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Posted on March 18, 2019
by Nathan
Once again, it's been awfully quiet on the blog. This time, we'll blame it on
our recent furlough to America! While we had a wonderful time, it was also
very busy as we tried to squeeze everything into about 3.5 short months.
What were we up to, you might ask? Here is the rundown:
Family
Far and away, the main purpose for our trip was to see family. We had not seen
most of our family in 2.5 years, and I personally had only met 3 of my 8 nieces
and nephews!
We kicked things off with a Rebsch Family reunion. The kids had a lot of fun
with their cousins, despite the fact that many of them were meeting each other
for the first time! Katelin regularly took the kids to their great-grandparent's
house, and we spent many happy days at Katelin's Aunt Nora's house, helping
with farm chores and living the country life. And last, but not least, we got
to spend a lot of time with Katelin's parents, because we stayed at their
house!
The Rebsch Family, plus Mema, Papa, and Nora
In Colorado, we stayed with my parents, and several of my siblings still live at
home, so we got lots of good family time in there. My brother and his family
live not far away, and the kids loved spending time with the Colorado cousins.
The rest of the family flew in for Christmas, which was the first time the whole
Day clan was together since the last wedding.
The Day Family
Friends and Supporters
Aside from family, it was good to reconnect with friends and supporters. We were
able to visit all of our supporting churches, as well as see most of our
individual supporters, and share about the ministry in Ukraine, face-to-face.
Medical
Lydia's eyes began to cross a couple of years ago. (It's hereditary, she gets it
from her dad.) While in the States, Lydia had surgery to correct the crossed
eye. Unfortunately, it looks like she will need a second surgery to fully
correct the problem. (About 20-25% of the time, two surgeries are needed.) We
would appreciate your prayers as we continue to monitor the situation and look
into our options.
About to head to the operating room
Other Stuff
While some of the things that fall under the "Other Stuff" heading are things
like banking, legal matters, etc, most of the "Other Stuff" is just that: stuff.
While Ukraine has come a long way, there is still a long list of things that
either we can't get in Ukraine, or are just easier and/or cheaper to get in
America. Certain foods, electronics, homeschooling materials, clothes, and
English books were some of the main things. Imagine cramming a year or two's
worth of non-grocery shopping into a few months, packing everything up to ship
to the other side of the world, and you'll start to get the picture!
That's a lot of stuff! And that wasn't even all of it!
Back in Ukraine
Despite having a great time in America, our family is happy to be back home in
Ukraine, back to our house, our routine, and our ministry. I hope to be caught
up on several over-due projects by the end of the month, this blog post being one of them, and
start pushing forward on new ministry fronts soon.
Once last thing. If you haven't yet, be sure to check out our new prayer card
on the About page!
Posted on October 13, 2018
by Nathan
While the blog has been awfully quiet lately, the good news is that it hasn't been
from a lack of things to write about. Let's get started…
Good and Evil
We had hoped to finalize the files for Good and Evil before Carpathian
Mountain Outreach started, but alas, things always take longer than you think.
I actually took my laptop on one of our first trips to the mountains to finish
proofing an updated version of the print file! CMO aside, we were eventually able
to give the printer the green light.
The books were finally delivered toward the end of August around 9:30 in the
evening. A small team of volunteers worked into the wee hours of the morning to
get the books to their final destination. Except that the "final destination" of
these books is not actually our office, but the hands of Ukrainians. And bit by bit, the
Good and Evil books are working their way out to their true "final
destination". For more info and pictures, be sure to check out the post on the
ETO Blog!
The job is finally finished! Clockwise from the left: Nathan, Yura, Sasha, Taras, Tolik, Joshua.
Carpathian Mountain Outreach
CMO 2018 was our shortest summer project yet (right about four weeks long), but
with all we managed to pack into it, it was arguably one of our most intense projects! We had a great team of guys, we are exited to see the fruit of the summer's efforts in the months and years ahead!
The CMO 2018 Team. From the left: Tolik, Elliot, William, Nathan, Jessie, Ben, Joshua, Andrew Howard, Andrew Joyner, and Isaiah.
Once again, for more info and pictures, be sure to check out this post by one of
the CMO guys on the ETO Blog, as well as the recap of the project.
Jonathan
Jonathan was born just about a week after the end of CMO. He arrived a few days
early, but thankfully, not before Katelin's mother, Patricia, made it to Ukraine! (Not
sure how we would have done it without her!) All in
all, the birth went well. Jonathan is a healthy little guy, and Katelin is doing well also. That said, Jonathan has definitely not been the most easy-going baby
we've ever had, and he has kept us busy! I'd say he's at least partly to blame
for the lack of a blog post last month!
Welcome to the world, little guy!
Furlough
We will be returning to the States for a visit in just a couple weeks. We will
be in Texas for the month of November, in Colorado for December and the first half
of January, and then back to Texas for a month. We have a lot to do to get
ready, and we would appreciate your prayers for the preparation and a good trip.
The bigger our family gets, the harder it is to pack up our life and move it
to the other side of the world!
Jonathan and his adoring fans!
Posted on June 26, 2018
by Nathan
Good and Evil
Good and Evil is coming down the home stretch! We are hoping to finalize the
files this week, and hopefully by next week, get the presses rolling. Pray for
no mistakes or typos, or at least a few as possible!
Carpathian Mountain Outreach
CMO starts in just about two weeks! Our scouting trip went well, and we were
able to schedule the first three film showings of CMO. We still have a lot to do to get ready, so I
am trying to work hard and let tomorrow worry about itself. Please pray for God's
blessing on the whole project.
To keep abreast of the action during CMO, be sure to subscribe to the eReport, and like ETO's page on Facebook.
Tolik, Josh, and I on the scouting trip.
Also, it's highly unlikely that I'll have time to put together a blog post next
month, so we'll see you all again in August. (Although it will likely be late
August, because the baby is due in mid-August!)
Bible First
Unfortunately, we were not able to finish the website that would have allowed
our students to study through Bible First online. We were getting really
close, but then we had to set web development aside to finish Good and Evil
and prepare for CMO. Hopefully we'll be able to get back to work later this
year.
On the bright side, enrollment in the paper Bible First course has picked up
recently. Also, Maria and Ralph have finished proofing the Spanish translation
of Bible First. All we need to do now is format the text for printing, and/or
finish the Bible First website, and Bible First will be available in Spanish!
Family
Our residency permits were renewed, so we are good to go for another year.
Continue to pray for Katelin's pregnancy and a successful birth. We are down to just over six weeks to
go! Katelin's mother, Patricia, is coming for a month to help out, and we
are hoping that Patricia will get here before the baby does!
Time for a picnic on the balcony!
Posted on May 18, 2018
by Nathan
A Trip to America
America, here we come! Our family is planning a trip to the States for this
holiday season. By then, it will have been two and a half years since our last
trip home, and we are looking forward to reconnecting with family, friends, and
supporters!
Our trip will last from early November to late February. We are planning to stay
with family, but it is looking like we will need a vehicle that can accommodate
four car seats/boosters during our time in
Texas (November, and also mid January through late February). If we can't borrow/buy
a vehicle, we are looking into leasing a vehicle from an organization that
leases to missionaries on furlough. So if you know of any good options,
be sure to contact us and let us know!
No, we won't be shipping ourselves to America in boxes!
BTW, starting with this blog post, you can click on the pictures to get a bigger
version.
Good and Evil
The Good and Evil project is coming along well. We are coming down the home
stretch on proofing the translation, and are mainly working on the layout now. We need to
have this project wrapped by the beginning of CMO on July 12th, so your prayers
would be appreciated!
Carpathian Mountain Outreach
The CMO project is in the same place as the Good and Evil project. Lots of work
to do, and not much time! Pray that we would be able to get all our preparations
done in time, and that God would bless CMO.
More specifically, we are planning a
trip to the Carpathian Mountains for the week of June 11th to scout
out the area we are planning to work in the summer. Our hope is to contact some
of the local authorities and make arrangements for the first couple film showings
of the project.
Family
We are currently in the process of renewing our residency permits. So far,
everything has gone without a hitch, and by next month, we should hopefully be
all ready to go for another year.
Warmer weather means tea parties on the balcony!
The pregnancy is also going pretty well, but we would continue to appreciate your
prayers for a healthy mama and baby. The girls are getting bigger and more
helpful by the day, and are looking forward to meeting their baby brother in
August!
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