I spent a week in Odessa at the Seaside Mission Training Centre, operated by International Messengers, the organization with which Rosebank Union’s missionaries, Arkadiy and Anneke Naydenov, are associated. The centre offers a three-month training programme for people from the region, who would never be able to go to the USA to receive the same training (where Olivia, our own short-term missionary in Odessa, trained). After the three-month training period the graduates are required to complete an internship in various places around the world, most of them in former Soviet Union countries. The Centre has been operating since 2004 under the leadership of Arkadiy and Mark Huffman (a full-time missionary from the USA).

The 2013 group of students at the training centre includes two families with children, one with a two-year old boy, the other with twin girls of 6 months – nogal a challenge to teach when the children (at times) are not with baby sitters! The 8 students come from Poland (5), Ukraine (1), Lebanon (1) and USA (one of the husbands, married to a Polish wife). Most of them understood English so that I did not have to work through an interpreter. Arkadiy, who normally teaches discipleship, also attended the course and was there to assist in translation into Russian, if and when needed.

I spent the mornings (9am to 12.45pm) of Monday to Friday to teach the basic principles and approach of Life on Life Missional Discipleship. Since we were working in a very small space (filling a bedroom become classroom!) it was impossible to break into workshop groups. However, we had lots of participation, discussion, ideas and questions during the class time, and some homework (mainly from the Ignition Guide) to reinforce the principles. The response was extremely good, although it remains to be seen where and how the graduates would be able to implement the principles in the future. Arkadiy, who is already using discipleship principles and practices in the church plant, is very interested in using the LOLMD model at the Odessa Living Hope Church. The Ukrainian student, Andrey, has an Odessa Baptist Seminary qualification and is an assistant Greek lecturer at the Odessa Seminary. He is planning to use the LOLMD approach in a church plant near a university area in Odessa. I met for about 2 hours on the other side of town (about an hour-and-a-half travel time by bus and by foot!) with a small group of people with whom he is working to talk to them about the LOLMD approach.

In addition to teaching, I also preached at the Living Hope church over the weekend, participated in the English Club on Saturday, met separately with Arkadiy and Anneke, Olivia (and an intern, Kimberley) and Mark and Kim Huffman (American missionaries working with Arkadiy). I received very positive feedback from both the Naydenovs and the Huffmans about Olivia’s involvement with the team and fitting into the ministry at the church. She herself seems to enjoy her ministry, especially working with the Living Hope team.

Thank you to Rosebank Union Church, the leadership who gave me the opportunity to go and to the Mission Committee for approving the budget to make it possible for me to participate in this mission. Eternity will tell how much this has done for the extension of the Kingdom of God. It was a wonderful opportunity to pass on the LOLMD principles and teachings that we have received from the Perimeter Church in Atlanta.