I am writing from the city that was the base of the Soviet Union's Black Sea fleet while the USSR was unified. This location was a "closed city" and that meant that no one was able to enter without special permission.

What a day Sunday, October 16, has been...arrival at the airport at 11:00 p.m...final arrival at the lodging site at 2:00 a.m...getting up alarm at 6:00 a.m...breakfast at 7:00 a.m...lunch at 8:00 p.m.!!!

I arrived in the Simferopol airport last night around 11:00 p.m. (or as the flight attendant announced "It is 23 hours 5 minutes time in this city."). I was met by Peter, Vitalik, and Valentine who loaded my bags into Valentine's van and we began driving to where I would be lodged in Sevastopol. I walked through the door of the flat at 2:00 a.m. When the alarm sounded at 6:00, I could hardly move--it felt as if my entire body was glued to the bed. But I had to get up and get going because I was scheduled to meet with two congregations for the Lord's Day worship.

Eugene Strakov is preaching in Simferopol and Sergey Zabruzsky is preaching in Sevastopol. I have known both of these brothers for many years. When we established the congregation in Khyartzsk in 1996, Ray Stillwell hired Eugene and Helen as the located preacher's family. The following year we established the church in Zuhres and Sergey was hired as the located preacher. Eugene and Helen moved to Simferopol in 2002 and Sergey came down about 1-2 years later. They came to a place where no congregation of the Lord's Church existed. The initial work was difficult but they continued and now each congregation has about 25 members.

One of the highlights of these congregations is the benevolent activity of foster parenting. Currently Eugene and Helen have 8 children including their own daughter Julia. Another foster family in the city was contacted and invited to worship. They have been attending for over a year and recently the adults and three of the foster children were immersed. All of the children in Eugene and Helen's home have become Christians except for a two year old. You will hear the report from Eugene and Helen on the video report. When I asked them what was some of the memorable events that have happened in this location they both agreed that it had to be the call they received from an orphanage about a fourteen year old that was raped by one of the older boys at the orphanage and she became pregnant. The State did not know what to do except put her out of the orphanage but one of the tender hearted caregivers at the orphanage knew that would be condemning a fourteen year old to prostitution and the baby to a life of misery. They were aware of what the Lord's Church was doing to help foster care and so the call was made to Eugene and Helen. Before they committed to take the expectant teen they called a family meeting of their daughter, foster daughter and (at that time) three foster sons. One of the boys remarked, "I was brought up in an orphanage and I never had a childhood...I do not want that to happen to this baby who is going to be born." Before the expectant girl arrived there was one more boy added to the family unit--that was two years ago. Since that time the baby was born and you can will her in the photos of the trip; the mother was taught the Truth and obeyed the gospel; and the baby has been attending children's Bible classes!

Following the period of fellowship, I had to get back to Sevastopol for a series of meetings with officials discussing shipping of benevolent assistance items into this region. I was taken to one of the businessmen of the region (Alexander) who is half-owner of the port and the chief of several other things. We discussed the program and its requirements. When it came to discussing the Church's role, I told him that one of the primary motivations for doing this was so the churches of Christ would receive recognition for their desire to help the community. When I said that he stopped and looked at me and then asked, "And which Patriarchy do you work under. Is it Moscow or Kyiv?" That question revealed he had no idea about the Church. There has been a long and bitter feud in the Russian Orthodox Church as to who was the head (Patriarch) of the Russian Orthodox in Ukraine--the Russians say it is under the Patriarchy of Moscow (being the TRUE Russian Orthodox Church) but the Ukrainians say it is under the Patriarchy of Kyiv (because it is truly Ukrainian). To many reading this report this feud does not make sense, but I assure you that it is a very vital point of bitterness. So I told Alexander that we are associated with neither and are autonomous and totally independent. The opportunity was available for only the briefest discussion but enough information was given that a good reference foundation is laid for the next discussion.

Tomorrow promises to be another busy day. It is almost 11:00 p.m. here and the house has fallen silent except for the clicking of the keyboard as I write. I am about to fall asleep as I type so I will say good night! Hopefully I will have opportunity to send more reports about the activities planned for tomorrow. I know Tanya is hoping that she gets to eat lunch before 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night--I also think I would like that as well!!

Thank you for your continued interest and prayers in the gospel's efforts!
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
(Sevastopol, Ukraine)