A letter from Nadia Ayoub serving in Ukraine
november 2014 - reaching out
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor my ways are your ways, says the Lord, For as the heaven is higher than earth, so are my ways higher than you ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8, 9).
Dear Friends and Family,
How I can possibly thank the Lord Jesus Christ, for he is the Lord of lords and the King of kings and by his love and grace invites all to come to be partners in his kingdom. Also I thank each one of you, my partners, for your prayers, encouragements and support for previous years.
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Ready for all programs and church
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David at the preschool program at first was sad
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Now David is happy playing
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VBS, a favorite yearly event
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Zoltan made the pews for the Roma mission Center
My mission was not only to minister to the Roma people in the area of Peterfolvo-Ukraine, but it has also brought much transformation for the local believers and myself too.
In January I came to the United States for interpretation assignment.
By God’s grace during my interpretation time in U.S.A. I visited with many very faithful Presbyterians on the East Coast, from upstate New York north to Virginia south and New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Some churches were new to me—one church had not had a missionary for more than 15 years—and some churches I visited 10 years ago. I drove for many hours to reach some churches. Some were big with five services every Sunday morning, but also some were small churches but nevertheless organized several smaller meetings, for example, meeting with Sunday School, then preaching in the church, then again sharing during lunch after the church service. Oh, let me tell you about all the wonderful, delicious meals that Presbyterians love to gather around to fellowship and to share what our loving God, our Father, is doing in the world, especially among the Roma people in Karpatalja-Ukraine.
Thank God, on April 16 I came back to Ukraine and I was looking forward to reuniting with the Roma children. It was surprising to them that I came back again to be with them. I was happy to find everyone healthy and to be able to celebrate Easter with them.
I was very busy in May, June and July getting the Roma Mission Center ready. I went a few times to a very big market to buy all the things needed for the center—carpet, appliances. We had pews made, and a fence and gate, and had the front yard cemented. And thank God the local Pastor (P. Seres Janos) with his renovation crew were able to get the center almost ready for VBS.
We had Vacation Bible School the last week of July, and we had 50-60 children from the Tecobokeny and Peterfolvo Roma settlements, for five days from 9:00 to 12:30. They had songs, Bible lessons, Bible verses, handcrafts, games and food. The children were so happy and proud of the new, clean house, and we had a prayer time to thank God for everything in the house and also to thank the people who did the renovation and all the people who gave gifts to make this Roma Mission Center exist.
In September the preschool started, even though not as full as we hoped, but God’s thoughts and plans are higher and better than ours. The children from the former two settlements were not reluctant to send their children to the program, so the local pastor invited Roma children from a third Roma settlement near by and thank God the Roma people in Tevadar were very happy that we have come to them, and their children started coming to the preschool program. Soon afterward the families from Peterfolvo agreed to send their children. We started with 8 children and now have more than 20 children—and we still need to invite children for the preschool program from three more settlements close by in Tecobokeny.
The program is run by an organization from the Netherlands (Small Miracle). The pastor of the Reformed Church has to pick the children up and take them back home. The children come at 8:30 and stay till 1:00 pm.
Thank God for two weeks now in November Wiebka, a new volunteer from Germany, and I have started a Bible club for the older children. We meet in the afternoon after school for Bible stories, prayers, reading, games, and other activities for two hours. The first week we had 5 children, and the second week we had 9 children. We think we can meet twice a week, Monday and Friday.
I pray God soon will call a local pastor to start a Bible study for Roma adults that will be a seed for a future fellowship and church congregation.
I thank you for prayers for the Ukraine situation. We see God is in control and although we still continue to enjoy peace in the western part of the country, people are disturbed and grieve for the war and the many casualties.
I pray you have been able to see God’s work of transformation: for the Roma people as more are encouraged to send their children to learn to read and write at the Roma Mission Center. And for the local believers as they completed the house renovation and now are running the work in the center. And for me as I came to understand that God’s ways and thoughts are higher and better than mine.
Thank you so much for your faithfulness and partnership with me, enabling me to share God’s love with the Roma people and the non-Roma too.
I pray God to continue to encourage you and bless you. And I pray you will have a very blessed time celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.
Serving Christ with you,
Nadia Ayoub
The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 322
The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 332
Read more about Nadia Ayoub's ministry
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Churches are asked to send donations through your congregation’s normal receiving site (this is usually your presbytery).
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