Ron & Nancy Minton April/May 2020

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:

• Our Summer Evangelistic English Club.  We need one more ten-week and a two-week helper.
• Our health and safety.  We came to the States for medical issues and feel well.
• Wisdom in scheduling classes in Ukraine.
• Some more kids to come to Christ through the Ukraine ministry.
• The five churches we were in during this USA visit - that they would stay strong in the Lord.
• Traveling safety and God's timing for us to return to Ukraine.  Our return date went from April 8 to May 3, but it may be pushed back again if the Ukraine government extends travel restrictions.
• Nancy’s sister and brother-in-law visited us for a month starting in mid March.  They were also caught in the travel problems related to the virus.  Pray for their safety as they travel.

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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