Generated by All in One SEO v4.9.9, this is an llms.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. # The Suko Family Serving Jesus in Ukraine ## Sitemaps - [XML Sitemap](https://sukofamily.org/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website. ## Posts - [He Used to Be a Regular Pastor](https://sukofamily.org/he-used-to-be-a-regular-pastor/) - [On The Front Lines of The Ukraine War in Donbas With Churches Who Won’t Quit Preaching The Gospel](https://sukofamily.org/on-the-front-lines-of-the-ukraine-war-in-donbas-with-churches-who-wont-quit-preaching-the-gospel/) - I spent the last 72 hours near the front lines of the war in Ukraine with churches who are continuing to minister and preach the gospel in very difficult times.In this video we visit some some points along the front lines near Donetsk. Despite the last eight years of fighting there are churches and ministers - [From America To Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/from-america-to-ukraine/) - What leads a pastor’s son from a small church in Washington State to the war-torn city of Odesa, Ukraine? In this interview, Caleb Suko shares how God shaped his calling, guided his family through decades of ministry, and taught him to trust Him — from seminary classrooms to air raid sirens. - [Hope On Ukraine's Front Lines: Oleksandr Radin](https://sukofamily.org/hope-on-ukraines-front-lines-oleksandr-radin/) - What does gospel ministry look like when war becomes daily life? *Read the whole story In this video, Pastor Oleksandr Radin shares how God is working in Eastern Ukraine through The Story of Hope—a chronological Bible study that helps people understand the gospel from Genesis to Revelation. In the midst of missile strikes, displacement, and - [Discovery Baptist Church -Lessons in Faithfulness](https://sukofamily.org/discovery-baptist-church-lessons-in-faithfulness/) - In a world that often measures success by numbers, influence, and visibility, it’s easy to assume that a thriving ministry must be large, famous, or rapidly growing. But Scripture presents a very different measure of success. According to the Bible, the true mark of a servant of God is faithfulness. As I reflect on more - [Childhood in the Soviet Union to Serving Christ in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/childhood-in-the-soviet-union-to-serving-christ-in-ukraine/) - Born in the Soviet Union where faith was forbidden, Christina’s journey reveals how God’s grace broke through the walls of communism and continues to shine through the darkness of war. In this moving episode of The Gospel Today Podcast, Christina shares her childhood memories in the USSR, her family’s discovery of the Bible, and how - [Introducing The Gospel Today](https://sukofamily.org/introducing-the-gospel-today/) - After much prayer, counsel, and patience, we believe the Lord has directed us to make a step of faith. Thus, I am excited to announce to you that we are transitioning our ministry efforts and oversight to The Gospel Today. This step is a continuation of our calling and an opportunity to significantly expand the scope of ministry, - [The Secret of the Christmas Tree](https://sukofamily.org/the-secret-of-the-christmas-tree/) - Abby, Dabby, and Labby woke early on Christmas morningQuietly, they tiptoed past their father’s loud snoringIn the living room stood the Christmas tree, bright and tallBut what they saw was not the tree, oh, not at all! This silent green giant held a secret in its boughsYet the shining presents their attention did arouseUntold goodness - [The Murder of Charlie Kirk and the Idol of Safety](https://sukofamily.org/the-murder-of-charlie-kirk-and-the-idol-of-safety/) - [Our Transition to Gospel Today: Answering Your Questions](https://sukofamily.org/our-transition-to-gospel-today-answering-your-questions/) - In this episode, talk about our transition from ABWE to Gospel Today and do our best to answer your questions. Over the past 20 years, we've been blessed with a cohesive team and a ministry focused on evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. We cherish the memories and experiences with ABWE and are excited to continue - [Russian Aggression and The Church of God in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/russian-aggression-and-the-church-of-god-in-ukraine/) - [What Is Forgiveness?](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-forgiveness/) - Description:Forgiveness is one of the most powerful—and most difficult—acts we are called to as followers of Jesus. This episode explores the deep biblical roots of forgiveness, revealing how unforgiveness poisons relationships, breeds bitterness, and separates us from God. From the Old Testament sacrificial system to Jesus' words on the cross, this episode walks through key - [How Wartime Changes The Gospel](https://sukofamily.org/how-wartime-changes-the-gospel/) - Our ministry has changed a lot since the start of the full scale invasion. Like it or now the conditions around you can have a powerful negative or positive affect on how you share the gospel. Here are a few ways that I see the conditions of war have changed how the gospel message goes - [The Russians Tried to Kill Me | Firsthand Account from Kherson, Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/the-russians-tried-to-kill-me-firsthand-account-from-kherson-ukraine/) - This video clip that recently went viral hit close to home—literally. I’ve been on this road multiple times. It wasn’t me in the footage, but I’ve lived through the very same kind of attack. The truth is, the Russians did try to kill me. They tried to kill everyone who was in the car with - [Persecution of Christians in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/persecution-of-christians-in-ukraine/) - Recently, I’ve heard claims—mainly from conservative media in the West—suggesting that the Ukrainian government is persecuting churches. Is this true? In this video, I share firsthand insight into Ukraine’s religious freedoms, the constitutional protection of faith, and the real reason behind the 2023 law concerning churches tied to Moscow. While Ukraine remains a country where - [Give Hope to 1,000 Ukrainians](https://sukofamily.org/hope-1000/) - The "Hope 1,000" campaign seeks to bring the transformative message of Christ to those affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine. Our goal is to give true and meaningful Gospel hope to 1,000 Ukrainians through The Story of Hope, a Gospel-centered chronological Bible study. This Bible study consists of 40 lessons spanning from Genesis to - [Summer Orphanage Ministry in Southern Odessa Region](https://sukofamily.org/summer-orphanage-ministry-in-southern-odessa-region/) - From June 19 to 26th, I was on an orphanage ministry trip with my church’s youth. I had been on the same trip the year before, and could hardly wait for this year! - [Summer Break!](https://sukofamily.org/home-school/) - I've just finished my 7th grade year and I'm excited for summer break and 8th grade! I had a lot of changes this year because it's my first grade in junior high. My book had a whole section in math on algebra. There was a literature book, too. I loved reading about how life was - [Kids Corner](https://sukofamily.org/kids-corner/) - Stay updated with regular announcements about new features, games, and events. Trusted casinos keep zodiac casino login players informed and engaged with timely communication. Hi, this is Naomi Suko. I am going to be writing posts called "Kid's Corner" about what it is like to be a missionary kid, our adventures together, and lots more! - [Russian Lesson #2 -Family](https://sukofamily.org/russian-lesson-2-family/) - In this lesson we learn the Russian words for: Family = Семья Parents = Родители Dad = Папа Mom = Мама Brother = Брат Sister = Сестра - [American Identity Crisis](https://sukofamily.org/american-identity-crisis/) - America is in an identity crisis. People are searching for their identity and going to all kinds of drastic measures to change their identity in the desperate hope that with a new identity they will finally overcome their feelings of depression, anger, frustration, and lack of self-worth. . You can simply look at some of the - [Don't Worry About The Wicked | Psalm 37](https://sukofamily.org/dont-worry-about-the-wicked-psalm-37/) - Unfortunately, as you look around our world it is not hard to find people who are rich, famous, in places of power, and over all who seem to be enjoying the “good life” yet they are also evil and have no fear of God. They say what they want and they do what they want. - [What Is The Gospel Worth to You? | Sermon](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-the-gospel-worth-to-you-sermon/) - There is something about the worth of the Gospel that is greater than any threat we can face, physically or otherwise. For us personally, I believe that God called us to Ukraine, and the conditions where we live should not change God's calling in our lives. This morning, I want to talk with you a - [Risk, Calling, and God's glory | Isaiah 42:8-9](https://sukofamily.org/risk-calling-and-gods-glory-isaiah-428-9/) - What is the relationship between risk, God's glory and God's calling in our lives. This sermon based upon Isaiah 42:8-9. - [What Is A Mother](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-a-mother/) - In the past few decades here in the US the idea of “choice” has rocketed to fame in such a way that you might think it is some new idolized boy band. In the popular American worldview choice of identity and choice to kill the unborn is viewed by many as an inalienable right. So - [Terror on Every Side | Psalm 31](https://sukofamily.org/terror-on-every-side-psalm-31/) - Unfortunately, we live in a world where it seems that terrors are multiplying. None of us want to be in a place of terror and yet we have all been there one way or another. Certainly, our family has been at the center of some terror in the past few months in Ukraine. At first - [Russian Drone Targets Civilians in Odesa, Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/russian-drone-targets-civilians-in-odesa-ukraine/) - [2 Years After Russia's Full-scale Invasion of Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/2-years-after-russias-full-scale-invasion-of-ukraine/) - We answer your questions about life in Ukraine and what's going on now here on the ground exactly 2 years after Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022. Below are some of the questions we answer in the video/podcast. 1. What is your plan if Russia wins the war and perhaps Odessa is threatened with being - [A True Story of How God Is Helping Ukraine Through Prayer](https://sukofamily.org/a-true-story-of-how-god-is-helping-ukraine-through-prayer/) - The situation in Ukraine continues to draw concern. Winter brings heightened worries about power infrastructure and heating, especially in the face of potential advancements by Russia. The big question on everyone's mind remains: Will the United States continue to stand by Ukraine? As we navigate this uncertain period, your prayers and support are invaluable. Despite - [Nickolas Gives His Perspective on Life in Ukraine During War](https://sukofamily.org/nickolas-gives-his-perspective-on-life-in-ukraine-during-war/) - I interviewed our youngest son, Nickolas about his experience living for 1.5 years during war time in Odesa, Ukraine. You might be surprised by some of his answers. - [Who Should You Believe About Ukraine?](https://sukofamily.org/who-should-you-believe-about-ukraine/) - Below are a few news sources that seem to accurately communicate what is going on here in Ukraine. https://www.rferl.org/ https://www.youtube.com/@DenysDavydov https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine/t-17295382 https://www.reuters.com/ https://tvpworld.com/69713095/military-mind Staying informed about events in Ukraine requires a discerning approach to news consumption due to the abundance of information sources, varying degrees of accuracy, and potential biases. Finding reliable and balanced news - [Business in Mykolaiv Destroyed by Russian Missile](https://sukofamily.org/business-in-mykolaiv-destroyed-by-russian-missile/) - [Russian Missiles Hit Near Our Church](https://sukofamily.org/russian-missiles-hit-near-our-church/) - [Where Is Noelle Going?](https://sukofamily.org/where-is-noelle-going/) - Last week I sat down with Noelle to talk with her about her plans after she graduates from high school. Jump to any part of the video00:35 What kind of ministries were you involved in?02:43 What ministries were you involved in during the war?03:45 Did you experience any missile attacks?04:50 Will you be involved in - [An Update from the US](https://sukofamily.org/an-update-from-the-us/) - Friends, we actually are right now here in the United States. We got here last week and I know that's probably a surprise for some of you but we are in Tacoma Washington and we're going to be here for two months and visiting our supporting churches. May 14 Taylor Creek Church May 21 Harvest - [Seventeen Reasons Why I Will Not Stop Praying For Ukraine!](https://sukofamily.org/seventeen-reasons-why-i-will-not-stop-praying-for-ukraine/) - Warning, what I'm about to write is personal, which means you may not agree with it and if you don't you're certainly not alone! I write this not because... - [5 Ways to Pray for Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/5-ways-to-pray-for-ukraine/) - Do you ever think about what you can do for Ukraine? How can you help to bring peace, stability, and prosperity back to our beloved country? Maybe you think there is little you can do but the truth is you can do something very powerful for Ukraine by simply praying! Here are five ways to - [Greetings from the Southern Hemisphere](https://sukofamily.org/greetings-from-the-southern-hemisphere/) - Hey everyone, so we have been traveling the last few of days. Sorry about he silence on our channels but I want to give you a quick update about where we are now and what we are going to be doing. Right now I bring you greetings from the Southern Hemisphere. We are in Southern Chile with our daughter - [Why Was Pastor Oleksandr Tortured By Russians?](https://sukofamily.org/why-was-pastor-oleksandr-tortured-by-russians/) - Pastor Oleksandr chose to stay in Balakleya after Russian troops took over the city. One day Russian soldiers came to his home and said they needed to talk with him. They took him to the police station where they interrogated him and beat him until he was very near death. Use the "cc" button on - [The Surprising Story of Saint Nicholas](https://sukofamily.org/the-surprising-story-of-saint-nicholas/) - A big belly, red suit, and bag full of gifts for children, you’ve probably seen these popular images of Santa Claus. For many people he’s a fun part of contemporary folklore but we all know that he’s fictional. However, what if I told you that Santa Clause isn’t completely fictional. He’s based upon a real - [Russia's Blood Day in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/russias-blood-day-in-ukraine/) - October 10, 2022 Russian forces launched over 80 missiles as well as kamikaze drones to strike many civilian targets in Ukraine. This is the largest single missile attack since the war between Russia and Ukraine began on February 24th 2022. Some of the cities attacked today include: Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhia, Odesa, and many - [Preparing for a Russian Invasion](https://sukofamily.org/preparing-for-a-russian-invasion/) - I just wanted to share with you some thoughts about preparing for an invasion. - [Is It Dangerous in Ukraine?](https://sukofamily.org/is-it-dangerous-in-ukraine/) - Russian forces on the border of Ukraine have been in the news a lot lately. Here's my take on the situation and why we are still here in Odessa, Ukraine, and what really worries us. - [11 Ways to Boost Your Bible Reading in The New Year](https://sukofamily.org/11-ways-to-boost-your-bible-reading/) - You may have had a few failed goes at your Bible reading last year and this year you really want to give it your best. Starting the year with a commitment to regularly read your Bible is great but too often we fall short of our spiritual goals. That's why I want to share with - [When Reading Your Bible Doesn't Work](https://sukofamily.org/when-reading-your-bible-doesnt-work/) - Reading your Bible doesn't make you a better Christian, it just makes you a smarter one! In the New Year many people start off with good intentions of following - [Praying For And To The Dead | The Gospel Today](https://sukofamily.org/praying-for-and-to-the-dead-the-gospel-today/) - The Orthodox Church teaches that praying for your dead loved ones helps their soul make the 40 day journey from earth to heaven where along the way they will encounter many devils and 20 testings that will purify their souls and prepare them for heaven. *Quick links 2:35 Visit to Kyiv Pechersk' Lavra 5:35 - [Counseling Women and Now vs Long-term Parenting](https://sukofamily.org/counseling-women-and-now-vs-long-term-parenting/) - Today Christina joins me on the podcast to talk about her ministry of counseling both unbelieving and believing. Also we talk about the difference between parenting for the now and parenting for the long-term. *Quick links 1:33 Background on Christina's counseling ministry 4:15 Why is it important to meet in person? 6:08 How do you - [How to Share The Gospel with LGBTQIA+ | The Gospel Today](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-share-the-gospel-with-lgbtqia-the-gospel-today/) - As we think about sharing the gospel with LGBT people let us remember that they are people too. Every one of us is a sinner and every sinner needs Christ. The biggest need of every homosexual, is Christ. No matter how you share the gospel, do your best to keep the focus on Christ. There - [A Biblical Defense of Heterosexuality | The Gospel Today](https://sukofamily.org/a-biblical-defense-of-heterosexuality-the-gospel-today/) - As we look at the Bible it doesn’t take long to find out that the sexuality of mankind as a central part of creation. If we read through the account of the creation of Adam and Eve it seems that Moses goes out of his way to show the differences between the sexes and that - [The Trans Gospel | The Gospel Today](https://sukofamily.org/the-trans-gospel-the-gospel-today/) - When you look at transgenderism you will quickly find many similarities between the terminology they use and gospel terminology. In this episode of The Gospel Today I give talk about transgender vocabulary and how much of their terminology echoes gospel terminology. https://youtu.be/pAZPTm8Ju-c I also talk about how one church transitioned after COVID made them rethink - [20 Years After 9/11 What Has America Learned?](https://sukofamily.org/20-years-after-9-11-what-has-america-learned/) - It was a cool September morning on the Oregon coast. I stepped out of the room on my way to get some coffee before breakfast. My wife and I were at the yearly pastors and wives retreat. It was something that we all looked forward to throughout the year, a fun time full of encouraging - [Afghanistan and Coronavirus | The Gospel Today](https://sukofamily.org/afghanistan-and-coronavirus-the-gospel-today/) - In this episode of The Gospel Today I share with you some gospel perspectives on the US pullout from Afghanistan as well as on Coronavirus. Afghanistan action page at ABWE: https://www.abwe.org/prayer-focus-afghanistan Dennis Prager on Afghanistan: https://youtu.be/q4gxRqrH_Vc?t=129 https://youtu.be/ShigzoDKQww Quick links: 0:00 Intro 1:33 Family and ministry news 4:47 Afghanistan 16:50 Coronavirus - [The Ministry of Jesus Christ, Mark 1:14-15](https://sukofamily.org/the-ministry-of-jesus-christ-mark-114-15/) - Looking out over the Evangelical churches today I'm concerned when I see that some of them tend to steer wide of clear gospel preaching in their churches. Instead of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ they preach practical tips and helpful advice to have a successful life. If we look at the Gospels we quickly - [Look Up! John 17:1-5](https://sukofamily.org/look-up-john-171-5/) - Did you know that your body naturally follows the direction of your eyes? If you’re walking, running, riding a bike or driving a car, it’s important that you keep your eyes in front of you. If you don’t you can easily get off track and you can get yourself into trouble by running into something. - [Proving Christ’s Deity to Jehovah’s Witnesses from Exodus 3:14 and John 8:58](https://sukofamily.org/proving-christs-deity-to-jehovahs-witnesses-from-exodus-314-and-john-858/) - It’s not uncommon to see Jehovah’s Witnesses from the Watch Tower Society in Ukraine. They often have their book stand set up on the sidewalk offering free Bible studies and materials to those passing by. I have had many conversations with them about faith and I want to share with you an approach I often - [Do Not Be Afraid | Matthew 28:1-10](https://sukofamily.org/do-not-be-afraid-matthew-281-10/) - As we celebrate Easter this year we also mark a full year of living during a pandemic. We have all encountered new difficulties because of COVID. Many have been through COVID, others have watched as loved ones have suffered, sadly some of us have even lost friends and family to COVID. Yet, there is one - [Temptation | James 1:13-18](https://sukofamily.org/temptation-james-113-18/) - Here’s a story I heard from Radio show host Chris Witts Johnny arrives at school in the morning and his teacher asks him, “Where’s your homework?” Johnny replies “Sorry, Mam, I couldn’t do it because there was too much noise at home.” His teachers curiously asks, “What? Noise all evening? What kind of noise?” Johnny - [The Lord's Supper | What Is It and Why We Do It](https://sukofamily.org/the-lords-supper-what-is-it-and-why-we-do-it/) - Some time ago I took my wedding ring off at home because I wanted to do some exercises and I didn't want to get my ring scratched up. I placed my wedding ring in a spot where I knew I would not forget it and where it would be very visible to me. For some - [Conversations With The Father](https://sukofamily.org/conversations-with-the-father/) - We just returned from two months in the US. Whenever we go back to the US I find that I have to adjust to the way of life there. I can’t always put my finger on it but life just feels different in a different country, so I have to change some of my expectations - [Godspeed Mishael!](https://sukofamily.org/godspeed-mishael/) - This May, Mishael graduated 👨‍🎓from high school. It was a quiet and a bit strange graduation because we were at the height of quarantine. Nevertheless, we were blessed to gather online with friends and family from all over the world to celebrate this significant point in Mishael's life. Mishael had originally planned to go back to the States - [Praying for the Destruction of Your Enemies](https://sukofamily.org/praying-for-the-destruction-of-your-enemies/) - Have you ever prayed for someone's complete to ruin? That God would destroy them and wipe them off the face of the earth. It doesn't seem very Christian does it? - [Why The Cross?](https://sukofamily.org/why-the-cross/) - A crossless Christianity I’m thankful for the strength of many churches in the US but at the same time I realize that we live in a time of great challenge and opposition to the church. In these times it’s more important than ever to get the vital issues right. You see, opposition doesn’t come out - [America's Identity Crisis](https://sukofamily.org/americas-identity-crisis/) - America is in an identity crisis. People are searching for their identity and going to all kinds of drastic measures to change their identity in the desperate hope that with a new identity they will finally overcome their feelings of depression, anger, frustration, and lack of self-worth. You can simply look at some of the - [Bring Discipleship Back | Acts 2:17-38](https://sukofamily.org/bring-discipleship-back-acts-217-38/) - What is missing in churches today? Where is the unseen hole? Simply put, we are missing true gospel centered discipleship. Without discipleship the church can still have an outward attraction and all the looks of activity but they will be empty and meaningless because in the end it will not take you to any meaningful - ["What if..." Chapter 2, The Acceptable Sin](https://sukofamily.org/what-if-chapter-2-the-acceptable-sin/) - "Every culture, every time period, and often every church has a few sins that are considered acceptable. For the patriarchs, polygamy really wasn’t that bad. In the New Testament, some churches thought it wasn’t a big deal to segregate the rich from the poor. Not so long ago in US history, many churches had no - [What You Should Know About Demons](https://sukofamily.org/what-you-should-know-about-demons/) - Recently our church has been confronted with some unbiblical teaching concerning the nature of demons and their relation to Christians. When some strange.... - [How to Find Freedom and Deliverance from the Demonic World -6 Simple Steps](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-find-freedom-and-deliverance-from-the-demonic-world-6-simple-steps/) - Here are 6 steps to break the bondage of demonic authority and influence in your life. EXHIBITION Step #1 In order to free yourself from Satan and his... - [2020 Year End Report](https://sukofamily.org/2020-year-end-report/) - As we close out 2020 our family is just coming out of quarantine after our daughter Anastasia came down with Coronavirus. However, we want to share with you all God has done and thank you for your support through a strange and stretching year! I hope you can take some time to read our report - [2020 Had Some Good Things Too! Merry Christmas!](https://sukofamily.org/2020-had-some-good-things-too-merry-christmas/) - Christina and I want to wish you a merry Christmas! This year has been unique and challenging in many ways. We pray that as you celebrate Christmas you would look beyond the chaos and problems of this world to our Savior Jesus Christ who alone gifts a lasting solution to all our problems! In this - [2020 Year End Giving](https://sukofamily.org/2020-year-end-giving/) - 2020 has been an unique and challenging year, yet despite COVID and quarantine God has given us unprecedented new gospel opportunities this past year in Ukraine. God is doing great things and we are just trying to stay pace with Him! Please consider giving a year end gift that will enable us to pursue more - [A Church Born in Quarantine](https://sukofamily.org/a-church-born-in-quarantine/) - We had some plans for 2020, we were pretty sure we knew what we were doing, we thought if we tried hard we could accomplish all our ambitious goals. Things were looking good in January and even in February. In March it all started to change. What we thought was a “hiccup” a small pause - [We Had a Flood](https://sukofamily.org/we-had-a-flood/) - Recently we had a flood in our kitchen. A pipe broke in the kitchen of our upstairs neighbor and for an hour or more we had a steady stream of water rushing through every crack and fissure in our ceiling and into our kitchen. To make matters worse our neighbor wasn't home and we had - [6 Reasons for Lack of Faithfulness in Ministry](https://sukofamily.org/6-reasons-for-lack-of-faithfulness-in-ministry/) - Have you ever wondered why there are fewer faithful pastors now than there was 40-50 years ago? In this episode of the podcast I talk about 6 reasons why there is a lack of faithfulness in minsitry. - ["What if..." Chapter 1, How We Start](https://sukofamily.org/what-if-chapter-2-how-we-start/) - Friends many people are struggling with worry, fear and anxiety during these unusual times. I decided to record a few chapters from by book "What if... How to Kill Worry and Anxiety Before They Kill You." I hope this recording will help calm your worries and anxieties. I hope you might also take time to - ["What if..." Chapter 3, What Is Worry?](https://sukofamily.org/what-if-chapter-3-what-is-worry/) - Worry and anxiety are the weeds of the mind and spirit. Do nothing and they will grow! Leave them alone hoping that they will go away, and when you come back, they will be bigger and stronger than before. Eventually they crowd out everything else and do real damage to your spirit! In the New - ["What if..." Chapter 4, Concern vs Worry](https://sukofamily.org/what-if-chapter-4-concern-vs-worry/) - As with any sin, worry is a perversion of something that was originally good. So how do you know when your planning has crossed the line into worry, or when your concern for safety has gone overboard and turned into an unhealthy fear? Friends many people are struggling with worry, fear and anxiety during these - [11 Quotes from J.C. Ryle That Will Stop You in Your Tracks](https://sukofamily.org/11-quotes-from-j-c-ryle-will-stop-you-in-your-tracks/) - I've been binge reading J.C. Ryle recently and I thought it would be a sin not to share with you some of the most powerful bits I've come across in his books... - [Our Son Left Us and This Is How We Dealt With It](https://sukofamily.org/our-son-left-us-and-this-is-how-we-dealt-with-it/) - Recently our oldest son Mishael left us and moved to the US. This is our second child to leave the home. In this episode Christina and I talk about how we deal with children leaving the home and we give some advice that helped us. We also talk about some gospel principles that are vital - [Please Get This One Right](https://sukofamily.org/please-get-this-one-right/) - In this episode of The Gospel Today I talk about the blessedness of persecution. I share with you some of the story of Richard Wurmbrand and I talk about how we can prepare ourselves for persecution. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you - [When Will Persecution Come to American Churches?](https://sukofamily.org/when-will-persecution-come-to-american-churches/) - Persecution of Christians is still on the rise in Eastern Ukraine where Russian separatist have taken control. Just a few days ago in the city of Donetsk the separatist seized Donetsk Christian University along with about 20 staff. For the last 23 years there really was not any significant persecution of Christians in Ukraine. In - [Will Same-Sex Marriage and the LGBT Agenda Bring Persecution to Churches in the US?](https://sukofamily.org/will-same-sex-marriage-and-the-lgbt-agenda-bring-persecution-to-churches-in-the-us/) - Just 30 years ago many people considered the USA a nation that operated out of a Judeo/Christian worldview. On the other hand the USSR was considered to be a... - [Summer Update](https://sukofamily.org/summer-update/) - Here's a quick summer update, there will be more to come soon! Here's a brief overview: Coronavirus situation in Ukraine is getting worse, some churches have gone back to online services and others are meeting outdoors We are beginning a new ministry to internationals called“Odessa International Fellowship.” We became grandparents for again on July 4th! - [Introducing Cosette Ivanna](https://sukofamily.org/introducing-cosette-ivana/) - This year July 4th increased significantly in significance as a holiday for our family. Now we will not only celebrate the birth of the USA on July 4th but also the birth of our second granddaughter Cosette Ivanna Whitaker Suko. Ironically, our granddaughter is not an US citizen but I’m sure she will one day - [Unhealthy Worry Vs Healthy Concern Webinar](https://sukofamily.org/worryvsconcern/) - How to recognize the difference between unhealthy worry versus healthy concern Are you a worrier or are you simply concerned about things and doing what you can to avoid possible problems. Unfortunately, there is no solid line that divides healthy concern from unhealthy worry, so how do we know when thoughts about the everyday stuff - [The Do's and Don'ts of Attending Your Church's Online Easter Service](https://sukofamily.org/the-dos-and-donts-of-attending-your-churchs-online-easter-service/) - Everyone is getting ready for the biggest Christian holiday of the year. The one Sunday when those who haven’t been to church for months climb out of their den’s to see what the church can offer them. And now we are all being told to stay home. How can you effectively prepare to attend your - [Ukrainian/Russian Orthodox Easter Traditions](https://sukofamily.org/ukrainianrussian-orthodox-easter-traditions/) - On Easter morning I visited our local Orthodox Church, which is just across the street from our place. This church is part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), which claims the largest number of adherents of any church in Ukraine. As I say in the video, they have their main worship service at midnight - [5 False Resurrection Theories](https://sukofamily.org/5-false-resurrection-theories/) - The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead on the 3rd day is the cornerstone of Christian faith. Without this key historical fact Christianity crumbles to the ground, it is nothing more than a bunch of crazy people who are willing to sacrifice their own comfort and pleasure to gain a fictional eternity with a - [Shocking Statistics from Porn Sites During Quarantine and 3 Justifications for Viewing Porn](https://sukofamily.org/shocking-statistics-from-porn-sites-during-quarantine-and-3-justifications-for-viewing-porn/) - While it seems everyone is thinking about how to stay healthy and how to survive the financial fallout caused by the Coronavirus and quarantine there are many millions of people who have something else on their minds entirely. Thanks to the Coronavirus porn sites are seeing spikes in their traffic worldwide. Pornhub reported up to - [Faith in the Storm, How Jesus Calms Our Fears When the Storm Winds Blow](https://sukofamily.org/faith-in-the-storm-how-jesus-calms-our-fears-when-the-storm-winds-blow/) - Note: Some of this content was derived from by book, "What if... How to Kill Worry and Anxiety Before They Kill You" Today we are facing a storm of worldwide proportions. The world is afraid of getting sick, losing their jobs, not having enough money, they are afraid of tomorrow, next week and next month! - [We Need to Do More Than Simply Saying That Pornography Is Sin](https://sukofamily.org/please-stop-saying-that-pornography-is-sin/) - If you think pornography is a sin and you have heard others in the church tell you that it's a sin then you're not that different from most church members. The truth is it's not hard to tell someone else that pornography is a sin. It's not even difficult to read the Bible and find - [Do You Have the Deadly Sinoravirus? 5 Tests to Find Out](https://sukofamily.org/do-you-have-the-deadly-sinoravirus-5-tests-to-find-out/) - While the whole world is wondering if they have contracted the Coronavirus - otherwise known as COVID-19 - I want to let you know about another deadly disease that is far worse and much more deadly. Its death rate is off the charts, and many people don’t even know they have it. Thankfully, it can - [Soviet Toilet Paper DIY and Other Tips to Get You Through Quarantine](https://sukofamily.org/soviet-toilet-paper-diy-and-other-tips-to-get-you-through-quarantine/) - Christina and I share with you 12 tips on how to get through quarantine. - [Why We Let Our Daughter Marry a Guy She Met Online | Season 3 Episode 11](https://sukofamily.org/why-we-let-our-daughter-marry-a-guy-she-met-online-season-3-episode-11/) - When I found out my daughter was communicating with a guy from South American that she had met online I was concerned. In this episode of "Now Is the Time" Christina and I talk about why we allowed our daughter to continue with the relationship, get married, and move to South America. We also answer - [How to Use Quarantine to Advance the Gospel, 5 Things You can do](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-use-quarantine-to-advance-the-gospel-5-things-you-can-do/) - Everyone seems to be rethinking how they can continue to minister and preach the gospel during these days of quarantine because of the Coronavirus. In this episode of the podcast I share with you 5 ways that you can continue to advance the gospel even while you are isolated. (Yes, I know I accidently said, - [9 Things Christians Shouldn’t Do During the Coronavirus Pandemic](https://sukofamily.org/9-things-christians-shouldnt-do-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/) - Do a quick google search of “how to avoid the Coronavirus” and you’ll find a lot of interesting advice on what you should and shouldn’t do. Some suggest drinking lots of water, others say you should gargle with vinegar, still others advocate getting the regular flu vaccine. Will any of these ideas really protect you - [Jehovah's Witnesses and the Deity of Christ in John 1:3](https://sukofamily.org/jehovahs-witnesses-and-the-deity-of-christ-in-john-13/) - The biggest difference between Jehovah's Witnesses and orthodox Christianity is that the Watch Tower Society teaches that Jesus was not God. They reject the Christian teaching that Jesus existed as God before, during, and after his incarnation The New World Translation, which is used by Jehovah's witnesses changes the wording in John 1:1 from "The - ["The Art of Evangelism" Yuzhny, Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/the-art-of-evangelism-yuzhny-ukraine/) - One of the biggest mistakes we make is thinking that the gospel is nothing more than a slogan or a few phrases that should be repeated in a prayer. The gospel is far richer and deeper than we can imagine. The gospel is beautiful, it is a masterpiece. When we share the gospel we should - [The Coronavirus, How Should Christians Respond?](https://sukofamily.org/the-coronavirus-how-should-christians-respond/) - In this episode I talk about how Christians should respond to the Coronavirus and how we can use it for the Gospel. I also respond to Rajesh from Singapore who asked? "Kindly do clarify whether 1 cor 3 is speaking about leaders. If yes, how do we apply for believers? How do we understand that - [Is Missions Hurting Your Church?](https://sukofamily.org/is-missions-hurting-your-church/) - If you want your church to grow then missions isn't the first department you'd think about. In the church growth books I've read you might not think about... - [What Missionaries Really Do on Furlough? The Surprising Truth!](https://sukofamily.org/what-missionaries-really-do-on-furlough-the-surprising-truth/) - "Wow, that's a lot of vacation time!" exclaimed a lady I met while we were traveling through Chicago last month. It's not the first time someone has commented on our "vacation" in the States. While we live and serve most of the time in Ukraine, we spent the last ten months in the US. - [What to Do When You're Homesick -13 Tips for Missionaries](https://sukofamily.org/what-to-do-when-youre-homesick-13-tips-for-missionaries/) - I get asked very often by Ukrainians and Americans if I miss home and here's what I usually tell them. "Home for me isn't a country or a house, it's my.... - [What Do Missionaries Do?](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-a-missionaries-job/) - What are missionaries supposed to do? There are many good missions books which can tell you how to work in another culture or what are the most effective.... - [Thirty Seven Ways to Serve Your Missionaries Better](https://sukofamily.org/thirty-seven-ways-to-serve-your-missionaries-better/) - Most churches love their missionaries but few no how to serve them well. After our time in the States last year visiting all our supporting churches I decided... - [Don't Shipwreck Your Faith](https://sukofamily.org/dont-shipwreck-your-faith/) - There are only two reasons for shipwrecks; one is navigational error, the other is mechanical error. Paul tells young Timothy that there are also two reasons that people shipwreck their faith; one is doctrinal error, the other is moral failure. If you don't want your faith to run aground friends, you can not let go - [Art Evangelism Training, Holy Trinity Church, Bucharest Romania](https://sukofamily.org/art-evangelism-training-holy-trinity-church-bucharest-romania/) - Back in November we I was in Bucharest for our "Missions Roundtable" while there we talked with some artists from Holy Trinity Baptist Church, they were interested in how we are using historic prints of art as a method of sharing the gospel. They were quite interested so after talking with the pastor, they invited - [10 Uncomfortable Questions on Love and Marriage](https://sukofamily.org/10-uncomfortable-questions-on-love-and-marriage/) - Christina and I decided to ask each other some tough questions about love and marriage. In the end marriage and the gospel are closely tied. Listen along with us to find out how we answer these questions. Questions for Christina Were there ever times in our marriage when you didn’t feel love for me?What annoys - [Pray for Skiniya Church](https://sukofamily.org/pray-for-skiniya-church/) - Today we had the privilege of visiting Skiniya (Tabernacle) Church. This group of Jesus followers meets in a Christian bookstore in downtown Odessa. This church is a sister church to ours as both were started by Peter Rodoslavov. We always enjoy visiting because of the close fellowship we share with them. Skiniya has a great - [Why Did Jesus Need to Get Baptized if He Was Sinless?](https://sukofamily.org/why-did-jesus-need-to-get-baptized-if-he-was-sinless/) - John came with a baptism of repentance, yet Jesus wanted to be baptized by John. If Jesus didn't need to repent, then why did John baptize him? Episode resources In this podcast episode I also share with you a few ministry updates and talk about the holiday of "Baptism" on January 19th here in Ukraine. - [Why Did Lutheran Churches Disappear from Bessarabia?](https://sukofamily.org/why-did-lutheran-churches-disappear-from-bessarabia/) - German Lutherans lived in Southern Ukraine for about 140 years. They built towns and large church buildings, yet when they left their faith left too. What happened, why did these churches literally vanish overnight? - [Are You Planning for the Gospel in 2020?](https://sukofamily.org/are-you-planning-for-the-gospel-in-2020/) - How are you planning to input and record gospel goals for your life in 2020? If you have a some helpful suggestions, you can share it with us here. Gospel resources Gospel video with app for sharing the gospel in about 20 languages: The Story Film A short book that simply explains who Jesus is, - [Why "The Gospel Today?"](https://sukofamily.org/why-the-gospel-today/) - As we begin the 2020 I want to let you know about a new name for this page and for the podcast. THE GOSPEL TODAY I decided to change the name to more accurately reflect the topics I focus on both in the podcast and on the blog and this Facebook page. Below is a - [Does God Really Have a Wonderful Plan for Your Life?](https://sukofamily.org/does-god-really-have-a-wonderful-plan-for-your-life-2/) - Does God really have a wonderful plan for your life? Sometimes we begin our evangelism with that statement, "God has a wonderful plan for your life!" But I want to think about that with you for just a moment. Does God really have a wonderful plan for your life? What do unbelievers think when you - [Does God Really Have a Wonderful Plan for Your Life?](https://sukofamily.org/does-god-really-have-a-wonderful-plan-for-your-life/) - Have you ever heard the phrase, "God has a wonderful plan for your life!" used in sharing the gospel? In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I share with you some of my thoughts about using this phrase when speaking to unbelievers. You can find the podcast on: iTunes or Android You can watch my - [Summer Is Over! Ministry Update](https://sukofamily.org/summer-is-over-ministry-update/) - Can you believe summer is already over? I just dropped our kids off for the second day of school! Yes, summer has flown by and I want to take a couple of minutes just to share with you a few of things that went on this summer. Parents 50th wedding anniversary We just returned from - [Merry Christmas from Caleb and Christina](https://sukofamily.org/2019yearend/) - Christina and I want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! In our video greeting both Christina and I share one highlight from 2019. Please take the opportunity to download our year-end report below. Year-end giving Online To give online please visit: http://sukofamily.org/give2019 By Mail Note account - [A New Podcast for 2020](https://sukofamily.org/a-new-podcast-for-2020/) - As we start 2020 I want to wish many blessings in this new year. In this short episode I talk about the new name for the podcast and a plans for this year. - [What to Tell Your Kids About Santa Claus](https://sukofamily.org/what-to-tell-your-kids-about-santa-claus/) - Christmas is the only time of year when it's generally considered OK to lie to your children! It's sort of an American tradition and it gets them to behave! - [7 Tips to Strengthen Your Bible Reading](https://sukofamily.org/7-tips-to-strengthen-your-bible-reading/) - Did you start the year off with a rock solid commitment to sticking to your Bible reading plan? If you did then it's possible that you are already struggling... - [Pastor Al Franklin](https://sukofamily.org/pastor-al-franklin/) - I was 19 years old when I began my first year at Shasta Bible College, which I was sure would be my only year at the time. I had just returned from 6 months with missionaries in the jungles of South America, I had a desire to serve God but wasn't sure how or where. - [10 Signs You've Been Duped by False Joy](https://sukofamily.org/10-signs-youve-been-duped-by-false-joy/) - Have you ever wondered why there are so many christians who don't seem to experience true joy? Maybe you're one of them. Too often I and many of you think we are pursuing real joy only to find that we have been duped by fake joy. It's never a good feeling to be duped by - [The Monster in My Basement](https://sukofamily.org/the-monster-in-my-basement/) - I started writing this poem a few years ago and only got half way through. It stood for a long time needing to be finished, needing a resolution to the monster problem. Last Saturday before I preached at Thurston Community Baptist Church, I sat down and finished the poem and gave it a fitting ending. - [22 Years of Marriage, Church Leaders Conference, Update on Kids Schooling, and a Few More Things!](https://sukofamily.org/too-much-to-tell/) - First off, sorry for the long title, we probably put a few too many things into this update but here we go! 22 Years Later We must start by praising God for giving us a strong christian marriage. Christina and I met 22 years and 9 months ago on the campus of Shasta Bible College - [Resurrection Greetings](https://sukofamily.org/resurrection-greetings-2/) - Christina and I want to send you our greetings as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This Sunday was Palm Sunday in Ukraine, (you can watch my sermon in Russian here) we will celebrate Easter next Sunday. It was also presidential election day. Many Ukrainians are worried about the future - [12 questions to consider before writing a post online](https://sukofamily.org/12-questions-to-consider-before-writing-a-post-online/) - We’ve probably all done it, written some sort of quick response online and later regretted it. It seems that the lack of eye contact and physical presence in our online communications often results in people writing things that aren’t a shining example of a Christ like attitude. On the other hand it may be that - [Training for the Harvest March Update](https://sukofamily.org/for-training-for-the-harvest/) - Ovidiopol On March 31, as Ukrainians were going to the polling stations and thinking about who might make life in their country better, in the city of Ovidiopol, members of the local church, as well as nearby villages, gathered in the House of Prayer in order to listen to a seminar on how to help - [New Churches in Chile](https://sukofamily.org/new-churches-in-chile/) - Last month, my son, Mishael, and I spent 2 weeks in Southern Chile with my daughter, Naomi, and her family. My parents also came along with us. (You can hear my interview with Naomi about her life in Chile here.) For me this was a chance to meet my first granddaughter, Phillipa Jane, and as - [Naomi Talks about Life in Chile |Season 5 Episode 3](https://sukofamily.org/naomi-talks-about-life-in-chile-season-5-episode-3/) - I decided to check up on my daughter after she met someone online, married him, and then moved to South America. Here's what she said about her new life and family in Chile. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlCp28i4_yI If you missed the podcast episode where we talked about why we let our daughter marry a guy she met online. - [Pastor Fedor Bespalov](https://sukofamily.org/pastor-fedor-bespalov/) - God uses some of his children in unique ways to encourage, to inspire, and to equip others for the ministry. Such was the case with dear Brother Fedor, who moved into the presence of his Savior on March 28th 2019. I found in him a rare passion for God, love for God's people and a - [Evangelism or Discipleship? | Season 5 Episode 2](https://sukofamily.org/evangelism-or-discipleship-season-5-episode-2/) - “There are different periods in the life of every church and now is one of those times when we just need to focus on strengthening the people who remain in our church rather than trying to share the gospel with unbelievers.” Believe it or not, I’ve heard something very similar to this from pastors who - [Ministry to Church Leaders from Eastern Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/ministry-to-church-leaders-from-eastern-ukraine/) - Last week I traveled to the town of Svyatohirs'k in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine where I met with leaders from 20 churches in and around the war zone. This group of churches asked me to come and share with them about how their churches can do a better job in evangelism and missions. - [One Big Reason Many Christians Fail to Grow in Their Faith | Season 5 Episode 1](https://sukofamily.org/one-big-reason-many-christians-fail-to-grow-in-their-faith-season-5-episode-1/) - If you ask a typical Christian what they need to do in order to grow in their faith the usual answer is, "Study your Bible, pray, and go to Church." That answer doesn't satisfy me at all! I have seen too many Bible reading, prayer saying, Church going Christians who year after year increase their - [Update from the Park](https://sukofamily.org/update-from-the-park/) - In this video update I share a little more about Brother Nickolai's death. I also share about our recent conference in Malta with our regional missions team. Finally, I talk about some upcoming ministry that you can be praying for. - [Merry Christmas and Happy New Years](https://sukofamily.org/merry-christmas-and-happy-new-years/) - It's over! Marshal law and the year have come to an end but we wanted to sneak in a quick greeting from our family before 2019 begins. We pray that 2019 will be a year full of God's blessings for you, that your faith in Jesus will deepen and that will love for God will - [Russian Navy fires on and Captures Ukrainian Naval Ships Near Crimea](https://sukofamily.org/russian-navy-fires-on-and-captures-ukrainian-naval-ships-near-crimea/) - On Sunday November 25th, 2018 the Russian navy fired on 3 Ukrainian naval ships in the straits of Kerch and captured all 3 of Ukrainian ships. This escalation has brought a renewed concern among Ukrainians about the possibility of more war. Today the Ukrainian government will vote on whether or not to institute martial law in order - [Should I Use the "Sinner's Prayer" in Evangelism?](https://sukofamily.org/should-i-use-the-sinners-prayer-in-evangelism/) - If you grew up in an Evangelical Church, there's a good chance you are familiar with "The Sinner's Prayer." This is a prayer that is often used in evangelical outreaches at the end the service. The evangelists usually invites anyone who would like to become a Christian to say a little prayer with him. Then - ["Is God Calling Me to Mission?" Free on Kindle](https://sukofamily.org/is-god-calling-me-to-mission-free-on-kindle/) - My book that I published earlier this year is now available for preorder on Amazon Kindle. If you purchased the paperback version you can get the Kindle version absolutely free! It's my gift to you! Preorder on Kindle Once you preorder the book it will be automatically delivered to your Kindle on October 8th! Preorder - [What Is Missions Mobilization? |Season 4 Episode 13](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-missions-mobilization/) - What is missions mobilization and how do mission agencies really help churches and missionaries do the work of missions? In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I talk with Scott Dunford, Vice President of Mobilization and Communications for ABWE and Alex Kockman, Director of Long-Term Missionary Mobilization at ABWE about their roles in a mission - [Can You Feel God's Presence?](https://sukofamily.org/can-you-feel-gods-presence/) - "You can’t feel the presence of God. You don’t have any mechanism to feel the presence of God. I’ve never felt the presence of God; I don’t even know what that means. But I do know this: He’s here."John MacArthur, "The Promise of the Holy Spirit, Part 2" Recently I came across the quote above - [Do You Need to Go to Seminary to Be a Missionary? | Season 4 Episode 12](https://sukofamily.org/do-you-need-to-go-to-seminary-to-be-a-missionary-season-4-episode-12/) - In this episode of Now Is the Time, I answer a common question about the need for formal education for missionaries. I also answer this question in detail in my book "Is God Calling me to Missions, 10 questions to help determine your calling" you can pre-order the Kindle version on Amazon before October 6th. - [Why You're Not Getting Anything Out of the Sunday Morning Sermon](https://sukofamily.org/why-youre-not-getting-anything-out-of-the-sunday-morning-sermon/) - For many Christians Sunday afternoons are a time to relax, have a bite to eat, and discuss the shortcomings of the Sunday morning sermon. Few realize how much damage they are doing to themselves spiritually. Here are 3 barriers that will keep you from benefiting spiritually from the Sunday morning sermon. 1. You Have a - [2 More Reasons You're Not Getting Anything From the Sermon](https://sukofamily.org/2-more-reasons-youre-not-getting-anything-from-the-sermon/) - You have spiritual pride One of the first symptoms of spiritual pride is the dismissal of true Biblical teaching. Pride clogs our spiritual ear canals with a waxy mess of arrogance, distain, and conceit. Note: This is part two, you can read part one here. Pride tells me the sermon is boringPride tells me the - [How to Become a Grandparent](https://sukofamily.org/thoughts-from-a-new-grandfather/) - Recently something life changing happened, I became a grandfather for the first time! Our daughter Naomi gave birth to little Philippa Jane Whitaker Suko on Sept 4th 2018. Now I know what you're thinking, "Caleb, You look so old you must have hords of grandkids by now!" Looks can be deceiving, I'm only 41! Ok, maybe - [A Funeral A Few Youth And the Faithfulness of Scripture](https://sukofamily.org/a-funeral-a-few-youth-and-the-faithfulness-of-scritpture/) - I didn't tell any jokes, I didn't share any funny stories, and my sermon was only a few minutes long preaching to handful of mostly elderly people uncomfortably gathered around a thin wooden coffin. They quietly gazed at the undeniable, terrible truth of death and wiped the sweat from their brows in the 95f midday - [Black Sea Baptisms](https://sukofamily.org/black-sea-baptisms/) - This past Sunday our Church gathered on the shore of the Black Sea for the baptism of four people. What a privilege it was for Pastor Vadim and I to go into the waters with these two young men and two young women who want to publicly declare their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. - [Seven Things a Pastor Shouldn't Do on Mondays](https://sukofamily.org/seven-things-a-pastor-shouldnt-do-on-mondays/) - Getting a pastor to take a day off can be diffсult because it's a never ending job! Unfortunately, ignoring the sabbath principle can lead to dangerous results like burnout! Even when a pastor does take a day off it's often not as - [The Best/Worst Sermon Ever Preached at Steven Furtick's Elevation Church](https://sukofamily.org/the-best-worst-sermon-ever-preached-at-stephen-furticks-elevation-church/) - If you're at all familiar with Elevation Church and Pastor Steven Furtick then you know that Furtick's preaching and his church generally downplay the role of doctrine, discipleship and Bible teaching while emphasizes numbers, evangelism, and over the top attention getting methods to draw in big crowds. That's exactly why I was surprised to see that - [Successful Church Plants that Look Like Venture Start-ups](https://sukofamily.org/successful-church-plants-that-look-like-venture-start-ups/) - Could it be that successful church planting is really nothing more than good marketing, knowing your demographic, and selling the faith to those you know will listen? In this episode of the "Now Is the Time" I share with you an interesting podcast that looks as church planting from a secular standpoint and sees many - [41 Questions for My 41st Birthday | Season 04 Episode 10](https://sukofamily.org/41-questions-for-my-41st-birthday-season-04-episode-10/) - On this episode of "Now Is the Time" Christina and I switch roles and Christina interviews me for my 41st birthday! I think you'll agree that she thought up some great questions. I didn't know what these questions where before the interview so my answers are all unscripted. Enjoy the podcast or the video below! - [All Baptist Union Churches Shutdown by Authorities in Eastern Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/all-baptist-union-churches-shutdown-by-authorities-in-eastern-ukraine/) - Police enter the room where the small church gathers as they sing the words of the chorus "Christ is with me" one of the officers, wearing a mask to hide his identity, walks to the front of the room and says, "Please show me the documents and registration for conducting this event." "Are you a - [Slavic Pastor Vitaly Korchevsky Arrested for Stealing Millions in a Hacking Scheme](https://sukofamily.org/slavic-pastor-vitaly-korchevsky/) - Pictures of Pastor Vitaly Korchevsky in handcuffs being escorted by a FBI agent as he was arrested this week shocked much in the Christian Slavic world. He is alleged of taking part in an elaborate scheme which involved Ukrainian and Russian hackers and resulted in around 100 million in stolen profits from large companies. Update: - [When Sharing the Gospel Isn't What You Expected | Season 4 Episode 9](https://sukofamily.org/unexpected/) - This past Sunday things didn't go as planned and we ended up in an awkward and unexpected situation, nevertheless, it was a gospel opportunity. I share the story with you in this episode of Now Is the Time. I also give you and update on the older couple whom we recently helped when she fell - [Church Closed Down by Separatist Government in Eastern Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/church-closed-down-by-separatist-government-in-eastern-ukraine/) - Just yesterday authorities unexpectedly walked into "New Life Church" in Makeevka and evicted the Church from their facility. We received the following letter from Pastor Alexsander Moseychuk, he also posted it on his Facebook page here. Please pray for "New Life Church" as they will be gathering without a building tomorrow! "June 6, 2018 our - [Brokenness and Gospel Opportunities | Season 4 Episode 8](https://sukofamily.org/brokenness-and-gospel-opportunities-season-4-episode-8/) - In this episode of the podcast I share with you two stories that happened to me in the past week. Both experiences showed me the brokenness of this world and how God uses these tragic circumstances as gospel opportunities. If you'd like to ask a question that I will answer in the next podcast episode, - [Growing up in the Soviet Union | Season 4 Episode 7](https://sukofamily.org/growing-up-in-the-soviet-union-season-4-episode-7/) - What was it like for a child to grow up in the USSR? In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I sit down with my wife Christina and she shares what life was like during Soviet rule in Ukraine. Here are a few things Christina talks about. Soviet school uniforms Communist children's organization "Pioneers" - [Culture Shock and Conflict 12 Truths New Missionaries Need to Know](https://sukofamily.org/culture-shock-and-conflict-12-truths-new-missionaries-need-to-know/) - Over a decade ago as a new missionary on the field I had little idea of what culture shock or culture conflict really meant. I thought it was probably something others experience but not me. "Things might be a little different here," I thought, "but what's the big deal?" Looking back I realize now that - [#46 Signs of Burnout](https://sukofamily.org/46-signs-of-burnout/) - Burnout is far too common in missionaries and those who have given their lives to serving others. In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I talk with Dr. Stan Haegart who is both a missionary and a burnout survivor. - [Lessons from 21 Years of Marriage](https://sukofamily.org/lessons-from-21-years-of-marriage/) - After 21 years of marriage God has taught us a few lessons about how to love each other and what we need to do to keep our marriage healthy. We sat down to share a few of those thoughts with you. Lesson #1 Be unselfish Lesson #2 Be forgiving Lesson #3 Work on your marriage - [An Open Letter to The Person Loitering in the Foyer During the Sermon](https://sukofamily.org/an-open-letter-to-the-person-loitering-in-the-foyer-during-the-sermon/) - Dear Person loitering in the foyer every Sunday, You might think nobody notices, you might think it's no big deal, and you probably have some really great excuses for why you rarely if ever join us in the sanctuary for corporate worship and the preaching of God's Word. Before you jump into self-justification, rationalization, and - [Charles Spurgeon's Advice to New Missionaries](https://sukofamily.org/charles-spurgeons-advice-to-new-missionaries/) - You need to read this letter if you're a missionary or a pastor of a missionary! Charles Haddon Spurgeon wrote the letter to a new missionary to... - [Modern-Day Indulgences](https://sukofamily.org/modern-day-indulgences/) - If you think indulgences are an ancient practice of the Catholic Church that have long been forgotten, you're greatly mistaken. 500 years ago Martin Luther began the Reformation by publicly condemning indulgences as an unbiblical and unethical way to fill the coffers of the Catholic Church. Today many preachers are propagating a new an improved version of - [Why I Worry About My Girls in a "Super-Sexed" Society](https://sukofamily.org/why-i-worry-about-my-girls-in-a-super-sexed-society/) - These are my girls and I worry about them. There's good reason for my worry. Our culture's attitude towards young women has begun to look like that of an unbridled teenage boy on testosterone injections. We live in a super-sexed society! The sexification, erotification, and objectification of girls drive the sales of everything from crescent - [Why You Should Stop Asking People if They Know Jesus](https://sukofamily.org/why-you-should-stop-asking-people-if-they-know-jesus/) - Do you know Jesus? Probably not! At least not in the way you think. Now before you call me a heretic take a minute to watch the video below, I think it will help you understand where I'm coming from. While this video from David Lopez is funny, it also demonstrates a common problem that - [Do Seminaries Ruin Young Men?](https://sukofamily.org/do-seminaries-ruin-young-men/) - Seminaries and Bible colleges are dangerous places, they ruin potentially good ministers! This isn't the time to hole up in a classroom listening to long... - [Advice for a Teenage Boy](https://sukofamily.org/advice-for-a-teenage-boy/) - Not long ago I was asked to write a letter of advice for a friend's teenage son. After I wrote the letter I realized that pretty much everything I put down on the paper was useful for adults too! Below is the main points of my letter with personal refrences removed. Dear _______, Happy birthday! - [Don't Measure Your Spiritual Growth Like This!](https://sukofamily.org/dont-measure-your-spiritual-growth-like-this/) - "I asked _____ to teach the adult class this Sunday, he doesn't come to church often but he graduated from seminary so he should do fine." Yes, I've actually... - [A Few problems with "Word of Faith"](https://sukofamily.org/a-few-problems-with-word-of-faith/) - Every quarter our Southern Ukraine association of churches puts on an all day fellowship/seminar for the brothers. They invited me to speak this time and I decided to talk about the rise of the "Word of Faith" movement, which is unfortunately gaining a lot of speed in Ukraine as it is in many countries. If you're - [The Town that Blew Up | Balakliia, Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/the-town-that-blew-up-balakliia-ukraine/) - This is the story of the large serious of explosions that damaged about 250 buildings in Balakliia on March 23, 2017. As a result over 20,000 people were evacuated. The Church in Balakliia rose to the task of helping people evacuate despite the danger. Later the Church feed those in need and helped repair damaged - [Evangelism Training In Balakliia](https://sukofamily.org/evangelism-training-in-balakliia/) - It's not often that you meet a church with such a thirst for the gospel. This past weekend I traveled to Balakiia where we led an evangelism training seminar with Light of the Gospel Church. This town lived through a serious of explosions last year that damaged nearly every building in town. Praise God that the - [3 Ways Ministry Can Threaten the Family | Season 4 Episode 6](https://sukofamily.org/3-ways-ministry-can-threaten-the-family/) - In this episode of Now Is the Time I share with you 3 ways ministry can endanger your family! I also give you a little update on our "Minister's Family" conference that we held this month. You can check out our new Russian language podcast on iTunes or on Android. 1. Ministry demands too much - [1600 km, 4 Cities, Hundreds of Church Leaders](https://sukofamily.org/1600-km-4-cities-hundreds-of-church-leaders/) - It usually takes me a day or two to recuperate after these marathon trips. Just in case you weren't following the journey on youtube, I thought I'd give you a... - ["The Minister's Family" Conference Update](https://sukofamily.org/the-ministers-family-conference-update/) - Over 1,000 church leaders gathered 14 different countries for our annual Bible Conference in Bela Tserkov this year. In addition to those who attended we also reached thousands more with over 10,000 downloads of video and audio recordings. "The Minister's Family" was the theme for this year's conference. Our speakers spoke on Biblical principles of - [Are You a Fat Christian?](https://sukofamily.org/are-you-a-fat-christian/) - Recently I've noticed an alarming tendency, there are more fat Christians than ever! These overweight followers of Jesus are having a hard time keeping pace - [How to Raise a Billy Graham](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-raise-a-billy-graham/) - On February 21st 2018 aged 99 Billy Graham passed into the presence of his Savior. Graham preached the gospel to more people in person than anyone else in the history of Christianity. Over 210 million people in 185 countries heard Graham preach in person! Some estimate that around 2.5 billion have heard Graham preaching on - ["The Story of Hope" in Ukrainian](https://sukofamily.org/the-story-of-hope-in-ukrainian/) - We recently translated "The Story of Hope" into Ukrainian and have printed 50 copies to test. Once we receive feedback we will be printing 1,000 copies to be used by churches in Ukraine to share the Gospel in a chronological and Biblical way. If you would like to help donate towards the printing of "The - [What's Going on in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/whats-going-on-in-ukraine/) - Here are a few news items about Ukraine and about our ministry here. I hope you'll take a few moments to read through them and pray for Ukraine. If you'd like to get regular updates via email, you can do that here. Things are getting more difficult for Churches in Eastern Ukraine New law in - ["Storyline" Missions Training for Churches](https://sukofamily.org/storyline-missions-training-for-churches/) - Evangelism and discipleship are vital but their not enough, churches must take the next step and send out some of their own to other peoples and cultures. One of our desires is to help churches understand the missions aspect of the Great Commission. In order to do this we have partnered with "Storyline Mission" Storyline - [Men in Military Uniforms Ransack Church in Eastern Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/men-in-military-uniforms-ransack-church-in-eastern-ukraine/) - Some sad and disturbing news from our brothers and sisters in the Separatist controlled area of Eastern Ukraine. I recently wrote about this new law which has many churches in Eastern Ukraine worried about government persecution. Please take some time to read this letter below from a Church in Eastern Ukraine and pray for them! - [How a Pastor Crossed the Frontlines of the War in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/how-a-pastor-crossed-the-frontlines-of-the-war-in-ukraine/) - Recently I talked to a pastor who serves in the Separatist controlled area of Eastern Ukraine, he shared with me an amazing story of how he crossed the border back into the war zone one Christmas. - [Easter in A Ukrainian Village](https://sukofamily.org/easter-in-a-ukrainian-village/) - This Resurrection weekend we visited our sister church in the village of Limany to help them celebrate. Limany, (which means estuaries) sits about 50 miles from Odessa on the shore of a large estuary of the Black Sea called "Berizovksy." Back in 2007 Pastor Anatoly and his church were doing evangelism in some of the - [High School Camp](https://sukofamily.org/high-school-camp/) - When a friend of mine told me I could speak to 40 youth every night for 5 nights about missions I jumped on it! What a great opportunity to share how God led Christina and me into missions and to encourage a gospel passion in the lives of these young people. Last week we spent - [Happy Thanksgiving 2017](https://sukofamily.org/happy-thanksgiving-2017/) - Dear friends, Christina and I want to wish you a happy and joyful thanksgiving and you reflect on all God has done and will do in your lives. No matter the circumstances we find ourselves in we can be grateful for God's great grace, marvelous mercy, and tender love! We are thankful for your sincere - [Religious Groups Outlawed in Unrecognized Republics of Eastern Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/religious-groups-outlawed-in-unrecognized-republics-of-eastern-ukraine/) - A new law in the Russian Separatist controlled "Lugansk People's Republic" has many churches and church leaders worried. On February 2nd the unrecognized government approved a law that requires all "religious groups" to register with the government. According to the minister of religious affairs a religious group is any group of 5 or more people - [How to Share the Gospel with Muslims](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-share-the-gospel-with-muslims/) - Sharing the gospel with Muslims shouldn't be scary. To effectively communicate the gospel we must understand them and connect on a heart level. - [How to Cast Out Demons Like Jesus](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-cast-out-demons-like-jesus/) - Exorcisms have exploded into some Christians circles recently. Often so called “deliverance” meetings or “spiritual encounters" have more hype and hysteria.... - ["My Wife Doesn't Want to Go to Church Anymore" | Part 2](https://sukofamily.org/my-wife-doesnt-want-to-go-to-church-anymore-part-2/) - In part one of this article we settle some possible problems in our thinking about this issue. Now let’s take a look at a 7 things you can do if your wife has lost interest in spiritual things. 1. Start with yourself Blame is an invisible, silent, and deadly shadow that we often cast upon - [The Legacy of Billy Graham](https://sukofamily.org/the-legacy-of-billy-graham/) - Today at age 99 Billy Graham passed into the presence of his Savior. According to biographer Terry Whalin Graham preached the gospel to more people in person than anyone else in the history of Christianity. Over 210 million people in 185 countries heard Graham preach in person! Some estimate that around 2.5 billion have heard Graham - [Secret Life of a Missionary Kid | Season 3 Episode 4](https://sukofamily.org/secret-life-of-missionary-kid-season-3-episode-4/) - What's it like to live more than half of your growing up years in a foreign country? In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I talk with Naomi Suko, my daughter and missionary kid who has lived in Ukraine for the past 10 years. She shares some of the shocks of moving to a - [Five Truths Mass Shootings Can Teach the Church](https://sukofamily.org/what-the-mass-shooting-in-oregon-can-teach-the-church/) - Mass shootings like the recent one in Oregon's Umpqua college that left 10 people dead have become so ordinary that they are now part of our culture. Even Obama... - [The Mission Task](https://sukofamily.org/the-mission-task/) - Sermon notes The Missionary Task A Confused Task If we are not careful we can confuse the task of missions and water it down with a thousand good things! Yes, I said good things! Sometimes it is not the pure evil that slows gospel preaching and progress, sometimes it is good things that are not - [Joy in Being 2nd | Season 3 Episode 4](https://sukofamily.org/joy-in-being-2nd-season-3-episode-4/) - Join us for our sending service on February 11th 6:00 pm at Discovery Baptist Church in Gig Harbor Give a gift to help us print The Story of Hope in Ukrainian Sermon notes Joy in Being Second Philippians 2:1-11 There are 2 great misconceptions in our world today. One is to confuse joy with - [How to Be Successful in Ministry -13 Principles](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-be-successful-in-ministry-13-principles/) - I want to share with you 13 principles that have helped me immensely in ministry. Some of these I was given by others who are more experienced in ministry... - [Resolved to Learn from Suffering](https://sukofamily.org/resolved-to-learn-from-suffering/) - Thank you to all who prayed and supported our Ukrainian soldiers Christmas outreach. You can read more about it and view pictures here. Sermon notes: Resolved to Learn from Suffering James 1:2-4 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your - [7 Aspects of Missionary Passion | Season 4, Episode 3](https://sukofamily.org/7-aspect-of-missionary-passion-season-4-episode-3/) - Sermon notes 7 Aspects of Missionary PassionIt wasn’t the live coal that changed Isaiah but rather the forgiveness that he knew God had given him when that burning coal touched his lips. We can see the change in Isaiah by his two contrasting responses to God. His first response to God's holiness was negative, "I'm - [Is God Calling Me Into Missions? | 10 Helpful Questions to Ask Yourself](https://sukofamily.org/is-god-calling-me-into-missions-10-helpful-questions-to-ask-yourself/) - One of the most common questions I get from young people is this: “Is God calling me into missions?” This is a great question for.... - [A Word About Shasta Bible College](https://sukofamily.org/a-word-about-shasta-bible-college/) - This week we spoke a couple of times at Shasta Bible College chapel and I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about why we love SBC and why we encourage young people who are serious about pursuing God to check out SBC. Christina came to SBC as an 18 year old from Ukraine. - ["Holding Together" World Magazine Interview](https://sukofamily.org/holding-together-world-magazine-interview/) - This month World magazine featured an interview with me in their cover story! You can check out the full article with my interview in the October 4th issue of World Magazine. - [God's Holiness Motivates Our Mission](https://sukofamily.org/gods-holiness-motivates-our-mission/) - Announcement: My book "Is God Calling Me to Missions? 10 Questions to Help Determine Your Calling" is now available here on Amazon. Before you head over to Amazon to grab a copy you should know that I'm sending a copy of the book out as a token of our gratitude for anyone who gifts a - [How to Welcome Missionaries When They Visit Your Church](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-welcome-missionaries-when-they-visit-your-church/) - We visit a lot of Churches when we are in the US and I thought it would be helpful to share with you what I think are some of the best practices for welcoming a missionary who will be speaking during your Sunday morning worship service. This past Sunday we visited Central Valley Christian Fellowship and - ["The Purity War" Interview with James Cecy | Season 4 Episode 1](https://sukofamily.org/the-purity-war-interview-with-james-cecy-season-4-episode-1/) - In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I interview Pastor and Author James Cecy. Jim wrote the book "The Purity War." This came out of his doctoral studies of why pastors and other Christian leaders fall to immorality. Pastor James was also the guest speaker at our conference this past fall in Ukraine. You - [Pro-life Ministry in Ukraine, Interview with Holly Friesen | Season 4 Episode 2](https://sukofamily.org/pro-life-ministry-in-ukraine-interview-with-holly-friesen-season-4-episode-2/) - In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I talk to friend and co-worker Holly Friesen. Holly has a heart for mothers and children. She saw first hand the impact a pro-life ministry can have and the opportunities it gives local churches for the gospel during two years in Peru. God then brought Holly to - [How to Make Your Wife Submit to Your Authority -6 Tips](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-make-your-wife-submit-to-your-authority-6-tips/) - Let's not beat around the bush, our wives are commanded to submit to us but sometimes our wives need help. Here are 6 tips to get your wife to submit to you. - [20 Benefits of Having a Bunch of Kids](https://sukofamily.org/20-benefits-of-having-a-bunch-of-kids/) - I have five children, that might seem like a lot to you or not. It depends on how big your family was growing up and how big your family is now. I grew up in... - [The Secret to Why I'm More Attracted to My Wife Now Than I was 17 Years Ago!](https://sukofamily.org/the-secret-to-why-im-more-attracted-to-my-wife-now-than-i-was-17-years-ago/) - This month Christina and I took an overnight trip to Victoria, BC to celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary. While we were walking around the harbor I snapped... - ["My Wife Doesn't Want to Go to Church Anymore" | Part 1](https://sukofamily.org/my-wife-doesnt-want-to-go-to-church-anymore/) - “I’m not going to church today.” Dan’s wife, Julie, matter of factly stated as she passed the bathroom where Dan was getting ready for Sunday morning like usual. “Why not?” Dan said as put down his razor and leaned out the bathroom door waiting for her answer. “I’m kind of busy today.” She tersely responded. - [What the Bible Says About Kissing Might Surprise You](https://sukofamily.org/what-the-bible-says-about-kissing-might-surprise-you/) - I was 17 when I experienced my first real kiss on the lips. It wasn't the thrilling experience I had anticipated. Maybe that's because it came from a... - [7 Ways the Prosperity Gospel Short-circuits Your Spiritual Growth](https://sukofamily.org/5-ways-the-prosperity-gospel-short-circuits-your-spiritual-growth/) - The peddlers of the prosperity gospel promise a short-cut to the joys of heaven that will bypass the trials of earthly life and deliver a near... - [Why You Should Stop Worshiping Celebrity Christian Leaders!](https://sukofamily.org/why-you-should-stop-worshiping-celebrity-christian-leaders/) - What do John MacArthur, Mark Driscol and Bill Gothard all have in common? I know you’re probably thinking nothing right? Wrong! They all have... - [What's Worse Than Pornography? -Video](https://sukofamily.org/whats-worse-than-pornography-video/) - "I have a problem, I like pornography!" That short sentence brought a hush over the crowd. Some were shocked some didn't know what to think and others avoided - [Where's the House Jesus Promised Me? | Season 3 Episode 9](https://sukofamily.org/wheres-the-house-jesus-promised-me-season-3-episode-9/) - Did you know that Jesus promised that his followers would receive houses here on earth? Some call this promise the "100 fold" principle and you can find it in Matthew 19:29, Luke 18:29 and Mark 10:29-30. In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I talk about what Jesus really meant with his promise of houses - [7 Ways to Fail as a Missionary](https://sukofamily.org/7-ways-to-fail-as-a-missionary/) - I've had my share of failures as a missionary and that's why I want to share with you some common ways that missionaries can fail. - [What Is the Purpose of the Church?](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-church/) - Why do you come to Church? Why do you participate in the life of the Church? Why are you here this morning? When you think of the Church, what kind of purpose comes into your mind? As fallen people we often tend to derive our purpose from temporary activities. While these things may not be bad, - [Just Pray the Sinner's Prayer | Gospel Mistake #2](https://sukofamily.org/just-pray-the-sinners-prayer/) - Many believe they are “saved” because they can recall a time, probably in their childhood, when they repeated a prayer or came forward during a church service or maybe they raised their hand when an invitation was given while everyone’s heads were bowed and eyes were closed. But did that prayer, that raised hand, or - [God Wants You to Be Wealthy | Gospel Mistake #1](https://sukofamily.org/jesus-wants-you-to-be-wealthy/) - Jesus promised his disciples great wealth in this world if they gave up all to follow him. Sometimes this is known as the 100 fold principle. Could it really be true? Does putting your faith in Jesus not only give you eternal life in heaven but also a wealthy and luxuries life here on earth? - [A Ticket to Heaven | Gospel Mistake #3](https://sukofamily.org/a-ticket-to-heaven-gospel-mistake-3/) - Did you know that up to 30% of students who get accepted into universities or colleges never show up in the Fall? Can you imagine applying and getting accepted to Harvard and then just not showing up but instead framing your acceptance letter and hanging it on the wall. When guest come over they would - [Go Soft on Sin | Gospel Mistake #4](https://sukofamily.org/go-soft-on-sin-gospel-mistake-4/) - What happens when the gospel goes soft on sin? It loses a high view of God and replaces it with a man made understanding of a god who knows nothing of sin or holiness. A gospel that goes soft of sin loses it's power because it gives man nothing to repent of and nothing to - [What Is the 100 Fold Principle?](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-the-100-fold-principle/) - Listen many contemporary prosperity preachers and he or she will tell you that following Jesus will get you a better car, a better job, and a nicer house. You’ll attract prosperity and it’s likely that random amounts of cash will just show up unexpectedly in your wallet or in your bank account. Could it really - [Effects of the Reformation on Evangelism and Missions](https://sukofamily.org/effects-of-the-reformation-on-evangelism-and-missions/) - Effects of Reformation on Evangelism and Missions Reformation Remembrance Conference Taylor Creek Church Oct 14, 2017 Intro: For well over a generation in the US evangelism and missions have found a very favorable place in Protestant Churches. Just do a search online and you’ll end up with dozens if not hundreds of - [What Is Sin? | Gospel Basics Sermon Series #5](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-sin/) - Sermon Notes: Why we need to talk about sin Our society has redefined, repackaged, an reintroduced as sin in some of the following ways. On the negative side they might call it: A mistake A lack of education A result of bad circumstances A misunderstanding Etc... While there may be a degree of truth to - [What Is New Life? | Gospel Basics Sermon Series #6](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-new-life-gospel-basics-sermon-series-6/) - Sermon notes What Is New Life? Gospel Basics Sermon Series #6 Joh 3:1-15 Introduction: The dangerous course of modern Christianity I am deeply concerned about a breed of Christianity that knows much about how to help you improve your marriage, or succeed at work, or propel you to greater fulfillment in life - [The Holiness of God | Gospel Basics Sermon Series #4](https://sukofamily.org/the-holiness-of-god-gospel-basics-sermon-series-4/) - Sermon Notes Why we should talk about holiness before we talk about sin I’m convinced that the main reason we have such a hard time convincing people of the gravity and danger of their own sin is because we have a weak view of the holiness of God. We can show how - [What Is Repentance? | Gospel Basics Sermon Series #1](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-repentance/) - The gospel of Jesus Christ is a message that from the beginning destroyed human traditions, social customs, and cultural norms. Wherever you find the Gospel clearly taught and truly believed you will find upheaval of well guarded and carefully controlled man-made systems of belief and ritual. By its very nature the message of the Gospel - [What Is Faith? | Gospel Basics Sermon Series #2](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-faith-gospel-basics-sermon-series-2/) - From God's Word we see that faith is the defining aspect in the lives of those who responded positively to God’s direct Words, believing what God said, even though they didn’t see it, trusting His word and acting in faith upon what he said, even though it was difficult and in some cases led to - [The Gospel Is God's Gospel | Gospel Basics Sermon Series #3](https://sukofamily.org/the-gospel-is-gods-gospel-gospel-basics-sermon-series-3/) - Sermon Notes: We must return to a God centered gospel Genesis begins with God and Revelation ends with God Throughout Scripture God is seen as saving for his “namesake” Psa 106:8 NIV - 8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake, to make his mighty power known. From OT to NT we - [About that Vision You Received Last Night](https://sukofamily.org/about-that-vision-you-received-last-night/) - Once a man came up to me after I finished preaching and told me he had a vision of me the night before. He said he saw me preaching in the future with a white beard! At that time I had dark brown hair and a dark brown/black beard. I listened to him politely as - [What Is Sola Fide?](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-sola-fide/) - Sermon notes: Sola Fide Scholars have summed up the Reformation in 5 Sola’s: Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, and Soli Dio Gloria. These 5 solas represent core theological truths upon which we stand today. These were not new ideas that the Reformers thought up but rather they rediscovered them - [What Is Solus Christus?](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-solus-christus/) - Note: This Christmas we are bringing the gospel to Ukrainian soldiers. Learn more about this project and how you can help here. Sermon notes: Introduction: The 5 Solae of the Reformation were not created by the Reformers but rather rediscovered as they returned to the text of God’s Word and began to study with renewed - [What Is Sola Scriptura?](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-sola-scriptura/) - Sermon notes: What Is Sola Scriptura? Introduction: 730 feet long, 500 feet wide and nearly as tall, this monument attracts millions every year, and no I’m not talking about the new Noah’s Ark creation museum. This enormous structure greets visitors with a facade of giant pillars. As you draw near your are forced to crane - [What Is Sola Gratia?](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-sola-gratia/) - Sermon notes Introduction: Today I want to speak to speak to you about one of the Solas of the New Testament, Sola Gratia, which simply means “by grace alone.” One of the thoughts that crossed my mind as I began to think and study this topic was, “Do I really need to preach on - [What Is Soli Deo Gloria?](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-soli-deo-gloria/) - Learn how you can help with our Christmas soldier outreach Sermon Notes: Soli Deo Gloria Introduction: Probably when you hear the phrase Soli Deo Gloria you think of the Christmas song “Angels We Have Heard on High.” The chorus goes: Gloria, in excelsis Deo Gloria, in excelsis Deo I’m sure many - [31 Reasons You Should Read a Proverb a Day This Year](https://sukofamily.org/31-reasons-you-should-read-a-proverb-a-day-this-year/) - This year I'm renewing my focus on Proverbs. In addition to my daily Bible reading I'm reading and meditating on one chapter a day from the Book of Proverbs. I've done this in the past but in recent years I fell out of practice. In order to strengthen my resolve I decided to write out - [Six of Our Biggest Surprises in 2017 | Season 3 Episode 14](https://sukofamily.org/six-of-our-biggest-surprises-in-2017-season-3-episode-14/) - In this episode of "Now Is the Time" Christina and I share with you six things that caught us by surprise in 2017. Some of them might be a surprise to you too! We also look back over 2017 and talk about some of the lessons we have learned. Learn how you can make year-end - [Christmas Greetings from the Suko Family 2017](https://sukofamily.org/christmas-greetings-2017/) - Dear friends we want to wish you a very Merry Christmas this year! We are indeed grateful for your love, prayers, and support. As we look back on 2017 it's clear to see God's leading hand in our lives. This year took us to the US were we have had the privilege of visiting many - [Christian Seder Dinner](https://sukofamily.org/christian-seder-dinner/) - The Passover Seder is a meal shared by family at the beginning of the Passover. This is the meal that Jesus celebrated with his disciples in the upper room just before his crucifixion. After the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the beginning of the Church it's likely that the disciples continued the - [May God Crush Your Expectations](https://sukofamily.org/may-god-crush-your-expectations/) - We were already 40 mins away from home when I realized I had forgotten all my car documents and personal documents, passport, driver's license, etc. There was no time to turn around, I had a van load of people and we were on our way to our long-planned church leaders conference in Bila Tserkva, I'd - [I Have a Gift For You This Christmas](https://sukofamily.org/i-have-a-gift-for-you-this-christmas/) - I did something special for you this Christmas, I made you a gift. It's a gift that I pray it will bless you this Christmas season. It's also a gift that you... - [How the Reformation Changed the Church, Interview with Douglas Bond](https://sukofamily.org/how-the-reformation-changed-the-church-interview-with-douglas-bond/) - In this episode of Now Is the Time I sit down with author, speaker and tour leader Douglas Bond to talk about how the Reformation changed things in the Church. Rise and Worship Stick around to the end of the podcast episode to hear a song from the brand new album, "Rise and Worship." Doug - [What If Luther Wrote His 95 Theses Today?](https://sukofamily.org/what-if-luther-wrote-his-95-thesis-today/) - I took the liberty to rewrite a few of Luther's 95 theses as I think he would have written them if he lived today. Let's first look at Luther's original text. In the later half of the 95 theses Luther rails against the the preachers of indulgences: Martin Luther's Theses, Oct 31, 1517 The true - [Why Pastor Carl Lentz Can't Take a Stand Against the Murder of Unborn Children](https://sukofamily.org/why-pastor-carl-lentz-cant-take-a-stand-against-the-murder-of-unborn-children/) - "So it's not a sin in your church to have an abortion?" Asked Joy Behar, one of the hosts on The View talk show as they interviewed celebrity pastor of Hillsong Church in New York, Carl entz. Now you if think that's a softball question with a simply "yes" or "no" answer then you don't - [Mass Shootings and God's Goodness | Season 3 Episode 10](https://sukofamily.org/mass-shootings-and-gods-goodness-season-3-episode-10/) - Our church service had just concluded when I read about the shooting in Sutherland Springs Texas that took the lives of 26 people at First Baptist Church. In this episode of "Now Is the Time" podcast I share with you some of my thoughts about the shooting. I also share with you some of what - [Taking Back Black Friday for the Gospel](https://sukofamily.org/taking-back-black-friday-for-the-gospel/) - There are some aspects in US culture that I desperately loathe and one particularly loathsome tradition is Black Friday. I must admit it at least lives up to its name; devoid of light and lacking any glow of goodness. Sadly, my Ukrainian friends ask more questions about Black Friday than they do about Thanksgiving. I - [Chile Report](https://sukofamily.org/chile-report/) - These past two weeks Christina and It took some vacation time to visit our newly married daughter and son-in-law in Valdivia, Chile. While this was really a personal/family trip I still wanted to share with you some highlights from our travels. We may have taken a vacation from some of our main ministry responsibilities, but - [What the Pastor of Sutherland Springs Church Said in his Final Sermon Before the Mass Shooting](https://sukofamily.org/what-the-pastor-of-southland-springs-church-said-in-his-final-sermon-before-the-mass-shooting/) - In some ways what I found was sobering and in some ways it was shockingly prophetic. I'm talking about Pastor Frank Pomeroy's final sermon before the shooting at First Baptist in Sutherland Springs where 26 people died and many others were wounded. After I learned about this despicable and evil mass murder I sat down - [Jorge and Naomi](https://sukofamily.org/jorgeandnaomi/) - Note: Press the "CC" button on the bottom right side of the player to watch subtitles in English or Spanish. https://www.facebook.com/caleb.suko/videos/10155876114389809/ Christina and I are grateful for God's hand of guidance in the life of our daughter Naomi, furthermore we are blessed that God has brought Jorge into Naomi's life and into ours. I hope you - [Scuffles Break Out Between Police and Protesters Near Parliament in Kyiv, Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/scuffles-break-out-between-police-and-protesters-near-parliament-in-kyiv-ukraine/) - 17, October 2017 Today thousands of protesters gathered outside of the parliament building in Kyiv Ukraine to call for "Great political reform." Over the past couple of months these new protests have gained momentum a many Ukrainians are becoming weary of the corruption they still see in their government. In today's protest a number of - [Reformation Remembrance Conference with Douglas Bond](https://sukofamily.org/reformation-remembrance-conference-with-douglas-bond/) - Join us for "Reformation Remembrance" October 13-15, at Taylor Creek Church in Maple Valley, WA. To register please visit: https://taylorcreekchurch.org/reformation-rememberance Keynote speaker, Douglas Bond is author of more than twenty-five books of historical fiction, biography, devotion, and practical theology. He is adjunct Instructor in Church History at Western Reformed Seminary (WRS) where his Church history - [Clashes in Odessa Between Anti Corruption Protesters and Police](https://sukofamily.org/clashes-in-odessa-between-anti-corruption-protesters-and-police/) - Today in Odessa, Ukraine tensions boiled over and turned violent between anti corruption protesters and police. Protesters demanded the resignation of the mayor of Odessa, and the dismissal of the city council. This comes several days after a fire at a children's camp in Odessa took the lives of several children. The protesters claimed this - [7 of the Biggest Mistakes Missionaries Make](https://sukofamily.org/7-of-the-biggest-mistakes-missionaries-make/) - In this episode of Now Is the Time I talk about some of the biggest mistakes I've seen on the mission field. Check out the news about my new book "Is God Calling Me to Missions? 10 questions to help you determine your calling" Speaking schedule Emmanuel Church September 3 Emmanuel Church, 2200 11th Ave - [What Do Americans Really Believe About God?](https://sukofamily.org/what-do-americans-really-believe-about-god/) - Do you want to know what Americans are really like? Then just ask them what they think about God! If A.W. Tozer is right, and I think he is, then your true belief about who God is says more about who you are and where you're going than anything else. What comes into our minds - [Racial Violence in America -3 Responses the Church Must Make](https://sukofamily.org/racial-violence-in-america-3-responses-the-church-must-make/) - What's possibly more disturbing than the recent upsurge of interracial violence on American streets? It's the apathetic response of churches and believers. By ... - [We're Coming to the US](https://sukofamily.org/were-coming-to-the-us/) - Dear friends, This year our family will be traveling to the US. We arrive in Washington State on June 20th and return to Ukraine on February 15th 2018. You can view our schedule here. Our goals Our goals for our time in the States are very simple: 1. Encourage believers to fulfill the Great Commission. - [17 Things You Should Know About Missionaries Coming "Home"](https://sukofamily.org/17-things-you-should-know-about-missionaries-coming-home/) - Recently I published this video below of our last Sunday in Ukraine before coming to the States for 8 months of visiting our supporting churches. My hope with... - [Yes, We're Leaving!](https://sukofamily.org/yes-were-leaving/) - We finally purchased our tickets for the US and that makes everything seem a little more real. Now we are trying to figure out how to live for almost a year out of one suitcase! We fly out of Kiev on October 15th and arrive in Seattle the same day. We return to Ukraine on - ["Man of God" Pastor's Conference -Photo Report](https://sukofamily.org/man-of-god-pastors-conference-photo-report/) - This month we held our pastor's conference right in the middle of Ukraine in the town of Bela Tserkov. The goal of the conference was to encourage and equip men to be men of God through solid Biblical exposition. Our three main speakers, encourage, convicted, and exhorted us to pursue flee from sin and pursue - [What Happens When the Church Stops Sharing the Gospel | Season 3 Episode 8](https://sukofamily.org/what-happens-when-the-church-stops-sharing-the-gospel-season-3-episode-8/) - In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I give you 10 negative results of a failure to share the gospel in our churches. News This month a great man of God, Jason Nightingale passed into the presence of Jesus! He impacted many hearts for God's glory through Scripture recitation, clear Bible teaching, and a - [How to Fake Ministry 7 Tricks | Season 03 Episode 07](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-fake-ministry-7-tricks-season-03-episode-07/) - In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I talk about how faking ministry isn't really as difficult as some may think and give you 7 tips that will make you look like a ministry superstar and help you climb the ecclesiastical ladder of success. News Here are 3 posts with video and pictures from our - [Resurrection Greetings!](https://sukofamily.org/resurrection-greetings/) - Christina and I send you our greetings on this Resurrection Sunday! May the glory of our resurrected Savior shine from our hearts today as we remember the great hope our salvation! Victory over sin, death, and Satan are held in our Lord's hand! Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for - [Is Self-Esteem Biblical?](https://sukofamily.org/is-self-esteem-biblical/) - Recently someone asked me about whether or not "self-esteem" is a Biblical concept so here's my answer. I believe you can find a positive concept of self-esteem in the Bible, however - [An Open Letter to Vladimir Putin from Russian Baptists About Religious Freedom](https://sukofamily.org/an-open-letter-to-vladimir-putin-from-russian-baptists-about-religious-freedom/) - Russian Baptists are worried that they may lose the freedom to worship after the Russian courts banned Jehovah's Witnesses from the country. https://youtu.be/B0LqAGkeCas A.V. Smirov, chairman of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists recently wrote the following open letter to Vladimir Putin expressing his concerns about the loss of religious freedoms in Russia. You - [7 Mistakes Parents Make in Family Bible Time | Season 3 Episode 6](https://sukofamily.org/7-mistakes-parents-make-in-family-bible-time-season-3-episode-6/) - In this episode of Now Is the Time I talk about 7 mistakes that Christian parents can make during family Bible time and also share a couple of updates. - [Defeated Ukrainian Soldiers "Hypnotized" by Charles Stanley](https://sukofamily.org/defeated-ukrainian-soldiers-hypnotized-by-charles-stanley/) - Things have gone from bad to worse in Eastern Ukraine over the past couple of days. For several months Ukrainian soldiers nicknamed "cyborgs" have held... - [These Ukrainian Soldiers Want to Hear the Gospel](https://sukofamily.org/these-ukrainian-soldiers-want-to-hear-the-gospel/) - Preaching the gospel of Jesus is a passion of mine and I love to preach it most to two categories of people: those who have not heard the gospel and those who want to hear the gospel! Recently we have been given tremendous opportunity to regularly minister and preach to Ukrainian soldiers, most of whom - [Why Sharing the Gospel with Family Can Be so Difficult](https://sukofamily.org/why-sharing-the-gospel-with-family-can-be-so-difficult/) - Have you ever noticed that sometimes it can be easier to share the gospel with a stranger than to share it with a member of your family who knows you well? Sharing Jesus with your family members is one of the most important things you can do yet it often comes with more fear and - [Enormous Explosion Destroys Town in Eastern, Ukraine | Pastors ask for Prayer](https://sukofamily.org/enormous-explosion-destroys-town-in-eastern-ukraine-pastors-as-for-prayer/) - At 3:00 am on Thursday March 23rd the largest ammunition storage in Ukraine located in the town of Balakleya erupted into an enormous and destructive explosion. Sabotage by the enemy is the suspected reason for the explosion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmKLpTZMrhU Pastor Pavel Minaev share this report: "Brothers, peace to you. Today at 3:00 AM the ammunitions storage - [17 Confessions of a Good Husband](https://sukofamily.org/17-confessions-of-a-good-husband/) - In honor of March 8th, which is International Women's Day, I wanted to share with you 17 ways I'm trying to honor the main woman in my life, Christina! If you want to know a bit more about Christina check out these posts. Note: The following confessions are something I strive for but often fail - [We're Back and Our Marriage Is on Fire!](https://sukofamily.org/were-back-and-our-marriage-is-on-fire/) - A marriage on fire could be a good thing or a bad thing. Last week we attended a 4 day marriage conference and we found out that our marriage is on fire in a... - [#68 Seven Reasons Why it's Hard to Love Your Spouse](https://sukofamily.org/68-seven-reasons-why-its-hard-to-love-your-spouse/) - Sometimes loving your spouse is easy and sometimes it’s not! In this episode Christina and I have an honest and open discussion about why it’s often hard to... - [I Saw Jesus and This Is What He Looks Like | Season 3 Episode 5](https://sukofamily.org/i-saw-jesus-and-this-is-what-he-looks-like-season-3-episode-5/) - I haven't told many people this but about 13 years ago I saw Jesus in person and talked with him. In this episode I share that experience and describe for you... - [About My Car Accident | Season 3 Episode 1](https://sukofamily.org/about-my-car-accident/) - The sound of metal smacking metal usually goes straight to my stomach and leaves me feeling like I just swallowed a handful of gravel! However, when I'm the driver and It's my car slamming into a complete stranger's car that gravely feeling tends to hangout in my bowels for quite awhile longer. - [Why Didn't Jesus Use the 4 Spiritual Laws? | Season 3 Episode 3](https://sukofamily.org/why-didnt-jesus-use-the-4-spiritual-laws/) - Have you ever wondered why Jesus didn't use the 4 Spiritual Laws to share the Gospel? In this episode of Now Is the Time I explain why I think Jesus didn't use the 4 Spiritual Laws or any other Gospel "formula" in his preaching. I also share some updates about our ministry to soldiers. What - [#59 How to Make False Converts, 13 Tips](https://sukofamily.org/59-how-to-make-false-converts/) - One of the most dangerous things in our churches today is people who think they're Christians but they're not. Many unbelieving and unrepentant people are... - [Video Update on the Situation in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/video-update-on-the-situation-in-ukraine/) - Just in case you missed it here is the live video update we did recently. In the video we talk about the situation in Eastern Ukraine especially the recent heavy fighting in Avdeevka. We also answer questions from those who were writing in on the comments during the video. https://www.facebook.com/NowIsTheTimePodcast/videos/248013785650453/ Links Ukraine Crisis Fund Heaviest - [Heaviest Fighting Since 2015 in Eastern Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/heaviest-fighting-since-2015-in-eastern-ukraine/) - War has returned with a vengeance to Eastern Ukraine! Not that it ever really left but only quieted down for a time. Russian back separatists have been pounding the city of Avdeevka for nearly a week now. The death toll of both soldiers and civilians is climbing at an alarming rate and the humanitarian situation - [Stop Thinking About Heaven as the Place You Go When Life Is Over](https://sukofamily.org/stop-thinking-about-heaven-as-the-place-you-go-when-life-is-over/) - We have a problem when it comes to thinking about heaven, too often we think of it as the place we go when life is over and that's a big mistake! The mistake we... - [How to Be Faithful -Interview with Stuart Briscoe | Season 3 Episode 2](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-be-faithful-interview-with-stuart-briscoe-season-3-episode-2/) - It's been nearly 70 years since Stuart Briscoe preached his first sermon, 69 to be exact but who's counting! He's still preaching Gospel and serving the Lord! - [Ukrainian Christmas Outreach](https://sukofamily.org/ukrainian-christmas-outreach/) - A blizzard hit Ukraine just a couple of days before we planned a big outreach for the community. Sunday, January 8th is the day after Christmas here and it is when we planned a large Christmas festival in our church yard. Two days earlier on Friday the snow storm moved in and temperatures plummeted to - [7 Dangers of Daily Bible Reading](https://sukofamily.org/7-dangers-of-daily-bible-reading/) - Are you starting the New Year with a renewed effort to read your Bible regularly? If you are here are some dangers that you should be aware of. While certainly reading your Bible is a good thing, it can also be a dangerous thing if you are not careful. And, no I'm not talking about - [Blessings to You in 2017](https://sukofamily.org/blessings-to-you-in-2017/) - Dear friend, May the God of grace and mercy increase your blessing in 2017 May you learn more of Jesus love and speak more of his kindness May you walk closer to the Lord's side and lead others to do the same May you find greater healing in God's Word and may that Word spill - [5 Top Posts in 2016](https://sukofamily.org/5-top-posts-in-2016/) - It's always interesting for me to see which of my posts get read the most. For a couple of years now in a row my posts on how husbands can help their wives submit has been the most popular post on my blog with tens of thousand of views. This tells me that indeed the marriage - [2016 Infographic Ministry Report](https://sukofamily.org/2016-infographic-ministry-report/) - Thank you for your support in 2016! God did some pretty amazing things in 2016, much of it was unexpected. We are thankful for your prayers and support that allowed us to successfully complete another year of service to our King Jesus here in Ukraine! Together, let us praise God for his sovereign work and - [Tragedy Strikes Family of 7 in Odessa](https://sukofamily.org/tragedy-strikes-family-of-7-in-odessa/) - On the afternoon of December 2nd a fire broke out in an apartment here in Odessa, Ukraine. The apartment belonged to the Chekhovskiy family, beloved church members of "Dom Mira" here in our end of town. Anna and Victor had five children: Maria -11, Elijah -9, Mark -7, Jacob -4, Matthew -2. As a result - [Christmas Hope for Orphans in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/christmas-hope-for-orphans-in-ukraine/) - What image pops into your mind when you think about Christmas morning? Of course it should be Jesus, and probably second to that is some sort of family gathering. Loved ones, smiling faces, hugs, and maybe even tears of delight with the opening of that perfect gift! Unfortunately all these scenes are are foreign to - [The Real Story of Christmas for Orphans in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/the-real-story-of-christmas-for-orphans-in-ukraine/) - I'm still recovering from the flu but I couldn't wait until I was completely better to tell you about this story that we are giving to 500 orphans this Christmas! You can read about the details here. Or if you're ready to help bring the real Christmas story to and orphan you can donate through - [Announcement About the Dangers of Protestant Churches in Eastern Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/announcement-about-the-dangers-of-protestant-churches-in-eastern-ukraine/) - The Lugansk People's Republic seems to be declaring war on the destructive religious activities of protestants in Eastern Ukraine! Recently the department of State Security of Lugansk People's Republic made a disturbing announcement describing what they called: "The destructive activities of non-traditional religious organizations, which present a threat to safety of the constitution order of - [Sickness and Suffering, How Should Christians Respond? | Season 2 Episode 9](https://sukofamily.org/sickness-and-suffering-how-should-christians-respond-season-2-episode-9/) - This is one of those episodes of that I really didn't want to record. On the other hand I sensed God's sovereign timing and I knew how vital it is for Christians to have a proper perspective on suffering and pain. In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I share with you some questions on - [7 Reasons Why You Struggle with Assurance of Salvation](https://sukofamily.org/7-reasons-why-you-struggle-with-assurance-of-salvation/) - Recently I had a conversation with a young woman who said that she was not confident in her own salvation, she had lost her assurance. She told me there was a... - [7 More Reasons Why I Believe Chronological Bible Teaching Is Desperately Needed in Churches](https://sukofamily.org/7-more-reasons-why-i-believe-chronological-bible-teaching-is-desperately-needed-in-churches/) - Recently I talked with someone who grew up in the church, went to Sunday School every week, and knew all the right answers to the regular questions asked, but one thing surprised me and left me wondering what on earth are our churches really doing when it comes to Bible teaching. This person knew a - [7 Reasons Why You Should Share Your Failures and Hurts](https://sukofamily.org/7-reasons-why-you-should-share-your-failures-and-hurts/) - Recently I was at a conference where a friend of mine who I respected shared some pretty painful failures in his life with a group of men. I was shocked... - [I Didn't Expect That!](https://sukofamily.org/i-didnt-expect-that/) - We were all just standing around after the service chatting with each other, it's a small village church so I know mainly everyone there except for one or two new faces. As we talked the man came up to us and told us that he had just put his faith in Christ and would like - [Refugees have left -Live Ministry Update](https://sukofamily.org/refugees-have-left-live-ministry-update/) - Last night we chatted with a bunch of you about life and ministry here in Odessa Ukraine. Just in case you missed the live video, I've posted it below. A number of people commented that they enjoyed the format, so I think we'll try to do this again. It's a great opportunity for you to - [Why This Church Is Trying to Get Rid of Its Youth](https://sukofamily.org/why-this-church-is-trying-to-get-rid-of-its-youth/) - I often hear pastors complaining about how so many youth leave the Church after they graduate from high school. Youth pastors especially seem to live in fear that a diploma in the hands of their once vibrant young disciples will turn them into hard and fast sceptics who can no longer find time for church. - [Our Church's 1st Missions Conference](https://sukofamily.org/our-churchs-1st-missions-conference/) - I'll admit, planning our church's first missions conference made me both a bit anxious and excited. We weren't sure how people would respond and who would show up. Nevertheless we decided to push forward knowing that one of the best things we can do for our church and other churches is to give a - [How to Speak to Your LGBT Family and Friends About the Gospel | Season 2 Episode 4](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-speak-to-your-lgbt-family-and-friends-about-the-gospel-season-2-episode-4/) - If you don't have at least one LGBT family member or friend then chances are that you don't have family or friends. Far gone are the days when few people personally knew someone who identified as LGBT. - [The Dangerous Practice of Exorcising Demons from Believers + Free Book | Season 2 Episode 5](https://sukofamily.org/the-dangerous-practice-of-exorcising-demons-from-believers/) - I once met a young girl. She was a nice girl, she often attended church services, she was active with the youth at a church, she even took part in some.... - [This Is Personal | Season 2 Episode 6](https://sukofamily.org/this-is-personal-season-2-episode-6/) - This is an unusual episode of Now Is the Time, I share with you a few personal things that are on my mind including a bunch of books that I'm reading now. About this episode I'm not going to write a lot about this episode here, you'll just have to listen to find out - [4 Reasons Why We Give up on the Gospel | Season 02 Episode 07](https://sukofamily.org/4-reasons-why-we-give-up-on-the-gospel/) - Did you know it's possible to give up on the Gospel too early and be unaware of what you just did? In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I talk about why it is that we often give up and stop sharing the Gospel too soon. I share with you a story of one - [Ukraine Celebrates 25 Years of Independence With the Growing Threat of All Out War](https://sukofamily.org/ukraine-celebrates-25-years-of-independence-with-the-growing-threat-of-all-out-war/) - Some of you were wondering why I didn't mention Ukraine's 25th Independence day celebration in my podcast yesterday. Don't worry, I didn't forget about it! It's just that yesterday, I still ended up sitting through about 9 hours of meetings! That's the missionary life sometimes! Our children were also busy working with about a 100 - [Undesirable Deaths](https://sukofamily.org/undesirable-deaths/) - Have you ever thought about what kind of death you'd like to die? I realize that you may have little choice when it finally comes to.... - [Why I Went Back to Language School After 6 Years](https://sukofamily.org/why-i-went-back-to-language-school-after-6-years/) - For the last 6 years I've gotten by without out seriously studying Russian language but that all changed recently when I decided to go back to my studies. You might wonder why I decided to go back to Russian language study after a 6 year break. Let me share with you a few reasons why - [Chronological Bible Teaching, 3 Reasons Why Your Church Needs It | Season 2 Episode 3](https://sukofamily.org/chronological-bible-teaching-3-reasons-why-your-church-needs-it-season-2-episode-3/) - Has anyone ever walked in while you were in the middle of a movie and started asking questions because they missed the first half? Unfortunately many Christians study their Bible in the same way! - [4 Reasons Why Your Stuff Is One of the Gospel's Greatest Enemies](https://sukofamily.org/4-reasons-why-your-stuff-is-one-of-the-gospels-greatest-enemies/) - I have to admit there was a time in my life when Christina and I would walk through one of our favorite neighborhoods lined with turn of the century Victorian homes and Craftsmen style architecture. "Wouldn't it be nice to have that one there?" We would often ask as we passed a particularly beautiful home. - [Dear My American Friends This is Why We Didn't Celebrate July 4th](https://sukofamily.org/dear-my-american-friends-this-is-why-we-didnt-celebrate-july-4th/) - Although I was born and raised in the US, I've lived outside of the country for about a quarter of my life now. I know I've assimilated some of the culture here into my life. Nevertheless there are days when I feel a bit more American and a bit out-of-place. Usually July 4th is one of - [6 Truths I Want My Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Friends to Know After the Orlando Massacre](https://sukofamily.org/6-truths-i-want-my-gay-lesbian-and-bisexual-friends-to-know-after-the-orlando-massacre/) - It's hard to come up with any words that would seem appropriate after the brutal gunning down of 50 people this weekend in Orlando's Pulse night club. - [The Heavy Toll Of Ukraine's War on Soldiers and Civilians](https://sukofamily.org/the-heavy-toll-of-ukraines-war-on-soldiers-and-civilians/) - As the war in Eastern Ukraine continues to drag on the country is slowly becoming aware of the heavy mental, emotional, and psychological costs brought about by brutal fighting, death, and destruction. Warning: The video below does contain some very graphic scenes. Recently I came across this report from Vice News where soldiers and others - [Is the Social Gospel Really Gospel? | Season 2 Episode 2](https://sukofamily.org/is-the-social-gospel-really-gospel-season-2-episode-2/) - The social gospel seeks to bring about change in society by applying Biblical principles to problems like poverty, hunger, and lack of education. In this Episode of Now Is the Time I discuss whether the social gospel is really gospel. I also answer a questions on Christian perfectionism and on the purpose of baptism. - [Are Altar Calls Biblical? | Season 2 Episode 1](https://sukofamily.org/are-altar-calls-biblical-season-2-episode-1/) - Have you ever been in an meeting when the preacher called people forward to get saved? Maybe you've experienced the "With every head bowed and every eye closed, just slip your hand up..." kind of call. Or maybe you've heard the preacher say, "Just repeat this prayer after me." - [#70 Shepherds' Conference 2016 at Grace Community Church -Take-aways](https://sukofamily.org/70-shepherds-conference-2016-at-grace-community-church-take-aways/) - Last week the annual Shepherds' Conference took place at John MacArthur's Church in Sun Valley, California. I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to attend... - [#69 This is What the Next Generation Really Needs](https://sukofamily.org/69-this-is-what-the-next-generation-really-needs/) - Once as a 4 year old I was misbehaving in Church so my mom took me and sat me on the lap of an old WWII veteran but not even his strong arms could stop me from my naughty ways. In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I tell you the story of my errant wa - [Paul Washer's Full Sermon from Shepherds' Conference 2016](https://sukofamily.org/paul-washers-full-sermon-from-shepherds-conference-2016/) - Paul Washer's sermon on the substitutionary atonement at Grace Community Church during the 2016 Shepherds' Conference hit us like a tidal wave. Grown men wept as he spoke about how Christ took upon our sin and then called them to communicate this shocking truth to their people. Paul Washer Full #ShepCon SermonHere is Paul Washer's FULL - [Bombed and Abandoned Buildings in Slavyansk, Ukraine (Photos + Video)](https://sukofamily.org/bombed-and-abandoned-buildings-in-slavyansk-ukraine-photos-video/) - This is what war looks like even after the battles are over and the guns are gone. Artillery destroys in seconds what took years to build and what will take... - [I Almost Cancelled the Whole Thing!](https://sukofamily.org/i-almost-cancelled-the-whole-thing/) - On Saturday I posted the following on Facebook: "Lost my voice and feeling terrible, tomorrow I'm supposed to preach twice, appreciate your prayers!" Honestly... - [A Tense Easter Holiday Weekend in Odessa](https://sukofamily.org/a-tense-easter-holiday-weekend-in-odessa/) - Armed men in men in camouflage showed up in our city just a few days before our Easter holiday weekend. The "Odessa Clashes" which occurred exactly 2 years... - [What You Missed](https://sukofamily.org/what-you-missed/) - Go about your life focused only on your to-do list and consumed by the constant press of urgent problems and you're unlikely to take notice of all God is doing! But don't think for a second that your overload of activity has rendered God inactive. Sometimes it is the velocity of our lives that blinds us to - [Why I Stopped Writing Blog Posts](https://sukofamily.org/why-i-stopped-writing-blog-posts/) - You might be wondering, why this blog went silent over the past month! Here's the simple truth, I stopped writing because of family issues. What I mean to say is that my parents came to Ukraine and we have been traveling with them and spending as much time as possible with them. When grandparents visit - [#52 Did Jesus Suffer Enough?](https://sukofamily.org/52-did-jesus-suffer-enough/) - Maybe it sounds like a strange question but was Jesus's suffering really enough or do we need to add something to it? In this episode of "Now Is the Time"... - [Peace in War Time -Article in Message Magazine](https://sukofamily.org/peace-in-war-time-article-in-message-magazine/) - Caleb carefully pushes Sveta across the rutted sidewalk, working hard not to tip her wheelchair as they hit large cracks. “I have a very nice chair at home with bigger wheels,” Sveta says apologetically. “Unfortunately, they won’t let me go home.” The pain in her voice is evident as she talks about being forced to - [A True Story from the War in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/a-true-story-from-the-war-in-ukraine/) - Yesterday I had the privilege of translating for Fyodr, a great brother-in-Christ, and pastor from Eastern Ukraine. In addition to preaching I also shared one - [Bloodiest Days of EuroMaidan Revolution Remembered in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/bloodiest-days-of-euromaidan-revolution-remembered-in-ukraine/) - The eyes and ears of the world watched as protesters on Kyiv's Maidan Square pushed closer toward government buildings. Some holding wooden shields huddled... - [#67 Why We Need More Gospel in Our Preaching -7 Reasons](https://sukofamily.org/67-why-we-need-more-gospel-in-our-preaching-7-reasons/) - What separates the preaching of today's celebrity preachers like Joel Osteen from some of the great preachers of history like Charles Spurgeon? A lot separates.... - [It Could Be Demons](https://sukofamily.org/it-could-be-demons/) - "It could be demons" the lady told me, referring to her adult son, "But I don't think so because he's a really kind boy." Her son, who suffers from epilepsy... - [Rising Propaganda Against Sects in Eastern Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/rising-propaganda-against-sects-in-eastern-ukraine/) - "Get them out of our republic, they are just turning people into zombies" One woman says in the video below as she talks about how terrible "sects" are and how - [Advice for New Missionaries](https://sukofamily.org/advice-for-new-missionaries/) - When is it most likely for a missionary to leave the field? All to often missionaries leave the field before their first term is over and others leave after... - [15 Truths Language Learning has Taught Me About Life](https://sukofamily.org/15-truths-language-learning-has-taught-me-about-life/) - Language is the fabric of every culture. You can learn about a culture without learning the language but you can't experience and know a culture until you have - [You Know You're a Missionary When... (33 ways to know!)](https://sukofamily.org/you-know-youre-a-missionary-when-33-ways-to-know/) - I'm wrote this list for two reasons. I wrote it for you who are fellow missionaries. There's something cathartic and encouraging knowing that you're... - [On the Winter River](https://sukofamily.org/on-the-winter-river/) - This morning I looked out my window here. I saw a very frozen river and so I wrote this poem for you. - [#60 How to Communicate the Gospel Clearly and Convincingly](https://sukofamily.org/60-how-to-communicate-the-gospel-clearly-and-convincingly/) - One of the main reasons we often fail at clearly communicating the Gospel is because we make the false assumption that we already know the Gospel and we have... - [#57 Five Misconceptions about Repentance](https://sukofamily.org/57-five-misconceptions-about-repentance/) - Could you be making one of these mistakes in your understanding of what repentance is? In this episode of Now Is the Time I talk about 5 misconceptions about repentance and I explain what Biblical repentance really is. iTunes and Stitcher are also great ways to catch this podcast. News We are just finishing up our first online course "Principles - [#58 Three Types of Repentance](https://sukofamily.org/58-three-types-of-repentance/) - What does true repentance really look like? I give you 4 qualities of true repentance, I also talk about 3 different types of repentance. This is part two on the topic of repentance, if you missed the first part you can catch it here "Five Misconceptions About Repentance" iTunes and Stitcher are great ways to catch this podcast - [#62 What God Says About Refugees -9 Shocking Truths](https://sukofamily.org/62-what-god-says-about-refugees-9-shocking-truths/) - They're just looking for a handout. They will ruin our economy. They're dirty. They don't belong here! Whether it's Syrian refugees in Europe or Ukrainian refugees from Donbas... - [#65 We Opened Our Church to Muslim Refugees and Something Unexpected Happened!](https://sukofamily.org/65-we-opened-our-church-to-muslim-refugees-and-and-something-unexpected-happened/) - What would you do if a group of Muslim refugees asked if they could live in your church building for a few months? In this podcast I tell you what our church did and the surprising results. I also talk about some of the lies Western Christians are believing about Syrian refugees. Let me warn - [Why You Should Listen to the Entire Bible This Year -5 Reasons](https://sukofamily.org/why-you-should-listen-to-the-entire-bible-this-year-5-reasons/) - For last last two years I've made my way through the entire audio Bible primarily thanks to Brian Hardin and his Daily Audio Bible podcast. I thought I'd take... - [Answer This 1 Question Before the Year Ends](https://sukofamily.org/answer-this-1-question-before-the-year-ends/) - If you can answer this question well it could change your perspective on next year. The problem is that if you're like me, you get so focused on the present and involved with planning for the future it's easy to blow by this kind of question. 2015 year-end giving So what's the question that you - [#11 Parenting Pitfalls -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/11-parenting-pitfalls-podcast/) - Every parent has those moments in child raising when they wonder, "Where did my perfect little child go?" I have five kids and you can be sure that I've... - [Merry Christmas from the Sukos in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/merry-christmas-from-the-sukos-in-ukraine/) - Christina and I want to wish you and your family a merry Christmas this year. May today be a true celebration of the birth of the Savior who came to live and die and save the lost. The truth of Christmas is why we are here in Ukraine! Thank you for your love, prayers, and - [Christina Answers Your Questions](https://sukofamily.org/christina-answers-your-questions/) - Video interview with Christina about how she got saved and what life is like for a missionary in Ukraine - [#66 What Is Spiritual Growth?](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-spiritual-growth/) - Spiritual growth is one of those things that every Christians knows he needs but few have a clear idea of what it really means or how to attain it. In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I define spiritual growth and talk about key ingredients that are necessary for spiritual growth to happen. - [A Few Ways You Can Pray for Us in Ukraine this Month](https://sukofamily.org/a-few-ways-you-can-pray-for-us-in-ukraine-this-month/) - I thought I would take a couple of minutes on my way to work this morning to talk with you about what's happening here in Ukraine. Below the video I give you... - [#63 "To Tell the Truth" Interview with Author/Evangelist Will Metzger](https://sukofamily.org/63-to-tell-the-truth-interview-with-authorevangelist-will-metzger/) - Simply put, "Tell the Truth" this is the best book I've ever read on evangelism. That's why I decided to track down author and evangelist Will Metzter and spend... - [#64 Discouragement and Depression in the Ministry -13 Ways to Overcome](https://sukofamily.org/64-discouragement-and-depression-in-the-ministry-13-ways-to-overcome/) - If you haven't experienced discouragement in ministry then you likely haven't experienced ministry. Discouragement and depression often attack with little... - [Is It OK to Judge Others?](https://sukofamily.org/is-it-ok-to-judge-others/) - "Don't judge me" has become the anthem of tolerance in the West. When people pull the "don't judge me" card I feel like I'm in the 3rd grade again playing.... - [Life of a Missionary Mom](https://sukofamily.org/life-of-a-missionary-mom/) - Today just happens to be Christina's birthday and so I decided to ask her a few question about life as a missionary mother. I hope you'll take a few minutes to watch this video and to pray for Christina and her ministry to our family and to others. One thing I know for sure, I - [Dangerous Baptisms and Bath water Christians](https://sukofamily.org/dangerous-baptisms-and-bath-water-christians/) - What do you think of when you think of baptism? If you're from a North American context like me you most likely have a picture of a baptistery filled with ... - [The Government's Accusations Against the Baptist Church in Kransy Luch](https://sukofamily.org/the-governments-accusations-against-the-baptist-church-in-kransy-luch/) - Just this week I shared with you that the Baptist Church in Krasny Luch had been visited by officers from the Ministry of State Security, below are more details... - [Lugansk Authorities Accuse Baptist Church of Being a "Sect"](https://sukofamily.org/lugansk-authorities-accuse-baptist-church-of-being-a-sect/) - Things seem to be taking a turn for the worse for churches and ministers in Eastern Ukraine. Below is a translation from a letter that recently came from the Central Baptist Church in Krasny Luch. You can read the original in Russian here. September 22, 2015 at the Central Baptist Church in Krasny Luch, Lugansk - [Pray for our Translators](https://sukofamily.org/pray-for-our-translators/) - Just in case you wondered what Christina does in her spare time when she's not homeschooling 4 kids, here it is! Knowing a three languages fluently makes her... - [Bonus Questions and Answers with Christina](https://sukofamily.org/bonus-questions-and-answers-with-christina/) - Christina joins me in this one to answer the questions you asked. Listen to the audio for detailed answers to these 8 great questions, plus an update from Christina about all this summer craziness with our family and apartment! iTunes and Stitcher are also great ways to catch this podcast. Questions 1. Just how much danger to your - [Seven Prayers for Disabled Refugees from Eastern Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/seven-prayers-for-disabled-refugees-from-eastern-ukraine/) - They've been through a lot, they need physical healing and spiritual healing, they need Jesus. Today I'm asking you to help pray for these refugees from Eastern Ukraine. - [#61 The Danger of Impure Ministry Motivations](https://sukofamily.org/61-the-danger-of-impure-ministry-motivations/) - Feeding the hungry, giving warm clothing for the needy, providing a place to stay and a bed for the homeless. Those are good things to do but there is a way we - [Refugees Ask "Is God Punishing Us?"](https://sukofamily.org/refugees-ask-is-god-punishing-us/) - A refugee brought that question up to our group of about 20 refugees from Eastern Ukraine after Sunday's outreach. How was I supposed to answer this difficult... - [After 24 Years of Independence Ukraine Needs Your Prayers](https://sukofamily.org/after-24-years-of-independence-ukraine-needs-your-prayers/) - Yesterday we celebrated Ukrainian Independence Day with much more enthusiasm than we have in years past. We all donned our vyshyvankas and headed to downtown Odessa. The day was as perfect as it gets, the weather was warm, the skies were sunny, the breeze was gentle and the people were festive! But the most amazing - [Graduation in Nickolaev Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/graduation-in-nickolaev-ukraine/) - I don't think I can accurately communicate to you the blessing, joy and humbling experience it was to give out certificates to 4 graduates from our first level program in Nickolaev! The church in Nickolaev is over 100 years old and yet, year after year they continue to produce well trained disciples of Christ who - [They Said We Would Be Gone for a Month, It's Been Over a Year Now!](https://sukofamily.org/they-said-we-would-be-gone-for-a-month-its-been-over-a-year-now/) - "You must leave your home now, the bus is waiting for you! Don't worry about packing too much because we will bring you back in a month." Last summer that's... - [#50 Why We Choose to Live in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/50-why-we-choose-to-live-in-ukraine/) - We live in Ukraine and some people think that's not a good idea, it could be dangerous or at the very least inconvient. Maybe they're right. Even before we... - [#53 Manipulative Preaching vs. Persuasive Preaching](https://sukofamily.org/53-manipulative-preaching-vs-persuasive-preaching/) - What's the difference between preaching that manipulates people for the preacher's own purposes and preaching that persuades people in the truth claims of Scripture? - [#51 Nine Misconceptions About Ministry](https://sukofamily.org/51-nine-misconceptions-about-ministry/) - Misconceptions and false expectations about ministry can disappoint and discourage us. In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I talk about some common... - [#54 Forty Eight Hours of My Life](https://sukofamily.org/54-forty-eight-hours-of-my-life/) - Want to know what life is like for me in Ukraine? In this episode of “Now Is the Time.” I give you a peek into my life. Come along and listen to the souds of.... - [MH-17 One Year Later -Has Anything Changed?](https://sukofamily.org/mh-17-one-year-later-has-anything-changed/) - Exactly 1 year ago today terrorists aimed a guided surface to air missile at Malaysian Air flight 17 as it crossed the skies of Ukraine. The Buk missile tore... - [#55 Why You Should't Say "The Ukraine"](https://sukofamily.org/55-why-you-shouldt-say-the-ukraine/) - People used to ask me if it's proper to say "The Ukraine" or not. My answer to that question has changed and in this episode of "Now Is the Time" I share with you why... - [#56 How Honest Are Missionary Newsletters?](https://sukofamily.org/56-how-honest-are-missionary-newsletters/) - In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I give you three reasons why missionary newsletters don't always reflect reality, I also talk about a new ministry opportunity we have with disabled refugees from Eastern, Ukraine. - [Battle on Multiple Fronts in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/battle-on-multiple-fronts-in-ukraine/) - Ukraine's war in the East seems to have jumped across the country sparking a fierce and deadly shootout in the far Western city of Mukachevo last weekend between... - [Honestly Last Week Was Hard](https://sukofamily.org/honestly-last-week-was-hard/) - I'm not complaining but some weeks it seems like it all comes at once. Last week Christina's uncle passed away in Nickolaev so Christina took a day and.... - [What You Don't See in the News About the War in Eastern Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/what-you-dont-see-in-the-news-about-the-war-in-eastern-ukraine/) - His name and several details have been withheld for security reasons, the letter comes form a man who has chosen to stay in the war zone and serve in his local... - [Nine Confessions of a Struggling Preacher](https://sukofamily.org/nine-confessions-of-a-struggling-preacher/) - I've been preaching for almost 20 years and I still struggle at the task. Here are 9 struggles that I often experience in my preaching life. - [What Does Submission Look Like in Marriage?](https://sukofamily.org/what-does-submission-look-like-in-marriage/) - Unfortunately many wives are scared of this topic because they either have a false understanding of what submission is or they have experienced a man who ... - [I'm Deleting Your E-mail and This Is Why](https://sukofamily.org/im-deleting-your-e-mail-and-this-is-why/) - Just so you know I'm planning to delete all e-mails sent to me after I publish this post. I think you also deserve to know why I'm doing this. Today I'm leaving... - [Why the Orthodox Church Sprinkles Everything with Water](https://sukofamily.org/why-the-orthodox-church-sprinkles-everything-with-water/) - On Easter morning I decided to visit the Orthodox temple, which is just down the street from our place. Every holiday people come to worship and to be... - [Easter Outreach in Odessa, Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/easter-outreach-in-odessa-ukraine/) - Sometimes God does something really amazing and that's exactly what happened this past weekend when he provided amazing weather and an extraordinary.... - [Is Theology a Waste of Time?](https://sukofamily.org/is-theology-a-waste-of-time/) - Why waste your time studying theology when you could be out feeding the poor, taking care of orphans and making a real difference in people's lives. Here's the... - [For a Loaf of Bread](https://sukofamily.org/for-a-loaf-of-bread/) - Recently someone from the US asked us if we had enough food here. We do, in fact Christina and I are trying to loose a few pounds. However, there is a stark contrast in Ukraine - [Happy Easter From Caleb and Christina](https://sukofamily.org/happy-easter-from-caleb-and-christina/) - May the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and his triumph over the grave give you eternal hope and unending confidence as you walk by faith through this fallen world! - [How to Find a Good Ministry](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-find-a-good-ministry/) - People often ask me how they can find the ministry that God is calling them to. They want to serve, they have a desire to be useful for the Kingdom but they... - [Ministry in Nickolaev Ukraine -Video](https://sukofamily.org/ministry-in-nickolaev-ukraine-video/) - It's always a challenge to get out of the house on time for church on Sunday morning with five kids in tow. This past Sunday we left the house a couple of hours... - [Why Some People Can't Stand The Bible's Idea of God](https://sukofamily.org/why-some-people-cant-stand-the-bibles-idea-of-god/) - Have you ever wondered why some people are so set against the idea of God? Or at least they’re set against the Bible’s idea of God. Recently I came across... - [Donetsk' War on Protestant Churches](https://sukofamily.org/donetsk-war-on-protestant-churches/) - Is there a targeted effort to take out Protestant Churches in the Eastern Ukraine war-zone? In this video reporter Simon Ostrovsky recently traveled to Donetsk - [Is There a War Against the Protestant Church by Radical Orthodox?](https://sukofamily.org/is-there-a-war-against-the-protestant-church-by-radical-orthodox/) - Recently reports have surface that Russian Orthodox priests worked alongside rebels to seize Protestant churches in Eastern Ukraine. This surprising development reveals that... - [Church in Eastern Ukraine Seized by Militants for a 2nd Time](https://sukofamily.org/church-in-eastern-ukraine-seized-by-militants-for-a-2nd-time/) - Last September I shared with you how armed men stormed into this church in Antratsit, Lugansk region of Eastern Ukraine and seized their church building. Bad news... - [Why Ukraine Celebrates Christmas on January 7th](https://sukofamily.org/why-ukraine-celebrates-christmas-on-january-7th/) - Today is January 7th and it's Christmas day here in Ukraine. I've received a few questions about why Ukraine doesn't celebrate Christmas on December 25th, so here's an explanation for you. - [Novorussia Promises to Destroy the World](https://sukofamily.org/novorussia-promises-to-destroy-the-world/) - Here's a very strange Christmas greeting by Maria Katasonova from Novorussia (Eastern Ukraine). Joy to the People Death to the enemy Merry Christmas from Novorussia The enemy will be defeated The victory will be ours and if we don't win then we will destroy the entire world! - [We Need More Than Political Peace](https://sukofamily.org/we-need-more-than-political-peace/) - Violence, fighting and war continue to increase in this world. It's a problem that our governments and military will never completely solve. Yet peace is... - [One Ukrainian Church Finds Joy During Tragic Times](https://sukofamily.org/one-ukrainian-church-finds-joy-during-tragic-times/) - After the attack on a civilian bus this week you might wonder if there’s anything good happening in Ukraine. How can Ukrainians find joy in such tragic times? - [The Human Cost of Ukraine's War](https://sukofamily.org/the-human-cost-in-ukraines-war/) - Recently UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein released this statement concerning the War in Eastern Ukraine. “Bus stops and public transport, marketplaces, schools and kindergartens, hospitals and residential areas have become battlegrounds in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine – in clear breach of international humanitarian law which governs the conduct of - [Are You a Holy Person?](https://sukofamily.org/are-you-a-holy-person/) - What do you think of when you hear the word "holy?" Bible For many it calls up scenes of monks in meditative prayer who have given up the worldly life and all.... - [Ukraine War Through the Eyes of the Church -Video](https://sukofamily.org/ukraine-war-through-the-eyes-of-the-church-video/) - Today I want to share with you a video but I must warn you it is graphic. It documents the experience of believers in Eastern Ukraine from the time when the war... - [Missions on the Frontline in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/missions-on-the-frontline-in-ukraine/) - In some ways it can be hard to get you mind around what has happened and what is happening in Eastern Ukraine. The war and the resulting humanitarian crisis... - [How to Pray for Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-pray-for-ukraine/) - Today I'm fasting and praying for Ukraine. I'm praying for peace in the country and in the heart of each Ukrainian. I started the day by heading over to the ... - [Terrorist Kill 3 Injure 10 During Peace March in Kharkiv Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/terrorist-kill-3-injure-10-during-peace-march-in-kharkiv-ukraine/) - Today a peaceful march in support of the unity of Ukraine was interupted by a bomb blast which took the lives of two marchers and one police man and injured ten others. - [#49 Peace in War Time a Story from Eastern Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/49-peace-in-war-time-a-story-from-eastern-ukraine/) - Can there be peace in Ukraine after the lastest ceasefire deal has completely crumbled? In this week's episode of "Now Is the Time" I share with you how... - [Bloody Ukraine -1 Year of Bloodshed](https://sukofamily.org/bloody-ukraine-1-year-of-bloodshed/) - There are certain anniversaries you don't want to remember, this is one of them. One year ago today police started firinging on unarmed protestors killing.... - [#48 Did Jesus Have it Easier than You?](https://sukofamily.org/48-did-jesus-have-it-easier-than-we-have-it/) - Jesus is God, he knew everything that would happen, did that make his life and ministry easier than you have it? That's just one of several questions I... - [Will Peace Come to Ukraine?](https://sukofamily.org/will-peace-come-to-ukraine/) - After a marathon 18 hour all night peace talk in Minsk Petro Poroshenko and Vladimir Putin emerged with a plan in hand. watch your back Here's a summary of... - [Smerch Rockets Rain Death on Peaceful Kramatorsk](https://sukofamily.org/smerch-rockets-rain-death-on-peaceful-kramatorsk/) - Today a barrage of smerch rockets delivered death, destruction and pain to the peaceful Ukrainian held town of Kramatorsk. In yet another shocking attack of... - [Why Lazy Theologians Are Bad Gospel Preachers](https://sukofamily.org/why-lazy-theologians-are-bad-gospel-preachers/) - A lazy theologian never makes for a good gospel preacher, at least not for long! I've heard it said before that we shouldn't waste so much time on studying... - [Left with Nothing Residences Flee Debaltseve Ukraine -Video](https://sukofamily.org/left-with-nothing-residences-flee-debaltseve-ukraine-video/) - Left with no power, no water and almost no way out, residence of Debaltseve, Ukraine are desperately trying to flee the encroaching fighting. This video helps... - [Pray They Don't Draft Me!](https://sukofamily.org/pray-they-dont-draft-me/) - "Please pray that they don't draft me into the army!" That was one of the prayer requests as we concluded our youth meeting this past Sunday night. - [This is Not Modesty!](https://sukofamily.org/this-is-not-modesty/) - There's only one body part women are told to cover in the church and for the most part they don't do it! At least not in the Western Church. I've seen so many... - [#47 Confessions of a Missionary Wife -Surviving Furlough with Children](https://sukofamily.org/47-confessions-of-a-missionary-wife-surviving-furlough-with-children/) - Let's get one thing straight, if you're a missionary and you have kids, then furlough is anything but a vacation! On this episode of "Now Is the Time" I talk ... - [Tips on Learning a Foreign Language](https://sukofamily.org/tips-on-learning-a-foreign-language/) - There were times during my first year in Ukraine when I literally thought my brain was melting. I was working so hard a learning Russian that I started to forget English! - [This Video in an Abortion Clinic Made Me Feel Like Vomiting](https://sukofamily.org/this-video-in-an-abortion-clinic-made-me-feel-like-vomiting/) - There are some evils that are to terrible it's hard to really comprehend them. Abortion is one one of those! While we watch in horror the scenes of war that... - [Brutal Attack Kills Young Christian Girl and 12 Others in Eastern Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/brutal-attack-kills-young-christian-girl-and-12-others-in-eastern-ukraine/) - Yesterday at a Ukrainian army checkpoint in the town of Volnovakha a grad rocket landed near a civilian bus killing 13 people and injuring another 16. One of... - [A Christmas Greeting from Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko](https://sukofamily.org/a-christmas-greeting-from-ukrainian-president-petro-poroshenko/) - It's Christmas Eve here in Ukraine. After preaching in our Christmas Eve service I came home and was relaxing a bit when I came across this Christmas greeting by Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko. I was so impressed with it that I decided to translated his words and send it to you. - [The Benefits of Celebrating Christmas 2 Weeks Late](https://sukofamily.org/benefits-of-celebrating-christmas-2-weeks-late/) - If you already took your Christmas down then today would be a great time to grab it out of the trash and put it back where it belongs! Just because December 25th is now 2 weeks behind us doesn't mean that Christmas is over, especially if you're from Ukraine. - [#01 How to Develop a Hunger For God's Word -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/01-how-to-develop-a-hunger-for-gods-word-podcast/) - Do have a hunger for God's Word? Do you look forward to that time when you read the Bible every day? If you're like me you probably have times when you'd rather - [#45 How to Not Waste Your Life This Year](https://sukofamily.org/45-how-to-not-waste-your-life-this-year/) - It's only the second day of the year and we've already wasted a lot of it! Want proof? Just look at how full you're trash bin is! - [Happy New Year From The Suko's](https://sukofamily.org/happy-new-year-from-the-sukos/) - Christina and I and all our family wish you many blessings in 2015! May your year be filled with the peace and joy that can only come through God's mighty power in your life. - [Unbroken, What Angelina Jolie Isn't Telling You!](https://sukofamily.org/unbroken-what-angelina-jolie-isnt-telling-you-2/) - What Angelina Jolie left out of her new film "Unbroken," changes the whole story! The film chronicles the story of Louis Zamperini who survived 47 days on a life raft in the South Pacific before being picked up by the Japanese Navy. The following two years of his life was a living hell in Japanese - [Merry Christmas Dear Friend](https://sukofamily.org/merry-christmas-dear-friend/) - I arose while it was still dark this Christmas morning, Made my way past the children who were still soundly snoring, Sat down on the couch and looked at the tree. It was quiet and peaceful as far as I could see. But then I remembered the news of war - [#44 How to Stop Procrastinating](https://sukofamily.org/44-how-to-stop-procrastinating/) - You know that task that you've been putting off forever, the one that is lurking in the shadows of your life and making you feel guilty for not doing it? - [Ukraine a Year of Turmoil](https://sukofamily.org/ukraine-a-year-of-turmoil/) - 2014 started with the Euromaidan revolution and is closing with the tragic loss of thousands of lives in Eastern Ukraine. What started as a people's movement for change brought more change than anyone ever wanted. As 2014 comes to a close Ukraine is deeply wounded as a nation. The government isn't stable, the currency has - [#43 Why You Should Trash Your Bucket List](https://sukofamily.org/43-why-you-should-trash-your-bucket-list/) - Let's face it, bucket lists aren't something you can find in the Bible... or are they? In this episode of "Now Is The Time" I talk about the problem with bucket lists and I give you a Biblical alternative. I also share with you some encouraging news after a busy week of ministry. - [Part 2 | Stuck in the Woods of Eastern Ukraine on Cold Winter's Night](https://sukofamily.org/part-2-stuck-in-the-woods-of-eastern-ukraine-on-cold-winters-night/) - After breaking three tire wrenches while trying to remove the flat it was looking like the chances of my getting out of the forest that night were shrinking.... - [Another Bomb Blast Rocks Odessa, Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/another-bomb-blast-rocks-odessa-ukraine/) - The second bomb blast in a week happened today in Odessa. The bomb exploded in the middle of the night and did considerable damage to the building. Thankfully no one was injured. This appears to be another terrorist attack since the targeted building was home to an humanitarian organization that is sending aid to Ukrainian soldiers. - [Stuck in the Woods of Eastern Ukraine on a Cold Winter's Night.](https://sukofamily.org/stuck-in-the-woods-of-eastern-ukraine-on-a-cold-winters-night/) - I jumped out of the van and ran around to the passenger's side where I was greeted by the woosh of air escaping from the tire. My eyes immediately fell on to the oddly flat spot in - [#42 What Do You Hunger For?](https://sukofamily.org/42-what-do-you-hunger-for/) - Have you ever been so hungry that all you could think about was where you would get your next bite of food and what it would taste like? - [Terrorists Blow up Ukrainian Store in Odessa](https://sukofamily.org/terrorists-blow-up-ukrainian-store-in-odessa/) - Early this morning a bomb ripped a large hole in the side of a store here in Odessa that sells pro-Ukrianian clothing and other patriotic things. - [Violence Erupts in Odessa Ukraine, Over 50 Dead](https://sukofamily.org/violence-erupts-in-odessa-ukraine-over-30-dead/) - I don't look forward to checking the news on Ukraine any more but I do it anyway with my eyes half shut anticipating more bad news, more unrest and more violence. - [Thank You From the Sukos!](https://sukofamily.org/thank-you-from-the-sukos/) - Today Christina and I want to take a few moments to simply say "Thank you!" We've already finished our Thanksgiving dinner here in Ukraine. Guests have gone... - [#41 Stranded in Istanbul](https://sukofamily.org/41-stranded-in-istanbul/) - My heart sunk as I pulled my hand out of my backpack empty, I couldn't find my wallet! We had just flown in from Odessa less than an hour ago and already things were going bad. - [#40 Seven Ways Busyness Can Harm You](https://sukofamily.org/40-seven-ways-busyness-can-harm-you/) - Uncontrolled, unplanned and unending busyness can easily sabotage our lives and cripple our health. Here are seven ways busyness could harm you and seven ways Jesus managed his work and his rest. - [A Shocking Answer to Prayer in Eastern Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/a-shocking-answer-to-prayer-in-eastern-ukraine/) - Have you ever prayed for something that you didn't expect God to do, then when God does it you're shocked? That's exactly what God did in one Church in Eastern Ukraine this week! - [Atheist Church and 4 Other Signs Atheism is Dying](https://sukofamily.org/atheist-church-and-4-other-signs-atheism-is-dying/) - By 2025 there will be over 6,000,000 fewer atheist world-wide, that's a loss of about 1,700 atheist a day over the next ten years according to a report on... - [#39 Seven Ways Worry Destroys You](https://sukofamily.org/39-seven-ways-worry-destroys-you/) - Worry isn't as harmless as we often think! It can sneak into your mind and quietly begin to destroy your life if you're not careful! In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I identify... - [Never Say This to a Preacher After His Sermon!](https://sukofamily.org/never-say-this-to-a-preacher-after-his-sermon/) - I know you mean well and you probably just want to communicate your gratitude but will you do your pastor a favor and stop saying this after his sermon? - [#03 Four Ways to Improve Your Walk -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/4-ways-to-improve-your-walk/) - Do you like to walk? I do! However, statistics show that most Americans don't do nearly as much walking as they should! - [Words And Weeping From the Ukrainian War Zone](https://sukofamily.org/words-and-weeping-from-the-war-zone/) - Sometimes it's easy to forget the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Christ who seem to live in far off places. Today I want to share with you... - [What I Almost Didn't Tell You!](https://sukofamily.org/what-i-almost-didnt-tell-you/) - Last week our family did something that I really wasn't planning to tell you about. The truth is I almost felt a little ashamed to tell you. You may have noticed that recently I've been quieter than normal online. - [How God Blessed Our Breakdown in Romania](https://sukofamily.org/how-god-blessed-our-breakdown-in-romania/) - Has God ever unexpectedly stopped you from getting to your destination? That's what happened to us last weekend. Watch the video to hear about the details. - [This Sermon Made Me Rethink How I Share the Gospel!](https://sukofamily.org/this-sermon-made-me-rethink-how-i-share-the-gospel/) - You need to set aside 44 minutes and listen to this sermon! It seriously made me rethink how I communicate the Gospel. I know that seems like a lot of time but I believe this is an important message that Christians need to hear. - [Ukrainian Churches Give Thanks Despite Tough Times](https://sukofamily.org/ukrainian-churches-give-thanks-despite-tough-times/) - Is it possible to give thanks in the middle of war? Sometimes it's the brutal reality of living in conflict that reminds us of all we have to be thankful for! Here are some reasons we can still give thanks in Ukraine! Give Thanks Because Our God Is Still in Control Take a couple of - [When Cease-fire Doesn't Mean Stop Shooting! Video Update](https://sukofamily.org/when-cease-fire-doesnt-mean-stop-shooting-video-update/) - You may have heard on the news that there is a cease-fire in Eastern Ukraine now. It's true, politicians came to a public agreement to stop fighting, however, those who live in Donetsk tell us something else. - [Worry vs Pornography](https://sukofamily.org/worry-vs-pornography/) - Worry and pornography have a lot more in common than you might think. The main difference is that we think of pornography as a sin and worry as no big deal. - [Why the Toppling of Lenin in Kharkiv Is More Significant than You Might Think](https://sukofamily.org/why-the-toppling-of-lenin-in-kharkiv-is-more-significant-than-you-might-think/) - Yesterday in the center Of Ukraine's second largest city a pro-Ukraine crowd cut the legs from underneath Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and pulled his image to the ground! - [This Is What Trust in Your Father Looks Like!](https://sukofamily.org/this-is-what-trust-in-your-father-looks-like/) - I always enjoyed throwing my children as high into the air as I could. I never dropped them! And they never doubted that I would catch them. This picture reminds me of the kind of trust I should have in my Heavenly Father! - [A Surprising Lesson From the Mark Driscoll Debacle](https://sukofamily.org/a-surpising-lesson-from-the-mark-driscoll-debacle/) - I’ve never been to a service at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. However, I do have family who attend Mars Hill and a few other friends who are involved in the church. So I’ve been watching the unfolding drama of Mark Driscoll - [The Toll of Human Suffering in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/the-toll-of-human-suffering-in-ukraine/) - Russia's annexation of Crimea and the ongoing war and violence in Eastern Ukraine have left in their wake a tidal wave of human suffering and pain. Violence... - [A Letter from Lughansk Churches](https://sukofamily.org/a-letter-from-lughansk-churches/) - Despite the cease-fire the situation is Lughansk region is beyond words in terms of the human loss and suffering. There have been reports of at least two more churches being seized. - [#38 How to Conquer Your Fears and Face the Facts](https://sukofamily.org/38-how-to-conquer-your-fears-and-face-the-facts/) - The first time I watched the movie Jaws I was about ten years old! The next summer I had to work up a lot of courage to stick my feet in the water! Find out how - [This Man Just Left His Family](https://sukofamily.org/this-man-just-left-his-family/) - This man's name is Dima. He's my friend, my student and my brother in Christ! Last year he got married, last month he had his first child and last week he left his family! He left his family because of all the fighting! No, there's no fighting in his family, the fighting I'm talking about - [Fighting Kills Elderly Church Member During Ceasefire in Donetsk Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/fighting-kills-elderly-church-member-during-ceasefire-in-donetsk-ukraine/) - Yesterday I received some heart wrenching news from a friend whose church is in Donetsk. A church member had been killed in her own yard! This is the brutal truth of the supposed cease fire in Ukraine. People are still dying! - [#37 How Living in Wartime Changes Your Perspective](https://sukofamily.org/37-how-living-in-wartime-changes-your-perspective/) - Living in a country that's at war changes the way you think, it changes your perspective on everything! It infiltrates your daily life like a bad rash. The harder you try to pretend it's not there the more you become aware of its presence! - [Another Church Building Seized By Armed Men In Eastern Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/another-church-building-seized-by-armed-men-in-eastern-ukraine/) - This is the Church in the city of Antratsit or more accurately I should say this was the Church in Antratsit! Yesterday armed men along with two Orthodox priests stormed through the doors of the church and demanded that everyone vacate the premises! - [#36 A Dark Cloud is Rolling Over Ukraine -9 Ways You Can Pray!](https://sukofamily.org/36-a-dark-cloud-is-rolling-over-ukraine-9-ways-you-can-pray/) - In this episode of "Now Is the Time" I share with you some of the disturbing news coming out of Eastern Ukraine! I also give you nine specific ways that you can be praying for Ukraine and for us! - [Not Even War Will Stop the Church in Ukraine!](https://sukofamily.org/not-even-war-will-stop-the-church-in-ukraine/) - I've never lived in a country that was at war with-in it's own borders before! Knowing that I could get in my car and be in a war zone in just a few hours somehow changes your perspective. Knowing that a foreign army has crossed the border and is coming your direction causes certain priorities to change! - [I Have Two Moms and I've got Two Dads -Honey Maid Wholesome](https://sukofamily.org/i-have-two-moms-and-ive-got-two-dads-honey-maid-wholesome/) - Yesterday I came across this video from Honey Maid, a company that's known for its Graham Crackers and whose tag line is "This Is Wholesome!" The video shows... - [Who Shot Down Malaysia Air Flight 17 Over Eastern Ukraine?](https://sukofamily.org/who-shot-down-malaysia-air-flight-17-over-eastern-ukraine/) - My heart sunk today when I heard the news that a passenger airplane carrying 295 people had been shot down by surface to air missiles over Eastern Ukraine! - [We Could Have Been Killed Today!](https://sukofamily.org/we-could-have-been-killed-today/) - This happened about 60 seconds in front of us today! It stopped us and all lanes of traffic on I 90 for over three hours! - [#35 Five Reasons Why "Don't Worry Be Happy" Didn't Work for Robin Williams](https://sukofamily.org/35-five-reasons-why-dont-worry-be-happy-didnt-work-for-robin-williams/) - Here’s the truth, what sounds like a catchy song can actually be a dangerous theology! I remember first hearing Bobby McFerrin’s song “Don’t Worry Be Happy” when I was in middle school. To be honest with you I kind of liked it! It had a nice laid back feel and the message seemed simple and convincingly easy. - [What These Ukrainian Self-Defense Force Members Said Was Shocking!](https://sukofamily.org/what-these-ukrainian-self-defense-force-members-said-was-shocking/) - Last week I met several members of Ukraine's Self-Defense force and what I learned from them was shocking! I spent the last five days with a bunch of our students hiking through Central Ukraine during what we call "Extreme Institute." We camped in church yards and every morning and evening we taught from the book of Titus. - [#31 The Biggest Mistake Dads Make](https://sukofamily.org/31-the-biggest-mistake-dads-make/) - Many fathers are making a big mistake when it comes to raising their children and most of them don’t even know they are doing it! - [This Is What A Pastor From Donetsk Told Me Today](https://sukofamily.org/this-is-what-a-pastor-from-donetsk-told-me-today/) - Today I sat down with a pastor friend (name withheld for safety reasons) from Donetsk. He and his family fled the city over a month ago with hopes that they would soon be able to return. However, the situation has only deteriorated in the past few weeks and along with it their hope for a - [#34 Why God's Will Isn't the Safest Place to Be!](https://sukofamily.org/34-why-gods-will-isnt-the-safest-place-to-be/) - Is God's will really the safest place you can be? If it's not a safe place then how can you keep from worrying about your own safety? - [#33 The Church's Acceptable Sins](https://sukofamily.org/33-the-churchs-acceptable-sins/) - Every time and every culture has certain sins that it excuses, ignores or tries to justify. We are no exception to the rule! American churches are hiding some pretty big sins simply because they don't think they're so bad. - [Ann Coulter You Owe An Apology! An Open Letter](https://sukofamily.org/ann-coulter-you-owe-an-apology-an-open-letter/) - Dear Ann Coulter you owe an apology to Dr. Kent Brantly and to every other American who responded to God's leading in their life by travelling to a foreign country to share the love of Jesus with the less fortunate! - [Help Send Us Back to Ukraine!](https://sukofamily.org/help-send-us-back-to-ukraine/) - In just a few days we will return to a country that has completely changed since we left, last October! We need your prayers and support! - [Mass Grave Reveals Bodies of Slain Church Leaders in Eastern Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/mass-graves-reveals-bodies-of-slain-church-leaders-in-eastern-ukraine/) - I think you should watch the video in this post but be aware that it does contain graphic images of the corpses which were pulled from a mass grave in the center of Slavyansk, Ukraine. - [Why We Start Worrying and How To Be Free!](https://sukofamily.org/why-we-start-worrying-and-how-to-be-free/) - To be free from worry is a gift; it’s the gift of deep, blissful sleep and waking with hope for the day! Unfortunately we are all prone to worry at times, Here's how it started in my life! - [How to Choke Out the Gospel with the Mundane](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-choke-out-the-gospel-with-the-mundane/) - Often it's the regular things in life that keep us from hearing and responding to the gospel. - [17 Ways Missionary Kids Are Awesome](https://sukofamily.org/17-ways-missionary-kids-are-awesome/) - This is a tribute to my five children and to all missionary kids who are often the unsung heroes of missionary life! SONY DSC Over the past Nine months we've drug our kids literally from sea to shining sea, traveling over 10,000 miles in our little mini-van, visiting dozens of churches and staying in many people's homes. There were times my kids would have loved to stay home with family - [How to Help Refugees in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-help-refugees-in-ukraine/) - Every day hundreds if not thousands of people are fleeing the increasing violence in Eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. - [Why You Should Care About What's Going on in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/why-you-should-care-about-whats-going-on-in-ukraine/) - American Christians should be deeply concerned about the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and here's why, unfortunately too many have an apathetic attitude. - [#29 A Few Great Reasons to Leave Your Church](https://sukofamily.org/29-a-few-great-reasons-to-leave-your-church/) - Have you ever left your church for another church? In this episode of Now is the Time I give you 7 good reasons to leave your church and 4 bad reasons! - [Churches and Church Members Used By Separatists as a "Live Shield"](https://sukofamily.org/churches-and-church-members-used-by-separatists-as-a-live-shield/) - The Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine continue to use terror tactics as they fight against the Ukrainian government. - [How Pornography Can Stop Your Child From Being a Bully](https://sukofamily.org/how-pornography-can-stop-your-child-from-being-a-bully/) - Last week a father of a 14 year old girl was arrested after he broke the two minute rule during a schoolboard meeting. He was upset about pornographic reading - [#30 How to Pray for Ukraine -17 Ways](https://sukofamily.org/30-how-to-pray-for-ukraine-17-ways/) - In this episode of "Now is the Time" I talk about the some of the persecution of Christians that is happening in Eastern Ukraine and I share 17 ways for you to pray for Ukraine. - [Happy Independence Day!](https://sukofamily.org/happy-independence-day-2/) - We want to say "Happy Independence Day" to you! We hope that you take a time today to pray for America and to remember her rich history. One that was filled with many men of faith who honored God with their lives and leadership of our country - [The Pastor's Kid -Book Review](https://sukofamily.org/the-pastors-kid-book-review/) - I'm a pastor's kid but I'm more than that, I'm the father of five pastor's kids and that's exactly why I was so intrigued by this book written by Pastor John Piper's son Barnabas Piper called "Pastor's Kid"! - [#32 The Problem with Worship Experiences](https://sukofamily.org/32-the-problem-with-worship-experiences/) - Have you noticed the emphasis many churches give to your experience in worship? Turning worship into an experience is a bigger problem then you may have thought - [This is Why They're Called Terrorists](https://sukofamily.org/this-is-why-theyre-called-terrorists/) - Terrorists are those who use fear and threats to control people and get what they want. In general that means beat, torture and kill those who disagree with you or in any way oppose you! Unfortunately Eastern and Southern Ukraine are full of terrorists now and sadly Pastor Sergey has experienced this first hand! - [And Now for Some Good News!](https://sukofamily.org/and-now-for-some-good-news/) - I'm taking a short break from the news on Ukraine to share with you some really good news today! This past Sunday 8 people publicly confessed their faith in Jesus and were baptized in our home church, Discovery Baptist! - [Praying for Ukraine -A 7 Day Guide](https://sukofamily.org/praying-for-ukraine-a-7-day-guide/) - We are deeply concerned with the current events in Ukraine, however we believe God is still at work! That is why we are calling on Christians everywhere to pray for Ukraine! - [#28 Wisdom From 262 Years of Motherhood](https://sukofamily.org/28-wisdom-from-262-years-of-motherhood/) - In honor of Mother's Day I sat down with a woman who has a 262 years of mothering wisdom to share and asked her a bunch of questions! - [Ukraine's Deadliest Week](https://sukofamily.org/ukraines-deadliest-week/) - This is Ukraine's deadliest week of fighting probably since WWII! The week isn't even over and the reports range from 70 to 100 dead! - [#24 Something Worth Dying For -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/24-something-worth-dying-for-podcast/) - Warning the content that I'm going to share with you today might not be pleasant for you to hear. It might go against everything you've been taught about Christianity. - [How To Pray For Ukraine After Russia's Occupation of Crimea](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-pray-for-ukraine-after-russia/) - Things are changing so fast in Ukraine, Russian troops now occupy the Crimean peninsula while a new government in Kyiv is struggling to stabilize the country. - [Why I Love Vladimir Putin](https://sukofamily.org/why-i-love-vladimir-putin/) - In case you didn't know Vladimir Putin is the president of the largest country on earth, the Russian Federation. Recently he's been the subject of considerable hate - [Violence Will Continue in Ukraine until This Happens!](https://sukofamily.org/violence-will-continue-in-ukraine-until-this-happens/) - The death of 46 people which occurred in Odessa, Ukraine this past Friday as a result of conflicts between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian groups served only to widen the gap of hatred, fear and resentment that has been growing steadily over the past few months. In the video above I share a little overview of what - [#27 The Problem with American Worldview](https://sukofamily.org/27-the-problem-with-american-worldview/) - America's worldview is changing quickly and moving further from a Biblical understanding. In this episode of Now is the Time I take a look at one of the most popular aspects of the new American worldview -Tolerance! - [Easter Comes Violently in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/easter-comes-violently-in-ukraine/) - Easter morning did not bring with it the typical beauty of painted eggs and little girls in new dresses for many people near the Eastern Ukraine town of Slavyansk. - [#26 Oprah and the Problem with America's Views of Death](https://sukofamily.org/26-oprah-and-the-problem-with-americas-views-of-death/) - Death is misunderstood by most Americans and there are fewer greater influences that shape our cultures thinking on death than Oprah Winfrey. - [Why American Pastors Don't Stay and the Need for Faithfulness](https://sukofamily.org/why-american-pastors-dont-stay-and-the-need-for-faithfulness/) - I’m beginning to think that many American pastors have ADHD! Yes, I’m talking about short sermons and even worse than that short tenures in their churches. - [Is this War? Russian Troops on Ukraine's Border](https://sukofamily.org/is-this-war-russian-troops-on-ukraines-border/) - Valdimir Putin caught us all off guard when his troops marched into Crimea and very quickly and somewhat quietly took over. What will happen now that the annexation of Crimea is pretty much complete? Will Putin go in and take another bite out of Eastern or Southern Ukraine? Unfortunately there are many signs that indicate - [Ministry Idols](https://sukofamily.org/ministry-idols/) - If you feel comfortable with your faith you might want to stop reading this blog post now! I'm just giving you fair warning! I was convicted today, convicted of idolatry! It seems a little scandalous to write that but it's true. Today was one of those days when Christina went off to work and I - [#25 Why Does Crimea Want to Be Part of Russia? -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/25-why-does-crimea-want-to-be-part-of-russia-podcast/) - Before you listen to this podcast you should know that it is is political! I talk about Ukraine, Russia and Crimea. The recent political changes there are historical and they will affect the church. - [#23 How to Make Your Spouse More Attractive -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/23-how-to-make-your-spouse-more-attractive-podcast/) - Do you sometimes wish that your spouse was more attractive? Did you know that there is something you can do about it? - [15 Free Books from the Shepherd's Conference](https://sukofamily.org/15-free-books-from-the-shepherds-conference/) - I got bag full of books for free from John MacArthur and I'm giving them all away for free, just let me know what book you want and I'll send it to you! - [Violence Increasing in Kiev, Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/violence-increasing-in-kiev-ukraine/) - The last 2 days have been some of the most violet of the nearly 2 month long protest in Kiev Ukraine. Please join us for praying for peace in Ukraine. - [Why American Christians Tend to be Fat and Unhealthy](https://sukofamily.org/why-american-christians-tend-to-be-fat-and-unhealthy/) - American Christians tend to have a wider waistline than most of their brothers and sister in Christ in other parts of the world and this is why. - [The Ugly Truth About Me](https://sukofamily.org/ugly-truth-about-me/) - I have a confession to make. I'm not nearly as spiritual, righteous or holy as you might think. Over the years I've gotten pretty good and making things look - [#22 Did John MacArthur Go Too Far in Strange Fire? -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/22-did-john-macarthur-go-too-far-in-strange-fire-podcast/) - In this episode of Now is the Time I talk about John MacArthur's latest book Strange Fire and the controversy surrounding it. I'm also giving away a free copy of the book - [Bloody Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/bloody-ukraine/) - While you slept last night Ukraine turned bloody! Early reports say that at least 22 people have died and more than 1,000 have been injured in the last 24 hours in Kyiv. - [Why You Should Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart](https://sukofamily.org/why-you-should-stop-asking-jesus-into-your-heart/) - God does not save people because they said the “sinners prayer” or because they asked Jesus to come into their heart! Many assume they are “safe” because... - [This isn't Victory Yet! A Call for Reconciliation in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/this-isnt-victory-yet-a-call-for-reconciliation-in-ukraine/) - Last weekend we witnessed a political revolution in Ukraine but revolution is never enough, without true reconciliation the country will never rise from the ashes of burning tires and Molotov cocktails. - [Prayer and Fasting for Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/prayer-and-fasting-for-ukraine/) - This weekend is proving to be one of the most historical on record for Ukraine. Just moments ago the Ukrainian parliament impeached president Yanukovych - [Please Stop Taking Pictures of Peoples' Toilets!](https://sukofamily.org/please-stop-taking-pictures-of-peoples-toilets/) - Before you get too far I want to warn you that this post is about Russian Toilets and Western snobbery so if either of those offend you then feel free to click away right now! - [How many commandments have you broken?](https://sukofamily.org/how-many-commandments-have-you-broken/) - This past Sunday I preached on Exodus 19 concerning the giving of the 10 commandments to the nation of Israel. I also presented the results of a small survey I conducted with my friends on facebook, twitter and vkontakte. Here are the results! Question #1 is: Do you think Christians should obey the 10 commandments? - [Why You Should Stop Worry About Politics -Video Update](https://sukofamily.org/why-you-should-stop-worry-about-politics-video-update/) - Many Americans are worried about the political situation. Ever since we've returned to the US we've heard a lot about Republicans and Democrats and especially Obamacare! - [13 Ways to Age Faster and Look Older Sooner](https://sukofamily.org/13-ways-to-age-faster-and-look-older/) - Recently I was shocked to find a picture of myself from 7 years ago. I have aged quickly in 7 years and here are some tips to help you age fast too! - [#21 How to Find Your Spiritual Gifts -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/21-how-to-find-your-spiritual-gifts-podcast/) - Not long ago I had not idea what my spiritual gift was but these 4 steps helped me discover my gifts and begin using them immediately. - [10 Ways to Finish the Year Well](https://sukofamily.org/10-ways-to-finish-the-year-well/) - New Years is almost here and people are preparing for their celebrations and looking ahead to what 2014 will bring. It's good to look ahead and - [The Difference is in the Pursuit](https://sukofamily.org/difference-is-in-the-pursuit/) - What are you thankful for? Would you still be thankful if all those things were taken from you? - [#19 Revolution and Revival, Ukraine in Turmoil -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/revolution-and-revival-ukraine-in-turmoil-podcast/) - Ukraine is in turmoil! In this episode of Now is the Time I describe for you the scene as I experienced it earlier this week walking around downtown Kiev. - [The Dumbing Down of Bible Stories](https://sukofamily.org/the-dumbing-down-of-bible-stories/) - Our culture has dumbed down Bible stories to the same level as Mother Goose or Dr. Seuss. While we might never admit it we often treat them in a similar way. - [#20 Resolutions What They Reveal About You -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/resolutions-what-they-reveal-about-you/) - Your New Years resolutions might say more about you than you think! Here are 4 truths that resolutions reveal about you! - [Will You Pray for Ukraine?](https://sukofamily.org/will-you-pray-for-ukraine/) - Ukraine needs your prayers! The protests in Kiev continue with no end in sight. The people demand change. They recognize the fact that something is wrong - [Tensions are high In Ukraine, Prayers Needed](https://sukofamily.org/tensions-are-high-in-ukraine-prayers-needed/) - Protesters are showing no sign of giving up in Ukraine's capital, Kiev. Please pray for this tense situation. - [Repentance and the God of Tolerism](https://sukofamily.org/repentance-and-the-god-of-tolerism/) - Repentance is not a politically correct word but tolerism is! - [9 New Supporters and Violent Protests -December Update](https://sukofamily.org/9-new-supporters-and-violent-protests-december-update/) - We are thankful for those who joined our support team last month. They have helped us make good progress to toward reaching 100% of our support needs! - [Top Posts of 2013](https://sukofamily.org/top-posts-of-2013/) - 2013 has come and now is almost gone. God blessed our family and ministry in many ways that I shared in this blog over the past year. I also used many of the lessons I learned in ministry and much of what God was teaching me through my study of the Bible as material for - [The Word Became Flesh -Reading and Chalk Drawing](https://sukofamily.org/the-word-became-flesh-reading-and-chalk-drawing/) - Meditative reading from John 1:1-14 while live chalk art drawing is being done on Christmas eve at Discovery Baptist Church - [Merry Christmas from the Sukos](https://sukofamily.org/merry-christmas-from-the-sukos-2/) - May Christ be at the center of your Christmas and your new year! Merry Christmas! - [Where Does that Christmas Feeling Come From?](https://sukofamily.org/where-does-that-christmas-feeling-come-from/) - I write this as I am siting in front of a Christmas tree decorated with lights and shiny red and gold balls, out the window I can see snow softly falling - [Living Every Moment with Kingdom Impact -Interview with Paul Sohn](https://sukofamily.org/interview-with-paul-sohn/) - Recently I had the privilege of sitting down with Paul Sohn and discussing what it means to live intentionally as a follower of Christ. - [November Video Update](https://sukofamily.org/november-video-update-2/) - Doctor and dental appointments, visiting friends and sharing with supporters have kept our first two weeks in America very busy! Here is a brief video update to let you know what are schedule is in November and how you can pray for us. Schedule We are trying to meet with as many people as we - [The Problem with Short Worship Services in the Church](https://sukofamily.org/the-problem-with-short-worship-services-in-the-church/) - American churches have wimped out on worship! They have caved to cultural pressure and cut short the one time in the week when the entire local church gathers! - [#18 Five Signs You Are Coveting -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/18-five-signs-you-are-coveting-podcast/) - This time of year it's all around us; the temptation to make your life better by obtaining a product or a service that promises to revolutionize you. - [#16 The Danger of Good Things and How to Protect Yourself -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/16-the-danger-of-good-things-and-how-to-protect-yourself-podcast/) - In this episode of Now is the Time I talk about the danger in good things, how we are often blind to this danger and what we can do to protect ourselves. - [#15 Demons, Death and Halloween, What You Need to Know](https://sukofamily.org/15-demons-death-and-halloween-what-you-need-to-know/) - I don't think that you would disagree with me that Halloween emphasizes the spirit world and in particular the dark side of the spirit world. - [#17 Arranged Marriages, Are They Biblical? -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/17-arranged-marriages-are-they-biblical-podcast/) - The church is in trouble when it comes to marriage. Could arranged marriages help promote longer lasting and better marriages in the church? - [5 Reasons You Need to Read Jesus > Religion by Jefferson Bethke](https://sukofamily.org/5-reasons-you-need-to-read-jesus-religion-by-jefferson-bethke/) - Every once in awhile there comes a long a book that shakes the comfortable walls you've built around yourself to the ground. This is one of those books! - [#12 How to Keep Facebook From Killing Your Church 4 Tips -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/12-how-to-keep-facebook-from-killing-your-church-4-tips-podcast/) - Is Facebook killing your church? In this episode of Now Is The Time I talk about how social networks can damage the church and I give you 4 tips - [#13 How to Communicate the Gospel to Your Child at Every Age Level -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/13-how-to-communicate-the-gospel-to-your-child-at-every-age-level-podcast/) - In this episode I talk about our recent travels from Ukraine to the US. I also share with you some tips about how to communicate the Gospel to your children. - [Our 1st Sunday in America](https://sukofamily.org/our-1st-sunday-in-america/) - Today we spent our our first Sunday in America. We worshiped with Bethany Bible Church in Kenmore, Washington. - [Choose Your Heroes Wisely](https://sukofamily.org/choose-your-heroes-wisely/) - You have heroes in your life, people you look up to, people you try to emulate, people you desire to be like. You may have never met them in person but you ... - [Stop Telling Your Child to Behave!](https://sukofamily.org/stop-telling-your-child-to-behave/) - If all you do is tell your child to behave you're missing the point. Life isn't just about good behavior, it's about having a heart that's right with God. - [#07 The Macho Gospel -Good News for Manly Men! -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/07-the-macho-gospel-good-news-for-manly-men-podcast/) - Becoming a follower of Jesus doesn't mean you deplete yourself of testosterone and sit quietly on the pew with your hands folded for the rest of your life! - [#14 How to Become a Missionary and Listener Questions -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/14-how-to-become-a-missionary-and-listener-questions-podcast/) - Becoming a missionary sounds exotic but being a missionary is about more than living in a foreign culture! Here are 6 steps you can take to become a missionary! - [Our Last Family Photo](https://sukofamily.org/our-last-family-photo/) - I'm glad that we took the opportunity on Sunday to snap a family photo in our church yard as we left. It seems like it's getting harder and harder.... - [How to Pack Like a World Traveler -Lighter, Smarter and Cheaper](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-pack-like-a-world-traveler-lighter-smarter-and-cheaper/) - 7 tips that will help you pack for your next travel, especially if you will be traveling internationally, it's important that your bags are packed and ready to go! - [#10 Worship and the Church -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/10-worship-and-the-church-podcast/) - The problem with our understanding of worship is that it is often limited to what happens during the church service on Sunday morning! - [#09 How to Find Your Idols -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/09-how-to-find-your-idols-podcast/) - There are idols that we can see, feel and touch and there are idols of the heart that are easily kept away from the view of others! In this episode of Now is the Time... - [#08 Profile of a Successful Missionary -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/08-profile-of-a-successful-missionary/) - In this episode of Now is the Time I introduce you to a real life hero missionary. I spent 2 months with Duane Howe in the deep jungles of Brazil and Peru. - [3 Facts Parents Should Know Before Sending Their Child to School](https://sukofamily.org/3-facts-parents-should-know-before-sending-their-child-school/) - Your child might be ready to learn but that doesn't mean he's ready for school. - [A Big Announcement and Report on Girls Camp](https://sukofamily.org/a-big-announcement-and-report-on-girls-camp/) - This month Christina is joining me to share some exciting news with you! You'll just have to watch the video to find out what it is. - [Why Football is More Exciting than Church](https://sukofamily.org/why-football-is-more-exciting-than-church/) - On any given Sunday morning around 10:30 you'll find a man taking up his usual spot in the church sanctuary. He mumbles through the worship songs then.... - [Are Your Church Gatherings Getting the Job Done?](https://sukofamily.org/are-your-church-gatherings-getting-the-job-done/) - What happens when your church gathers for worship? It seems that most churches have a few basics that go into each Sunday morning. Usually it includes... - [Kissing Before Marriage and Other Questions Girls Ask](https://sukofamily.org/kissing-before-marriage-and-other-questions-girls-ask/) - There are some questions that are easier to answer and easier to discuss when boys aren't around. This past Sunday our youth group kicked off the new school - [15 Lessons from 15 Years of Marriage](https://sukofamily.org/15-lessons-from-15-years-of-marriage/) - A few things I have learned from 15 years of marriage to a wonderful woman. - [#05 How to Develop an Awe of God -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/05-how-to-develop-an-awe-of-god-podcast/) - What does it mean to be in "awe" of God? It's got to be more than and emotion we feel when singing "Our God is and Awesome God"! In this episode of Now is the Time - [#04 Russia Report -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/04-russia-report-podcast/) - This month I traveled with some of our students to Perm Russia. In this episode I share our experience and a few things in Russia that surprised us. - [Beards -Why You Should Have One (Men Only!)](https://sukofamily.org/beards-why-you-should-have-one-men-only/) - I've had full beard for the better part of 20 years now and over time it's really grown on me! Ok, sorry for the beard pun, let's move on! The last time I shaved - [I'm Back and Here are 19 Things I Learned](https://sukofamily.org/im-back-and-here-are-19-things-i-learned/) - Over the last dozen days I've spent nearly 100 hours travling well over 6,000 km by car mainly through Russia. Here is what I learned from my trip to Russia. - [A New Passport and Old Friends](https://sukofamily.org/a-new-passport-and-old-friends/) - Kent, Hugo, Redding, Puyallup, Maple Valley, Gig Harbor, Republic, Kirkland, Colville, Hoquiam... These are a few of the places we have visited in the past two months. We are so thankful for the warm reception we have received at each church. It was particularly wonderful to visit our friends in Redding, Ca at Grace Baptist, - [Why You Should Have More Children](https://sukofamily.org/why-you-should-have-more-children/) - Have you ever thought about having a few more kids? I'm convinced that bigger families are better and when I say bigger I mean at least 3 children. - [5 Reasons Not to Buy New Things](https://sukofamily.org/5-reasons-not-to-buy-new-things/) - It's the season of materialism and without realizing it we want new things! We want things that promise to make life better and more exciting. - [Why I Think Giving Birth is Easy](https://sukofamily.org/why-i-think-giving-birth-is-easy/) - Yes, I am a man and no, I've never given birth! However, before you crucify me for such a statement on Mother's day take a few minutes to hear me out. I was physically present and involved at the birth of each of my five children, so I've been as close as a man can - [ 2 Verses Few Christians Believe](https://sukofamily.org/2-verses-few-christians-believe/) - If Jesus commanded his followers to make disciples why is it that so few people in our churches are actually making disciples? - [Black Sea Baptism](https://sukofamily.org/black-sea-baptism/) - ur church gathered on the shore of the Black Sea at 8:30 on Sunday morning to watch 13 young people show their faith in Jesus through the act of baptism. - [#06 Eight Fallacies about Baptism and Three Truths -Podcast ](https://sukofamily.org/06-eight-fallacies-about-baptism-and-three-truths-podcast/) - This Sunday our church will baptize 13 people and I'm excited! In this episode of Now is the Time I share with you 8 fallacies about baptism. - [Why are Our Youth Losing the Faith?](https://sukofamily.org/why-are-our-youth-losing-the-faith/) - It's no secret that the Church has a hard time holding onto her youth! David Kinnaman of the Barna Group says that of Christians in the 18-25 age category 38% - [What Would You Tell Someone Who Just Got Baptized?](https://sukofamily.org/what-would-you-tell-someone-who-just-got-baptized/) - Help me prepare to preach to those who have just been baptized in our church by answering a few questions. - [Selena Gomez and Real Love](https://sukofamily.org/selena-gomez-and-real-love/) - "I love you like a love song" typifies our culture's view on love, but what does real love look like and where does it come from? - [Naomi Answers your Questions](https://sukofamily.org/naomi-answers-your-questions/) - These are a few questions my cousin asked me and I thought you might enjoy watching it. The questions are below, watch the video for the answers! 1. How old were you when you moved to Ukraine, and what was the hardest part? 2. What is the climate in Ukraine like? 3. What customs in - [#02 Fathers Do You Seek Your Children? -Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/02-fathers-do-you-seek-your-children-podcast/) - I don't claim to be a perfect father by any stretch of the imagination but I do have some experience now. I have five children between the ages of 3 and... - [Ministry in Moldova and Student Missions](https://sukofamily.org/ministry-in-moldova-and-student-missions/) - We need your prayers more than ever this month as we plan for the biggest missions trip we've ever taken with our students who will traveling by car from... - [The Excellent Wife Updated](https://sukofamily.org/the-excellent-wife-updated/) - An adapted version of Proverbs 31 that refects what it might have looked like if it was written today. - [Is Traditional Preaching Still Valid?](https://sukofamily.org/is-traditional-preaching-still-valid/) - In biblical times there were few methods of communication to choose from. If you needed to communicate something to a large audience your best option was... - [Interview with Church Planter Vasiliy Kaletnik](https://sukofamily.org/interview-with-church-planter-vasiliy-kaletnik/) - My trip to Moldova last week really blessed me (check out the post here if you missed it). It is always amazing to see how God is working in different contexts and in different churches. Vasiliy is gifted as an evangelist and as a church planter. He took us around to visit the villages and - [How to Love Your Enemies and Be a Millionaire Giver](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-love-your-enemies-and-be-a-millioniare-giver/) - It's easy to say that we love our neighbors but how do we show that in real life? Everyone wants to be a millionaire but wouldn't it be crazy to try to give away a million dollars? Theological education is great but why are there so many seminar grads just warming pews in our churches? - [What is Missions? Book Giveaway!](https://sukofamily.org/what-is-missions-book-giveaway/) - (This giveaway is closed. Congratulations to Elpida on winning the book! ) How do you define "Missions"? What do you have to do to do missions? What do you have to be a missionary? The answer to these questions will determine many of the choices you make in your life and I want to hear - [Where was the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament?](https://sukofamily.org/where-was-the-holy-spirit-in-the-old-testament/) - Did the Holy Spirit come late to the party? Why does it seem like he doesn't do much until you get to the New Testament? - [Dinner with the Dead in Moldova](https://sukofamily.org/dinner-with-the-dead-in-moldova/) - Yesterday I ate my lunch with a bunch of dead people. Why? Because that's what everyone was doing and I wanted to see what... - [Where You Live Makes a Difference](https://sukofamily.org/where-you-live-makes-a-difference/) - Have you ever dreamed about having a house on the water, a cabin in the mountains or maybe a cottage by a river. Why do you and I desire to live in such places? We know that the place we call home impacts just about every aspect of our life. Where you live affects what - [First Day of Soccer](https://sukofamily.org/first-day-of-soccer/) - Mishael had his first day of soccer yesterday. He was very excited to get out on the field. He is playing on a team with other kids from 3.5 years to 4 years old. - [6 Reasons Preaching is Still Valid](https://sukofamily.org/6-reasons-preaching-is-still-valid/) - Recently I asked a question, "Is traditional preaching still valid?" Although I'm a big user of technology in ministry I also believe that traditional preaching - [5 Reasons You Need to Get Away With Your Family](https://sukofamily.org/5-reasons-you-need-to-get-away-with-your-family/) - This week our family returned from a week long vacation in Ukraine's Carpathian Mountains. It was one of the best things we had done in a long time! - [Why Your Self-Esteem Might be Too High](https://sukofamily.org/why-your-self-esteem-might-be-to-high/) - Last week our family visited the church in the village of Buyalick. There are no paved roads leading to Buyalick so when it's dry enough the best way to get there is by traveling across the fields on makeshift dirt roads. On our way home we dipped into a small green valley and as we - [Happy Resurrection Day!](https://sukofamily.org/happy-resurrection-day/) - Today Christina and I want to wish you a happy Resurrection Day! This morning we celebrated Easter at our home church Hope for People here in Odessa, Ukraine. It's at times like this that I really love the name of our church, after all Jesus' resurrection does give true and lasting hope for people! Last - [There's a Monster in My Basement](https://sukofamily.org/theres-a-monster-in-my-basement/) - I have a monster who lives in my basement, I know! He's been there for about 35 years or so. He has 4 eyes a giant nose and a huge appetite, He eats so much food... - [False Advertising in the Church](https://sukofamily.org/false-advertising-in-the-church/) - Sometimes churches do not honestly represent themselves and compromise the truth in order to get more people to come to their services. - [Why the Orthodox Church Celebrates Easter on a Different Date](https://sukofamily.org/why-were-not-celebrating-easter-this-week/) - We're not celebrating Easter this week, we're not even planning to celebrate it next month! Why? In most of Eastern Europe religious holidays are dictated by the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church follows the Julian calendar, which was introduced by Julius Cesar in 45 BC. However, most of the rest of the world follows the - [Over the Moutains](https://sukofamily.org/over-the-moutains/) - Last Saturday Christina, Anastasia and I drove from our home in Tacoma over the mountains to Moses Lake. Many people were praying for us because the pass had recently received a lot of snow. The walls of plowed snow on the side of the road were over 10 feet high in places. On Sunday morning - [3 Reasons You Need to Study the Holy Spirit](https://sukofamily.org/3-reasons-you-need-to-study-the-holy-spirit/) - I grew up in a Baptist Church and like most Baptist churches we didn't talk much about the Holy Spirit. Don't get me wrong we knew he was there but we did not want to appear like our charismatic friends who often mistook great music and powerful emotions as the moving of the Holy Spirit. - [The Deadly Truth About the Holy Spirit](https://sukofamily.org/the-deadly-truth-about-the-holy-spirit/) - Here's a truth that could have deadly consequences if you don't get it right! The Holy Spirit is God! (This is part of a series on the Holy Spirit which you can find here. Maybe the above statement doesn't seem too dangerous to you, after all how deadly could abstract theological ideas be? I'll let - [8 Ways to Trust God More](https://sukofamily.org/9-ways-to-trust-god-more/) - Have you paid attention to what is written on every piece of US currency? "In God we trust" It might just be one of the most hypocritical statements ever written! When you have a little cash in your pocket it's easy to tell people that you trust God after all why wouldn't you? If God - [What Do You Complain About?](https://sukofamily.org/what-do-you-complain-about/) - During my high school years I used to do some work for an older lady who loved to complain. What did she complain about? She had the terrible skill of turning almost anything that was wholesome and positive into a complaint. A typical conversation would go something like this: Me: "Good morning! Isn't it a beautiful day?" - [A Fainting Experience](https://sukofamily.org/a-fainting-experience/) - After communion they asked me to preach. The church is in the process of building and so far they have only the basement finished. Thus the church meets in the basement. They have a small wood stove they use to heat with. It works ok, but it can make it a little hazy in the - [Are You Doing Communion Correctly? Part I](https://sukofamily.org/are-you-doing-communion-correctly-part-i/) - I think it's safe to say that you're most likely not doing the Lord's Supper the way Jesus did it! That may be shocking to you but I have good reason... - [How a Blizzard Can Change Your Plans!](https://sukofamily.org/how-a-blizzard-can-change-your-plans/) - Tomorrow we were planning to pack the family in the van and head off to Western, Ukraine for a 3 day conference and now we are not! Why? God sent a blizzard our way! A blizzard is moving in on Ukraine and has already dumped a ton of snow in Western and Northern Ukraine and - [A Shocking International Women's Day](https://sukofamily.org/2377/) - Today, March 8th, is International Women's Day celebrated widely in the countries of the former Soviet Union. The streets are full of flower sellers and every woman has a bouquet in her hands on this day. But today I didn't end up with a bouquet, but rather with a great shock for a present... The - [Why America is Not Better](https://sukofamily.org/why-america-is-not-better/) - "Is life better in America?" The passport control officer asked me as I stood waiting for my exit stamp from Ukraine. "Better?" I responded, "What do you... - [Getting Started in Kiev](https://sukofamily.org/getting-started-in-kiev/) - Tuesday morning we met with our team mate Scott Carter. He and his wife Lisa have been in Ukraine since 1993. We spent most of Tuesday morning at meeting with Realis. They run a distance education program for Christian leaders who are seeking to further education. - [April Ministry Update -Video](https://sukofamily.org/april-ministry-update-video/) - I hope that you had a great Resurrection Sunday! We are still looking forward to celebrating the resurrection here in Ukraine on May 5th. Find out why we celebrate on different dates here. March kept us on our feet with two new Bible schools starting and a big blizzard that changed many of our plans. - [Caleb's New Book on Amazon](https://sukofamily.org/calebs-new-book-free-on-amazon/) - My new book is free on Amazon today and Sunday only. I'd really like you to take the chance to download it while it's free. My desire is that it be a useful tool. - [Unexpected Ministry ](https://sukofamily.org/unexpected-ministry/) - Being flexible as a missionary is important. I can't even count how many times I've been presented with an unexpected ministry opportunity and had to make an on the spot decision to jump in or not. This weekend was no exception. I had planned to visit the church plant in the village up Lemani yesterday - [Our Yard in Winter](https://sukofamily.org/our-yard-in-winter/) - [March Ministry Update -Video](https://sukofamily.org/march-ministry-update-video/) - Spring is already here in Odessa, Ukraine. It marks the beginning of a new season and also the beginning of a couple of new Bible Schools right here in Odessa! - [The Absolute Best Form of Communication](https://sukofamily.org/the-absolute-best-form-of-communication/) - Recently I realized that I am overloaded with methods of communication. I have 3 mobile phone #s and 2 regular phone #s. You can also reach me on skye or... - [How to Use Audio for Scripture Memory](https://sukofamily.org/how-to-use-audio-for-scripture-memory/) - God's Word spoken is powerful, Scripture memorized and then spoken has twice the effect. Listening to the Bible on audio is one of my favorite ways to consume - [Good-bye to an American Hero](https://sukofamily.org/good-bye-to-an-american-hero/) - Last week America lost a hero but you probably didn't hear about it. His name was William crooks. He was a husband, a father and a US Marine. - [Why You Should Look Up More Often](https://sukofamily.org/why-you-should-look-up-more-often/) - I like to watch clouds. I especially enjoy the skies when the seasons change from winter to spring. During this time of year the heavens are constantly changing. It's like God is daily conducting a silent symphony in the sky. The problem is that we are often so busy with a myriad of insignificant tasks - [SELAH: Book Review](https://sukofamily.org/selah-book-review/) - SELAH: A 90-Day Journey of Grace and Hope If you're looking for a good devotional to get you through the next few months you should check out what my friend Joseph Iregbu has just published. I had a hard time reading just one devotional each day from this book. Every time I picked it up - [10 Ways You Might be Breaking the 3rd Commandment](https://sukofamily.org/10-ways-you-might-be-breaking-the-3rd-commandment/) - Exodus 20:7 "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. It’s the 3rd commandment and most people think it’s a prohibition of uttering the Lord’s name in a careless way. We should use the Lord’s name - [False Guilt -Get Rid of It Now!](https://sukofamily.org/false-guilt-get-rid-of-it-now/) - Did you know that it's possible to feel guilty when you have done absolutely nothing worng? It's called false guilt and most of us experience it. - [10 Misconceptions About Preaching](https://sukofamily.org/10-misconceptions-about-preaching/) - I once heard someone say that preaching is sometimes like a university lecture, where the information passes from the notes of the professor to the notes of - [3 Dangers of Success and How to Avoid Them](https://sukofamily.org/3-dangers-of-success-and-how-to-avoid-them/) - We often don't think about it but success can be more dangerous than failure. It's during the times when life seems to be humming along at a perfect rate - [Your Book Suggestions for 2013](https://sukofamily.org/your-book-suggestions-for-2013/) - I need you to help me figure out what to read and what to review in 2013. As a way of encouraging myself, and hopefully others, to read more in the New Year - [The Hole in Our Holiness: Book Review](https://sukofamily.org/the-hole-in-our-holiness-book-review/) - When we think about holiness what often comes to mind is a bunch of 1950's era Christians condemning men for hair that creeps over the collar and women for skirts that creep up above the knee! Maybe that's why holiness is not very popular in the pulpits of "cutting edge" churches today. But is - [Deep and Wide: Creating Churches for the Unchurched -Book Review](https://sukofamily.org/deep-and-wide-creating-churches-for-the-unchurched-book-review/) - If you're a church leader then you'll certainly want to check this book out. It's not every day that the pastor of one of the biggest churches in America... - [The 5th Commandment, it's not just for Kids!](https://sukofamily.org/the-5th-commandment-its-not-just-for-kids/) - Honoring parents is one of the most godly things we can do unfortunately many think this commandment only applies to young children. - [Update on Seminars and Prayer Requests for January](https://sukofamily.org/update-on-seminars-and-prayer-requests-for-january/) - I pray that your 2013 is starting out in a very blessed way. It's time for me to share with you again what God has been up to over the past month and a few ways - [Family Ministry](https://sukofamily.org/family-ministry/) - I want to introduce you to a new ministry in our church. The family ministry team started a few months ago and I'm really grateful for them. - [Why Memorize Scripture](https://sukofamily.org/why-memorize-scripture/) - Recently I decided it was time for me to stop being a hypocrite to my children and start being an example. I realized that in the past few years - [Suko Kids on Life in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/suko-kids-on-life-in-ukraine/) - Suko Kids on Life in UkraineToday I interviewed 4 of our 5 kids (Nickolas was sleeping) about life in Ukraine. They answered the following questions; - [Thank You for Your Support in 2012!](https://sukofamily.org/thank-you-for-your-support-in-2012/) - Christina and I want to express our gratitude for all our faithful supporters who sacrificially gave in 2012. Your sacrifice allows us to focus our attention on - [Why We Celebrate Christmas on January 7th](https://sukofamily.org/why-we-celebrate-christmas-on-january-7th/) - I'm still surprised by how many people don't know that December 25th is not Christmas in Ukraine! When I tell them that we celebrate on January 7th - [CMI Leaders Meet in Carpathians](https://sukofamily.org/what-did-you-do-significant-last-year/) - This past week Christina and I traveled to Western Ukraine for a 3 day retreat with the CMI leadership team. Our goal was to specifically plan how we can more effectively train new leaders in churches in Ukraine and Moldova. One hurdle that many churches struggle with is the availability good theological training for their - [How did God Use You Last Year?](https://sukofamily.org/how-did-god-use-you-last-year/) - Sometimes we get so caught up in life that we fail to stop and look back at what God has done. January is a great time to review how God has worked in you and - [Orthodox Christmas (January 7th)](https://sukofamily.org/orthodox-christmas-january-7th/) - We had planned to head out to the village of Makarovo to celebrate Christmas with them on (Christmas is celebrated here on January 7th.) However, it was snowing pretty heavily when we were getting ready to leave. We decided to try to see if we could make it despite the snow. Below are a - [4 Things You Will Not Regret in the New Year](https://sukofamily.org/4-things-you-will-not-regret-in-the-new-year/) - I decided not to make any New Years resolutions this year for 2 reasons. 1. Somehow I got put in charge of our churches New Years celebration so I've been... - [Pass the Baton Please](https://sukofamily.org/pass-the-baton-please/) - We ended our training this week with a baton passing ceremony. Each missionary involved in the training this week received a baton with the words "My Vision, My Heart, My Life" engraved on it. The objective is to find someone to disciple and train to whom you can then pass the baton on to. It - [Ministry in Faleshti, Moldova](https://sukofamily.org/ministry-in-faleshti-moldova/) - Update on weekend ministry with Vasiliy Kaletnik in Faleshti Moldova. - [4 Things a Preacher Should Never Do](https://sukofamily.org/4-things-a-preacher-should-never-do/) - I've made my share of preaching mistakes so here are my top 4 things that a preacher should never do! - [In Cherkassy](https://sukofamily.org/in-cherkassy/) - I made it to Cherkassy this morning on the train. The train arrived just after 5:00 am. It was very hot when I boarded the train in Odessa and I was expecting a long and hot night. However, as we headed north the weather got cooler and there was a big thunderstorm. By the time - [Three day fast and prayer/Трехдневный пост и молитва](https://sukofamily.org/three-day-fast-and-prayerтрехдневный-пост-и-молитва/) - Dear Friends, Brothers and Sisters! We ask you this week to support us with fasting and prayer for the health of minister Peter Konstantinovich Rodoslavov. We believe and we know that everything is in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. By looking at Jesus ministry on the earth we see that the first thing - [So How was Your Christmas?](https://sukofamily.org/so-how-was-your-christmas/) - Christmas is over, at least in the West. The day after Christmas shouldn't be a downer. It should be just as joyful as the day before Christmas! - [Merry Christmas!](https://sukofamily.org/merry-christmas-3/) - May you and your family have a blessed Christmas celebration as we remember the birth of our Savior together. Merry Christmas! Caleb, Christina, Naomi, Mishael, Noelle, Anastasia - [Merry Christmas](https://sukofamily.org/merry-christmas-2/) - [Merry Christmas!](https://sukofamily.org/merry-christmas/) - [Training the Disciple Makers](https://sukofamily.org/training-the-disciple-makers/) - This week, Misha, myself and our guest -Gil did some Good Soil training at our institute here in Odessa. - [2 Days with 25 Church Leaders](https://sukofamily.org/2-days-with-25-church-leaders/) - I have to say "thank you!"' to all who were praying for us this past weekend. Misha and I traveled to the city of Nickolaev, about 2 hours from Odessa. We were invited to share the Good Soil evangelism and discipleship seminar with a group of church leaders from the region. We were expecting about - [Why You're Not Getting The Rest You Need](https://sukofamily.org/why-youre-not-getting-the-rest-you-need/) - Have you ever wondered why you don't feel rested after a night of sleep or why you can't keep going unless you are continually dumping coffee down your throat? - [December Video Update](https://sukofamily.org/december-video-update/) - It's December and that means it's time to let you know what we have been doing for the past month and how you can pray for us! - [Peter Rodoslavov a short biography](https://sukofamily.org/peter-rodoslavov-a-short-biography/) - Today our church is remembering Pastor Peter Rodoslavov who died just over a year ago. He was a humble servant of God - [The Lie that Kills Thanksgiving](https://sukofamily.org/the-lie-that-kills-thanksgiving/) - Have you ever noticed that one of the first words a child learns is "mine"? It's a word that they just pick up on their own without any prodding from - [When to Quit Working](https://sukofamily.org/when-to-quit-working/) - I'll admit it sometimes I work too much! If I'm not working then I'm busy with family, church, homeschooling, hobbies and "honey-do" lists! That makes it... - [5 причин, почему не стоит покупать новые вещи](https://sukofamily.org/1740/) - Read in English Сейчас сезон материализма, и появляется в нас желания купить новую вещь! Мы хотим вещи, которые обещают сделать нашу жизнь лучше и увлекательней. Мы думаем, что мы не можем жить без этой вещи, однако мы жили без нее всю нашу жизнь до этого момента. Прежде чем следовать за торговыми центрами и интернет магазинами, здесь есть - [Why We are Thankful!](https://sukofamily.org/why-we-are-thankful/) - This is a good time for each member of our family to share with you some concrete things that we are thankful for. I am personally grateful that... - [November Video Update](https://sukofamily.org/november-video-update/) - In this update you will learn about our institute's open house. You will also find out how our annual conference went and more! - [Pussy Riot and Preaching the Gospel](https://sukofamily.org/pussy-riot-and-preaching-the-gospel/) - How should christians react to the 2 year sentence given to the punk rock group Pussy Riot for signing and anti Putin song? - [Give Back Friday](https://sukofamily.org/give-back-friday/) - Let's forget the greed and selfishness of "Black Friday" and turn it on its head with "Give Back Friday"! A time to sacrifice and give. - [The Most Important Principle of Child Raising](https://sukofamily.org/the-most-important-principle-of-child-raising/) - What is the single most important principle of child raising? Is it loving your child, keeping discipline or teaching biblical principles? My answer is "no"! - [4 Reasons to Not Go to Church](https://sukofamily.org/4-reasons-to-not-go-to-church/) - Have you ever woken up on Sunday morning and just not felt like going to church? I have and in those moments I can usually come up with a few great .... - [What's the Deal with Fasting?](https://sukofamily.org/whats-the-deal-with-fasting/) - I'll admit it, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving because I really love food! Just take a look at the picture below and that should settle all doubts! - [This is Why](https://sukofamily.org/this-is-why/) - Video overview of the ministry of Caleb and Christina Suko in Odessa Ukraine. - [Obertin -There's No Church Here!](https://sukofamily.org/obertin-theres-no-church-here/) - Mikhael has lived in Obertin all his life, several years ago he became a follower of Jesus and now he wants to start a church in his hometown! - [Blowout!](https://sukofamily.org/blowout/) - A little report from our trip to Bulgaria and the blowout we had on the way home. - [Visas, Registration and Chronological Bible Teaching](https://sukofamily.org/visas-registration-and-chronological-bible-teaching/) - October video update for Caleb and Christina Suko serving in Odessa, Ukraine - [Peter's Funeral](https://sukofamily.org/peters-funeral/) - Here are just a few shots from Peter Rodoslavov's funeral, which took place on Friday in Odessa, Ukraine. I am guessing there were around 700 that gathered in the yard of our church. Thankfully, the Lord prepared a very beautiful November day. There were at least 50 ministers that showed up at the funeral - [Baptism in the Black Sea](https://sukofamily.org/baptism-in-the-black-sea/) - Our church baptized 3 people this past Sunday in the Black Sea, we also prayed for the students who are starting the school year. - [Carpathian Mountains Conference](https://sukofamily.org/carpathian-mountains-conference-and-elections-in-ukraine/) - Update on elections in Ukraine and Bible school conference in the Carpathian mountains. - [A Hero's Honor - Sgt Gabriel DeRoo](https://sukofamily.org/a-heros-honor-sgt-gabriel-de-roo/) - In Memory of Gabriel DeRoo April 1st 1981 - August 20th 2006 A loving husband, father, son, and noble hero, is now at rest with his Savior in heaven. Gabriel was born April 1, 1981, to David and Laura DeRoo, and he grew up in Paw Paw, Michigan. As a teenager he entrusted his life - [Thanksgiving in 2 Countries](https://sukofamily.org/120/) - We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parent's house, even though they were out of the country. All my brothers and sisters were there, except for Rachel. Mishael and my parents enjoyed their Thanksgiving my Christina's parents and my sister Rachel and her husband Mike in Kiev. Unfortunately they couldn't find a turkey, so they had - [Elections and CMI Conference](https://sukofamily.org/elections-and-cmi-conference/) - It seems like everyone has been talking about the elections but did you know that tomorrow is voting day? However, unless you are - [Missions Roundtable](https://sukofamily.org/missions-roundtable-2/) - Around 50 participants from over 14 countries: Ukraine, Russia, Slovakia, Poland, Albania, Israel, Croatia, Bosnia, -----stan, Hungary, USA, Canada, Moldova and Romania. - [Celebrating 6 Years with a 3rd Culture Kid](https://sukofamily.org/celebrating-6-years-with-a-3rd-culture-kid/) - Today we celebrated Anastasia's 6th birthday. I started thinking about it and realized that she has spent almost all of her life in Ukraine. - [Anastasia Grace](https://sukofamily.org/anastasia-grace/) - We are thank the Lord for increasing the size of our family by giving us little Anastasia Grace. We went to the midwife's Friday evening to see if Christina was ready. After looking at her the midwife said that she wasn't quite ready. Because the other 3 children were already spending the night with my - [Quadruple Birthday](https://sukofamily.org/quadruple-birthday/) - This past Friday we celebrated four birthday's all at once. Naomi turned 7 on August 5th and Caleb turned 29 on August 6th. We also celebrated Caleb's Mom's birthday which is also in August and Naomi's cousin Rachelle who will be 6 this month. - [Anastasia's First Birthday!](https://sukofamily.org/anastasias-first-birthday/) - This evening we celebrated Anastasia's first birthday with a few friends. - [The Loss of Responsibility](https://sukofamily.org/the-loss-of-responsibility/) - Have you noticed lately that there are fewer and fewer people who are willing to take responsibility for anything? Recently I've noticed this in politics - [Good Soil in Kiev](https://sukofamily.org/good-soil-in-kiev/) - This morning I arrived in Kiev to take part in our first Ukrainian led "Good Soil" seminar. I had originally planned to drive, but when the snow started coming down on Thursday we changed our plans and bought a train ticket. The memories of last Decemberare still fresh in our minds! I am very grateful - [Victory day, doctors and more](https://sukofamily.org/victory-day-doctors-and-more/) - For info on how to sponsor the church leadership retreat - [Mens and Womens Fellowship](https://sukofamily.org/mens-and-womens-fellowship/) - Christina and I have been leading this monthly meeting for fellowship for some time now. Christina has been going through Proverbs 31 and I have been using Stuart Scotts book "The Excellent Husband". We look forward to this time every month. How thankful we are for the brothers and sisters God has given us in - [500 Kids and a Broken Wrist](https://sukofamily.org/500-kids-and-a-broken-wrist/) - Medical outreach in SahanskoeMedical outreach in Lemani To sponsor the camp for orphan boys - [My Involuntary Vow of Silence](https://sukofamily.org/my-involuntary-vow-of-silence/) - A few lessons I learned when completely lost my voice for 2 days. - [CMI Open House](https://sukofamily.org/cmi-open-house/) - Update on our institute's open house, which we did for the first time this month. - [My Vote for Teacher of the Year](https://sukofamily.org/my-vote-for-teacher-of-the-year/) - In honor of World Teacher Day, which is today, I decided to submit my nomination for teacher of the year. - [Ministry in Moldova and CMI Open House](https://sukofamily.org/ministry-in-moldova-and-cmi-open-house/) - Va salut cu pacea Domnului! Now if you can tell me what language that is in and more importantly what it means then let me know in the comments below. Ministry in Moldova My parents were here for about 10 days in August and we traveled together to visit their sister church in the village - [A New Pastor and Church Camp](https://sukofamily.org/a-new-pastor-and-church-camp/) - Dear friends, On July 8th our church ordained Mikhael Rodoslavov for the ministry of pastor. This was the first ordination in our church and it signifies a great step. About 500 people showed up for the event, which we held outdoors despite 95° temperatures! After the service we treated everyone to some good Ukrainian plov (rice - [When Being a Dad is not Enough](https://sukofamily.org/when-being-a-dad-is-not-enough/) - Men need to be fathers, not just dads. The word "father" is also a verb that signifies the work involved in fatherhood. - [2 Weddings in 1 Day](https://sukofamily.org/2-weddings-in-1-day/) - So what did I do on Saturday? Well, among other things I officiated two weddings! Dima surprised his finance Ivanka with a short beach wedding just outside of Odessa on the shore of the Black Sea. After we took a few pictures on the beach we headed back to town for the main wedding ceremony - [The 3 Greatest Lessons My Parents Taught Me](https://sukofamily.org/three-of-the-greatest-lessons-my-parents-taught-me/) - This evening I received the following email from my mom: Last week in Sunday School Graham gave a good challenge for us--a question to ask our grown kids. What were the 3 most important things I taught you when you were growing up? I'll look forward to hearing what you have to say--even though it - [Grandparents and Grandchildren ](https://sukofamily.org/grandparents-and-grandchildren/) - I don't think there is anything in this world better than a visit from Grandma and Grandpa! The last 10 days provided many wonderful experiences for our children and for my parents. Christina's parents are only about a five-minute walk from our house so that meant plenty of grandparent and grandchildren time for everyone! My - [2 Villages, 1 Birthday and Many Blessings!](https://sukofamily.org/2-villages-one-birthday-and-many-blessings/) - Weekend ministry with parents in two villages with lots of pictures. - [The Laying on of Hands](https://sukofamily.org/the-laying-on-of-hands/) - Ordination of pastor at Hope for People church Odessa, Ukraine and description of how the ordination process differs from how it is done in the US. - [Hope for the Young and the Old](https://sukofamily.org/hope-for-the-young-and-the-old/) - Showing the love of Jesus to orphans and to the elderly is what this group came to do. - [Euro 2012 Update and More](https://sukofamily.org/euro-2012-update-and-more/) - The best thing about June for us was the celebration of our 15th wedding anniversary. Besides the gray hair God has also blessed us with five children and I am so thankful for my wife and my partner Christina, she has been a wonderful help to me over the past 15 years. I've learned a - [Mishael Turns 10](https://sukofamily.org/mishael_turns_10/) - Today we celebrated two birthdays in Ukraine. Mishael turned 10 and my new nephew in Kiev was born to my sister Rachel. Mishael was pretty happy to share his birthday with his cousin. In case you're wondering what a birthday party is like in our house check out the video below. In case you're wondering - [Celebrating July 4th in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/celebrating-july-4th-in-ukraine/) - We celebrated Independence Day with other Americans at a WWII memorial park - [Everyone Say "Cheese"! June Family Picture](https://sukofamily.org/everyone-say-cheese-june-family-picture/) - We finally rounded up all the kids for another Suko family photo and this is how it came out. If you'd like to download a hi-res version you can do that here. I hope you enjoy it and most importantly I hope that you will use this picture as a reminder to keep our family - [Pray for Euro 2012 Soccer Championship](https://sukofamily.org/pray-for-euro-2012-soccer-championship/) - Prayers needed for student outreach during the Euro 2012 in Kharkov, Ukraine. - [Resurrection Sunday in Odessa](https://sukofamily.org/resurrection-sunday-in-odessa/) - What was great about celebrating the resurrection here in Odessa Ukraine? Enjoying the walk to church with my beautiful wife! The fam, minus Anastasia who is with Ukrainian grandparents in Cherkassy A full service at our church "Hope for People" People enjoying the beautiful weather outside the church after the service. Matching kids. Sisters having fun. Children's - [Small Group](https://sukofamily.org/small-group/) - There seems to be more and more little ones showing up at small group. - [Spring at the CMI](https://sukofamily.org/spring-at-the-cmi/) - Spring has finally sprung here in Odessa. It is wonderful to see the blossoms and feel the warm sun on our backs for a change! Below are some pictures I took around the institute property. - [Our Visit to Makarovo](https://sukofamily.org/our-visit-to-makarovo/) - Last Sunday our family visited the church in the small village of Makarova. It is a farm land so they have lots of ducks and geese and many more animals there. I also have a friend named, Vitya who lives there, he is the pastor's son. They have a small church of about 20 people - [Learn Russian -Lesson #1](https://sukofamily.org/learn-russian-lesson-1/) - In this lesson we learn: Hello -Привет My name is_____ -Меня зовут _____ what is your name? Как тебя зовут? - [In the House of Mourning](https://sukofamily.org/in-the-house-of-mourning/) - It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Ecclesiasties 7:2 I have always told people that I would rather preach at a funeral than at a wedding. Why? - [The Final Mission](https://sukofamily.org/the-final-mission/) - Did he know that the next flag folding ceremony he would be part of would be at his own funeral? Did he know he was on his final mission? I am not sure, but… - [Furshet](https://sukofamily.org/furshet/) - Today we visited the supermarket in Cherkassy. It is called "Furshet". I was able to take some pictures on the first floor where they have everything you would have in a regular supermarket. Upstairs they have, furniture, clothing, electronics and household appliances. When I tried to take some pictures there they didn't allow me. I - [When You don't Feel Like being a Mother](https://sukofamily.org/when-you-dont-feel-like-being-a-mother/) - The birthrate in our church is rising and that means I get asked to speak at baby showers a lot more often. In the past week and a half I spoke at two! Below are a few pictures from our latest baby shower. This is Alona's second and this time it's a girl! I encouraged - [Easter in Cherkassy and Mayovka](https://sukofamily.org/easter-in-cherkassy-and-mayovka/) - Suko Family News April 2012 Христос воскрес, воистину воскрес! Christ is risen, He is risen indeed! I hope you had a great celebration of the resurrection of Jesus this month. I had the privilege of traveling to Cherkassy with my in-laws and spending Easter at House of Gospel Church. This year we celebrated Easter - [Abortion Prevention Counselor Training](https://sukofamily.org/abortion-prevention-counselor-training/) - Training women to counsel girls in a pregnancy care center in Odessa Ukraine that will work in partnership with local churches. - [My Third Marriage!](https://sukofamily.org/my-third-marriage/) - Yes, you read that right, It's my third marriage and that doesn't included the two marriages I had in the US before moving to Ukraine. Honestly, it's a great privilege to take a small part at the beginning of a relationship that was sanctioned by God Himself! Out of the five marriages that I have - [BT Graduation](https://sukofamily.org/bt-graduation/) - Here are a few pictures from my two brothers graduation from basic training at Fort Benning, GA. Me with my three younger brothers. From left to right; Nehemiah, Ezra, Elijah and I. - [Mayovka - Church Picnic](https://sukofamily.org/mayovka-church-picnic/) - Yesterday our church held a "mayovka" which is traditional picnic that usually takes place in the first part of May. The last couple of years I haven't been able to make it to the mayovka so I was excited to go. The theme this year was "family" and we had a lot of families show - [English Club](https://sukofamily.org/english-club-2/) - At our church, Nadezhda Lyudyam (Hope For People), every Saturday, there is an English club called "Club OK!" We invite teens and kids to learn the language better. The Ukrainian and Russian schools here usually give English lessons but they don't have much practice. We hope that this club will encourage the children to excel - [Pan Flute](https://sukofamily.org/pan-flute/) - The musical group, Pavel, played several songs for us on Sunday night. This is a Russian hymn called "Praise God"( Pavel Poznyak -guitar, Benjamin Mazur -pan flute, Lilia Ibulaeva -violin) "Славьте Богу" участие музыкальной группы "Павел" (Павел Позняк - гитара, Вениамин Мазур - наи, Лилия Ибулаева - скрипка) - [Guests from Jerusalem](https://sukofamily.org/guests-from-jerusalem/) - 2 Firsts in 1 Month! Your prayers helped me finish teaching Basic Bible Doctrines class this month and now you can keep praying for those students as they work on their class projects. This was my first time to teach a CMI class in Russian, thus your prayers were much needed for me and for - [Wet Campers and Student Missionaries](https://sukofamily.org/wet-campers-and-student-missionaries/) - [A Visitor](https://sukofamily.org/a-visitor/) - It was nice to have Christina's brother, Serj, at our place today. He was on his way back home from Moldova where he photographed our student missions trip and did some video, which will come out later. We are thankful for his great skills in photography and design. If you need any kind of design - [Baby Dedication](https://sukofamily.org/baby-dedication/) - Baby dedication at church this morning. - [Student Missions](https://sukofamily.org/student-missions/) - Last month 8 Ukrainians, 8 Moldovians and 4 Romanians gathered on the bank of the Dnister river with one common goal -to share the Good News of forgivness through Jesus Christ in the village of Chimichen. Not long ago one of the villagers, Ioan, trusted in Christ as his savior while traveling abroad. The Lord - [Why I came to Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/why-i-came-to-ukraine/) - "Why did you come to Ukraine?" I was asked by one of the mothers as I drove a van load of kids out to camp last month. The mother, who was a self proclaimed atheist, couldn't imagine why someone would want to leave their home country and come halfway across the world. Her question provided - [Church camp and students crossing boarders](https://sukofamily.org/church-camp-and-students-crossing-boarders/) - [Mission Moldova](https://sukofamily.org/mission-moldova/) - A short video from the CMI's frist international missions trip. Support the CMI's efforts in raising up Ukrainian missionaries through "U-can do it!" - [1st Grade](https://sukofamily.org/1st-grade/) - This past Sunday our church prayed for the children who will be starting up school again. As you can see, we have a lot of kids in our church! It was a special day for Noelle because she is entering 1st grade this year, which is a very big deal here. Noelle recited a poem - [Youth Group](https://sukofamily.org/youth-group-2/) - [Men's Fellowship](https://sukofamily.org/mens-fellowship-2/) - Men's Fellowship at Hope for People Church in Odessa Ukraine. This year we are going through the book of Proverbs. - [Baptism in Sahanskoe](https://sukofamily.org/baptism-in-sahanskoe/) - This past Sunday I had the privilege of participating in a baptismal service for brother Ivan from the village of Sahanskoe. The service was conducted on the shore of a small lake a few miles outside of the village. Thankfully, the sun came out and warmed things up just a bit for the baptism. Vasiliy - [Church on Saturday!](https://sukofamily.org/church-on-saturday/) - Yes, church on Saturday. My kids were a bit surprised we I told them we were going to a church service and it wasn't even Sunday yet. We visited the village of Lemani were Pastor Anatoliy and his wife are hard at work in a brand new church plant. They conduct the main worship service - [A Prayer for Benjamin](https://sukofamily.org/a-prayer-for-benjamin/) - I Had the privledge of praying a prayer of blessing for little Benjamin this Sunday. Of course, I also prayed for his parents, Pasha and Olya. It reminded me of how much I need to be praying for the 5 children that God has given to Christina and me and the importance of "instilling" God's - [Lemani Church Plant](https://sukofamily.org/lemani-church-plant-2/) - Pray for Anatoliy and Alla as they work in the new church plant in the village of Lemani. If you are interested in a sister church relationship, please contact us https://sukofamily.org - [I am the Way!](https://sukofamily.org/i-am-the-way/) - [Training the Trainers](https://sukofamily.org/training-the-trainers/) - About 15 men gathered last week at the CMI's international training center for our annual Bible school directors and teachers conference.President John Taylor started the conference off with thought provoking questions on our philosophy of teaching. Chris Hindal, director of international ministries for GARBC was our guest this year. He shared with us how God - [Harvest Celebration](https://sukofamily.org/harvest-celebration/) - Today our church celebrated Harvest, this is a time when we thank the Lord for all He has provided for us and it is also a time when we remember the law of sowing and reaping. We will always reap what we sow whether good or bad. Together with my three girls we shared a - [A Root our of dry ground](https://sukofamily.org/a-root-our-of-dry-ground/) - [Peter Goes Home](https://sukofamily.org/434/) - Tuesday morning just before our Missions Roundtable was about to start we were informed of the death of Pastor Peter Rodoslavov.Short biography (in Russian)Information on services (also in Russian) - [There is no church here!](https://sukofamily.org/there-is-no-church-here/) - There is no church in Shamanovka or New Kubanka but, thankfully, due to the hard work of the medical ministry and the partnership of a local church in a nearby village there are now believers in both villages. The first week of August our team hosted Dr. Naramore and his daughter Jessica they were able - [Merry Christmas!](https://sukofamily.org/merry-christmas-4/) - May Christ be at the center of your celebration this year. Christmas blessings from the Suko family. PS Sorry about the snowflakes, I know it looks a little corny but just couldn't resist. - [Peter Rodoslavov's Final Sermon](https://sukofamily.org/peter-rodoslavovs-final-sermon/) - Just 2 days before his death Peter preached this sermon at Tabernacle Church in downtown Odessa, a church that he planted 15 years ago. - [Giving Thanks in Suffering](https://sukofamily.org/giving-thanks-in-suffering/) - This was Peter's last sermon in our church which he gave on Oct 24th 2011. He died just 8 days later on November 1st. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to serve with him for the past 4 years here in Ukraine. - [November Update](https://sukofamily.org/november-update/) - Thanksgiving in Suffering This month started out on a sad note for us. I got the news that Pastor Peter had died just as we were starting our Missions roundtable. We had to leave the roundtable a little early to make it back to Odessa in time for the funeral. Around 700 people gathered - [2011 in 2min 11sec](https://sukofamily.org/2011-in-2min-11sec/) - Thank you for all your love and support in 2011!January -Kids camp-Good Soil in Kremunchug February -Missions course at CMI March -Women's conference -Preachers training -Good Soil in Odessa April -Ressurection Sunday Pictures Video May -Village OutreachesMakarovo Sahanskoe Lemani June -Men's and Women's Fellowship -International Children's Day July-Student Mission trip to Moldova Pictures Video August-Church camp -Village outreach in Shamanovka and Nova KubankaSeptember-Baptism in Sahanskoe -"Why we are here" October-Training the Trainers -Harvest Celebration November-Missions Roundtable -Peter's Homegoing December-Good Soil in Cherkassy -Merry Christmas! - [First Time Teaching](https://sukofamily.org/january-ministry-update/) - Surprise Guests We celebrate Christmas here on January 7th. This year my parents decided to surprise the grandkids by showing up unannounced on Christmas morning. As you can imagine our children were delighted to wake up and find Grandma and Grandpa at our place. The next day both my dad and I preached in the - [Good Soil in Chisinau](https://sukofamily.org/february-update/) - A Snowy Road to Chisinau Friday morning I went to the bus station in Odessa but when I got there I found out there were no buses going to Chisinau because of snow. After a few cold hours of waiting a bus finally pulled up. Pastor Eduard met me in Chisinau and he who was - [Western Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/western-ukraine/) - After the pastor's prayer meeting Christina and I met with Volodya. He is a church planter who is currently planting his second church in Kiev. The first church he planted was in Rovna, Western Ukraine. He planted the church in Rovna about 6 years ago and now it has around 800 people. 3 years ago - [Ministry Challenges](https://sukofamily.org/ministry-challenges/) - Tomorrow we are scheduled to be at Sleater-Kinney Baptist Church in Olympia, WA. We also had asked Caleb’s brother, Joshua, and his family to join us and to take some new pictures for our website. Everything was going according to the plan, when the cold struck. We only wish it was the atmospheric cold!!! Every - [October Video Update](https://sukofamily.org/october-video-update/) - Prayer Requests for Missions Roundtable1) Nothing to prevent anyone from attending who is currently registered.2) Visas still needed by a few participants.3) Presenters making final preparations for their participation.4) God to prepare our hearts to hear His voice, and see with His eyes, our world's condition.5) For good connections to be made, and relationships formed - [On a Walk](https://sukofamily.org/on-a-walk/) - Out for a walk with my two youngest on a hot sunny July day here in Odessa. - [Translation Team](https://sukofamily.org/translation-team/) - Christina working with the translation team on the Good Soil project at the CMI facility in Odessa. - [The Truth](https://sukofamily.org/the-truth/) - Naomi, Mishael and Noelle have been enjoying some time in Cherkassy with their grandparents. This past week they participated in a VBS program called "The Truth". Naomi even helped out as an interpreter! - [International Children's Day](https://sukofamily.org/international-childrens-day/) - Today we celebrated "International Protection of Children Day". With the help of another church we had a giant outdoor celebration with games, face painting, ice cream, cotton candy, clowns, and me on my unicycle. I am not really sure how many children showed up. They told me that they registered 400 kids before they had - [Noelle's take on Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/noelles-take-on-ukraine/) - Noelle answers a few questions about her life in Ukraine. - [Medical Outreach in Lemani](https://sukofamily.org/medical-outreach-in-lemani/) - May 20th our medical team visited the village of Lemani which is about 1.5 hours from Odessa on an estuary of the Black Sea. Pastor Anotoliy and his wife Alla have been working to plant a church in the village for the past couple of years. They hold services each Friday and Saturday and then - [Medical Outreach in Sahanskoe](https://sukofamily.org/medical-outreach-in-sahanskoe/) - May 19th our medical team visited the village of Sahanskoe which is about 2 hours from Odessa. This village has a small house church led by two men, Styopa and Misha. The clinic took place in the house church as an outreach of that local church. Thanks to our guest dentist, Dale and his wife - [Makarovo in May](https://sukofamily.org/makarovo-in-may/) - There are about 7 different villages in the Odessa area where our team ministers. It is a bit hard to visit some of the in the winter because of road conditions. Thankfully, this time of year it is much more pleasant to travel and we don't have to worry about snow or mud. Yesterday I - [To the Zoo](https://sukofamily.org/to-the-zoo/) - This past Sunday the church took about 30 kids to the zoo in Nickolaev, about 1.5 hrs from Odessa. Our kids invited a few neighbors to go with them. - [Children's Easter Service](https://sukofamily.org/childrens-easter-service/) - This is our Easter evening service at Hope for People in Odessa, Ukraine. The children's choir performed as well as other numbers by children and a play. I also spoke to the children about the true meaning of Easter.Watch live video from Церковь "Надежда людям", г.Одесса on Justin.tv - [Easter Greetings 2011](https://sukofamily.org/easter-greetings-2011/) - Dear friends, we greet you on this great holiday, Holy Easter!May the Lord bless you so that the hope of His resurrection would be alive in your heart all your life.Thank you for your prayers for us and for our ministry here in Ukraine.Christ is risen!He has risen indeed!Happy Easter from the Suko family! - [Passion Thursday](https://sukofamily.org/passion-thursday/) - Tonight our church is celebrating The Lord's Supper before Easter. Christina and I decided to fast today in preparation for the evening service tonight. Christina also decided to bake Paska bread all day, which wasn't making it any easier for me to stick to our fast! - [Palm Sunday in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/palm-sunday-in-ukraine/) - What happens on Palm Sunday in Ukraine?The children from Sunday School prepared verses to recite and even a violin solo. A donkey showed up at church for the kids to ride on!Everywhere you look people are carrying pussy willows and sometimes flowers too. These babushkas were pleased to have their picture taken with Noelle. After - [April 2011 Update](https://sukofamily.org/april-2011-update/) - Dear Friends, it's April and I am in the city of Cherkassy, Christina's hometown. I want to share with you a few updates and let you know what we are planning for this month.Last month I received something I have been waiting for for a very long time: my permanent residence permit in Ukraine. I - [Blagoveschenie](https://sukofamily.org/blagoveschenie/) - What is Blagoveschenie? Literally it means "Annunciation" and it refers to the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary in Luke chapter 1. It was nice to be in Cherkassy to celebrate this holiday with Christina's home church. Even though I am not Ukrainian I consider Cherkassy to be my Ukrainian hometown. It is always pleasant to - [Ukraine Youth Leaders Round-Table](https://sukofamily.org/ukraine-youth-leaders-round-table/) - Pray for this group of youth leaders from all over Ukraine. I presented the "Good Soil" seminars to them as means to strengthen their youth and increase the effectiveness of their outreach. We also discussed the importance and possibility of Ukrainian youth going on short term mission trips. - [Sunday Snow](https://sukofamily.org/sunday-snow/) - Today we visited our sister church, Tabernacle. It is located in a Christian book store in downtown Odessa.Oleg is the leader of this church. He is also very active in orphan ministry and missions.The Suko kids before the service.During my sermon it started to snow! Noelle was happy to see the big white flakes.Mishael trying - [Empty Church Buildings and Orphans](https://sukofamily.org/empty-church-buildings-and-orphans/) - Yesterday I had the privilege of traveling to the village of Lymanske (about 85km from Odessa) with two guys from our church, Sergei and Kostya. We had been invited for the closing ceremony of a soccer camp that was conducted at a home for boys. This camp was run with the help of the local - [Good Soil in Odessa](https://sukofamily.org/good-soil-in-odessa/) - This weekend around 50 people from half a dozen different churches in the Odessa area gathered at "Hope for People" Church for another "Good Soil" evangelism and discipleship seminar. John, Misha and Caleb taught this seminar together. These tools have been very well received in churches here. After our last seminar in Odessa I heard - [18 Preachers](https://sukofamily.org/18-preachers/) - 18 preachers gathered on Monday night at our church "Hope for People" I taught the first lesson on preaching "What is a Sermon?" The goal is to help them communicate God's Word accurately and apply it to people's lives in a practical way. - [Братское/сестринское, Mens and Womens Fellowship](https://sukofamily.org/братскоесестринское-mens-and-womens-fellowship/) - Once a month our men gather on Sunday night for fellowship. Currently I am teaching a series on "The Excellent Husband" following the book by Stewart Scott. Here is a little glimpse of the men singing before the lesson.Церковь «Надежда людям» — Братское/сестринское - [March Update](https://sukofamily.org/march-update/) - [Head coverings and prayer rugs](https://sukofamily.org/head-coverings-and-prayer-rugs/) - Why were our students wearing head coverings, beanies and kneeling on prayer rugs? It is all part of something called "Kairos" a missions course designed to help students adapt to a different culture and then to accurately share their faith.23 students gathered from all over Ukraine and Moldova for a week long course. This was - [Friends](https://sukofamily.org/friends/) - We are always thankful for the great friends God has given us. here are a few pictures of friends who have visited us or whom we have visited recently.Kolya and YuliaYuri and AlyonaTolic and Natasha, Dima and Vika - [Good Soil in Kremunchug](https://sukofamily.org/good-soil-in-kremunchug/) - The "Good Soil" evangelism and discipleship seminar was taught by CMI president, John Taylor and vice president, Vladimir Nickolaev in the Kremunchug in central Ukraine January 28-29th. 21 students received valuable training in how to effectively communicate the Gospel in any given context. Picture gallery - [Snow Sunday](https://sukofamily.org/snow-sunday/) - [Christmas Kids](https://sukofamily.org/christmas-kids/) - Yesterday we celebrated Christmas with our church family at "Hope for People". What a blessing to be able to worship our Savior with brothers and sisters! I also had the privilege of preaching. I preached about the Simeon from Luke 2:25. He was a righteous and a devout man who waited his entire life for - [Детский лагерь "Christmas Joy"](https://sukofamily.org/детский-лагерь-christmas-joy/) - Winter camp called "Christmas Joy" at Hope for People January 4-6th 2011. - [](https://sukofamily.org/378/) - Today is Christmas eve here in Ukraine. It is also the last day for our winter camp called "Christmas Joy". This afternoon our kids will be taking 5 of our neighbors to the camp. later this evening there will be a closing program for parents. Naomi and Mishael will be playing Mary and Joseph in - [Merry Christmas from the Sukos](https://sukofamily.org/merry-christmas-from-the-sukos/) - [Nice to Have Naska Back!](https://sukofamily.org/nice-to-have-naska-back/) - On the way home from Kiev this week I picked Anastasia (Naska) in Cherkassy where she spent about 6 weeks with her grandparents. - [A Few Good Men](https://sukofamily.org/a-few-good-men/) - A few good men at our annual Bible school conference. Today is the last day of the conference. Please pray for this group of guys as they go back to their churches and schools! - [Light of Life](https://sukofamily.org/light-of-life/) - A cold clear morning on the outskirts of Kiev. Light of Life Church, Kiev I shared a little about the ministry of the CMI and our "Good Soil" seminar.After the service I was able to spend a little time with Vladimir Isaev, CMI's regional director in Kiev region. I filmed short interview with him about - [New School in Varta Moldova](https://sukofamily.org/new-school-in-varta-moldova/) - Please pray for our newest school just started in Varta, Moldova. The pastor and his wife are pictured above. They have a small congregation, however, they are excited about studying God's Word and theology together. Pray that these students would gain a passion for God and for His people. - [Happy Thanksgiving!](https://sukofamily.org/happy-thanksgiving-2/) - [Out the Window #2](https://sukofamily.org/out-the-window-2/) - There is always something interesting going on the street outside our apartment. Below are a few shots I took from our balcony window. No customers yet for this man who sells milk, honey, cream and eggs from the table on the left.Some day I'll get one of these for myself. It looks pretty economical, however, - [Spring of Life Church, Chisinau, Moldova](https://sukofamily.org/spring-of-life-church-chisinau-moldova/) - This school is special in that it teaches our program in two languages: Russian and Romanian. We are working on translating our entire program into Romanian. Please pray for the 25 students who are studying at Spring of Life Church in Chisinau, Moldova. Pray also for Eduard, our regional director in Moldova. - [Fall Medical Team](https://sukofamily.org/fall-medical-team/) - Our fall medical team just finished two weeks of village outreach in 11 different villages. Dr. Jamie Oakman an optometrist came for his fifth visit to Ukraine! He was very popular at all the clinics. In one of the busiest clinics ever he saw around 100 patients in one day! photo galleryНаша осень медицинская команда - [Just the Boys](https://sukofamily.org/just-the-boys/) - It is hard to believe it is still November! Yesterday was another nice warm fall day in Odessa. We attended our church "Hope for People"Трудно верить, что мы в ноябре! Вчера был еще один приятный теплый осенний день в Одессе. Мы посетили нашу церковь "Надежда Людям" - [Anastasia goes to Cherkassy](https://sukofamily.org/anastasia-goes-to-cherkassy/) - Anastasia left for Cherkassy today with her Grandparents.Now it is a little quieter in our house!Анастасия уехала в Черкассы сегодня с бабушкой и дедушкой.Теперь стало немного тише в нашем доме! - [Happy!](https://sukofamily.org/happy/) - Бабушка и дедушка приехали и кто-то радуется!Grandma and Grandpa arrived and someone is happy! - [Flower Sellers](https://sukofamily.org/flower-sellers/) - Very warm fall day here in Odessa 22c/72f. These are the flower sellers across the street from our building. - [Boys Home](https://sukofamily.org/boys-home/) - Sharing with the boys in the Fontanka boys home just outside of OdessaOleg and his wife Lena work with these boys every week.Our guests, Daniel and Sarah also had an opportunity to share. - [Anotoliy and Alla](https://sukofamily.org/anotoliy-and-alla/) - Had a great lunch today with Pastor Anotoliy and his wife Alla. They started Philadelphia church about 12 years ago in Odessa, now they are working on a new church plant in the village of Lemany. Please pray for them as they serve the Lord! - [English Club](https://sukofamily.org/english-club/) - Here is the group that went with us to English club at our church today - [Across the Street](https://sukofamily.org/across-the-street/) - They have been building this large Orthodox church in the park across the street from our building for a few years now. Once the tower is finished it will be the tallest building in our area of town. The Orthodox church always tries to make sure it has the tallest building around so that people - [10 Ways to Pray](https://sukofamily.org/10-ways-to-pray/) - Here are 10 ways you can pray for our ministry and family right now!1. Praise the Lord for a good pastor's conference in early September. Everyone was very excited about the new evangelism and discipleship material called "Good Soil"2. Praise the Lord for all the work that has been completed the Church Minsitries Institute's new - [1st session in the new facility](https://sukofamily.org/1st-session-in-the-new-facility/) - We are very grateful to the Lord for the ability to start the first session in our new facility! Doctor Ted Welch is teaching "Methods of Bible Study" May the Lord bless the 16 students, may He give them wisdom and strength to be use that which they are learning in service to God! - [Village Harvest Celebration](https://sukofamily.org/village-harvest-celebration/) - Had a great day out in Makarovo for harvest celebration! You can find more pictures here - [Grand opening of the new International Training Center](https://sukofamily.org/grand-opening-of-the-new-international-training-center/) - View photo gallery - [Good Soil in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/good-soil-in-ukraine/) - September 7-10 we held our first Good Soil training seminar at Gospel Life Church in Kharkov. Around 40 participants received the basic training to use the Russian editions of "The Story of Hope" and "The Way to Joy". In addition to this about 15 participants stayed for an additional day of training that will enable - [New International Training Center almost finished!](https://sukofamily.org/new-international-training-center-almost-finished/) - [Neighborhood Friends](https://sukofamily.org/neighborhood-friends/) - The summer is winding down so the kids are taking every opportunity to play outside with friends from our apartment building Naomi with a couple girlfriends.This is part of the gang along with Naomi and Mishael. Most days they are found hanging out in the little "yard" in front of our building. We're thankful that - [Wedding Rehearsal](https://sukofamily.org/wedding-rehearsal/) - Christina and I went downtown today with Mishael and Noelle for a wedding rehearsal. Caleb will be doing his first wedding in Ukraine on Saturday for a young man in our church who is marrying a young woman from Latvia. They have also asked Noelle to be the flower girl and Mishael to be the - [Ministry Partners](https://sukofamily.org/ministry-partners/) - For a number of years Oleg has served in our sister church, tabernacle, in downtown Odessa. Although tabernacle is not a large church it is a very active church with ministries that reach all over Ukraine and beyond. This includes serving in several orphanages and a home for the elderly/disabled not to mention short term - [Time for Bible Camp](https://sukofamily.org/time-for-bible-camp/) - This week the kids have been enjoying Bible Camp at Gospel House church in Cherkassy. Tomorrow is the last day. Please pray for the closing program. We have had around 70 kids and tomorrow parents and grandparents are also invited. There are about 10 kids just from our apartment building that have been attending. - [Pray for Peter!](https://sukofamily.org/pray-for-peter/) - Dear friends please pray for Peter, the pastor of our church in Odessa. He was recently diagnosed with cancer. The surgeons have decided that the tumor is to risky to remove, thus he is in the Lord's hands. We were surprised to see him at church this past Sunday. His faith is extremely strong and - [Bearded Brothers](https://sukofamily.org/bearded-brothers/) - Dima and Tolic grew beards to honor my return to Ukraine! - [Hold On!](https://sukofamily.org/hold-on/) - This Tuesday the "Hold On" team arrived in Odessa. Half the team is will is doing free dental work in our village clinics and the other half is doing children's ministry.On Thursday and Friday they ministered in the village of Makarovo. Over the two days they saw about 90 patients. Probably about 80-90% of the - [Worship in the Woods](https://sukofamily.org/worship-in-the-woods/) - This week was church camp for our church her in Odessa. Since we just arrived in Odessa on the day camp started we were not able to attend but we did drive out to the woods on Sunday for the morning worship and some good fellowship afterward. Noelle on the bank of the Tilligulski Estuary. - [Out the Window Today](https://sukofamily.org/out-the-window-today/) - [Sunday Evening Fellowship](https://sukofamily.org/sunday-evening-fellowship/) - We enjoyed a full Sunday today. In the morning I preached at Christina's home church, House of Gospel. It was about 95f so by the time I was finished my shirt was completely soaked. Nevertheless it is a big blessing to be back in Ukraine and with our dearly loved friends and family here in - [We Made It!](https://sukofamily.org/we-made-it/) - A big thanks to everyone who was praying for us as we traveled to Ukraine this week! We arrived safely but a little tired after about 30 hours of traveling on 3 airplanes. Christina's father, Valdimir, met us at the airport. Of course, he was most interested to meet his newest grandson, Nickolas! Anastasia with - [Last Sunday before Ukraine!](https://sukofamily.org/last-sunday-before-ukraine/) - Yes, today is our last Sunday in the US before we return to Ukraine. We had a great time with the people at Bethany Bible up in Kenmore, WA. After the morning service the girls stayed around for a baby shower for this little 7 week old girl! - [Salem](https://sukofamily.org/salem/) - The Shipuks are old friends from our first days in Odessa, Ukraine way back in 1994. It was great to see them again this time in Salem, Oregon. They enjoyed meeting our Nickolas and catching up on all the news from halfway around the world. - [The Ones Who Saved His Life!](https://sukofamily.org/the-ones-who-saved-his-life/) - Christina's brother in the middle with the two guys who got him breathing again after he was pulled out from under the water and brought to the beach. - [Silverdale Baptist](https://sukofamily.org/silverdale-baptist/) - We had a great weekend at Silverdale Baptist, one of our great supporting churches out here on the Peninsula.Caleb, Pastor Barry and Christina after the Sunday morning services. - [Good Soil Update](https://sukofamily.org/good-soil-update/) - I just received word that the final reading for "The Story of Hope" was completed by our team of translators yesterday! All that remains before printing it is to input the final changes into the file.Please pray that everything will be ready to print by early July.You can learn more about this project here - [No More MILK?!](https://sukofamily.org/no-more-milk/) - What do you mean there's no more milk?! - [13 Years!](https://sukofamily.org/13-years/) - So I guess we have beat the odds! 13 years ago we were both teenagers when we entered the wonderful state of marriage. Praise the Lord for his providence in our lives! - [CMI 15th Anniversary Concert](https://sukofamily.org/cmi-15th-anniversary-concert/) - Our hearts were set to worship as we watched Chris’ fingers fly across the keys of the piano with melodies such as “How Firm a Foundation” and “God So Loved the World.” These were definitely fitting songs as we celebrated the 15th anniversary of the CMI (Church Ministries Institute).Between the songs my father, Pastor Mark, - [In Honor of the Fallen](https://sukofamily.org/in-honor-of-the-fallen/) - In honor of the fallen. - [New Life](https://sukofamily.org/new-life/) - This is past weekend was our last in Minnesota. We have had a great time staying with Dick and Joy Ivance. Christina translated for the Ivances about 15 years ago when on one of their first trips to Ukraine. They have continued to travel to Ukraine several times a year since then. Their church, New - [Northfield](https://sukofamily.org/northfield/) - We had a great day yesterday visiting Emmaus Baptist Church in Northfield! - [Mother's Day](https://sukofamily.org/mothers-day/) - Yesterday was a wonderful day as we celebrated Motherhood. I had the privilege of speaking in the morning service at Discovery. What a great time to honor mothers and specifically the two mothers in my life, my mom and my wife! You can download the mp3 here. Nickolas enjoying time with his great, great aunt. - [Double Holiday](https://sukofamily.org/double-holiday/) - Today is a significant holiday both in the former USSR and the USA. Of course, Mother's Day is being celebrated in the USA but in Ukraine and other former Soviet countries May 9th is "Victory Day" over the Axis powers of WWII. "Glory Hill in Cherkassy, Christina's hometown, is a memorial to those who died - [Thuston Community Baptist](https://sukofamily.org/thuston-community-baptist/) - [Iglesia Biblica de Hoquiam](https://sukofamily.org/iglesia-biblica-de-hoquiam/) - What a minute, that isn't Russia or Ukrainian! No, it is actually Spanish. This Sunday we had the privilege of sharing at a new church plant in Hoquiam, Washington that is reaching out to the Spanish speaking community. We had a great time with this group of believers. It was fun to hear praises to - [1st Baptist of Kirkland](https://sukofamily.org/1st-baptist-of-kirkland/) - Yesterday we had a wonderful time visiting our friends at First Baptist in Kirkland. Naomi and Anastasia look excited to get going so early in the morning. Mishael and Noelle got the privileged of sitting next to Nickolas. Noelle and Nickolas getting ready for worship.PS. Last time we visited 1st Baptist in Kirkland they treated - [Visitor from Ukraine!](https://sukofamily.org/visitor-from-ukraine/) - Enjoyed a wonderful visit from one of our partners in Odessa, Oleg Shakayevich! - [Republic](https://sukofamily.org/republic/) - [Team #1](https://sukofamily.org/team-1/) - The first team has arrived and it hard at work at the CMI's new International Training Center. - [California](https://sukofamily.org/california/) - Beautiful Black Butte in Northern California Our wonderful host, Amy Nickolas and Mila were born 10 hours apart. Changing diapers on the go. Oregon Coast - [Hugo](https://sukofamily.org/hugo/) - Had a great evening speaking at Hugo Community Church yesterday. It was great to catch up with Pastor Dan Garland who attended Shasta Bible College with Christina and me. - [Discovery Leadership Retreat](https://sukofamily.org/discovery-leadership-retreat/) - I had a great day yesterday with the leaders of Discovery Baptist Church at their annual leaders retreat. We consider ourselves extremely blessed to have such wonderful church as our sending church.Of course, it wasn't all deep theology we had some good laugh's too. Notice all the facial hair. It seems like my beard might - [Winter!](https://sukofamily.org/winter/) - It has been a long cold winter in Ukraine. Here are some pictures from Christina's parents in Cherkassy to prove it. - [The First Walk](https://sukofamily.org/the-first-walk/) - With such beautiful weather we thought it was time for Nickolas to get outside and go for his first walk with the family. - [Sleep](https://sukofamily.org/sleep/) - Few things compare to the serenity of a fresh little life sleeping on your breast. - [Christ the Rock Blizzard](https://sukofamily.org/christ-the-rock-blizzard/) - Naomi and I attended Awana this evening at Christ the Rock Church in Port Orchard. During council time we shared about our ministry and life in Ukraine. Naomi was such a great help I treated her to a Blizzard on the way home. - [0 Years Old Birthday Party](https://sukofamily.org/0-years-old-birthday-party/) - Just one of many "mothers" for Nickolas.Nickolas enjoying quality time with his big brother.The Suko kids plus a few cousins all celebrating Nickolas' birthday! - [A New Suko!](https://sukofamily.org/a-new-suko/) - Above, Christina looking pretty chipper an hour before the birth.Below, Christina looking even happier 5 mins after the birth. Time to try on his first set of clothes.A proud Papa with child #5 and son #2 Grandpa and Grandma Suko holding their 12th grandchild. The girls having fun comparing their doll to the real thing. - [37 weeks!](https://sukofamily.org/37-weeks/) - [Affliction night at Awana!](https://sukofamily.org/affliction-night-at-awana/) - [New Addition](https://sukofamily.org/new-addition/) - We are working on the new addition which is off of my parents garage. The plan is to have it ready by the time the baby gets here. - [New Glasses](https://sukofamily.org/new-glasses/) - New glasses for Naomi today. Hopefully that will mean no more headaches after reading! - [Baby Shower](https://sukofamily.org/baby-shower/) - The women at our church put on a lovely baby shower for Christina last night. The power went off a couple of times during the party so they had a nice candle lit baby shower. - [Holly Made It!](https://sukofamily.org/holly-made-it/) - Our newest teammate in Odessa finally arrived yesterday afternoon after 3 days of trying to fly in. Praise the Lord that Holly made it. Please pray that God will give her everything she needs as she adjusts to life in Ukraine! She will be working closely with Dr. Miriam Wheeler through our medical clinic outreaches - [Church Christmas Party](https://sukofamily.org/church-christmas-party/) - Today was our churches annual Children's Christmas party. There was a special service for the kids including lots of singing and a skit. The kids were also given a chance to perform their own song or recite a poem. Misheal and Naomi both won a prize for reciting Luke 2:8-14 together. - [С Рождеством Христовом! Merry Christmas!](https://sukofamily.org/с-рождеством-христовом-merry-christmas/) - [Looking out our window](https://sukofamily.org/looking-out-our-window/) - I captured the following shots out our apatment window over the past three days.Sellers on the street below selling fruit, vegitables and meat.Can you identify the cut of meat sitting on the table?Sunrise out our kitchen window. The big stack is where our hot water comes from. - [30 Church Leaders and a Blizzard](https://sukofamily.org/30-church-leaders-and-a-blizzard/) - Once a year we gather our bible school directors and teacher for a time of training, encouragement and fellowship. This we held the conference on the 14-16 of December. We were hit by a blizzard on the 16th, highways were closed, trains were stopped and transportion came to a near standstill as a result most - [Blizzard in Odessa](https://sukofamily.org/blizzard-in-odessa/) - Naomi enjoying herself in the snow. In the park across the street from our place Sleds were the perferred mode of transportation for the 6 and under crowd. Our vehicle was certianly not a perferred mode of transport. It did terrible in the snow. However, it probably didn't help that I still had summer tires - [Bread Line!](https://sukofamily.org/bread-line/) - With all the snow came shortages in bread. It seems the people panicked and when ever a bread truck did arrive there were lines of 100+ people waiting. - [VII Annual Conference](https://sukofamily.org/vii-annual-conference/) - One of the things we look forward to most this time of year is our annual conference for our bible school directors and teachers. It is always exciting to be in the midst of these servants who are faithfully ministering and teaching in their local churches. Tomorrow these men will be gathering from all over - [](https://sukofamily.org/298/) - Pastor Anatoliy is a graduate of the Church Ministries Institute. He is currently invloved in his second church plant. This new church is located in the village of Lemani, about 1.5 hours from Odessa, Ukraine. - [Ms. Potato and Mr. Grape](https://sukofamily.org/ms-potato-and-mr-grape/) - This Sunday we celebrated the last Zhatva of the year in our home church, Hope for People. Naomi and Mishael participated in the children's program. Naomi was a potatoe and Mishael was a cluster of grapes. - [Stuck in Sahanskoe](https://sukofamily.org/stuck-in-sahanskoe/) - Two roads diverged in a yellow field and I, I took the one less traveled by and ... unfortunately that made all the difference!Picking up the medical team at the Odessa airport. The van is more or less clean and at home on asphalt.The main road was full of potholes and I couldn't go more - [A Word from Naomi](https://sukofamily.org/a-word-from-naomi/) - Naomi was kind enough to share with us a little of what she wrote in her diary on Sunday. Below is a picture of Naomi and Noelle standing in front of the opera theater in downtown Odessa on Sunday.The following was written by Naomi:"Today is Sunday -church, I love church! Today we didn't go to - [Zhatva in Makarovo](https://sukofamily.org/zhatva-in-makarovo-2/) - We had a great time yesterday at our first Zhatva (thanksgiving) It rained on Saturday so we weren't sure what the weather would be like. Thankfully, it was a beautiful warm and sunny day! - [Sunday Morning Wedding](https://sukofamily.org/sunday-morning-wedding-2/) - This morning we were invited to attend the wedding for our secretary at the CMI. The wedding cerimony took place as part of the morning worship service in their church. Since we were all dressed up I thought I would take a few pics. - [Yuzhne](https://sukofamily.org/yuzhne/) - This morning I snuck out before sunrise and took a walk down to the Black Sea shore in Yuzhne. I was pleasantly suprised by the beauty of God's creation. What a wonderful setting to read my Bible and pray. - [Shamanovka](https://sukofamily.org/shamanovka/) - The village of Shamanovka is about 25 km outside of Odessa. The only way to get there is by driving throught the fields following the dirt path left by tractors and a few cars. There is no church of any kind in this village. This was the second medical outreach in the village of Shamanovka. - [Pandemomium at our local market](https://sukofamily.org/pandemomium-at-our-local-market/) - Pandemonium broke out just a block from our house in our local market when the market guards began to violently beat people. Unfortunately the police didn't do much to help the situation. - [Long Sunday, wet walk home](https://sukofamily.org/long-sunday-wet-walk-home/) - Our Sunday turned out a bit longer than expected today. After the regular service we had a members meeting that lasted about 4 hours. Unfortunately we had to deal with three seperate discipline issues. Please pray for our church as we try to mercifully deal with sin.On a positive note we also accepted two new - [The Girls Return](https://sukofamily.org/the-girls-return/) - Noelle and Anastasia spent two weeks with Christina's parents in Cherkassy while the rest of us came down to Odessa, got settled in and started with school. Yesterday they arrived home. It is good to have them back. The house isn't as quite any more!We celebrated their return this evening by going for a walk. - [Ukrainian Dead Sea](https://sukofamily.org/ukrainian-dead-sea/) - We went to the Kuyalnik estuary for a picnic to celebrate the first day of school. We found out that Israel really has nothing on Ukraine when it comes to salty bodies of water. The pictures should tell the rest of the story. We had a wonderful time with Naomi and Mishael it was a - [Lemani Church Plant](https://sukofamily.org/lemani-church-plant/) - Yesterday I visited the new church plant in the village of Lemani. This is a medium sized village just off the Black Sea coast between Odessa and Nickolaev. This is the first church this village has ever had. There are not even any churches in the surrounding villages so it is a great place for - [New Suko Family Card!](https://sukofamily.org/new-suko-family-card/) - Click on the card below to download. PDF 1.6MbIf you would like a card mailed to you please send us your address.You can also download a large wallpaper version below. DOWNLOAD 1920x1200 - [Naomi on Life in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/naomi-on-life-in-ukraine/) - Language, clothing, schooling, church... Everything you need to know about life in Odessa, Ukraine - [About the Suko Family](https://sukofamily.org/about-the-suko-family/) - This was a short video we made in February for one of our supporting churches, New Life in Woodbury, Mn - [Preaching Duo](https://sukofamily.org/preaching-duo/) - This Sunday my father and I had the wonderful opportunity of preaching together in our church "Hope for People" here in Odessa. Pastor Petr, my father and I at the start of the AM worship service. Christina interpreted for my father when he preached. God blessed and about 6 people came forward to repent at - [Back to the Roots](https://sukofamily.org/back-to-the-roots/) - On thing my parents wanted to do while they were in Ukraine was to visit the village of Tarutino. My father's family came to the US from this village in 1905. The village is about 130 miles from Odessa and was a German colony from 1814 until 1940. My father and I made a short - [At last in Odessa!](https://sukofamily.org/at-last-in-odessa/) - My parents and my brother arrived from Makarovo to Odessa yesterday. This morning my sister Rachel and her husband Mike and their little girl Ellie came down from Kiev. We are looking forward to spending some time with family. - [Family in Makarovo](https://sukofamily.org/family-in-makarovo/) - On Saturday I drove north to Makarovo where I met my parents and my brother Nehemiah who were coming down from Kiev. Above is my father with the Church leader in Makarovo, Volodya and his son Vitya. They are standing in Volodya's wheat field. Ironically my father was once a wheat farmer too. Volodya said - [4th Grade Graduation](https://sukofamily.org/4th-grade-graduation/) - [Nechayenoe](https://sukofamily.org/nechayenoe/) - This Sunday we visited Pastor Igor in the village of Nechayenoe about and hour out of Odessa. Igor also works as a regional director for our institute in Southern Ukraine where we have 4 of our local Bible schools. The girls enjoyed wearing their matching dresses!Of course dressing up was also fun! - [Babushka and Dedushka](https://sukofamily.org/babushka-and-dedushka/) - When we visited Christina's parents in Cherkassy on Easter we left Noelle with them. She enjoyed being waited on hand and foot by her Ukrainian grandparents but after a month she was ready to come home. Christina's parents brought her down to Odessa and stayed with us for the weekend. - [Seeing Red](https://sukofamily.org/seeing-red/) - We woke up this morning to red ribbons tied to the door handles of very apartment in our section of the building. A red flag was also placed by the entry to our building. - [Mayovka](https://sukofamily.org/mayovka/) - A full picture gallery is located here - [Mayovka](https://sukofamily.org/mayovka-2/) - A full picture gallery is located here - [Flower girl](https://sukofamily.org/flower-girl/) - [Easter Evangelism](https://sukofamily.org/easter-evangelism/) - Easter evening House of Gospel Church did an open are evangelistic service. Christina's dad, Vladimir, is in charge of the sound for the evangelistic group. - [Easter in Cherkassy](https://sukofamily.org/easter-in-cherkassy/) - A full picture gallery is located here - [Easter Eggs](https://sukofamily.org/easter-eggs/) - Easter eggs or Pisanki are a very traditional Ukrainian art form. They are painstakingly made with layers of dye and wax. However, we cheated a little and used these wonderful little plastic sleeves that shrink right onto the eggs when dipped in boiling water. The kids just loved it! Pascha bread is also a traditional - [](https://sukofamily.org/269/) - Yesterday we had the opportunity to travel out to the village of Bualik with our fellow missionary Bruce Bagley. It is a little over an hour drive out of Odessa. Because the train runs through the town and there is little need for trucks to deliver goods or for people to travel to or from - [Kirovograd](https://sukofamily.org/kirovograd/) - This past weekend Mishael and I traveled about 180 miles north of Odessa to visit a small church in the city of Kirovograd. There are a number of people in the church that have finished our first level courses. Unfortunately they are currently without a pastor and as a result struggling a little bit. Yes, - [Chisinau](https://sukofamily.org/chisinau/) - We currently have two schools in Chisinau, the capital of Molodova. Although one of the schools teaches in Russian the other school has one group who studies in Russian and another group who studies in Moldovan/Romanian. We are currently working to translate our course materials from Russian into Moldovan, however, there is also the need - [Train Ride Home](https://sukofamily.org/train-ride-home/) - Just a few pictures from our train ride home from Bucharest. It was a snowy ride! - [New Visas!](https://sukofamily.org/new-visas/) - The Ukrainian embassy here in Bucharest was nice to us. They didn't require us to get visas for each of our four kids. At 245 USD a piece that saves us nearly 1000 USD! Thankfully, we were also able to pick up our visas today without any problems.We are also thankful to our gracious hosts - [To Bucharest for Visas](https://sukofamily.org/to-bucharest-for-visas/) - We left Friday evening by train for Bucharest. The reason we are going is to hopefully get our visas situation taken care of. In order to do this we have to travel to a Ukrainian embassy outside of the country. Thankfully, we have some good friends in Bucharest who offered to let us stay with - [2 Days with 75 disciple makers](https://sukofamily.org/2-days-with-75-disciple-makers/) - February 10-11 about 75 church leaders gathered in Kiev for the CMI's first annual pastor's conference intitled "Life in Tandem, practical discipleship for contemporary churches" We had pastors and church leaders in attendance from down South in the Crimea to the northern edge of Ukraine's border with Russia also from the far eastern city of - [Life in Tandem](https://sukofamily.org/life-in-tandem/) - Things are coming together well for our pastors conference on discipleship February 10-11 in Kiev. I would like to ask you to keep this at the top of your prayer list. Why did we decide to have this conference? Let me explain a little. The focus of the CMI has always been the local church. - [New Opportunities](https://sukofamily.org/new-opportunities/) - Yesterday Christina shared here testimony with a group of pastor’s wives and leaders in womens' ministry. They have asked her to speak at their regional women’s conference which will take place at the end of March. In addition she is working with this group of women to organize a quarterly fellowship for pastors wives and - [Back to Work](https://sukofamily.org/back-to-work/) - The year has started off with a bang and it is hard to believe the first month is almost over. This week we have two sessions happening at once. On Monday our third level course “Systematic Theology” started at our international training center here in Odessa. Also today is the first day of our course - [Snowflakes and Bellboys](https://sukofamily.org/snowflakes-and-bellboys/) - Today we celebrated Christmas at our church. Naomi, Mishael and Noelle all participated in the childrens' program. Below are a few pictures of the kids taken during the service. - [10 Preachers, One Church](https://sukofamily.org/10-preachers-one-church/) - Our church “Hope for People” asked me (Caleb) to do a preaching seminar for the young men in the church who preach. Although we only have about 80 members in our church there are around 10 men who preach. We usually have two sermons on Sunday morning and the pastor only preaches about twice a - [Living in Tandem - Practical Discipleship for Contemporary Churches](https://sukofamily.org/living-in-tandem-practical-discipleship-for-contemporary-churches/) - This is the theme for our upcoming pastors’ conference in Kiev, Ukraine, February 10-11. Ron Berrus, director of missionary care for ABWE will be the keynote speaker for our conference. This will be the first time for us to do a general pastor’s conference but we feel that need for real discipleship in churches is - [Pastors' Wives Fellowship](https://sukofamily.org/pastors-wives-fellowship/) - Christina had a great opportunity this week to encourage a small group of pastors' wives as they got together for a little Christmas party. Her theme was from Matthew 5:16 "So let your light shine!" - [Noelle's Birthday](https://sukofamily.org/noelles-birthday/) - Today we celebrated Noelle's 4th birthday, although she doesn't officially turn 4 until tomorrow. We had a great time Because Christina's mom and brother were also with us. They came down a few days earlier. Christina's mom watched the kids while Christina and were at the CMI's annual conference and her brother came with us - [CMI VI Annual Conference](https://sukofamily.org/cmi-vi-annual-conference/) - December 3-5th we held our annual conference on the shores of the Black Sea about 25 miles North of Odessa. This is always an exciting conference for us as we gather our bible school directors from all over Eurasia for 3 days of fellowship, learning and encouragement. This year proved to be our biggest conference - [Thanksgiving Key](https://sukofamily.org/thanksgiving-key/) - Many of you have been praying for some time now concerning the purchase of a new facility for the CMI. How fitting that God would work it out for us to receive the key to this new facility the day after Thanksgiving. After Yura, (Our executive director) and I received the key from the seller - [White Stuff](https://sukofamily.org/white-stuff/) - We got the first snow here last night. It wasn't much but the kids were excited to see white stuff in the yard instead of mud. - [Philippi](https://sukofamily.org/philippi/) - Our last day in Greece we also had the chance of visiting the ancient city of Philippi. This was one of the major cities in Macedonia during Paul's time (See Acts 16:11-39) The place where Paul baptized Lydia, the first european convert. The jail where Paul and Silas where placed until the earthquake freed them. - [Athens](https://sukofamily.org/athens/) - This week our mission has its regional conference in Greece. The conference is actually about an hour South of Thessaloniki. However, we had to arrive a few days early because our visa registration ran out on Oct. 15th and we didn't want to take the risk of over staying our welcome and having to pay - [CMI facility update](https://sukofamily.org/cmi-facility-update/) - We know that many have been praying concerning the purchase of a new facility for the Church Ministries Institute here in Odessa. I have to say that the Lord has been answering the prayers in a marvelous way! At the beginning of September we still needed about $40,000 before we could make this purchase. We - [A Tight Squeeze](https://sukofamily.org/a-tight-squeeze/) - Sunday morning I drove out to the village of Sahanskoe to pick up some of the believers there who wanted to come to the zhatva (harvest) celebration in Makarovo. On Saturday they had informed me that there would be 7 people to pick up. Instead of 7 people it turned out to be 14 people - [At Work in Makarovo](https://sukofamily.org/at-work-in-makarovo/) - During their 5 days in Makarovo the team got a lot of work done, including putting in electricity upstairs in the church building. Now those rooms can be used more effectively for Sunday School and also for clinic use when medical teams come through.On Sunday we celebrated Zhatva (harvest festival) It was a great time - [Sahanskoe](https://sukofamily.org/sahanskoe/) - Today I took the team to visit another small church in the village of Sahanskoe, just about 25 minute drive from Makarovo. There are a few believers there who meet together in the home of one of their members.The team members had a chance to share their testimonies and I preached a short sermon. Afterword the - [Babushka Olga](https://sukofamily.org/babushka-olga/) - Babushka Olga lives in the small village of Nickamarovka about an hour and a half outside of Odessa. Although there is no church in her village for years she has run a Sunday School for the children. She was so happy when I brought two people from our team to visit her and ask if - [Discovery Team](https://sukofamily.org/discovery-team/) - The team from Discovery arrived safely. Two arrived on Sunday amid much flooding. It was so flooded that road to downtown was completely blocked under 3-4 feet of water. I didn't want to risk driving my van through that. Therefore, I had to drive around town and it took about 2 hours to get to - [1st Bell, 1st Grade!](https://sukofamily.org/1st-bell-1st-grade/) - Congratulations to Noami and Mishael on the new school year that started today. Especially congratulations to Mishael who is now in 1st grade. Besides getting married entering 1st grade is probably the most significant event in an individual's life here in Ukraine Of course, flowers are absolutely necessary on the first day. Also necessary are nicely - [Hope for People Baptism](https://sukofamily.org/hope-for-people-baptism/) - Today our church "Hope for People" had their baptism service at on the Black sea. The service was actually about 45 minutes out of town where there is a small Christian camp. Some of the church members came on Friday or Saturday at stayed a night or two before the service on Sunday.Our family came - [Mk Interview](https://sukofamily.org/mk-interview/) - [Evangelism or Baptism?](https://sukofamily.org/evangelism-or-baptism/) - Today was baptism Sunday at Periyesup Baptist Church (the mother church to our church plant). There were also two other daughter churches represented from the villages of Makarovo and Sakhanskoy. The pastor gave quite and evangelistic message as there were many sunbathers on the beach already at 8:00 am. As you can see there were - [Video Update from the trail #2](https://sukofamily.org/video-update-from-the-trail-2/) - [Salt](https://sukofamily.org/salt/) - S.A.L.T. = Saints Applying Living TruthOur sending church, Discovery Baptist recently began small groups called "Salt Groups".The purpose is to discuss and apply the Sunday morning sermon in a very practical way. What a great idea! We are enjoying having the privilege to attend several of the Salt groups while here in the states. - [Good News!](https://sukofamily.org/good-news/) - We had a wonderful time this Sunday sharing with the people at Good News Slavic Church in Tacoma. Several years ago when Christina was working as an interpreter she interpreted for Pastor Andre and his wife Svetlana. - [The Big Wedding](https://sukofamily.org/the-big-wedding-2/) - The entire Suko Clan How many flower girls does it take? Is 5 enough? Anastasia with her cousin Levi. Noelle and Naomi with their cousin Rachelle in the middle. - [Happy Independence Day!](https://sukofamily.org/happy-independence-day/) - We thank God for the freedoms we have in the US to freely worship and preach the gospel! - [In bloom](https://sukofamily.org/in-bloom/) - We traveled out to Makarovo village today to visit them before we head to the states for a few weeks. Everything was in bloom even the church yard was full of miniature daisies. Naomi and Mishael playing on the haystack at one of the church member's house. Anastasia just loved the kittens. - [Sunday Morning Wedding](https://sukofamily.org/sunday-morning-wedding/) - [Missions Roundtable](https://sukofamily.org/missions-roundtable/) - This past week Christina and I had a great opportunity to attend a "Missions Roundtable" hosted by ABWE in Budapest, Hungary. It was great privilege to take our pastor (Petr) along with us. Christina spent most of her time translating for the four Russian speakers who came. Unfortunately, by the end of the week she - [He is Risen Indeed!](https://sukofamily.org/he-is-risen-indeed/) - Today we celebrated Easter here in Ukraine over a month after the Western Easter!Naomi was excited to be one of the angels in the children's program at our church. - [CMI Staff](https://sukofamily.org/cmi-staff/) - We had our monthly employee's meeting today and decided to take a group photo because the weather was so beautiful. Please pray for the CMI staff. - [Easter School Performance](https://sukofamily.org/easter-school-performance/) - Naomi in her School Easter performance. - [Nickolaev Zoo](https://sukofamily.org/nickolaev-zoo/) - Today we went to the zoo in Nickolaev, about 1.5 hours away from Odessa. This is the city where Christina was born. They have a great zoo there. It is many times better than the dirty little zoo here in Odessa where the most interesting animals were the rats stealing food from all the poor - [He is Risen!](https://sukofamily.org/he-is-risen/) - Although Ukraine doesn't celebrate Easter until April 27th we want to wish everyone who is celebrating the Resurrection of Christ today a wonderful day!We snapped the above picture in a believer's home after the morning service in Makarovo. We had a great time of fellowship today with the Makarovo church and the Sahanskoy church also - [2nd Women's Day!](https://sukofamily.org/2nd-womens-day/) - Our church here in Odessa, "Hope for People" also asked Christina to speak to the women on March 8th. Since we were in Kharkiv on March 8th, they moved their March 8th celebration to March 16th. Therefore Christina had a chance to share with them her testimony and encouragement from God's Word. She also gave - [Internatinal Women's Day](https://sukofamily.org/internatinal-womens-day/) - Thanks to everyone who was praying for us as we traveled last week to Kharkiv and returned home this week! The Lord really blessed us and everything went very well.On Saturday Christina spoke in two Churches, "Gospel Life" and "Light House". On Sunday I spoke in the morning service at "Gospel Life" then in the - [Vitaly and Natasha](https://sukofamily.org/vitaly-and-natasha/) - I want to introduce a few of our students on our blog. Below is Vitaly and his wife Natasha. Vitaly is the pastor of a young very vibrant, and growing church in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.Vitaly has also started a Bible School in his church to train more leaders.Please pray for Vitaly and Natasha - [Happy New Year!](https://sukofamily.org/happy-new-year/) - [Winter is Here](https://sukofamily.org/winter-is-here/) - [CMI Annual Conference](https://sukofamily.org/cmi-annual-conference/) - This week we held the annual conference for the Church Ministries Institute just outside of Kiev on the Dnieper river. You can view more pictures of the conference hereMost of those who came to our conference are teachers and Bible School directors. Please pray for these men and women that the Lord would be able - [First Class in Kishinev](https://sukofamily.org/first-class-in-kishinev/) - This year we opened a new local church centered Bible School in Kishinev, the capital of Moldova. It is exciting to see these church leaders from many different churches come together to study God's Word. Please pray for that the training these men are receiving will be used to strengthen and multiply many churches. - [Happy Thanksgiving!](https://sukofamily.org/happy-thanksgiving/) - [Team Meetings](https://sukofamily.org/team-meetings/) - Yesterday and today we had our South Ukraine team meetings here in Odessa. It was a great time to fellowship with our team mates and strategize how to best promote a church planting movement in Ukraine!From left to right: Caleb and Christina Suko, Miriam Wheeler, Bruce and Carol Bagely, Ted and Debra Welch. - [May God Bless Your...](https://sukofamily.org/may-god-bless-your/) - ...new car. This afternoon I was walking home with Naomi and Noelle. We were going past the new Orthodox cathedral they are building just a block from our house when we saw this priest blessing a new car. The family was standing nearby crossing themselves. - [Zhatza at Hope for People](https://sukofamily.org/zhatza-at-hope-for-people/) - [30 Years!](https://sukofamily.org/30-years/) - Christina turns 30 today! Happy Birthday, Christina! - [Odessa Leaves](https://sukofamily.org/odessa-leaves/) - This morning was crisp with a skiff of ice on the puddles. Watch the video below for more! Below are a few pictures I took in our yard today.Walking to SchoolStuck on a FenceFresh Linen - [Theological Education Conference](https://sukofamily.org/theological-education-conference/) - I spent the past week at a theological education conference just outside of Kiev. Schools from across the former Soviet Union were represented. It was a great time to fellowship with others who are also working to train Christian leaders.Three other people from the Church Ministries Institute came with me. From left to right; Volodya - [Zhatva in Makarovo](https://sukofamily.org/zhatva-in-makarovo/) - [Jehovah's Witnesses](https://sukofamily.org/jehovahs-witnesses/) - That encounter would be the first of 5 in only 2 months! Ukraine is definitely under attack from cults and false religion! - [Distance Ed Conference](https://sukofamily.org/distance-ed-conference/) - This weekend Christina and I traveled to Kiev for a distance education seminar. We had a great time meeting new people and finding out what is happening in distance ed. Please pray for the Church Ministries Institute as we continue to move forward with our own distance program. - [Medical Team](https://sukofamily.org/medical-team/) - This week we have a medical team from the states visiting. They are doing free medical clinics in some of the outlying villages as an evangelistic tool. Please pray that their work would be effective in healing the bodies and especially the hearts of the people who visit their clinics. - [Locked for Life](https://sukofamily.org/locked-for-life/) - The "Mother-in-law" bridge in downtown Odessa. Newly married couples come here after the ceremony to put a lock with their names written on it on the bridge and then throw the key away. - [Secret Garden](https://sukofamily.org/secret-garden/) - This garden is just a few hundred yards from our apartment building. - [Class is in Session!](https://sukofamily.org/class-is-in-session/) - Igor is teaching this class. Please pray that God would make him an effective teacher and a good example for the students to follow! - [Wedding in Cherkassy](https://sukofamily.org/wedding-in-cherkassy/) - On Saturday we attended the wedding of Pastor Vadim's son in Cherkassy. It was great to spend the weekend with Christina's family. We were able to see Dick and Joy Ivance who are from one of our supporting churches (New Life in Woodbury, MN). They had also come for the wedding. - [Morning Shots](https://sukofamily.org/morning-shots/) - Here are some shots I took this morning while walking Naomi to school.The play field next to our building that we cross to get to Naomi's school. Her school is on the other side of the poplar trees.Naomi in her classroom getting ready for the school day. Her class now has 10 students.This milk truck - [Pervi Zvonok](https://sukofamily.org/pervi-zvonok/) - Today was the Pervi Zvonok (first bell) ceremony at Naomi's school. They had a special ceremony for all the students, teachers and parents. The school is a small Christian school, all the curriculum is in Ukrainian. Naomi's class has 2 other girls and three boys in it. It is very conveniently located about 300 yards - [Marching In](https://sukofamily.org/marching-in/) - Naomi is the ninth student to come in, she is holding the yellow flowers. - [Modes of Transportation](https://sukofamily.org/modes-of-transportation/) - [L and I?](https://sukofamily.org/l-and-i/) - Where is L and I when you need them!!! - [Heading South to Odessa](https://sukofamily.org/heading-south-to-odessa/) - Today we made the trip from Cherkassy to Odessa. I think we only made about 4 stops along the way. It was about an 8 hour drive. There are no rest stops here, but any tree or bush will do the trick! The temperature was in the upper 90s and we didn't have a/c so - [Surpassing Her Parents!](https://sukofamily.org/surpassing-her-parents/) - Ever since we arrived in Cherkassy Naomi has spent most of her time playing outside with the neighborhood girls. This afternoon she came running up the stairs and into the apartment and without hardly catching her breath she blurted out, "Papa, you know how we came here to be missionaries? Well, I was telling Diana - [Party in the Woods](https://sukofamily.org/party-in-the-woods/) - We had a great time celebrating all the August birthdays in the woods just North of Cherkassy today. - [Sunday Morning at Gospel House](https://sukofamily.org/sunday-morning-at-gospel-house/) - Here are a couple of pictures of the service this morning. Pastor Vadim had our family come up and the church prayed for us. They said they have been praying for a long time that we would be able to come back to Ukraine. I preached and Christina translated. Here is one interesting note about - [Only in Ukraine!](https://sukofamily.org/only-in-ukraine/) - Tomatoes, roast beef and cake for breakfast! Mishael didn't mind helping himself to the cake first! - [Making Friends](https://sukofamily.org/making-friends/) - In less than an hour after arriving at Christina's parents house Naomi was outside making friends with all the girls. Later that afternoon Christina's mom gave Naomi some money and sent her along with Mishael and Noelle to the corner store to buy some goodies. The next day Naomi spent the whole afternoon with two - [Police on a Plane!](https://sukofamily.org/police-on-a-plane/) - Originally we were supposed to fly out of Seattle on Tuesday morning, however, we missed this flight due to extremely long security lines at the airport. The airlines put us on the flight for the following day (Wednesday). We were actually quite pleased with this arrangement as it gave us a whole day of rest - [New York to Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/new-york-to-ukraine/) - [Checking the Luggage](https://sukofamily.org/checking-the-luggage/) - [Packing is Complete!](https://sukofamily.org/packing-is-complete/) - [Sending Service](https://sukofamily.org/sending-service/) - Last night was our sending service at Discovery Baptist. It was very encouraging to see many people from the different churches we have been to on pre-field. At the end of the service the men laid their hands on us and prayed for us.To view more photos go here - [This Day in 1994](https://sukofamily.org/this-day-in-1994/) - I pulled my old journal from a file box yesterday as we were packing things for our move. As I flipped through it I realized that it contained the journal entry from my first visit to Ukraine in 1994. It also happens that my first day in Ukraine was on August 8th, so I guess - [A Decade Closer](https://sukofamily.org/a-decade-closer/) - This week we celebrated Naomi's and my birthday. Naomi turned 8 on the 5th and I turned 30 on the 6th.Naomi has been saving her money for a long time to buy an American Girl Doll. Between working and saving the money she earned and some birthday money she was given she finally had enough - [Making it home!](https://sukofamily.org/making-it-home/) - After 30hrs we finally boarded an airplane headed for Seattle! - [Can't get to Seattle!!](https://sukofamily.org/cant-get-to-seattle/) - [EMC](https://sukofamily.org/emc/) - It has been a great week here at ABWE headquarters. Our training is all centered around the concept of a church planting movement. All the teaching is very interactive and include a lot of group work. Our group consists of Christina and I plus Holly (far right)who will be working in Odessa with the medical - [Stamp](https://sukofamily.org/stamp/) - Naomi and Mishael have enjoyed the training for missionary kids this week. Every morning They have been going with a group of about 45 missionary kids to a nearby church. Mishael was especially excited about riding the big yellow school bus. We praise God for the wonderful teachers who are telling our kids about how - [5 Years Old!](https://sukofamily.org/5-years-old/) - Today Mishael officially turned 5 years old! - [Learning to Swim](https://sukofamily.org/learning-to-swim/) - One of Naomi's goals this summer was to learn to swim before we left for Ukraine. She finally succeeded! - [Wisdom has Departed!](https://sukofamily.org/wisdom-has-departed/) - At least my 4 wisdom teeth have departed and at no small cost. Now I am recuperating at home. In the words of Naomi I am "begining to look like a chipmunk!" - [10 Years Later](https://sukofamily.org/10-years-later/) - It is hard to believe that 10 years have already passed since we said "I do" to each other. Now we have 4 children and we will be leaving shortly for Ukraine!Yesterday Christina and I took the Bremerton ferry to Seattle where we had a wonderful dinner at in the Space Needle restaurant.We had a - [3 years later](https://sukofamily.org/3-years-later/) - On mondady Mishael had a CT scan of his torso and today he went to the oncology clinic for his yearly check-up. According to the doctor everything looks great. We praise the Lord that Mishael has been cancer free now for 3 years! Here is Mishael showing off his "big poke." Mishael, unlike his sisters, - [Camp Time](https://sukofamily.org/camp-time/) - We spent this weekend at camp with Bonney Lake Baptist ChurchNaomi enjoyed making new friends!Noelle enjoyed Gracy the puppy!Mishael enjoyed our time out on the lake in the paddle boat despite the fact that it was pouring rain!Everyone enjoyed singing praise songs together! - [That was Quick!](https://sukofamily.org/that-was-quick/) - I made it safely home after my shortest trip to Ukraine ever. In just over a week I learned more about the Church Ministries Institute in Odessa than I thought possible. Please pray for me now I as process all the new information. - [Three Wheels or Four?](https://sukofamily.org/three-wheels-or-four/) - While here in Cherkassy I have been discussing with Christina's father what kind of a vehicle we should purchase. Given the high fuel prices we would like to get something that gets good milage, however, we also want something that we can haul our whole family in plus a few more.I took pictures of these - [Is This Ukraine?](https://sukofamily.org/is-this-ukraine/) - Yesterday evening Serj and I went to play tennis at a near-by tennis club/resort. I couldn't believe me eyes when we got there. They had a complete European standard international tennis stadium with clay courts, a restruant, hotel, cabins, beachfront and a beautiful pool! I had to ask myself if I was still in Ukraine! - [Sea Port](https://sukofamily.org/sea-port/) - Yesterday I took the train from Odessa to Cherkassy to spend a couple of days with my in-laws before heading home. it was a beautiful warm day in Odessa. We went down to the port to take a few pictures before my train left. - [Missing Bags](https://sukofamily.org/missing-bags/) - I made it safely to Ukraine at about 11:30 pm Monday night. Unfortunately my bags didn't make it. My father-in-law, Vladimir, picked me up from the airport and drove me 5 hours down to Odessa. We arrived in Odessa around 5:30 am, just enough time to get an hour of sleep before the all day - [3 Babies](https://sukofamily.org/3-babies/) - This evening the mission's conference at GBC Bellingham concluded. Our little Anastasia was not the only baby mk (missionary kid) present. Tim and Martia Franklin's daughter, Hannah, was born in January and Joshua and Hiedi Ausfahl's son, Ezra, was born just a few days before Anastasia. - [Thank You Mom!](https://sukofamily.org/thank-you-mom/) - Tommorrow Christina's mother, Maria will be going back home to Ukraine. How wonderful it was to have her come half way around the world to watch our children for 3 weeks! It was a special blessing for Christina to spend Mother's day with her own mother! Maria was even interviewed durning the Sunday morning service - [Hurricane Ridge](https://sukofamily.org/hurricane-ridge/) - Today we took Maria to Hurricane Ridge on the Olypmic Pennesula. It was a great day to see the mountains and the water!See more pictures from our trip here! - [Home Again!](https://sukofamily.org/home-again/) - Noami, Mishael and Noelle were excited to see us again. They were anticipating our return almost as much as Maria, Christina's mom, who had been watching them for the past 23 days!Christina and I both enjoyed our time at ABWE headquarters for Field Prep Seminar. We learned many things that will be valuable in our - [First Impressions](https://sukofamily.org/first-impressions/) - [Nursery Friends](https://sukofamily.org/nursery-friends/) - Aislinn was Anastasia's nursurey buddy during Field Prep Seminar. She is 6 months older than Anastasia and we even celebrated her first birthday while we were there. Aislinn's family will be serving in Ireland you can check out her family's website at www.raisetheflag.org - [Rotunda Send Off](https://sukofamily.org/rotunda-send-off/) - Today we finished our two weeks of Field training at ABWE headquarters. Because it was the last day we gathered in the rotunda for a send off. It was a special feeling as we all sang together and our President, Dr. Loftis gave us a brief challenge from God's Word to take with us. - [Uh-Oh](https://sukofamily.org/uh-oh/) - This week we are leaning about language aquisition. Part of this training includes learning about how different sounds are made. There were some interesting moments in the classroom as we practiced the various sounds.Christina and I partnered with our Ukraine team members Ted and Debra Welch to see if we could learn a little German - [Old Friends](https://sukofamily.org/old-friends/) - Last night we stayed with Christina's friend Alona and her husband Peter. Christina was friends with her when she lived in Ukraine. Now she is married and lives in Philadelphia. Her little boy, Anthony, is about 3 months older than Anastasia. This morning we spoke at the Ukrainian Baptist Church in Levittown, Pa. It was - [Flight to Philly](https://sukofamily.org/flight-to-philly/) - [Babushka](https://sukofamily.org/babushka/) - Mishael, Noelle and I made a trip to Seatac Airport this afternoon to pick up Christina's mother, Maria. She will be staying with the kids while Christina and I are attending Field Preparation Seminar in PA. Everything arrived safely. Babushka even had a left over sandwich from her lunch to give to the kids! - [Happy Easter!](https://sukofamily.org/happy-easter/) - Naomi, Mishael, Noelle and Anastasia(which means resurrection!) celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at Discovery Baptist.Naomi, Noelle and their cousin Rachelle. - [Drama](https://sukofamily.org/drama/) - Caleb played the role of one of the elders in a short drama at Discovery Baptist during the Easter morning service! - [Palm Sunday](https://sukofamily.org/palm-sunday/) - It was refreshing to be at our home church, Discovery for Palm Sunday. We were able to share a few of exciting things the Lord has been doing in our lives. - [T-Rex](https://sukofamily.org/t-rex/) - This evening we spoke at our supporting church, Grace Baptist in Redding. Pastor Franklin has a spectacular collection of fossils that are on display in the foyer of the church. - [Sundial Bridge](https://sukofamily.org/sundial-bridge/) - [Radio Broadcast](https://sukofamily.org/radio-broadcast/) - [Lake Tahoe](https://sukofamily.org/lake-tahoe/) - Today we drove up to see Lake Tahoe. You can see some more pictures of our trip here - [Mother Lode](https://sukofamily.org/mother-lode/) - [Forward Bible](https://sukofamily.org/forward-bible/) - [School Work](https://sukofamily.org/school-work/) - [Old Town Rootbeer](https://sukofamily.org/old-town-rootbeer/) - Our hosts, the Roll Family, own Old Town Rootbeer in downtown Chico. On our way out we decided to stop by and taste a few of their 160 soda flavors!The kids enjoyed the blue soda! - [Day 2](https://sukofamily.org/day-2/) - Wildlife Safari - [Family Wildlife](https://sukofamily.org/family-wildlife/) - Here is a glimpse of some of the things we found at Wildlife Safari near Roseburg, Oregon.I thought these three creatures were the most unusual. To see the rest of our pictures click here! - [The Journey Begins](https://sukofamily.org/the-journey-begins/) - [Under the Sea](https://sukofamily.org/under-the-sea/) - Last weekend we enjoyed getting to know the people at First Baptist in Kirkland, WA. Tim and Martia Franklin and their girls rode the ferry with us to Seattle on Friday. Tim spent a few years as an Intern Pastor at Discovery just before Christina and I came back to the area. They were sent - [Slavic Baptist, Salem](https://sukofamily.org/slavic-baptist-salem/) - On Wednesday Christina, little Anastasia and I along with my parents traveled down to Salem, OR to meet with some old Ukrainian friends and to speak in their church. They recently built a beautiful building that was finished just 2 months ago. We enjoyed singing the old Russian Hymns with them for their Wednesday night - [Valentines Banquet](https://sukofamily.org/valentines-banquet/) - Last night we attended the Valentines Banquet at Discovery. The banquet was hosted by the youth group. It was a "lodge" theme. Even though it started at 6:30pm they served breakfast!After we ate we had a pancake decorating contest.We decorated in groups of three. I was in a group with two other guys and this - [Mr. Stubs](https://sukofamily.org/mr-stubs/) - The kids have always wanted a pet, so here he is. We call him "Mr. Stubs" because of his stubby tail. He frequents our backyard just about everyday and the kids enjoy watching him search for worms and grubs in the lawn. I found out that Opossums are North America's only Marsupial (carrying their young - [Look Ma!](https://sukofamily.org/look-ma/) - Mishael was pretty excited to finally be able to ride without training wheels! - [Something's Missing!](https://sukofamily.org/somethings-missing/) - [The Hill](https://sukofamily.org/the-hill/) - The cold weather we have been experiencing in the past week has made driving a bit difficult. Naomi had nearly a whole week of no school because of the snow. Last Thursday was probably the worst of it. We had 7.5" of snow and they didn't plow, sand, or salt our street! By afternoon the - [On the Mend](https://sukofamily.org/on-the-mend/) - As some of you know Anastasia came down with pneumonia last week. We took her to the doctor last Wednesday right in the middle of the snow storm. This week she seems to be doing much better. She still has a little cough, but her temperature is normal and she is sleeping and eating just - [The Big Snow of 07](https://sukofamily.org/the-big-snow-of-07/) - Last night we recieved a little over 7" of snow. Naomi was excited that school was cancelled for the day. Below are a couple of photos, for more pictures click here - [The Big Blow](https://sukofamily.org/the-big-blow/) - We had a big storm blow through on Thursday night. Western Washington experinced some of the strongest winds ever. The wind was so strong we could hardly sleep. We just kept looking out the windows and waiting for the neighbors trees to fall on our house. The trees never fell, but two sections of our - [Cousins Birthday](https://sukofamily.org/cousins-birthday/) - Tuesday night we celebrated Noelle's second birthday. We also celebrated two of her cousin's birthdays. Levi and Gabriel were both turning one year old! - [Anastasia's Baby Shower](https://sukofamily.org/anastasias-baby-shower/) - Monday night the ladies at Discovery put on a wonderful shower for our little Anastasia. Christina came home will all kinds of cute, fluffy pink things! - [Snow!](https://sukofamily.org/snow-2/) - We finally got some snow here in Tacoma. It started snowing at about 6:30pm on Monday. I took the kids out to do some sledding after enough snow had accumlated. We ended up not coming home until 10:00pm! Luckily Naomi didn't have school the next day. We can still see a considerable amount of white - [Paper Airplane Manufacturing](https://sukofamily.org/paper-airplane-manufacturing/) - Click on the photo below to see some photos of Mishael having fun at Christina's parents house in Cherkassy, Ukraine. - [Mishael in Kiev](https://sukofamily.org/mishael-in-kiev/) - Mishael and Caleb's parents arrived safely in Kiev on Tuesday. Below is Mishael and Uncle Mike playing outside of the apartment building where Caleb's sister Rachel and her husband Mike live. - [What City is it?](https://sukofamily.org/what-city-is-it/) - Here is a quick question.Which of the following cities do you think would be the most expensive to live in?A. Los Angeles, USAB. Washington DC, USAC. Miami, USAD. Kiev, UkraineThinking??????Ok, now that you have thought about it what is your answer? Is it A, B, C or D?The correct answer, of course, is D. Kiev, - [Four Birthdays!](https://sukofamily.org/four-birthdays/) - Yesterday we celebrated the Fall family birthdays. This included four birthdays. Caleb's sister-in-law Kirsten and their son Isaiah also Christina and now Anastasia. - [Here She Comes!](https://sukofamily.org/here-she-comes/) - Anastasia Grace born at 7:53 am, 8lbs, 21". Christina and Anastasia are doing well. More details and pictures will be coming soon! - [Bethany Bible Missions Conference](https://sukofamily.org/bethany-bible-missions-conference/) - We spent October 1-8 with the wonderful people at Bethany Bible in Kenmore. We had the opportunity to speak there in July when Pastor Ritter was out of town. It was nice to really get to know people a bit better this time. It was also nice to be in the same church for two - [The Bells of Moscow](https://sukofamily.org/the-bells-of-moscow/) - September 23rd through 27th we traveled around Eastern Wa and Northern ID. In four days we were in 5 churches including, Moscow ID, Lewiston ID, Priest River ID, Spokane WA, and Clarkston WA!I thought the this instrument was pretty unique. It is being played by Kieth Mandra at New Hope Baptists Church in Moscow ID. - [Ferry Ride](https://sukofamily.org/ferry-ride/) - On Saturday, September 16th we took the ferry from Bemerton to Seattle on our way to speak in Burlington, WA. Riding the ferry is always a special treat for the kids. - [Cannon Beach](https://sukofamily.org/cannon-beach/) - September 11-14 Christina and went to Cannon Beach for a Pastor's and Wive's Retreat. It was a great time of fellowship and relaxation. We enjoyed the teaching of Jim Jeffery, president of Baptist Bible College and Seminary in Clark Summit PA. - [North Creek Baptist Church](https://sukofamily.org/north-creek-baptist-church/) - This past Sunday we enjoyed sharing at North Creek Baptist Church in Bothel. We had a wonderful relaxing afternoon. Our hosts for the day were the Byers. I must say they are wonderful hosts. They even made Keilbasa, Mishael's favorite food, for lunch. The kids enjoyed playing with all the toys they had for grandkids. - [The Old House](https://sukofamily.org/the-old-house/) - We drove by the old house were Caleb was born today. We were surprised to see how good of condition it was in. - [Silver Falls State Park](https://sukofamily.org/silver-falls-state-park/) - On our way home from Salem we took the chance to visit two of the beautiful falls at Silver Falls State Park. Can you spot us behind the falls! A view from behind the falls.To view more photos of our trip to Silver Falls ParkClick here - [Birthplace](https://sukofamily.org/birthplace/) - This weekend we traveled down to Salem, Oregon, where Caleb was born. It was God's timing that Sunday was Caleb's birthday, it was also only the second time he had ever been in Salem on his birthday. Of course the first time was when he was born. We enjoyed speaking at Faith Baptist in Salem. - [Bethany Bible](https://sukofamily.org/bethany-bible/) - This past Sunday we visited Bethany Bible Church in Kenmore, WA. We have been having a good Western, Wa heat wave 90+ so it was nice and hot. We enjoyed getting to know the people at Bethany. We had a chance to share our testimony and Caleb preached in the Am service. We will be - [Vacation Bible School](https://sukofamily.org/vacation-bible-school/) - This week is VBS at our sending church Discovery Baptist. The kids are enjoying the theme, "Set Sail". Naomi and Mishael's "Uncle" Nehemiah is "Captian Shipwreck". ## Pages - [Podcast](https://sukofamily.org/thegospeltoday/) - Worship plays a significant role in all our lives, whether we know it or not. I try to focus each episode on different aspects of worship, whether it's church life, our personal relationship with God, evangelism or any other issues that are related to worshiping God in every aspect of our life. - [Church, Tradition and Scripture](https://sukofamily.org/new-book/church-tradition-and-scripture/) - Church, Tradition and Scripture Where does the Authority Hide? I often get asked the question, "What about the Orthodox Church, how is it different from the Evangelical Church?" So instead of trying to answer everyone individually I just decided to write a book about it! You can buy my book on Amazon.com This is not a - ["Is God Calling Me to Missions?"](https://sukofamily.org/is-god-calling-me-to-missions/) - Book Description How do you know for sure if God is calling you to missions? Take a deep look at what it really means to be a missionary and how God has specifically called out a few people for this amazing task. In the book you’ll find 10 questions, each helping you to you understand - [What If...](https://sukofamily.org/new-book/whatif/) - About the book Publisher: Dovare Publishing Pages: 168 Publish Date: August 1st 2014 ISBN: 0692232095 Order on Amazon Description Did you know that excessive worry and anxiety can lead to real physical problems like memory loss, a weak immune system and even heart attack? Worry isn't something you can afford to ignore, it’s dangerous and if - [Contact](https://sukofamily.org/contact/) - Please use the contact form below to send us a note. - [Speaking](https://sukofamily.org/speaking/) - If you are interested in having us come and speak at your church or event please contact us. Contact: Schedule: Please check the calendar here for our current speaking schedule. - [About us](https://sukofamily.org/about-us/) - Since 2007, we have served in Odesa, Ukraine, helping churches carry out the vital work of sharing the gospel with unbelievers and discipling new believers in the faith. God has blessed us with five children and four precious grandchildren. We serve through The Gospel Today, partnering with pastors and church leaders across Ukraine to develop - [Support](https://sukofamily.org/support/) - Russia's invasion has brought untold pain, loss, and hopelessness to millions of Ukrainians. Nonetheless, the gospel of Jesus Christ is unhindered. Together, we can bring them true hope that cannot be taken away. Join us in our mission to bring gospel life to Ukrainians. If you have questions, please contact us:caleb@sukofamily.org747-221-6478 How to Give Donate - [Ukraine Crisis Fund](https://sukofamily.org/support/ukraine-crisis-fund/) - In response to great humanitarian crisis created by Russia's annexation of Crimea and the war in Eastern Ukraine, our team of ABWE missionaries established the “Ukraine Crisis Fund.” The purpose of the fund is to give aid to those impacted by the current crisis in Ukraine. All funds are given either through local church connections - [Joy in Being 2nd Slides](https://sukofamily.org/joy-in-being-2nd-slides/) - [pdf-embedder url="https://sukofamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Joy-in-Being-2nd-GracePoint.pdf" title="Joy in Being 2nd | GracePoint"] Download Keynote file Download PowerPoint file Download Pdf - [Redding](https://sukofamily.org/redding/) - [Central Valley Christian Fellowship](https://sukofamily.org/cvcf/) - Dear Central Valley Bible Fellowship Church, Christina and I want you to know how grateful we are for your long term faithful commitment to the work that God has chosen to do through us in Ukraine! We love you and are blessed to have you by our sides as we serve the Savior. We are - [Soldiers Christmas](https://sukofamily.org/soldierschristmas/) - This Christmas we are taking the Gospel to Ukrainian soldiers. 3.5 years of war have brought much hardship on the Ukrainian people. For thousands of young men who received a draft notice in the mail it has meant mandatory service in the army. Our goal - Give the Gospel to soldiers in a medium they can - [Taylor Creek Church](https://sukofamily.org/taylorcreek/) - Dear Taylor Creek Church, Christina and I want you to know how grateful we are for your long term faithful commitment to the work that God has chosen to do through us in Ukraine! We love you and are blessed to have you by our sides as we serve the Savior. We are praying that - [Tabernacle](https://sukofamily.org/tabernacle/) - Dear Tabernacle Baptist Church, Christina and I want you to know how grateful we are for your long term faithful commitment to the work that God has chosen to do through us in Ukraine! We love you and are blessed to have you by our sides as we serve the Savior. We are praying that - [Open Door Church](https://sukofamily.org/opendoor/) - Dear Open Door Baptist Church, Christina and I want you to know how grateful we are for your long term faithful commitment to the work that God has chosen to do through us in Ukraine! We love you and are blessed to have you by our sides as we serve the Savior. We are praying - [Montana Ave Baptist Church](https://sukofamily.org/mabc/) - Dear Montana Ave Baptist Church, Christina and I want you to know how grateful we are for your long term faithful commitment to the work that God has chosen to do through us in Ukraine! We love you and are blessed to have you by our sides as we serve the Savior. We are praying - [New Life Church](https://sukofamily.org/newlife/) - Dear New Life Church, Christina and I want you to know how grateful we are for your long term faithful commitment to the work that God has chosen to do through us in Ukraine! We love you and are blessed to have you by our sides as we serve the Savior. We pray that God - [Emmaus](https://sukofamily.org/emmaus/) - Dear Emmaus Baptist Church, Christina and I want you to know how grateful we are for your long term faithful commitment to the work that God has chosen to do through us in Ukraine! We love you and are blessed to have you by our sides as we serve the Savior. We are praying that - [Refresh Retreat 2017](https://sukofamily.org/bnn/) - Photos Click on photos to open full screen. Right click and choose "Save as" to download individual photos. - [1st Baptist Colville](https://sukofamily.org/colville/) - Dear Colville Baptist Church, Christina and I want you to know how grateful we are for your long term faithful commitment to the work that God has chosen to do through us in Ukraine! We love you and are blessed to have you by our sides as we serve the Savior. We are praying that - [Shop](https://sukofamily.org/shop/) - [Cart](https://sukofamily.org/cart/) - [woocommerce_cart] - [Checkout](https://sukofamily.org/checkout/) - [woocommerce_checkout] - [My account](https://sukofamily.org/my-account/) - [woocommerce_my_account] - [Eatonville Baptist Church](https://sukofamily.org/eatonville/) - Dear Eatonville Baptist Church, Christina and I want you to know how grateful we are for your long term faithful commitment to the work that God has chosen to do through us in Ukraine! We love you and are blessed to have you by our sides as we serve the Savior. We are praying that - [Christ the Rock Community Church](https://sukofamily.org/crcc/) - Dear Christ the Rock Community Church, Christina and I want you to know how grateful we are for your long term faithful commitment to the work that God has chosen to do through us in Ukraine! We love you and are blessed to have you by our sides as we serve the Savior. We are - [Hugo Community Church](https://sukofamily.org/hugo/) - Dear Hugo Community Church, Christina and I want you to know how grateful we are for your long term faithful commitment to the work that God has chosen to do through us in Ukraine! We love you and are blessed to have you by our sides as we serve the Savior. We are praying that - [Forward Bible Camp](https://sukofamily.org/forward/) - Dear Forward Bible Camp, Christina and I want you to know how grateful we are for the week we spent with the high school campers! It was a fun and relaxing week for us, we were blessed by Pastor Aaron's chapel messages and enjoyed getting to meet many of you! We are praying that God - [Adin Community Bible Church](https://sukofamily.org/adin/) - Dear Adin Community Bible Church, Christina and I want you to know how grateful we are for your long term faithful commitment to the work that God has chosen to do through us in Ukraine! We love you and are blessed to have you by our sides as we serve the Savior. We are praying - [Baker Creek Bible Church](https://sukofamily.org/bcb/) - Dear Baker Creek Bible Church, Christina and I want you to know how grateful we are for your long term faithful commitment to the work that God has chosen to do through us in Ukraine! We love you and are blessed to have you by our sides as we serve the Savior. We have been - [Questionnaire for Churches](https://sukofamily.org/questionnaire-for-churches/) - Loading... - [Discovery](https://sukofamily.org/dbc/) - Dear Discovery Baptist Church, What a blessing it is to be with you our home church again. DBC isn't just our sending Church, it is our spiritual home here in the States! So thank you for allowing us to part of your Church! This Sunday we were able to share a little of what God - [Pray](https://sukofamily.org/pray/) - We're looking for a few more people who would be willing to pray for us and for Ukraine. Is that you? If it is, please sign-up below. I send out regular prayer updates with information to help you pray accurately that you won't find anywhere else! Join us Email Address First Name Thank you for - ["Christmas in My Heart" -A Gospel Story for Orphans in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/christmas-in-my-heart-a-gospel-story-for-orphans-in-ukraine/) - "Christmas in My Heart" -A Gospel Story for Orphans in Ukraine This Christmas season we are working with author and pastor's wife Yuliana Karaman to reach orphans in Ukraine with the true Christmas message of Jesus Christ. In December and January Yuliana and our team are taking the book to orphanages in Ukraine. Orphans will get to meet the - [The Biggest Problem in Evangelism is...](https://sukofamily.org/the-biggest-problem-in-evangelism-is/) - I'm conducting some research for an article that I'm writing that will look into some of the reasons why we don't share the Good News with others and I would appreciate your answer to this one question below! If you can share a few of your thoughts with me on this topic, that would be - [Podcast Interviews](https://sukofamily.org/podcast-interviews/) - Thank you for your interest in joining me on the podcast. I value the time an effort you are taking to be part of the show and my prayer is that together we can encourage, inspire and inform the audience to serve and worship God better in every aspect of their lives. In order to - [Roots of Faith New Testament](https://sukofamily.org/trofnt/) - You can view the entire picture album and download full resolution images here. - [Roots of Faith OT](https://sukofamily.org/trofot/) - You can download high quality versions of the photos below here. - [Fund Online Theological Training in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/fund-online-theological-training-in-ukraine/) - If you would like to help provide access to theological training for church leaders in Ukraine please use the form below to let us know your desire. Once I receive your information I will update the amounts committed for each course according to what you indicate. Once you have filled out the form please use - [Online Theological Training in Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/online-theological-training-in-ukraine/) - War has ravaged the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian economy for over a year now. As a result many church leaders can no longer afford to travel long distances to study, yet the need for strong, Biblical, and accessible theological training continues to grow. Our institute, Church Ministries Institute, has taken on the project of creating - [The Word Is the Gift PDF Download](https://sukofamily.org/the-word-is-the-gift-pdf-download/) - Thank you for downloading "The Word Is the Gift" text. I pray that you will find it a blessing. Download PDF - [2015 Year End Giving](https://sukofamily.org/2015-year-end-giving/) - 2015 Year End Giving Before you give let us say "Thank you!" Thank you for your sacrifice! Thank you for caring for Ukraine! Thank you for investing in what God is doing in and through the Church in Ukraine! Thank you for giving us the privilege of serving Jesus in Ukraine! How Year End Giving - [Thank You for Praying for 30 Day for Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/thank-you-for-praying-for-30-day-for-ukraine/) - Christina and I want to say "Thank you" for praying for Ukraine these past 30 days! It has been challenging for me as I wrote those prayer requests and shared them with you and prayed along with you. Please take 2 minutes to watch this thank-you video from Christina and me. I also wanted to - [September Daily Prayer for Ukraine](https://sukofamily.org/september/) - Join us in September by praying for Ukraine daily. For the month of September you'll received daily prayer reminders via short e-mails that will not be published on our site or anywhere else. You can join us by signing up below. September Daily Prayer for Ukraine * indicates required Email Address * First Name * - [Extreme Institute in Lemani](https://sukofamily.org/extreme-institute-in-lemani/) - [Follow](https://sukofamily.org/subscribe/) - Christina and I want to show our appreciation to you for following our blog! We want to share with you how God brought us together 17 years ago. You may have heard some of the story before but I can guarantee that you haven't heard it all! Here's are a few things you'll learn in - [Thank You for Subscribing!](https://sukofamily.org/thank-you-for-subscribing/) - Thank you so much for following our blog and our family! We hope that you will keep us in your prayers. If you have any questions about our ministry you can contact us through the form below. As a sign of our appreciation to you Christina and I recorded this video about how God brought - [Thanks for Staying With US!](https://sukofamily.org/thanks-for-staying-with-us/) - Simply enter your name and e-mail below. [wysija_form id="1"] Thanks for staying with us! I hope you'll join with us in praying for Ukraine and sharing the news about what God is doing in Ukraine. Here are some posts that you may have missed. Find out what's going on in our ministry with these posts: Here - [Photos from Near Donetsk Airport](https://sukofamily.org/photos-from-near-donetsk-airport/) - [Archives](https://sukofamily.org/4779-2/) - [Ask A Question](https://sukofamily.org/ask/) - Here's your opportunity to ask us any question you want. Or Leave a message here (747) 221-6478 Each week I answer a few questions on my podcast Now is the Time. I will also link to your site or your twitter profile in the show notes. I'll let you know via email or twitter - [Thanksgiving 2014](https://sukofamily.org/thanksgiving-2014/) - Thank you for your prayers and support! You can download a hi-res version of this photo for printing here. (right click and "save-as") - [Podcast Survey](https://sukofamily.org/ps/) - Thank you for taking the survey! You'll receive a link for the free download of my book on the Orthodox Church after you submit the survey. How You Can Listen I recommend subscribing on your mobile device using either iTunes or Stitcher. Or you can subscribe via the RSS feed using any podcast catcher. - [Themeforest](https://sukofamily.org/themeforest/) - The theme I use for my site is called Buzzblog and I purchased it on Themeforest. I highly recommend checking out Themeforest if you need a highquality low cost theme. They have thousands to choose from. Below is an affiliate link for Themeforest and their Envato market place. If you click on it and purchase - [2 Ways to Get My Book for Free!](https://sukofamily.org/get-my-book-for-free/) - Method #1 This one is the simplest. If you purchased a paperback copy of my book through Amazon all you have to do is make sure your signed into Amazon and then click here to access the free Kindle version. That's it! Method #2 If you have Kindle Unlimited then you're set! Just head over to Amazon - [Thank You!](https://sukofamily.org/thankyou/) - Christina and I want to thank you for your sacrifice. We are grateful for your love and support of our family! It is such a great privilege for us to serve the Lord halfway around the world in Ukraine and know that you are behind us. I wrote a short ebook about the Orthodox Church that you - [Books](https://sukofamily.org/new-book/) - A book that explains the Orthodox Church's view on the authority of the Church, tradition and Scripture and how that affects every other area of theology - [What If...](https://sukofamily.org/whatif/) - I'd love to know what you think! If you've read my book "What If... How to Kill Worry and Anxiety Before They Kill You." You can let me and the world know what you think about it by giving an honest review on Amazon! Click here to leave a review! If you found the book helpful, please - [What If... Free Sermon](https://sukofamily.org/what-if-free-sermon/) - Thank you for purchasing What If... How to Kill Worry and Anxiety Before They Kill You! Here's the free MP3 download of my sermon "Worry the Acceptable Sin" While you're listening take some time to let your friends know about the book. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on LinkedIn About the - [ABWE Board](https://sukofamily.org/abweboard/) - Dear ABWE Board, Christina and I want to thank you for your sacrifice of time by serving on the ABWE board. We are grateful for your ministry on the board which allows our family to serve in Ukraine! We count it a great privilege to serve the Lord in Ukraine and know that you are behind - [Emmanuel Baptist Church](https://sukofamily.org/ebc/) - Dear Emmanuel, It's was such a privilege to be in your church this weekend! Our family loved the guesthouse, we were very comfortable there! Your warm welcome was a real encouragement to us and we appreciated your desire to clearly communicate the gospel not only in Lewiston but also half way around the world in Ukraine! - [What IF... Book Launch Team](https://sukofamily.org/what-if-book-launch-team/) - Thanks for expressing interest in the "What If..." book launch team! If you found this page then that means you're one of a select few that I've asked to join me on this launch. I want to let you know that I really do appreciate your time and I know that it is valuable. As - [Called to Serve](https://sukofamily.org/calledtoserve/) - [What Do You Worry About?](https://sukofamily.org/what-do-you-worry-about/) - Loading... - [GracePoint](https://sukofamily.org/gracepoint/) - Dear GracePoint Church, It was such a privilege to be in your church this past week! Your warm welcome was a real encouragement to us and we appreciated your desire to clearly communicate the gospel not only in Bremerton but also half way around the world in Ukraine! Christina and I want to thank you for - [Worldview2](https://sukofamily.org/worldview2/) - [Ukraine 7 Day Prayer Guide Printable](https://sukofamily.org/ukraine-7-day-prayer-guide-printable/) - Below is our 7 day prayer guide for Ukraine. You can also download a free printable pdf that can be used as an insert of church bulletins. Download a pdf version for printing here. Sunday -Pray for church leaders they would take every opportunity to proclaim the peace that Jesus offers and that they would - [Worldview](https://sukofamily.org/worldview/) - [Thanks for Subscribing!](https://sukofamily.org/thanks-for-subscribing/) - Now you can get to know a little more about us! Caleb and Christina serve in Odessa, Ukraine with a team of missionaries. Their ministry is focused on growing healthy Christ centered local churches. This is accomplished through training young believers at the Church Ministries Institute, where Caleb serves as the vice president. In addition - [Puyallup Community Baptist Church](https://sukofamily.org/pcbc/) - Dear Puyallup Community Baptist Church, It was such a privilege to be in your church all this past week! We enjoyed the many dinners in homes, Awana, men's breakfast and women's tea. Your warm welcome was a real encouragement to us and we appreciated your desire to clearly communicate the gospel not only in Puyallup - [Subscription](https://sukofamily.org/subscription/) - To get regular updates that are not published anywhere on our website all you need to do is subscribe with your email. These updates include fresh news about Ukraine and specific prayer requests. You'll also get an in-depth video from Christina and me that explains the unique circumstances of how we met. [wysija_form id="1"] - [First Baptist Arlington](https://sukofamily.org/fbc/) - Dear First Baptist of Arlington, It was so great to be with you on January 5th! We were very impressed with the wonderful reception that you gave our family! It's so good to see your love for Jesus and your heart for missions! It really was hard to believe that it had been 7 years - [2013 Year End Giving](https://sukofamily.org/2013giving/) - How Year End Giving Helps Special gifts giving at the end of the year go a long way to help with ministry projects. These include things like mission trips for Ukrainians, helping local church planters and giving aid to students studying at our Church Ministries Institute in Ukraine. Year end gifts also help you with - [Blog](https://sukofamily.org/blog/) - [awana](https://sukofamily.org/awana/) - [pe2-gallery album="http://picasaweb.google.com/data/feed/base/user/116863174218521106711/albumid/5948542814118783665?alt=rss&hl=en_US&kind=photo" ] - [Live](https://sukofamily.org/live/) - [Bethany](https://sukofamily.org/bethany/) - Dear Bethany Bible, It was so enjoyable for us to spend the first month back from Ukraine with all of your. We enjoyed being in homes , in Sunday school classes, in youth group and in small groups. 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[homosexuality](https://sukofamily.org/tag/homosexuality/) - [lgbt](https://sukofamily.org/tag/lgbt/) - [orlando massacre](https://sukofamily.org/tag/orlando-massacre/) - [patriotism](https://sukofamily.org/tag/patriotism/) - [racism](https://sukofamily.org/tag/racism/) - [demon possession](https://sukofamily.org/tag/demon-possession/) - [exorcism](https://sukofamily.org/tag/exorcism/) - [spurgeon](https://sukofamily.org/tag/spurgeon/) - [communication](https://sukofamily.org/tag/communication/) - [C.S. Lewis](https://sukofamily.org/tag/c-s-lewis/) - [body of christ](https://sukofamily.org/tag/body-of-christ/) - [calling](https://sukofamily.org/tag/calling/) - [JC Ryle](https://sukofamily.org/tag/jc-ryle/) - [salvation](https://sukofamily.org/tag/salvation/) - [sinner's prayer](https://sukofamily.org/tag/sinners-prayer/) - [assurance of salvation](https://sukofamily.org/tag/assurance-of-salvation/) - [Donbass](https://sukofamily.org/tag/donbass/) - [lpr](https://sukofamily.org/tag/lpr/) - [blizzard](https://sukofamily.org/tag/blizzard/) - [car accident](https://sukofamily.org/tag/car-accident/) - [discouragement](https://sukofamily.org/tag/discouragement/) - [spiritual life](https://sukofamily.org/tag/spiritual-life/) - [husband](https://sukofamily.org/tag/husband/) - [international women's day](https://sukofamily.org/tag/international-womens-day/) - [girls](https://sukofamily.org/tag/girls/) - [sex](https://sukofamily.org/tag/sex/) - [ukraine army](https://sukofamily.org/tag/ukraine-army/) - 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[faith](https://sukofamily.org/tag/faith/) - [naomi](https://sukofamily.org/tag/naomi/) - [new life](https://sukofamily.org/tag/new-life/) - [nicodemus](https://sukofamily.org/tag/nicodemus/) - [Martin Luther](https://sukofamily.org/tag/martin-luther/) - [5 Solas](https://sukofamily.org/tag/5-solas/) - [Hillsong](https://sukofamily.org/tag/hillsong/) - [Mass shooting](https://sukofamily.org/tag/mass-shooting/) - [southland springs](https://sukofamily.org/tag/southland-springs/) - [sutherland springs](https://sukofamily.org/tag/sutherland-springs/) - [Sola Gratia](https://sukofamily.org/tag/sola-gratia/) - [Black Friday](https://sukofamily.org/tag/black-friday/) - [covetousness](https://sukofamily.org/tag/covetousness/) - [greed](https://sukofamily.org/tag/greed/) - [chile](https://sukofamily.org/tag/chile/) - [Christ](https://sukofamily.org/tag/christ/) - [bibliology](https://sukofamily.org/tag/bibliology/) - [Proverbs](https://sukofamily.org/tag/proverbs/) - [Jonathan Edwards](https://sukofamily.org/tag/jonathan-edwards/) - 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