Author Archives: Yura Popchenko

Mystery revealed but more trouble ahead

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Ever since we returned to Ukraine, I noticed that my health had been deteriorating. This past year I have been sick more often than usual with the escalation of non-stop health problems in the past three months. Neither the immunologist, nor the ear-nose-throat doctor could find any reason for me to have sinus and ear infections so often. As we tried to solve this riddle, the thought came that this could be related to our living conditions. As we mentioned in our latest posts, we have had a mold problem in our house. So, I went online to check the health effects of mold and this is what I found. Toxic molds can increase a person’s susceptibility to a wide variety of diseases by weakening their immune system. According to a 1999 Mayo Clinic Study, nearly all chronic sinus infections are a result of molds (to read more about it, click the links in the end of this post). This sounds like a very possible explanation of my recent health problems.

The mold all the way down through the stucco

 

The other side of the bathroom wall

 

Black mold along the floor boards in the boy’s classroom

 

Applying an anti-fungus solution

 

Our bedroom after cleaning

No matter how many times we tried get rid of the mold spots, they kept coming back. Finally, we had our Christian architect friend come and inspect the house to see what (if anything) could be done. This was his verdict. The house is completely infested with mold… the first floor having it deep in the walls. The boy’s classroom is the worse room: you can even smell the mold. After personally having the experience of fighting mold in his own apartment for two years, our friend believes that our house is not suitable for living and we need to get out as soon as possible if we want to stay healthy.

A month ago we told our landlady that we wanted to try and find a new place and began the search. A month of looking for a house within a $1000 price range has not yielded any results. For one reason or another, every house we’ve looked at has been totally unsuitable (major heating problems, too cramped, ‘smokey’, etc.) So, two days ago we told our landlady that since we were not able to find a house, we would like to stay in this one longer. First, she said that she was going to kick us out anyway and then she decided to let us stay but would raise our rent by 30%, effective February. Even though Wendy is due the end of February and moving right now is the last thing we want to do, we have decided to keep looking for a house and try to move before we have the baby. Please pray for us to find a suitable home with a reasonable landlord quickly!

On a happier note, Sashko had his 9th birthday on January 18th. We spent the day in joyful fellowship with friends who came to celebrate with us. Over the past year, Sashko has matured so much. He is a big help around the house and with the younger boys. Also, he took on two new musical instruments this year: violin and guitar. Our prayer is that Sashko would always love God and serve Him with his whole heart.

The Birthday Boy

 

Playing with the new car that pops wheelies

Health Risks from “Toxic” Mold
http://www.toxic-black-mold-info.com/moldhealth.htm

Adverse Human Health Effects Associated with Molds in the Indoor Environment
http://healthandenergy.com/health_effects_of_mold.htm

Mold (filamentous fungi)
http://healthandenergy.com/mold.htm

November/December 2010 Prayer Letter

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Dear Friends and Family in Christ Jesus,

Greetings from the Popchenko Family! We hope you had a blessed Christmas and we pray for God’s richest blessings on each of you and for renewed strength in the Lord’s service this coming year.

Happy New Year from the Popchenkos!

As we look back at the past year, we were once again reminded of God’s faithfulness in upholding us through the hardships of life. Even though we experienced many of God’s wonderful blessings in 2010, the past year was the most difficult for us health-wise. In June, all of us got some sort of gastrointestinal infection and all except me ended up in the hospital. This past year I had another health problem added to my collection: my lower back. Then, from August to November, I had three sinus infections and two ear infections in a row, experiencing the latter problem for the first time in my life. Finally, my old stomach problems (the primary one being ‘reflux’) have returned… or perhaps they never went away since 2004. This is not mentioning our numerous colds. At the time of this writing, I am recovering from the series of sinus and ear infections, thanks to the successful treatment prescribed by my immunologist, and am at the same time treating my stomach problems. We covet your prayers for my health: I need it to complete the Ukrainian Bible.

In spite of my recent illnesses, by God’s grace I was able to finish the first draft of Matthew and to do the first draft of 5 chapters of Mark. The end of the year 2010 marked the completion of 35% of the New Testament in various stages. Some of the books are in the first draft, others are in the second draft and one book is in the final draft. We praise the Lord for the opportunity to accomplish this much! The first readers of the newly translated Gospel of Matthew were my family: we used it in our family devotions. One particular instance of our family devotions was especially interesting. When we read Matthew 25:31-46, I commented on verse 40 “…Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” I tried to explain to the boys that what we do for other Christians, we are really doing for Jesus, since all believers are His brothers. Several days later Christmas arrived. Our ‘philosopher’ Sashko was trying to understand the Christmas practice of gift giving and asked, “Why do people give presents to each other on Christmas, if this is supposed to be Jesus’ birthday?” After thinking for a moment, he said, “I know why. Because when we do something for Jesus’ brothers, we do it for Him.”

Mama’s Corner (by Wendy)
The boys and I were excited to complete our first semester December 24th, being ahead in every subject! I have a feeling that this will come in handy after the baby is born and we need to be a little more flexible with our schedule. Baby Popchenko seems to be doing well and everybody is looking forward to his arrival in about two months. With all the snow we have, Sashko and Yurko have been getting plenty of exercise and fresh air as they build snow forts, ski in the nearby forest, and shovel, shovel, shovel. Andriy does his part with his tiny shovel… never happier than when he is ‘working’. Thankfully, throughout the many weeks of Yura’s sicknesses, all three boys and I have stayed amazingly healthy. We praise the Lord for sparing us and are all SO glad to have Daddy feeling better!

Celebrating with sparklers

 

New Year’s Day outing

 

Prayer requests:
1. Pray for me to have wisdom, protection and health, as I continue translating.
2. Please keep praying for my lower back and for me to regain strength after these recent illnesses.
3. Pray for us to find a larger reliable car for our growing family.
4. Pray for Wendy and the baby’s safe delivery at the end of February. Also, please pray for Wendy’s mom as she travels over to help us.

Thank you all for your faithful prayers and financial support. May the Lord bless all in 2011 as we each labor for His glory in the harvest field.

Your fellow-servants for Jesus’ sake,
Yura, Wendy, Sashko, Yurko and Andriy Popchenko