March/April 2008 Prayer Letter

May 3, 2008 | Posted by: Yura

Dear Friends and Family in Christ Jesus,

Greetings from Ukraine! Opportunities for ministry continue to expand. I have recently started leading the weekly youth/young adult Bible study. Right now we are going through a series on the Biblical perspective of Christians' outward appearance. As you can imagine, this topic was chosen to address the issue of immodesty among our young people. After the first few meetings, I had more than one person tell me that they had never heard such a clear Biblical presentation of this subject. All they had been given was a list of "do's and don'ts" without scriptural backing. In addition to the Biblical view of dress, we are going to study the philosophies behind the worldly tendencies in dressing; plus, look into the history of fashion trends. This, I believe, will help the young people to realize that most modern clothing styles are in sharp contrast to Biblical standards of modest apparel.

Easter Sunday

In our young families' Bible study group, we are finishing up our course on child training. Also, in my Sunday morning preaching, I have finished the series on music. I may not have as many friends in this church as I did previously, but at least now they know the truth. Now, I am approaching a long-awaited moment in my life - finally being able to preach using my translation. I am planning to preach through the newly-translated book of Philippians. We are excited about what God has allowed us to accomplish for His glory. May the preaching of His word bring forth much fruit in the life of believers.

Preaching on the resurrection of our Lord

Speaking of translation, in March, I was able to meet with my former Ukrainian professor to discuss Philippians. Further, the final draft of the book of Ephesians is coming along well and I trust to finish it shortly. My study of this book in the process of its translation has been enlightening to me. I would like to share one in particular point: in Ephesians 2:14, the "middle wall of partition" is mentioned and I have wondered in the past what that wall was. Typically, the explanation is that it is a reference to the wall that separated the court of the Gentiles and the court of the Jews in the Temple. However, if "hath broken down the middle wall of partition"(v. 14) is paralleled with "having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments" (v. 15), then it is clear that the "middle wall of partition" is the law itself. This understanding is confirmed by the notion among Jews of those times that the law was a fence around Israel (in Greek, it literally says "middle wall of the fence"). In a Jewish source, I found, "Our lawgiver … fenced us about with impenetrable banisters and with walls of iron to the end that we should mingle in no way with any of the other nations, remaining pure in body and in spirit". So, the law that made a sharp distinction between the Jews and Gentiles and caused enmity between them was abolished by Christ in order to create His Church, consisting of both the Jews and Gentiles.

The past two months have been a whirlwind of exercise-swimming classes, massages, and various doctor visits for the boys. This hectic schedule was made somewhat easier by the blessing of a car which the Lord provided for us recently. All glory to His Name! In our on-going search for doctors who could give us some answers to Sashko and Yurko’s health problems, we were finally able to get them into the top children’s clinic of Ukraine for consultations with the gastroenterologist and allergist. We are now in the process of getting the necessary tests done for these doctors to review and give us their diagnosis and recommended treatment. Also, as you may recall, over a year ago in Moscow we were referred by our orthopedic specialist to a geneticist. The orthopedist was concerned about the boys' slow progress and felt that the underlying cause may be genetic. At the geneticist's in Moscow, all four of us were examined and the boys were diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos' Syndrome: a group of genetic disorders caused by a defect in collagen, the main protein of connective tissue. This syndrome weakens connective tissue, causing (among other things) unstable, flexible joints, with a tendency to dislocate, weak ligaments, and overall physical weakness. It was suggested that we get a second opinion, so this week we took Sashko and Yurko to a leading geneticist in Kyiv who specializes in this syndrome. To our disappointment, the diagnosis was confirmed; but to our relief, the doctor said that the condition is treatable. Also, it is helpful to finally know the root cause of the boys' orthopedic problems and be able to treat it, not just the symptoms. The doctor said that from her experience, 4 to 5 years of treatment gives good results and we are praying that this will be the case with our children as well. In May, the boys will have special genetic tests done that will enable the doctor to pinpoint the severity of the syndrome and lay out a plan of treatment. Please earnestly pray for the doctors to have wisdom.

Waiting at the doctor's office

Yurko at his massage session

The recession of the United States economy has affected many countries, including Ukraine. The dollar-to-Ukrainian hrivna exchange rate has significantly gone down, while national inflation continues at a high rate. Thus, we are faced with double inflation, which over the past few months has raised our food budget alone by about $100 a month. A gallon of premium gas costs $5.05, and this is not the only item in Ukraine that is more expensive than in America. Also, our landlord has already forwarned us that he will be raising our rent at the end of our rental agreement. He could not yet say how much he would raise it, not knowing what the rental market will be like in four months; but, judging from the current price of an apartment like our’s, we should expect a $100-200 increase in our monthly rent. Please pray with us that the Lord would provide our needs, especially in view of the additional financial burden of the boys' costly medical treatment.

Wendy is doing well and, from all that the tests have shown, the baby is developing normally. Whoever he or she is, this baby can certainly kick up a storm! Thank you for continuing to pray for both Wendy and Baby Popchenko over the next several months.

Thank you for praying for Wendy and the baby!

We are excitedly awaiting the arrival of our parents from America who are coming for a visit the first of May. It has been two years since we have seen them and we are looking forward to some special family time.

Thank you all for your faithful prayers and financial support. We pray for you and ask that God would bless you for your participation in this ministry.

Your Fellow-laborers for Jesus’ sake,
Yura, Wendy, Sashko and Yurko Popchenko

January/February 2008 Prayer Letter

March 13, 2008 | Posted by: Yura

Dear Friends and Family in Christ Jesus,

Greetings in our precious Savior's Name from the Popchenko Family! By the grace of God, another step in translation has been taken: the first draft of Ephesians is ready. I was also able to meet with one of the people who assist me in the evaluation of my translation of Philippians. The evaluation by others was pushed back by two factors: first, it took me about three more weeks to finish my linguistic commentary on Philippians, in which I explain and back up my translation choices; second, the main person who works with me in evaluation had a fire at his house and could not meet with me until a few weeks later than planned, due to his necessary home repairs. I would like to take a moment to say a few words about this commentary. It addresses three types of issues that are related to translation: textual issues, differences in understanding the Greek text and differences in chosing Ukrainian words. Let me illustrate each point. Probably one of the most significant textual variations between the Textus Receptus and the critical text in Philippians is found in Philippians 2:30. Here all Ukrainian versions say that Epaphroditus was “risking his life” instead of “not regarding his life”. Although ‘risk’ and ‘not regard’ (or ‘disregard’) are close in meaning, they still have a different assosiation connected to their use. We feel that it is important to resolve even these small details as faithfully as possible. In my commentary, I explain the groundlessness and subjective nature of the critical reading, as well as its grammatical problems. As an example of the second type of issue, in Phil. 4:11, all existing Ukrainian versions translate Paul’s words as follows: “I have learned to be content with what I have” instead of “for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content”. As hard as one may try, this translation can not be deduced from the Greek text, even though is it mentioned in Thayer’s Greek-English lexicon. As for the third type of issue, in Phil. 2:30, all Ukrainian versions translate the last clause in such a way as to make Epaphroditus add to the the Phillipians’ lack of service toward Paul. This translation is absurd because in it Epaphroditus actually makes this lack even greater. These are only a few examples of the translation problems I deal with on an everyday basis.

Translating Ephesians

Yurko "helping" Daddy

For years I have been praying for God to give me helpers in my work. So far, I have three people who assist me by reading my translation and offering their criticism and suggestions. They are my former classmate, a preacher and my former professor of Ukrainian. The first two of them are Christians and the last is not. My classmate has the same education in Greek and Ukrainian as I do, but she is not strong in theology since she just got saved a few years ago. This, she feels, hinders her from being more involved in the work. However, her assistance has been very helpful since she is the only assistant that knows Greek. I have already discussed Philippians with her and received good input. Another assistant is a preacher who is my cousin. He is the one that recently had a fire in his house. The fact that my former Ukrainian professor is not a Christian does not disqualify her as my assistant, but rather benefits in a special way. Her unfamiliarity with the Scripture allows her to read it afresh; while for those of us who already know what it contains, it is sometimes not easy to read objectively. We ask you to pray for these people as they assist me and for my former professor to come to the saving knowledge of Christ through this work. We have yet another important prayer request. Even though I am thankful for these assistants to help me with proofreading the translation, we are praying for at least one more person who would help with the actual translating. So far I have not come across a person who knows Biblical languages, is knowledgeable of linguistics and translation techniques, knows his Bible, is a native speaker of Ukrainian and desires to translate the Bible. I ask you to join me in prayer for God to raise up another such person.

Evaluating Philippians with my cousin

Another cousin joins the work

In the past I have done some work for Chick Publications, translating tracts, proofreading, etc. and we have printed here in Ukraine for them a few times. I just got word from our printer in Kyiv that 30,000 more tracts are printed and will be ready for pick up soon. We praise the Lord for the small part He has let us have in distributing the gospel in our corner of the world. Please pray for God to use these little booklets as they get into the hands of seeking men and women.

My sister Tanya Higgins and the children are back in Ukraine for a few months to take care of emptying their rented apartment and dealing with various business matters regarding Brian’s estate. Although they all miss him very much, Tanya and the kids are doing well and God continues to comfort and provide for them.

Many thanks to all who have been praying for Wendy: her morning sickness is subsiding and all of her blood work and other tests came back looking very good. Wendy had her first ultrasound a few weeks ago and it showed ONE healthy, active baby… not TWO, like Sashko was hoping for! Please continue to keep Wendy and the baby in prayer throughout this pregnancy. Sashko and Yurko are excited about having another playmate. Speaking of the boys, their stomach problems seem to have quieted down, which is a relief since we have not yet been able to get referred to another gastroenterologist. Thank you for your continued prayers for Sashko and Yurko’s stomach and orthopedic issues.

May the Lord of the harvest bless you for your part in our ministry and may He open up wide doors of opportunity for you to serve Him in your corner of the vineyard.

Sincerely Yours in the Lord Jesus,
Yura, Wendy, Sashko and Yurko

Young Families' Bible Study

February 4, 2008 | Posted by: Yura

As we have mentioned in our prayer letters, for the past few months I have been teaching on child training to our young families' Bible study group. Interest continues to be high and we have been recording the sessions for those who are unable to join us each time. This last week, we altered our format to include an interactive section on Success Stories at the beginning and Problem Areas at the close.

First-timer, Sergiy, tells how he and his wife met.

At our last Bible study, one mother asked us how to deal with her two boys (1 and 2 years old) that were constantly fighting over toys. We suggested that ownership should be clearly designated to each child, with the toys being stored in separate toy boxes. This week during our section on Success Stories, this mother reported that after following that advice, the fighting has been cut way back. She added that the kids remember better than she does whose toys are whose.

Fewer sibling squabbles make for a happier mama!

Before the New Year, we gave all of our young families translated copies of Michael and Debi Pearl's book, To Train Up A Child. After reading it, one of our mothers testified that consistant training (Pearl style) had improved attitude and overall behavior of her rather unruly, almost 2-year old boy.

Training works!

This time I was teaching on the importance of children honoring their parents. Some parents expect that when children grow up they will automatically honor their parents, but this is simply not the case: they must be trained. From the very earliest age, things like talking-back, arguing or speaking disrespectfully to parents should never be allowed. We also talked about how parents can make this easier for their children by not provoking them to anger (Ephesians 4:6). Yelling at the children, belittling them and making unreasonable demands are just a few of the ways that we as parents can provoke our children to wrath.

Sharing stories over a cup of tea.

We are encouraged by the close fellowship we have with these earnest parents, as they seek to train their children for the Lord.