 THE UKRAINE REPORT - JANUARY 2021
Happy New Year from Ron and Nancy Minton in Ukraine. We spent most of December, 2020 in the States. Time goes by so quickly. We had hoped to visit some grand-kids, but almost all were sick. But the last few days they were well enough for us to visit for a short time. The other family lived too far away and we didn’t have the time to get there. We will be grandparents again soon. That will give us ten grandchildren. The first is now in college. They grow up quickly so influence your kin while you can. Thank you for you partnering with us. We are proud to be your missionaries and if you gave money or prayed for us, you equally share in God’s work over here. Last year was an amazing one for the ministry and we wanted to send you a summary. 2020 IN REVIEW: BIBLE COLLEGE The 2020 Bible college year ended strong. Like almost every other ministry, Covid-19 slowed everything down, but we had scheduled extra classes and some were cancelled just as we predicted. But by God’s grace, even in “2020 - The Covid Year,” we had the most classes since we started in 2005. We had even more classes, but we do not include some shorter non-credit classes. Some info is as follows: 1. In 2020 we had 28 classes - an all time high since our start in 2005. 2. In 2020 we used 12 different teachers - an all time high. 3. In 2020 we had our first class in one new Ukraine city. 4. In 2020 we had more than 100 first time students take classes. 5. During 2005 - 2020 the total number of people who have registered and taken at least one class was about 2,100 (final statistics will be known in a month or two). 6. During 2005 - 2020 the number of classes increased 13 years and was the same 3 times. HEALTH In December we went to the States for four weeks and had combined 12 medical events - tests, minor treatments, and checkups. Thanks to the mercy and grace of Jesus, we both are still healthy. When we returned to Ukraine we had a very hard time because of Covid test requirements confusion at the airports. We both had Covid tests and were both negative. In many areas, we really experienced the wonderful grace of Jesus in 2020. PRAYER NEEDS: - Travel restrictions making scheduling more difficult - One new country, Estonia, where we plan to start classes - The large number of people being trained in the Bible college - Our health, helpers, and churches in these difficult times It looks like 2021 will be a great year. Always thank the Lord because He has given all of us the chance to serve Him wherever we are. We can only do what we do because of the grace of God and your prayers and help. Хвала Христу, Он спас меня! Ron and Nancy Minton in Ukraine
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 Ron & Nancy Minton Dear Friends,
We are currently in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and Ron is teaching a Bible College class on Bibliology - the Bible. Our goal is to give the students an unshakable faith in the truth and inerrancy of the Bible. On Friday the class will be completed and we will go back to Dergachi, our hometown and get ready for more classes - it just keeps growing. Nancy has a new helper, Marina. They try to keep up on all the admin, house chores, children’s outreach, etc. They do a lot together but we never get fully caught up. I am sure you know this feeling. We have good health, and Nancy still is finishing up the garden - when we are in our city. Our garden gave us tomatoes, zucchini, cabbage, broccoli, pumpkins, many apples, and some pears. We are thankful for everything. The Bible college is still going strong. It is a challenge just to keep the schedules updated as some visitors have travel restrictions, etc. We started out 2020 with a lot of classes and then Covid slowed everything. But there must have been a pent-up demand for classes because we have started in one new location and will be in another as soon as travel allows. Even in this Covid year, we will possibly have 27 classes, an all time high for our 15 years. Only God can keep things going like this. Already we are praying about the 2021 Summer Evangelistic English Club which will be held in our backyard. We regularly see neighborhood children and they run up to us and ask about the next club. They call it camp even though they go home every day. We will need two American girls who have finished high school or who have only one year left. They will teach very basic conversational English to Ukrainian children. They will live with two Ukrainian girls from our churches. It is basically June 6-August 15, ten weeks. We invite those who are interested to speak with their parents and pastor and contact us by email. We will send them the details. We ask your prayers:
Thank you so much for helping us win Ukrainians for Christ. We count you among our dear friends. Pray for Peace in Ukraine. Ron and Nancy Minton  Dear Friends,
How quickly the days have gone by. We arrived in the States January 1, 2020 and had a good time with family and friends. After Ron’s medical treatments we tried to return to Ukraine, but the country, like other countries, had closed their borders to travelers. For more than three months we had all flights canceled. Now we have tickets to fly to Ukraine on July 8. Ron taught a live online class from Texas to students in Ukraine. Our Bible college had other online and in person classes as well. During Ron’s class Nancy played a few Russian songs that they knew. It was fun. The college is going well. It is amazing how many classes we had before the virus slowed us down, but we are still not far behind and we have two new profs preparing courses right now. In the fall Ron is scheduled to teach in Ukraine, Armenia, and possibly two other countries where we have extension classes. Prayer items:
Thank you so much for helping us win Ukrainians for Christ. We count you among our dear friends. Pray for Peace in Ukraine. Ron and Nancy Minton  Dear friends,
Here is the latest... Medical updates: We came from Ukraine January 1, 2020 for medical treatment and analysis. We are well, but we do not travel much now because of the virus related restrictions. Ron finished 39 days (he calls it 40 to remind him of Jesus’ time in the wilderness) of radiation treatment on March 11 in Amarillo, Texas. Everything signals his health is very good. On March 12 we went to a great missions conference in San Diego. On March 1, Nancy and some grandkids, etc. went to a big concert at a church in Pampa, Texas. She went to the restroom and it was dark when she returned to her seat and she fell on the steps. We treated her right wrist area for a bad bruise and she wore a wrist movement restriction gadget. She did normal work, etc. but on April 1, we had a routine checkup and the doctor wanted to x-ray her arm. It clearly showed the wrist bone was fractured that night, but was healing itself. The doctor said to keep using the arm wrap thing and to keep working outside, walking, mowing, etc. Thank the Lord for his grace in our lives. On another medical note, one grandson broke his leg working in our back yard on April 8. Seems there’s never a lack of happenings around us :) Prayer items:
Bible College: We were able to have a good number of classes in the Bible college before Covid-19 slowed things down. We have had to reschedule other classes, but we, like many churches, are doing some things differently for a while and in a few days Ron will teach a course online for students in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Please pray for the college. We have two or three cities where we plan to possibly start some classes in the fall. The cities are in Ukraine, Georgia, and Estonia. With the state of the world, only God can make things happen, so we totally depend on Him and his timing. Service: This Easter season, let’s remember that God does not need any of us in order to accomplish His work of bringing people to Him. I received an email from another missionary who gave me some of these thoughts. God has been working and will continue to work. It is only by the wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus that we (all Christians) are allowed to serve Him. He loves us, his children, no matter what, and I am always amazed that God allows me to be in ministry for Him. He does not need us and we are not worthy, but just knowing and appreciating that fact qualifies us to be Jesus’ partners. They crucified Him, but Acts 2:24 says it was impossible for death to hold him. We are therefore on the winning team because our Captain cannot lose. The resurrection guaranteed it all. Easter is now past in America, but in Ukraine, it is April 19 this year. Let’s all pray for God to continue to use His own Word to bring more people into the fold. Thank you so much for helping us win Ukrainians for Christ. We count you among our dear friends. Pray for Peace in Ukraine. Ron and Nancy Minton |
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