UMC in Ukraine: David and Shannon Goran’s Newsletter

Finishing Up Furlough

It is hard for us to feel that there is any news in our lives and ministry more important than the birth of the newest member of the Goran family, Jeremiah Robert. We are so excited to watch this little fellow as he grows and starts to interact with a very active older brother. Whatever Jesse throws his way, Jeremiah should be alright because he has enormous hands to defend himself with! We thank God for Jeremiah and all the blessings he has poured out on our family!

David, Jesse, I and now Jeremiah, have been in America since the end of September and we will be here until February 6th. The General Board of Global Ministries calls this time itineration or furlough. It is usually about a three month period when missionaries come home to reconnect with supporters, share their stories and rest.

So far our furlough has taken us to Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, and Kentucky to visit churches and individual supporters. While on the road, we were blessed to have a minivan to travel around in and to have it stocked with a car seat, a pack and play, a high chair, a safety gate, toys, snacks and more. The travel has been exhausting, but also enjoyable and fulfilling.

We have been able to share our stories through sermons, presentations, conversations, pictures, over meals, on the computer and over the phone. Sharing about the ministry, our growth, our lives, our struggles, and our successes has also been a good time for David and me to reflect on what all has happened in our three years in Ukraine.

Not until the week of Thanksgiving were we able to get substantial rest. But after that our schedule slowed down, and with the birth of Jeremiah we have had a break through the New Year. We will continue to visit churches in Texas through January and we willl also have the opportunity to fly out to Virginia and visit our wonderful supporters at Grace UMC in Manassas. We return to Ukraine February 7th.

For all of those who have hosted us, helped us along the way, fed us, guided us, supported us with your finances, your time, your prayers, we want to say thank you. We are so grateful for all of you and could not do any of this without you. God truly has shown us what a great church family we have during itineration!

Introducing Katie and Nick

Our ministry in Ukraine has been blessed to host two young adults for 18 months through the Mission Intern program sponsored by the General Board of Global Ministries. They arrived in L’viv only 4 weeks before David and I left for America, but it was enough time to get them acclimated and oriented to both the city and the ministry.

Katie, a native of Ohio, and a graduate of Ohio University, has lots of ideas, creativity and organizational skills that have already been a great addition to campus ministry. She also has experience working with a children’s program which will be a great help with the start of our preschool next year.

Nick, a North Carolina native and a Pfeifer University graduate is a great fit for student ministry. He is independent, energetic and ready for whatever is next. Nick also has experience leading outdoor camps which we plan to utilize this coming summer during our summer camps, hopefully attracting an entirely new group of students.

Both Nick and Katie are specifically helping us develop and implement our social justice and outreach programs at the student center and the church. They are looking for ways to help our students and young adults serve the community in which they live.

The United Methodist Church of Saint John – an Update

The United Methodist Church plant in L’viv is approaching two years in late January and things continue to move forward. This last year has been full of blessings for us, including baptisms, a couple of weddings, the addition of new members to the congregation, the formation of a Ukrainian led leadership team, and the sending out of a young couple to start a preaching point/church plant. And the best of all, our leadership team agreed on a church name: The United Methodist Church of St. John. It was decided that since we are a young church, we would do well to identify with John - the youngest disciple.

These last two years of church planting have not been easy. Giving our graduates from the student ministry a place to plug in and continue worshiping after finishing university has paid off, but also proven more difficult than we expected. Some of the young adults we thought would commit to the community have not, and others we did not expect have emerged as important players. This coming year we are hoping to begin establishing a teenage ministry, a number of various small groups, a worship team, and a hospitality team. We are praying that these ministries will continue to take shape during this next year, and that we will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading and guiding of our community at St. John’s.

The Summer Ahead – Moving, Teams, and EuroCup

Even though the Christmas tree is up and we still have a lot of winter remaining, our minds are already looking forward to the summer; the busiest summer of ministry we will have ever had in L’viv.

Probably the most enduring and significant endeavor for us this summer regards our ministry location. As many of you know, for a while we have been looking to expand and relocate. Because of the generous giving of so many of you, we were able to purchase half of a two apartment communal space in October 2011. While we continue to run the student ministry and the church out of our old space, our hope and prayer is that soon that space will sell and the proceeds from that sale will be enough for us to purchase the other half of the communal apartment. This summer we will begin our remodeling process. To assist us in that process, we will be welcoming two mission teams, one from Sugarland United Methodist Church in Texas and another from the Wesley Foundation at the University of Texas (led by our former intern Greg Smith). The plan is to have the college students help us with demolition and then to have the more experienced adult mission team help us with rebuilding.

In June, 2012 L’viv hosts the long awaited EuroCup soccer tournament. For two years we have watched as the city has been tearing up its roads, rebuilding its water lines, putting up new tourist friendly signs, and upgrading public transportation, all of it in preparation for the massive influx of tourists who will come for EuroCup. While this will be a fun thing just to be a part of, it will also be a time of ministry for us as well. During the games we will be joining with the Texas Wesley in ministry, and trying to connect with new people by showing the games at our student center. It should be very interesting to see how it all comes together. As far as the rest of the summer goes, we will have our annual Youth to Jesus English Camp and be partnering again with our wonderful friends from Grace United Methodist in Manassas, Virginia. Later on in the summer, in August, another team of young people will come from the Pennsylvania Annual Conference. They will likely assist us in running a church camp, not only for St. John’s UMC but for all of the other churches in Ukraine.

It is certainly going to be an eventful summer. Please pray for everything that awaits us, and pray especially that God is at work in these efforts, drawing people into a new life in Jesus Christ.

Prayer Requests

Since the prayers of God’s righteous people hold power and are effective, we ask you to diligently pray…

…for the sale of the student center. This is a critical piece to our plans for the summer. Please pray that we are able to sell the center by June.

…for Erika, Lyubomir, Katie and Nick who have already been running the show in our absence. Pray that this is a time where each is able to develop further as leaders and ministers of the gospel.

…for our upcoming child care arrangements. Now with two children we are going to have to be much more serious about finding regular child care. Pray that God helps us find the right person or people.

…for new students at the student center. Pray that we learn how to better reach young students so that we can continually reach young people with the gospel.

…for the church planting effort in the nearby city Stree that has been active for 1 year.

…for Gregory Pokidanets and Volodiya Prokip who recently enrolled at the UM Seminary in Moscow. Pray that they will learn how to minister more effectively as future pastors in Ukraine.

Contact Information

Our personal address - David and Shannon Goran, Voronoho 11/3, Lviv 79000, UKRAINE

Our P.O. Box - David and Shannon Goran, a/c 7998, Lviv – 8, Lviv, Ukraine 79008

SKYPE name: shannongoran - Home phone number: 38-032-2358135