CSPCU News: Praise the Lord!! Although the work with the Committee seems to be slow going, we are moving only as fast as the Lord will allow us. This has been a time of networking, relationship and discovering our identity. It has been a wonderful lesson for me in knowing the subtleties between being an initiator, pushing forward, standing idle, and listening and waiting for God. I feel so anxious sometimes that nothing is getting done, that I’m not working hard enough, or I am getting distracted by other projects. Then, when I stand back and look, I see that there are fruits which are very real, yet they can’t be as easily explained, shared, or conveyed. It would be much easier if the Lord had called me to a ministry where I could send home pictures showing the children we are helping, the buildings we are building, or the people we are evangelizing. Because everything is largely paper trails and meetings, it is difficult to take pictures. I can tell you that I am very pleased with the foundation which is being built. We, the committee members, are in this for the long haul. We know that developing an effective program that can educate and influence an entire country’s values, ideals, and laws pertaining to safety and morality, will take many years of commitment and hard work. We know that this road will not be an easy one, and we know that there will be many entities of opposition. More importantly, we know that there is nothing that can be placed into the path of this project that can hinder, slow, or in any way stop the will of God!! This is His project, this is His plan, these are His children, and He will do exactly what needs to get done in order to keep them safe. We pray and offer ourselves as His hands and His voice.

We are thankful for your prayers and are excited to report how they are being answered. As I mentioned last letter, we have been blessed by being sent an eager, committed woman of God who is acting as our legal advisor. We were able to bring her to Uzhgorod from Kiev, an 18 hour train ride, for a wonderful meeting which has given us incredible vision, direction, and momentum. She donated her professional skills, guidance, and time. All we had to pay for was her lodging (donated by Mr. and Mrs. Bill Tarr-Thanks!), her travel, and her food. She walked us through what it will take to become a recognized non-profit here regionally. She has answered for us some very difficult and technical questions. She has offered her services and that of her firm “in any way possible”. She is sending us some suggested statutes and bi-laws which we are going to begin looking over and which will use to define ourselves legally.

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Our most bold and exciting current activity to date is pursuing invitations to the OSCE international convention in Kiev (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) on July 5-9th . This is the largest event in the Assembly's calendar, the Annual Session is the point at which this international assembly meets to debate and pass recommendations on OSCE-related issues. One of the major issues of the agenda will be to discuss the adoption of a proposed resolution draft which specifically addresses Human Trafficking in Eastern Europe. Predsident of Ukraine, Viktor Yuschenko will be one of the key speakers. Also some of the most powerful and universally recognized world scholars, activists, and leaders in the Global Human Rights community will be in attendance. This is a closed assembly and admittance is strictly controlled. When, (speaking prophetically) by some incredible act of God, this door gets open, we will be able to introduce ourselves as an organization to members of this assembly and prayerfully we will begin to gain some global recognition and support for our efforts here in Ukraine. We will not have any voice in the hearings, we will only be allowed to watch, and we will be seated in the upper gallery seats. We will however be able to report about the results of this convention to our partner organizations, and we will be able to shake hands and do some powerful networking. Please pray that our petition to be invited is considered and entry passes are granted.

Many of you are asking when we will be home. Well, that is a huge topic of prayer concern. There are so many wonderful events on the horizon for the ministry, and we have been praying that we are able to stay here and keep involved with the work that needs to be getting done. Also, we may have to wait until December at the earliest in order to get her travel visa to USA. I am very much asking for prayer that I am not forced to leave the country, the ministry work, or my wife and have to come home, even temporarily, due to lack of funding. When I first came over I was able to earn and raise enough sponsorship for a 6 month stay. I had originally planned to return on July 1st for the summer and raise more funds in order to return. As it is, the money has been budgeted and spent as originally designed. My 6 months will be up in two weeks. We are putting out a prayer request and sponsor challenge to our friends, family, and ministry partners that will allow us to extend this trip another 6 months.

These are our immideate financial needs. If you cannot help financially at this time, please commit to praying that the Lord send's us the people who can.

Newsletter Update: Just a real quick update... We found out this morning (June 29th) that we have been granted accreditation by the OSCE-PA Assembly!!! This means that we have been issued invitations for both me and Layera to this year’s Assembly in Kiev. This is very difficult to explain as it is a lot of political technical details. In short, it is an incredible opportunity. It is amazing that we are actually invited and issued passes for entrance. We will be meeting some very powerful and influential people in the European Human Rights community. Please take a moment and go to this link and see why this is so amazing.