November 2009 Update - Bila Tserkva, Ukraine

Me and Edna with our friend Sasha from our church.

November was an interesting month with flu epidemics and quarantines being the major topic of conversation here. Most people have finally stopped wearing surgical masks as the news frenzy seems to have died down. We have tried to keep our travels to a minimum and that has meant spending a lot of time at home. We've kept busy by having people in our home and helping out our neighbor Olya with some remodeling she is doing next door.

As many of you know, we will be moving back to California in March. (You can read about the details of that decision by clicking HERE if you haven't already read about it.) We have been blessed by our neighbor Olya and our friend Tanya who have been helping us to sell all of our furniture and all but a few things in our home. The floor space in our apartment seems to be growing as people carry away furniture and chairs. Hopefully we will have everything sold by the time we are ready to leave.

Dominic and Tanya with the new Ukrainian shirt she bought him.

Dominic's 16th birthday was on the 25th so we celebrated it the next day on Thanksgiving Day. You can see more about that day by clicking HERE. We are thankful that God has given us a boy who has grown into a wonderful young man.

Me painting Olya's ceiling next door.

Staying busy at home has meant more time with our neighbors and more children in and out of our apartment. Taras, the hedgehog, is usually the main attraction when it comes to the little ones though.

Being at home more has also given us a chance to spend more time one on one with people from our church and really get to know them rather than just casual conversations after church. We want to make all of our remaining time here as useful as possible.

Olya's granddaughter, Alyona, holding Taras.

Joshua and Maxime spending some time together. You can read about what's happening with Maxime by clicking HERE.

Edna helping Alina with her English homework. She is still helping our neighbor Oksana with her English as well.

The pain that Edna experiences from the condition in her spine makes it difficult to travel. Even short trips on a cramped marshrutka (shuttle van) across town are becoming increasingly painful. She was, however, able to make one trip this month to the doctor in Kyiv and then to visit the orphan children in the hospital there. Unfortunately, by the time she got home she was in unbearable pain for the rest of the evening. Please keep praying for her.

Edna holding a little orphan boy at a hospital in Kyiv. The children in that part of the hospital are suspected of having Aids. The gauze mask is for the children's protection due to the flu epidemic. To find out about adopting one of these little ones, please click HERE.

Zhenya leading worship at church.

We have been especially blessed by a man named Zhenya who has been coming to our church with his wife for the last month and a half. He has been leading worship and really enriching our time with the Lord. He is of Jewish decent and while he plays all the contemporary songs we're used to hearing, he also plays songs with a distinctive Jewish style to them.

Here's a sample of Zhenya enjoying singing praises to God.

Joshua petting Taras as he sleeps on our bed.

This 1990 Soviet artwork on a Ukrainian apartment building seems to symbolize the prosperity of a working family. I think it would be better to say that a family who works at showing God's love to one another and praying together will enjoy God's blessings as a family. This is especially true for our family as we prepare to transition from Ukraine to California.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support as they will definitely be needed in the coming months.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:38-39

"You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work. And go not only to those that need you, but to those that need you most. It is not your business to preach so many times, and to take care of this or that society; but to save as many souls as you can; to bring as many sinners as you possibly can to repentance." - John Wesley

Нехай Бог Благословить Україну
(Let God Bless Ukraine)

Prayer Requests

• That God would watch over Maxime and his mother, Vera, giving them comfort.
• That God would continue to lead us and take us in the direction He wants us to go.
• Please pray that God would provide the $2,500 needed for our plane tickets.
• For Edna's health problems and medical costs.
• For God's protection against illness.
• Pray that home schooling will become easier and less stressful for all of us. Pray for wisdom and patience.
• For continued friendships (especially among our neighbors) that lead to Christ being made known as a personal Savior.

• For spiritual growth in all of us, unity in our marriage, protection from spiritual attack.
• For the planning and everything that must be done in preparation for our move back to California.

Support can be sent to:
Calvary SLO
4029 S. Higuera Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
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


To see updates for previous months, please click the link below "Older Posts"

October 2009 Update - Bila Tserkva, Ukraine

Dominic, Joshua, Greg, and Edna

October is one of our favorite months in Ukraine due to all of the beautiful colors. Coming from the Central Coast of California where there's not a big difference between seasons, we really enjoy this time of year. It's also the time of year when people begin to spend more time indoors because of the weather. It's the perfect time for having guests in the home and sitting down to share God's word with them.

Some fall colors near our apartment

Dominic's hedgehog, Taras, has turned out to be a popular member of our family. Most people have seen hedgehogs in the wild outside, but not as pets. When people hear that we have a pet hedgehog, they all want to see him and hold him. Despite having sharp quills, he's very affectionate and likes to lay in your lap. Who would have guessed he would be so popular?

Edna with Taras

Edna and Maxime's mother , Vera, having tea while she feeds Taras a piece of cookie

Maxime's mother, Vera, came over to visit one day and told us about how she was doing. She is living in the back section of her in-laws' house and Maxime is living in the main house. She said it is lonely and cold back there and she has nothing to do but sit and think. She didn't even want the grandmother to know that she was visiting us. Our understanding is that the grandmother has taken over raising Maxime and is very cruel to Vera. Please keep them all in prayer.

Thank you to those of you who have helped out in various ways for Maxime. You can read about the care package he received by clicking HERE.

Edna going over an English lesson with Maryana

On top of home school our own children, Edna has been helping out two other girls with their English classes. One of them is our neighbor, Olya's granddaughter, Maryana. The other girl, Alina, is in the same class as our downstairs neighbor, Oksana. Edna is actually learning a lot about British English as she helps them study.

Oksana is second from the left and Alina is on the far right dressed in black

Since we've been back in Ukraine, the hand pump at a nearby apartment complex where we usually get our drinking water has been broken. We were forced to either buy drinking water from a truck or walk about a half a mile to a spring to get water. The pump has finally been fixed so praise God for the little things that make life easier. You can read about our water saga by clicking HERE.

Joshua collecting drinking water for us from a spring

This month in our church we had a baby dedication and we've been blessed to have a man named Zhenya leading worship. Zhenya is an ethnically Jewish Christian and he does a great job of blending Jewish worship songs with contemporary Christian worship. I have just started teaching in the book of Acts and I'm excited to explore the early church history with the body of believers here. We are also happy to have a couple of members return to our fellowship after being gone due to work and family issues. God is faithful.

Please keep all of Ukraine in prayer as the nation suffers through an epidemic of the swine flu. You can read what I posted about it by clicking HERE or read the latest news by clicking Digital Journal.

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. - Hebrews 13:15-16

"Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." - Jim Elliot

Нехай Бог Благословить Україну
(Let God Bless Ukraine)

Prayer Requests

• That God would watch over Maxime and his mother, Vera, giving them comfort.
• That God would continue to lead us and take us in the direction He wants us to go.
• That we would be able to raise adequate financial support according to God's will.
• For Edna's health problems and medical costs.
• Pray that Maxime would continue to grow in Christ and that nothing would hinder him from going to church on Sunday.
• Pray that home schooling will become easier and less stressful for all of us. Pray for wisdom and patience for all four of us.
• For continued friendships (especially among our neighbors) that lead to Christ being made known as a personal Savior.

• For spiritual growth in all of us, unity in our marriage, protection from spiritual attack.
•For God's protection against illness.

Support can be sent to:
Calvary SLO
4029 S. Higuera Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
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


To see updates for previous months, please click the link below "Older Posts"