Dominic, Joshua, Maxime, and Edna going to buy Christmas ornaments
We started out the Month of December by visiting the McNamee family in Chernihiv. We had a great time seeing how God is working through the church there. We had a chance to help out with the English Club they started and to get some ideas that we could use for the English Club at the Bila Tserkva Invalid Center. You can read more about our trip to Chernihiv by clicking HERE.
We spent Christmas (December, 25th) in Nizhyn with the Fournier family. Along with Tracy Groves and Will and Ira McIntosh, we celebrated an American style Christmas complete with homemade eggnog and a classic Audrey Hepburn movie. You can read more about the church there and what we did by clicking HERE.
Alyona and Joshua watching a movie together
We feel blessed to have such great neighbors where we live. Not a day goes by where we don't meet someone we know on the street who greets us and wants to know how we are doing. The New Year and Christmas season has shown us just how blessed we are as our neighbors have shown up with baked goods, gifts, and even an offer for a manicure (which Edna took our neighbor Olya's daughter up on). Since we share a common entryway door with Olya, we both leave our doors unlocked when we're home. It's not unusual for one of her granddaughters, Marianna or Alyona, to wonder in to our place to come over to play. Occasionally, we'll notice that Joshua has wondered over to Babushka Olya's to see what she's cooking. Dominic and Joshua sometimes make their way down to our neighbors that live below us to play with their daughters, Oksana and Natasha, and then we get to hear just how loud our children can be.
Joshua has made a new friend in our landlord's son, Oleh. After having an English lesson with Edna one Friday, Oleh asked his mom, Olena, if Joshua could come over. Joshua ended up spending the night and the next day over at their house. Joshua is looking forward to going back and wants to ask Oleh to come to church with us.
Decorating our New Year / Christmas tree on New Year's Eve
The biggest surprise we had this month came just before New Year's Eve. Maxime had spent most of the 29th with us, which also happened to be Edna's birthday, so we asked if he could sleep over. His mother has always said no, but we still have him ask anyway. We were shocked when she said he could not only spend the night, but stay with us until New Year's Day.
The next day at church, we celebrated the New Year / Christmas and Maxime performed with the other children as they sang Ukrainian Christmas songs. We are so blessed to see how Christ is at work in his life. We decided that we would do our best to give Maxime a loving Christmas. (New Year's and Christmas are kind of blurred together here so it gets a little confusing.) Maxime's parents are alcoholics so his hygiene, clothing, and nutrition are regularly neglected. Even Dominic and Joshua felt blessed to see Maxime get to take a shower, have his clothes washed, eat regular meals, and sleep in a warm bed. He was really excited to find out that we had presents for him to open as well. You can read more about how we celebrated New Year's Eve by clicking HERE.
We bought each of the boys a new "car" for Christmas
Our Christmas tree wasn't much more than just a pine branch stuck in a pickle jar, but to all of us and especially a certain little boy, it was absolutely beautiful. Our prayer is that beyond decorations and presents, Maxime saw the Love of Christ in all that we did.
Maxime, Joshua, and Dominic ringing in the New Year
The strange part is that we haven't actually celebrated Ukrainian Christmas yet. From what we've been told, we're just getting started.
Maxime after we finished building his Lego ship on New Year's Day
”Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:9-11
"Our goal is to show the world and the Church that even in these last evil days, God is ready to help, comfort, and answer the prayers of those who trust in Him. We need not go to our fellowmen or to the ways of the world. God is both able and willing to supply us with all we need in His service." - George Muller
Prayer Requests
• That God would continue to lead us according to His plan
• That God would raise up others to come here to serve
• Finding a good teacher for Ukrainian lessons through the language school
• For the continued growth of the Children's Ministry on Sundays
• Financial provisions for our trip to America this year
• God's leading in starting an English Club for University students
• Opportunities for sharing the Gospel with our neighbors
• That other church members will volunteer in with the children's ministry
• Health and safety
• God's leading in how to best reach the unsaved at the invalid center
• Spiritual growth and discernment
• Pray that Edna would have the opportunity to share the saving message of Christ with Maxime’s mother, Vera
• That God would use us in the lives of Oleh and his parents.
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
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