Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Greetings in the name of the of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. His grace is matchless and His mercy never ending. As we contemplate all the Father has done for us we are speechless and humbled at His goodness towards us. We are so grateful that you have been God’s tool of mercy in our lives through you support and prayers. We believe He has been glorified in us and the ministry in Ukraine. 

We told you in our last prayer letter that we would be in the states over the holidays to spend time with our family. We felt it was important to have some time with them as this would be the first Christmas without Carissa. Those words still remain strange to us, that Carissa is already in heaven with her Saviour. We miss her so much, it was sad not to have her with us as she especially loved those family times when we would all be together. Though it was a lot of traveling, (basically we went from coast to coast) it was blessing to see our two new grandkids (they are beautiful gifts from the Lord!). We also were able to travel to Peaks Island to spend time with Jack and Gerri McEntee. Jack and Gerri’s daughter Irina went home to be with the Lord with Carissa. Peaks Island was the last place that Carissa was, she continually told us how beautiful it was, and she was right. God gave us a sweet time of fellowship with Jack and Gerri, they are special people. God has used them to bring healing in our lives. Their fellowship and their sweet honesty was so refreshing and truly brought us closer to the Lord and each other. They have a sincere, burning desire to see the people of Peaks Island know the Saviour, it was a blessing to see. We also had opportunity to present our ministry and preach at Peaks Island Baptist Church. It was good to have fellowship with Pastor Beau Boyle and his family. He has a heart for the people of Peaks Island, it is truly a difficult field to minister in. Pastor Beau is the right man for the job, he has the heart of a lion and the grace of a lamb. Knowing that we were going to be with them on that weekend, Pastor Beau had the wisdom to use the opportunity to get as many people to the service as he could. There were at least 8 lost people who heard the gospel that weekend. We pray for Peaks Island that many would come to know the Saviour.

Our time in the states took us from Rochester to Redding, CA, Seattle, WA, Phoenix City, AL, Peaks Island MA, and Nashua NH. We were able to spend time with family and enjoy fellowship with many brothers and sisters as well as preaching and teaching in several different places. 

The works in Ukraine are doing well, the Fostive church is under the leadership of their pastor they voted in before we left for the States. Please keep Pasha in prayer as God directs him in the many decisions he needs to make. Kiev and Pytie Gorie have new people coming to church. Bila Tserkov is doing better spiritually. I can say that the churches are healthier spiritually and people are growing. I praise God for the men who always step up to the plate and give even more when we are not there. They have showed their true love for the Saviour and His people.

Prayer requests:

1. Continue to pray for our leaders: Pasha, Alex, Sasha, Yura, Maxim, and Grecia.
2. For many lost people: Valya (Maxim’s mom), Sasha and Oksana, Ruslan and Erra, Anna, Leiza, and Yanna.
3. For a forth church plant, for God to give us wisdom as to where.
4. For March 8th as we use this time to share the gospel with many ladies. (International Women’s Day)
5. For our Visa’s: that we would be able to obtain new visas that we can register, allowing us to be in the country longer than 90 days
6. For our son Mike Jr: he is in the states and has started Bible Inst. Pray for his studies and his schedule. He is working full time along with attending Institute.(We miss him terribly)
7. For the health of our family.

Your missionaries to Ukraine,

Mike and Robin Ireland and family