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Our day started with a meeting with two representatives from Hope International.  We spent time getting to know one another, getting a better understanding of our two organizations, and exploring ways that we might work together.  Some interesting opportunities might present themselves to our organizations.

We then headed to church at Grape Vine Church.  The church meets in a building that houses a night club during the week, and their church on Sunday.  I was reminded of God’s redemptive power as we experienced a warm time of worship with fellow believers.  It matters not the building, God can redeem anything as long as he is in it.  It is a very young church, with most under the age of 30, and lots of children.  A sweet spirit was clearly evident here.

After a great pizza lunch at the local mall, we attended a fitness forum, where Andre and Alan spoke.  Alan spoke on leadership characteristics, and did a wonderful job.

We retired to the hotel for rest and preparation for class on Monday.  None of us rested very well on our second night here (pretty normal), so we all needed rest.

More later after our first day of class.  Your somewhat refreshed roving reporter.

Tim

We had a good trip over to Lviv arriving around 4:30 pm on Friday.

Saturday we had a picnic at Viking Park with the students from the class.  The day was cool (high 50’s), with a little rain.  We had approx. 45 students join us, representing 4 different classes from the program.  Some of the students came from as far as 100 kilometers away.  Several students shared about their experiences on their trip to the USA in May.  They were all very appreciative and grateful for both the business experiences which they had, but also with the hospitality and relationships that were deepened.  The atmosphere for the picnic was very warm and encouraging.  There is something about sharing a table together that binds hearts together.  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day here in Ukraine.  We look forward to our time with believers in church tomorrow, expressing our gratitude to a loving, gracious God.

Your roving reporter from Lviv.

Tim

So the team is boarding our short flight from Vienna to Lviv. We are so thankful for a safe and uneventful trip thus far. I feel so fortunate to have such a team to be a part of.

Of course, we’re all tired from minimal sleep from DC to Vienna (courtesy of small seats for not-so-small guys). Please pray for rest for our team tonight, and energy for the week. We eagerly anticipate God’s plan for our time in Lviv. More later…….

Rick Reed (Risk), Scott Jones (IT) and Scott Reed (Ethics) taught Module 5 in the morning on Friday. Students were then presented with certificates of completion before celebrating the week with a large spread of food and a time of sharing.

It was a beautiful day, so we took a walk in Stryiskyi Park in the afternoon and began to pack.

We finished the day with dinner and a time of sharing and exchanging gifts at the home of our in country facilitator – Andriy & Svetlana Yelisyeyev. They have three girls and a baby boy.

This week has been an incredible blessing for our team and we are grateful for all the prayers and support.

Perry Hudspeth covered the principles for managing financial resources in Module 4 on Thursday.

We continued to connect with the students over lunch as we spread ourselves out among the small groups that form in the dining area of the chamber building.

After lunch we had a few guests join us for a summary presentation of Dr. Gary Chapman’s book – The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace.

Scott Reed illustrated the third language, acts of service, by sharing hand sanitizer with everyone in attendance.

After a short rest in the afternoon we went to city center in search of souvenirs and ribs at The Arsenal. Another fine day!

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Scott Jones taught Module 3, covering the time value of money, capital budget models and decision making and calculating cost of capital.

Students gathered around laptops and learned how to use spreadsheet financial functions while Scott lead them through the steps. We emphasized the importance of accurate inputs, because financial models are only as good as the business expertise of those using them – garbage in, garbage out.

After lunch Scott Reed introduced a team building exercise called Paper Scrapers. The students were divided into teams with the task of creating a building out of craft materials and developing a marketing presentation.

After a short rest, we had dinner with professors and staff at the Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary and then participated in a discussion about faith in the workplace.

Scott Reed lead the class through Module 2 on Tuesday covering budgeting and financial ratios. Engagement remained high, there were several good questions and relationships continued to blossom.

After lunch we gathered in small groups and made on-site company visits. One participant owns a chocolate company and it was an absolute pleasure to visit a shop they’ve recently established and test some of the products!

We traveled through torrential rain and hail in the early evening to ESL classes being offered by local churches. Tremendous cultural experience and opportunity to share our stories.

We finished the day in majestic fashion at The Sultan’s Palace, whose owner is from Azerbaijan. We ordered Seven Beauties to share – ram, lamb, pork ribs, pork neck, chicken and turkey. Fantastic!!

After brief introductions, Rick Reed presented Module 1 – financial statements, cost analysis and breakeven points. He emphasized the importance of cash and knowing your costs. The students were attentive and engaging during class and we were able to get to know them a little better as we shared lunch in groups of four.

After lunch we were greeted by the President of the Chamber of Commerce (we’re using their facility) and two students shared about their recent trip to Winston-Salem with Troika. They both highlighted how impactful it was to witness the joy and satisfaction, in life and business, that can come from a life lived in earnest pursuit biblical principles. WOW!!

We finished the day with an on-site visit with Larysa Shevelova, an accomplished entrepreneur, at her city center Celentano Pizza Ristorante. Dennis Lennon presented her certificate of completion for the marketing course earlier this year. Larysa couldn’t join us for finance because her son is graduating from college in New York this week.

Delicious!

Grace and peace to you!

Sunday

We have some wonderful ladies traveling with us this time (Patty Cole, Nancy Hudspeth, Martha Lennon & Pam Reed) who are launching a teaching & care ministry for the women of the Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary. You can follow their story at – UBTSWomensMinistry.WordPress.com.

We spent the morning at Shepilska Resort helping set up for the women’s retreat that will be held later this week. The resort has cabins on a lake, three pools, playgrounds, a spa area, lodge and a few wild animal viewing areas.

After lunch we drove back to Lviv for afternoon worship at Hosannah Church where we had the opportunity to share about Troika and our purpose for being here.

There was a guest pastor this Sunday, Tony Peck, the Secretary of the European Baptist Federation. Tony’s text was Revelation 3:8 and he encouraged us to faithfully walk through open doors of ministry like the persecuted churches he had recently visited in Turkey and Egypt.

We made a quick stop at a driving school in the main square (they start fairly young here) before enjoying a ballet performance at the opera house.

We finished the day with wonderful friends (Pavlo & Olenka pictured), food and views from the Panorama Restaurant.

Please join us in praying for our seminar that begins today.

Thursday – Friday – Saturday

After a long, but uneventful trip from GSO to LWO, we gathered with friends and fellow laborers in this work for a language refresher and dinner at Dynamo Blues steak house.

Saturday morning we took a bus to two castles northeast of Lviv and enjoyed the company of our in country facilitators as well as a traditional Ukrainian lunch of porridge and mushroom soup.

We finished the day at Tartufo Trattoria where the Reed brothers took advantage of a photo op with Organic Dumpling Man.