CINDY BRYANT
Pryvit! (“Hi!” in Ukrainian) We have completed our first day of English Club in Ostroh, Ukraine. Dyakuyu (thank you) for your faithful prayers. God blessed us in so many ways!
We began the morning eating a delicious breakfast and hearing a moving testimony from a young woman named Tania. She is a friend of Jeannie’s (our missionary partner) who traveled a long way to come work with us. Her childhood was filled with many sorrows amidst bombs and missiles, but God protected her from death several times and, after attending a CRU English Club, she has now given her life to Him. Hallelujah! About 8 of our CRU volunteers joined us and we enjoyed deepening the relationships we have already formed with them. It seems that for every new word I teach them, they want to teach me a Ukrainian word in return. (“Shcho?? = What??!!) I am not such a good student! Afterward we spent some time practicing the lessons we would teach at the first English Club. Our lessons include vocabulary, common idioms, and a passage from the Bible.
After setting up at Salvation Church, we finally met the students we would be teaching. Most of them were very excited to be there. One young lady told me that she had “never met a native speaker and could we just talk for awhile.” We have three classes: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Alex and I teach the intermediate class of 22 students. They were able to speak more English than I had expected. We taught them a bit about Virginia and then went through the lesson. They did many activities where each one had to talk to a partner or small group in English only. A treat of Reese’s Peanut Butter cups sweetened the deal and we finished the night with a game of “Speed Dating” – ask me what that is!
We prayed this past week for students to come with open hearts to hear the gospel and willing hearts to come into a church to learn English. We prayed for the perfect number of students, for energy and enthusiasm for the teaching teams, and for good fruit to follow. God blessed us with 52 university students, 20 CRU university volunteers, 8 excited teachers, and many, many smiles! We will have to wait to see about the fruit. Thank you for your partnership in this work and please continue to pray for the rest of our week. The weather is sunny and slowly warming up and the team is healthy and well. Praise the Lord for calling us, equipping us, and sending us into this rich mission field in Ostroh, Ukraine.
Michael Bryant2026-03-03T16:59:47-05:00