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I’m Coming Home.

Well, in a way. Two Rivers is my home church, and I do have a legal address in NY. But “home” is where God has called me. So, for now, home is still Kyiv. However, in two days I will be getting on a bus to ride from Kyiv to Warsaw. In three days I will be getting on a plane to fly to NYC. And in four days, I will be getting on another bus to head upstate. This will actually be the first summer since ’18 that I have been in the US in the summer time and the first time since the peak of COVID craziness that I have been there for more than a week or two. Needless to say, this will be a much needed and long overdue holiday.

School Year wrap-up

This past weekend, KCA celebrated the first graduating class since the outbreak of the war. At the graduation ceremony, I was blessed with the opportunity to be the commencement speaker. The graduating class was only two students, but hey, you’ve got to start somewhere. The total number of students did significantly increase over the course of the year, and we have about a dozen additional students coming next year. The war continues with no end in sight, but more and more God is calling others to come.

Speaking of war, there was another attack close to the school a couple of weeks ago. Many of you were aware and praying for us at that time. Thank you. The resilience of the students in incidents like this continues to astound me. For most days, they were not allowed outside during recess because the wind was blowing from the automotive warehouse next door and the smell of burnt rubber and plastic… not safe for kids. But we have a policy, if a student finds a piece of debris, they are to stay at it, raise their hand, and a teacher will determine if it should be removed or if we need to contact someone. I went outside to join the teachers at recess, and all the kids were scattered around the area with three or four excitedly raising their hands. One of the kindergarten kids sees me coming out and says, “Mr Richardson, we are having a treasure hunt!” They had turned the removal of scattered debris from the factory explosion into fun.

The three pictures here are from the missile strike that Sunday morning. The first is a picture I took myself from my apartment complex about 10 minutes after it hit. The second was taken by another teacher; you can see the school at the bottom of the picture. The third I took just a couple of minutes ago as I write this. This is the view I see every day from my high school classroom. 

Please Pray

1. For peace. It will come. War cannot continue forever, but outside a miraculous work of God, it does not look to be near. Thank God, He still does miracles.
2. For safe travels. Some of the teachers have already left, and others will be leaving this week. Many of the students with their families will be heading to their homes in Korea. Please pray for great holidays and uncomplicated return journeys.
3. For the summer programs. There will be a summer camp here at KCA for two weeks. Many of the teachers and KCA families will also be involved in summer camp or other outreaches in the East.
4. For me. I have tried to balance time to just step back and get recharged myself, with time to meet up with people and churches, where I can share firsthand what God is doing here in Kyiv. Pray that it is the right balance.
5. For finances and phones. I have also pretty much lost use of my phone. Over the past two weeks, my 8-year-old phone stopped working for Bluetooth, then for wifi, then for mobile data. I’ve basically been in airplane mode the past few days. It gave me a good run, and it was time for an upgrade. Phones are actually slightly cheaper here than in the US, so I will be heading out tomorrow to get a new one. But that wasn’t in my expected summer budget. Pray that the next phone will be as awesome and reliable as the one I had and that no other unexpected financial monkeywrenches will be thrown my way.

If you would like to give towards my summer expenses:

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