November 2008 Update - Bila Tserkva, Ukraine

The view from our window after the first snow of the season in Bila Tserkva

It's finally starting to feel like winter as we had our first snow this month and we have begun to see Christmas decorations for sale. Christmas isn't celebrated until January 7th, but we're thinking about getting a head start anyway. We have already started planning for a small Christmas presentation by the children in our church. Joshua will have to recite his part in Ukrainian and Edna will even have a part that she will have to recite as well. We are also planning to have the children sing a few Ukrainian Christmas songs so it should be an interesting time for all of us.

Dominic, Joshua, Kristina, and Lusya at church.

Dominic celebrated his 15th birthday this month, although he refused to let us have a party for him and he has become increasingly camera shy. Now that he's 15, he prefers to be behind the camera rather than in front of it. He's actually taken some really great photos. I guess our little boy has grown up.

Nastya and Maria singing at church in "the lounge".

One of the interesting things about our church is that we don't have a permanent building or room to meet in. Our friend Fedir, who is a deacon in the church, works at the palace of culture (similar to what would be considered a community center in the United States) and the director allows us to use the rooms there for free. We store what we need for church in Fedir's office and we usually use nearby rooms for church and children's ministry. That is of course if the rooms are available. Our Thursday night English Club works the same way. They give us whatever rooms aren't being used as long as there is one. We can't complain since we don't have to pay rent, but occasionally we end up in what I like to call the lounge room. It's basically a small bar complete with flashing colored lights and a disco ball that's available to be rented out for parties. Not many people can boast that they get to preach God's Word in a lounge in Ukraine. (Not that anyone would ever want to admit that, much less boast about it.)

Joshua, Bohdan, and Judah at the Bible College.

This month we were able to make a trip by bus to the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Hungary and also spend a few days with Edna's grandmother in Croatia. Dominic and Joshua got to see all their old friends and so did we. You can read about our time at the Bible College by clicking HERE.

Baka (grandmother in Croatian) only lives two hours from the college and was thrilled to see us. She was in remarkably good health for being eighty-four years old and we were so grateful to be able to spend time with her. Ukrainian and Croatian are enough alike that we were able to communicate with Baka enough to get by. You can read about our time with her by clicking HERE.

When we got home from our trip to Hungary and Croatia, we were surprised and touched by how our neighbor Olya reacted. With tears in her eyes, she told us how much she had missed us and didn't like being alone. She was so happy to see us and said that we were like her children to her.

In the past, we had given Olya a Russian Bible because it was all we had to give her at the time. While Olya understands Russian, her first language was Ukrainian and so she naturally prefers it. We had always wanted to give her a Ukrainian Bible, but all the ones we had were of a print too small for her to read. This month I came across a Ukrainian Bible in large print and gave it to her. She was so happy to have a Bible that she could easily read, but there was only one problem. She told us that it was sometimes difficult for her to understand because no one had ever explained it to her. With wide eyes, Edna and I asked her if she would like us to come over and have Bible studies together. She agreed and we are looking forward to exploring God's Word together soon.

Fedir was the MC for an event at the palace of culture, so Joshua got a backstage pass for the performance.

University English Club

Both of our English Clubs are turning out to be great ways for us to reach out and get to know people. We are continually blessed by all the new friends that we have met and by how God is working in all of it. We are grateful for what we hope will be life long friendships through these clubs.

The University English Club is a joint ministry with our friends Ruslan and Anya. We are having fun getting to know them and Dominic and Joshua have fun watching their boy Nikita on Monday evenings while we are at the university. You can read more about our University English Club by clicking HERE.

I love this picture of Nikita all bundled up for his trip home from our place.

Edna and Maxime in our kitchen. We hope that he will spend the New Year's Holiday with us again this year.

We couldn't accomplish any of this without God's leading and your help. Thank you for all of your prayers and support. We are excited to be witnesses to the effect that Jesus Christ and the Gospel have on people's lives here in Ukraine. Each day is a blessing for us.

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. - Romans 10:17

"The Lord Jesus Christ suffered in the place and stead of sinners and is able to save all who trust Him. Why, this is the most blessed fact that men were ever told to believe. It is the most suitable, the most comforting, the most divine truth that was ever set before mortal minds." - Charles Spurgeon

Нехай Бог Благословить Україну
(Let God Bless Ukraine)

Prayer Requests

• That God would provide for Ruslan and Anya as they maintain relationships with their supporters in the United States.
• For a skilled worship leader at church.
• That the churches we met with in America would keep us (Ukraine) on their hearts and minds and in their prayers.
• That God would direct us in planning the English Clubs we are involved in.
• That God would continue to heal Edna's kidneys (she is still having unexplained pain).
• Pray that Maxime would continue to grow in Christ. That nothing would hinder him from coming to church on Sunday, or being able to stay with us here at home.
• That God would raise up others outside (or inside) of Ukraine to serve in Bila Tserkva.
• That God would help us to form relationships with local evangelical churches.
• For the planning of our Children's Christmas Presentation at church.
• For continued friendships that lead to Christ being made known as a personal Savior.

Support can be sent to:
Calvary SLO
P.O. Box 1463
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
With an attached note: "For Greg and Edna Silva"

In Christ,
Greg, Edna, Dominic, and Joshua

Our blog: On Second Thought
Our photos: We Desire Him

October 2008 Update - Bila Tserkva, Ukraine

The view walking to the village of Kozhenykiy.

In Ukrainian, the month of October, Жовтень (Zhovten), means yellow, and it has certainly lived up to its name as we have experienced one of the most beautiful Fall months we have ever seen. As the old passes away we have been witness to many new beginnings and we're continually amazed by what God is doing.

Maria translating for me at church.

Oksana working on her turtle craft with the other kids.

It has been my pleasure and joy to be teaching through the book of 1 Corinthians and to see people encouraged to serve in the body of Christ. We are so happy to see that our neighbor Oksana has taken an interest in going to church with us and seems to enjoy being there. We have also noticed that she looks up to Nastya so hopefully there will be an opportunity for discipleship with Oksana from Nastya. Please pray that this will be the beginning of her walk with Christ. You can read more about her first time at church and what Maxime has been doing by clicking HERE. We have helped Oksana start her own blog which is a whole new world for her. You can check it out by clicking My Life, the title of her blog. (For now it's all in Ukrainian.)

Oksana is also a part of our English Club.

Edna going over a short grammar lesson.

We are blessed to see that our English Club, now meeting on Thursday nights, is continuing to grow and new people show up each time. We have put together a format that seems to be working well and attracts the interests of university students. We combine a short lesson on English grammar and an activity with a video that leads to a time for discussion (which happens to be the TV show LOST right now). Our hope is that as these students begin to know us and see that we are normal people (there is a lot of skepticism about Christian missionaries) they will become curious about our lives and open up to more discussion about the Bible. We have already begun to see this happen as a few people have started to ask us questions about why we care enough about them to offer our time to them free of cost.

Maxime and Joshua tagged along for English Club.

Something that we never expected from English Club was a spin-off. We've decided to refer to it as English Night and will try to hold it each Tuesday night. The idea began when two people from our English Club asked if they could just spend time with us as friends outside of the club. Olya and Serhiy speak very good English so we decided that, along with Tanya from our church and her husband Kolya, we could all get together for a night of fellowship. We will rotate as to whose home we meet at each time. We are looking forward to becoming closer friends with Olya and Serhiy. God has really blessed us.

Olya, Edna, Serhiy, Kolya, Tanya, and Me on "English Night" in our home.

Spending time with orphans at the Voloshka Orphanage.

Nastya surprised us one day by revealing that she and some friends had been visiting a local orphanage after school. We quickly asked if we could join her and couldn't wait to see the kids at the orphanage we had first visited over a year ago. We had a wonderful time loving on these little ones. We were invited to come back another time so we are eagerly looking forward to that. You can see the post I wrote about our time at the orphanage and see more pictures by clicking HERE.

Edna has begun making trips to Kyiv each Friday to spend time with A.I.D.S. orphans in a hospital along with another missionary named Marianna. These infants and toddlers have no one to show them love beyond a nurse putting a bottle in their mouths. I'm glad that Edna has a chance to share this simple, but important act of kindness with these children. Please pray that Edna and Marianna continue to have this open door. You can read what Marianna said about their last visit by clicking HERE.

Dominic, Edna, Natasha, Joshua, Nikita, and Anya having lunch.

Another new beginning is our friendship with Ruslan and Anya (and of course their boy, little Nikita). We have been so blessed with their friendship and times of prayer together. God led them here to Bila Tserkva from eastern Ukraine as native missionaries where they give all of their time to helping build Christ's Kingdom. Ruslan invited me to start an English Club with him at the university on Monday nights and we are greatly encouraged by what we have seen so far. As with our other English Club, a lot of these students come from out of town to study here and have the potential of becoming lights in this community as well as to their own hometowns. The doors of opportunity for ministry here seem to have opened wide lately. We are greatly encouraged by Ruslan and Anya and we are so thankful that God has placed them in our lives. Click HERE to see a little more about them.

Nikita and Joshua.

Edna, Nastya, and Maria walking up the hill to the cemetery in Kozhenykiy.

This month we attended another funeral in the village of Kozhenykiy, this time for Maria and Nastya's great-uncle Serihy. Even in this, a new opportunity has arisen. Maria's mother Valya, wants to use Serihiy's home and the land there for ministry to reach out to the people in the village and for our church to use. We don't know exactly what this will mean, but it raises some interesting possibilities. Click HERE to read about what happened that day at the funeral.

We are so happy to be able to share with you what God is doing here and the impact your prayers and support make in our lives. Thank you so much. We will be traveling to the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Vajta, Hungary next month for speakers week and a chance to raise awareness for what we are doing here. We want to thank Calvary Chapel Visalia for making it possible for this to happen.

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. - Matthew 19:29

“What proves that the giver is precious is the glad-hearted readiness to leave all his gifts to be with him.” - John Piper

Нехай Бог Благословить Україну
(Let God Bless Ukraine)

Prayer Requests

• That God would provide for Ruslan and Anya as they search for a way to handle their own support and maintain relationships with their supporters in the United States.
• For direction in improving worship at church.
• That the churches we met with in America would keep us (Ukraine) on their hearts and minds and in their prayers.
• That God would direct us in planning the English Clubs we are involved in.
• That God would continue to heal Edna's kidneys (she is still having unexplained pain).
• Pray that Maxime would continue to grow in Christ. That nothing would hinder him from coming to church on Sunday, or being able to stay with us here at home.
• That God would raise up others outside of Ukraine to serve in Bila Tserkva.
• That God would help us to form relationships with local evangelical churches.
• That Oksana would have a personal relationship with Christ.
• For safe travels to Hungary next month.

Support can be sent to:
Calvary SLO
P.O. Box 1463
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
With an attached note: "For Greg and Edna Silva"

In Christ,
Greg, Edna, Dominic, and Joshua

Our blog: On Second Thought
Our photos: We Desire Him

September 2008 Update - Bila Tserkva, Ukraine

Dominic, Edna, Joshua, and Greg

On September 1st, the boys both started school. Joshua is going to the newly built School #16 while Dominic is still going to the old School #16 until the new school is completed. More space in the schools has meant that the boys both go to school at 8:30 am, making it easier to get their homeschooling done in the afternoon. The boys have enjoyed their first month in school and are quickly becoming fluent in Ukrainian as well as learning some Russian. You can read about their first day at school by clicking HERE.

Dominic and Joshua on the first day of school

Now that school has started, Oksana, our downstairs neighbor, comes by more often to get help with her English homework. Of course her little sister Natasha always comes with her. Natasha seems to really love Joshua and constantly asks for him. Edna enjoys having a little girl run around the house as well.

Joshua feeding Natasha some cereal

We have gotten into a good structured routine for Children's Ministry that the kids really seem to like. Some of the children will come to church by themselves if their parents can't make it. All of them love learning about God's Word and doing activities together. Thank you to all of you who have given us craft materials and lesson ideas. The children have really been blessed.

Our English Club is now held every Friday evening and is allowing us to reach out to more and more people. We are so thankful for how God is opening doors for us in response to prayer. You can click HERE to read more about what's happening with English Club.

Zhenya, Kristina, Lusya, and Joshua working on a craft during Children's Ministry

Maxime is busy now with school and he spends more time in the village with his grandmother, but he still comes by to eat with us and play with Dominic and Joshua. We are thankful for the time we have with him and are happy to be a part of his life.

Maxime and Dominic enjoying grilled lavash wraps together

Our friend Sara Hill came to visit us this month while on a trip to Ukraine with her parents. Sarah had lived in Bila Tserkva for about two years prior to us moving here. We had fun visiting with her for the afternoon and sharing stories about our time in Ukraine. Sara also blessed us with some mustard and a bottle of Tapatio sauce (highly sought after commodities in Ukraine among Americans). Thanks Sara.

Sara, Dominic, Joshua, Maxime, and Edna

We finished September by attending a weekend church conference in Chernihiv. We were really excited to be able to take Maria, her sister Nastya, and their mother Valentina with us. We met so many new friends and we were all encouraged to hear about how God is working in the different churches. The conference gave us some great ideas as to how we can continue improving our own church and especially as to how we can bring greater focus to our worship ministry. You can see more pictures of the conference by clicking HERE.

Nastya and Maria sang a song during worship on Sunday morning before we left the conference

You can see the meeting hall behind Valya and Edna where we met for worship and seminars at the camp the conference was held at

Please keep praying for Edna's health. Her kidneys seem to be doing a little better after a third and hopefully final round of antibiotics for a lingering kidney infection. The morning after the conference Edna woke up with extreme pain in her right knee. By Tuesday morning, she was in such pain that she couldn't walk without assistance. After a trip to the medical center, the doctor diagnosed her as having a ruptured Baker's Cyst. The pain is subsiding and it should heal on its own so we are thankful that it wasn't more serious.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. - Ephesians 1:3

“I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now speaking.” - A. W. Tozer

Нехай Бог Благословить Україну
(Let God Bless Ukraine)

Prayer Requests

• For direction in improving worship at church.
• That God would continue to ease the suffering of the flood victims in Western Ukraine.
• That the churches we met with in America would keep us (Ukraine) on their hearts and minds and in their prayers.
• That God would direct us in planning local outreaches using English.
• That God would continue to heal Edna's kidneys.
• Pray that Maxime would continue to grow in Christ. That nothing would hinder him from coming to church on Sunday, or being able to stay with us here at home.
• That God would raise up others outside of Ukraine to serve in Bila Tserkva.
• That God would help us to form relationships with local evangelical churches.
• For more young women and (especially) men to begin coming to English Club at the Rosava.
• For financial provisions to allow us to travel to Speakers Week at the Bible College in Hungary in November.

Support can be sent to:
Calvary SLO
P.O. Box 1463
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
With an attached note: "For Greg and Edna Silva"

In Christ,
Greg, Edna, Dominic, and Joshua

Our blog: On Second Thought
Our photos: We Desire Him

August 2008 Update - Bila Tserkva, Ukraine

Greg, Dominic, Edna, and Joshua

This was a busy month for us as we wrapped up the summer. Pastor Pavlo was gone for five weeks so Edna and I were on our own to plan the teaching and do children's ministry. We had a lot of fun doing it and are blessed by all the people in the church here and their support.

Valya, Edna, and Maria at church

For several months now, we have been praying that the English Club would grow and that we would have an open door with the university here. God has been faithful in answering our prayers beyond what we could imagine. Through a mutual friend in Calvary Chapel (Ben Morrison), we were able to get connected with a girl named Tanya who had moved to Bila Tserkva. Tanya speaks English and is a teacher at the university. Her husband Kolya is also a teacher at the university and together they know several people who are interested in attending English Club. Tanya has been an answer to prayer and has become a close friend with Edna. We even took a five day trip with them and had a great time getting to know each other better.

Dominic, Joshua, Edna, Tanya, and Kolya at the Bila Tserkva train station

God has also begun to open doors with Maxime's mother and father. It began with a broken fence that needed to be fixed and painted and we're hoping it will continue with fixing up a room that Maxime can call his own. You can read about what happened and see more pictures by clicking on these two links, Fixing and Painting.

Joshua, Dominic, Maxime, and me working on the fence

Dominic and Maxime painting the fence

Edna, Joshua, Maxime, Vera, and Dominic having tea together

On July 23-27, Western Ukraine was devastated by flooding. Many people were left without food, water, or shelter as all drinking water was polluted and homes were destroyed. The church in Chernihiv decided to do something about it. On August 28th, Dominic and I went with nine other people from the church in Chernihiv to help out and show the love of Christ in action rather than words. We ended up traveling within about a mile of the Ukrainian border with Romania and Moldova where we were truly blessed by what we experienced. A local Baptist church hosted us and directed us on how we could best serve the needs of the people. We were all witnesses to the Body working together to ease the suffering of the flood victims with food, water, and clothing and ministering to their souls. You can read more about what we saw and see more pictures by clicking on these links, Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

Dominic helping to hand out food to flood victims in a village near the Romanian and Moldovan border

Me helping clean out a woman's shed that was damaged by the flood

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. - 1 John 3:18

“God created us to live with a single passion to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion.” - John Piper

Нехай Бог Благословить Україну
(Let God Bless Ukraine)

Prayer Requests

• That God would be glorified even in the tragedy of the floods .
• That God would continue to ease the suffering of the flood victims in Western Ukraine.
• That the churches we met with in America would keep us (Ukraine) on their hearts and minds and in their prayers.
• That God would direct us in planning local outreaches using English.
• That God would heal Edna's kidneys.
• Pray that Maxime would continue to grow in Christ. That nothing would hinder him from coming to church on Sunday, or being able to stay with us here at home.
• That God would raise up others outside of Ukraine to serve in Bila Tserkva.
• For a permanent translator at our Church.
• For more young women and (especially) men to begin coming to English Club at the Rosava.
• For financial provisions to allow us to travel to Speakers Week at the Bible College in Hungary in November.

Support can be sent to:
Calvary SLO
P.O. Box 1463
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
With an attached note: "For Greg and Edna Silva"

In Christ,
Greg, Edna, Dominic, and Joshua

Our blog: On Second Thought
Our photos: We Desire Him

July 2008 Update - Bila Tserkva, Ukraine

Jake Knotts snapped this picture of us in Chernihiv as we came out of the catacombs

With most children off to camps or on vacation with their parents to the Black Sea, July was a relatively quiet month for us. It gave us a chance to visit a few missionary friends in other cities and time to store up for the winter (i.e. canning and more canning). The boys have enjoyed long days at the river where we have been able to have a few family picnics while they fish and swim.

Maxime and Dominic on the 4th of July with Joshua and Josie climbing the cherry tree

Our 4th of July was spent in Kaharlyk with American friends. We took Maxime with us and he had the chance to eat and play for a day just like any other American boy. You can read more about that day by clicking HERE. It was the first time that his parents had allowed him to go out of town with us overnight. His parents seem to be increasingly trusting of us, but we did have some issues with his grandmother concerning his well being. She tried to keep Maxime from going to church with us, but fortunately for Maxime, his mother continues to let him go to church with us. Praise God for that. HERE is the blog post about what happened after we contacted Maxime's grandmother because he didn't have shoes.

Dominic peeling potatoes at Camp 120 on their island camp out

Dominic had the oportunity to go to a Christian camp where they spent Monday through Saturday on an island in the middle of the Dnipro River. Except for a little rain and a few mosquitoes, Dominic said he had a great time. I think I might just have to join him next year. It sounded like an adventure. You can read the blog I posted about it by clicking HERE.

This is the view looking towards our apartment from the bridge during the Ivana Kupala festival

Please continue to keep Edna in your prayers. After two rounds of heavy duty antibiotics for a severe kidney infection, she is still experiencing a lot of pain. The last test results seem to show that the infection is finally gone, but there may still be another problem. We aren't looking forward to more trips to Kyiv and expensive doctor visits, further, possibly invasive, test may be needed to isolate the source of her pain if it doesn't go away. She is scheduled for one more test to rule out more infection so please pray that her pain would cease and her kidneys would be healed.

Emma and Gavin showing Joshua how much they love him

We finished out the month by traveling up to the city of Chernihiv where several of our missionary friends live. We stayed with Jake and Anya Knotts and their daughter Maia. We were refreshed and encouraged to hear about how God is working in their city. It was great to catch up with everyone.

Maia trying to deal with Dominic's backseat driving

Jake and Anya drove us out to the nearby city of Slavutych that was created for the survivors of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster. It was a unique experience and well worth the trip. You can see more pictures of Slavutych and a little history of its creation by clicking HERE. We even ran into a few of the girls that we know from the church in Chernihiv who were acting as translators for an American team doing an outreach in the city. Small world.

Edna, Joshua, and Dominic at the Chernobyl Memorial in Slavutych

We are excited about the start up of our Saturday English Club again next month. People have asked us when we will be meeting again and a new girl in our church has told us that she has several English speaking friends at the university here that want to attend. English focused outreaches and clubs seem to be great tools for bringing people to Christ. Keep praying for us as we plan more of these outreaches in the future.

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. - Lamentations 3:22

“True Christian suffering comes because we live for God and are serving the expansion of His kingdom. It is a positive sacrifice for the good of others. It is not a morbid, introspective act that one does to oneself to feel or become spiritual.” - K. P. Yohannan

Нехай Бог Благословить Україну
(Let God Bless Ukraine)

Prayer Requests

• That we could come together in fellowship with other local churches.
• For wisdom and guidance as Greg pastors the church by himself for the next month.
• That the churches we met with in America would keep us (Ukraine) on their hearts and minds and in their prayers.
• That God would direct us in planning local outreaches using English.
• That God would heal Edna's kidneys.
• Pray that Maxime would continue to grow in Christ. That nothing would hinder him from coming to church on Sunday, or being able to stay with us here at home.
• That God would raise up others outside of Ukraine to serve in Bila Tserkva.
• For a permanent translator at our Church.
• For more young women and (especially) men to begin coming to English Club at the Rosava.
• For financial provisions to allow us to travel to Speakers Week at the Bible College in Hungary.

Support can be sent to:
Calvary SLO
P.O. Box 1463
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
With an attached note: "For Greg and Edna Silva"

In Christ,
Greg, Edna, Dominic, and Joshua

Our blog: On Second Thought
Our photos: We Desire Him

June 2008 Update - Bila Tserkva, Ukraine

After a month back home in Bila Tserkva, it seems as if we'd never left. Dominic and Joshua have settled back into their routines and Maxime is once again a part of our family. Dominic and Joshua are both being home schooled with computer software called "Switched on Schoolhouse", by Alpha Omega. It seems to be a good fit for them and they are enjoying learning from it each day. Joshua's routine consists of getting his school work done as quick as possible so that he can go play outside with the other kids until it gets dark around 10:00 PM. There are some mandatory meal breaks thrown in there for him, but yes, summer days here are long. Dominic, Joshua, and Maxime even had the opportunity to spend a couple of days with Maxime's grandmother in her village. You can see all the photos that Dominic took by clicking HERE and HERE. Needless to say, Edna and I are as busy as ever.

Joshua doing a little fishing down by the river

In June we celebrated Maxime's 11th birthday by taking him on a day trip to Kyiv where he enjoyed a "Heppy Meal" at McDonald's. You can read more about Maxime's birthday and see the photos by clicking HERE. Unfortunately, his parents hardly seemed to take notice that their only son turned a year older. We were just happy to be here for him.

Learning some new Ukrainian songs with Miss Edna at Church

When we left Ukraine to visit California in April, everything looked gray and gloomy. We were blessed to return to a Ukraine that was bursting with flowers and green everywhere you looked. We have also been enjoying unusually nice weather. We decided at Church that we should take advantage of this by having a church picnic along the bank of the river. The downside to this was that the incredibly beautiful picnic area was littered with trash, a huge problem just about everywhere here. We turned the situation into an opportunity to set an example by picking up all the trash around our picnic area rather than just leave it. We all had a great time at the picnic and the idea has come up to create anti-litter posters in Ukrainian and the possibility of doing some organized river clean-ups with other churches. A few people are already working on some clever poster titles so we're excited about this little project and its potential impact. You can see more of the photos from our Church picnic by clicking HERE.

Our Church picking up trash by the river
(and Dominic pointing our how dirty Maxime's feet are)

The boys watching over our cooking fire at the Church picnic

Edna is excited to have started taking formal Ukrainian lessons again. A friend of ours named Nadia, has agreed to give Edna lessons. She has worked as a translator and as an English teacher at the Army post here in Bila Tserkva so she does a great job.

Edna getting a Ukrainian lesson from Nadia

Natasha from downstairs seems to really like Dominic

Maxime has become like a family member to us so it really breaks our hearts to learn more and more just how much his parents neglect him. He has almost no social skills or any sense of hygiene. His behavior can be very difficult at times because no one has really taught him right from wrong and we suspect that he suffers from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. This makes it even more difficult for him to make friends on the playground and often Dominic and Joshua are the only kids that will play with him. As Christians, we are doing our best to show him love with discipline, but it isn't easy. His parents generally don't care what he does as long as it doesn't inconvenience them. So being told that he can't do something because of improper behavior is totally foreign to him and causes him to become very frustrated. Maxime is always eager to please us and offers to help whenever he can, but learning to say please and thank you and having loving discipline in his life is a difficult process for all of us. Please keep this situation in your prayers.

Maxime helping me put a bookshelf together

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call. - Acts 2:39

“The way to Heaven is ascending; we must be content to travel uphill, though it be hard and tiresome, and contrary to the natural bias of our flesh” - Jonathan Edwards

Нехай Бог Благословить Україну
(Let God Bless Ukraine)

Prayer Requests

• That we could come together in fellowship with other local churches.
• That the churches we met with in America would keep us (Ukraine) on their hearts and minds.
• That God would direct us in planning local outreaches.
• That God would give us patience in helping Maxime with his behavior.
• Pray that Maxime would continue to grow in Christ. That nothing would hinder him from coming to church on Sunday, or being able to stay with us here at home.
• That God would raise up others outside of Ukraine to serve in Bila Tserkva.
• For a permanent translator at our Church.
• For more young women and (especially) men to begin coming to English Club at the Rosava.
• For financial provisions to allow us to travel to others churches in Ukraine this summer.

Support can be sent to:
Calvary SLO
P.O. Box 1463
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
With an attached note: "For Greg and Edna Silva"


In Christ,
Greg, Edna, Dominic, and Joshua

Our blog: On Second Thought
Our photos: We Desire Him