I want those of you who have prayed for, financially supported and overall been interested in my ministry to know the great fruit of your love and care.) Also more precious to me than any publishing statistics are the people that have reported how they have been taught and encouraged through the books and resources we’ve helped make available. Also in the midst of strong denominationalism here in Ukraine I feel like TOL has been able to be a bridge between churches, publishers, ministries and people. So…that’s what I’ve been up to. J There is SO much more that could be said (well, so much more that I could say, anyway!) but in this new spirit of shorter blogs, I’ll end it here. More tomorrow. J
Posted by in 14:51:08
I’m liking the shorter blog — particularly when you add “more tomorrow.” Makes me want to check it out! I’m glad that you’re not hung up on “proving” your ministry is fruitful or whatever. I’m here to tell you that your life here has touched many more people than you’ll probably ever know on this side of Paradise…and not just the books. Thanks for being a good friend.