Walking in the power of God

 Walking in the power of God

Wow, one night on March 24th 2010, just two days after my 35th wedding anniversary, I participated in an awesome work of God.  My Friend Serge Glushko let me come and talk at Teen Challenge.  A place where those who are struggling with addictions or with being in relationship with those who are addicted can come and talk and be comforted and given some help or directed to other help.  I really have never worked with addicts before and didn't know what to expect.  What I found was that God gave me so much grace and love for these men and women.  God was at work before I ever got there.  On the way I met an old friend who I got to share with and who prayed for me as I was walking to the meeting.  I was so blessed to talk and pray with him.  It felt like a God encounter.

While I was there at the meeting a man said that he felt like I could see right into him, I am sure what he felt was the Holy Spirit working in him and through me.  I was able to lead him to Christ because he asked, "How can I have a new life?"  Then later in the evening as I shared the message that God had laid on my heart 4 more addicts repented and gave their lives to Christ.  One of them even shared that already he had lost the desire for cigarettes.  The joy on their faces was so incredible.  I will continue to pray for these people that God would move and do greater things yet.

I have never really thought of myself as an evangelist, but yet that is my calling (see the note below, "My Calling").  I always saw myself as a servant or a preacher/teacher.  But I feel like the Lord is confirming in me the calling that He gave me all those years ago.  And I am excited about the thought of it.  I am excited about being used by God.  I am so incredibly blessed by His miraculous power which can work in and use such a flawed vessel like me to accomplish His Eternal and Holy Purposes.  I know I have more opportunities coming.  I pray that I will continue to be the sensitive kind of leader who shares the Good news of Jesus Christ in ways that will draw these broken and lost people to their Redeemer.

Oh what Joy and what gladness I have in serving my God.

I'll add "My Calling" soon

Divine appointments or Random happenings

 Divine appointments or Random happenings

Today on the way home from church we ended up helping an old man who tripped and fell.  But we wouldn’t have been there if a number of other events hadn’t taken place. 

 

First, we decided to leave church instead of sticking around for a members’ meeting.  The meeting would have been in Russian, and I wasn’t up to another hour or so of Russian language, especially after a sermon in Russian that came at me like machine gun fire.  But then I realized I needed to refill my phone, so on our way to the bus stop I went down the metro entrance to find either someone selling phone cards but ended up recharging my phone at an electronic kiosk.  Once I was done with that AnnMarie and I got right onto a marshrutka headed for our place. 

 

We got off at our stop and then decided to pop into the renok (bazaar) to pick up some carrot rolls (watch for a post from AnnMarie to answer the question as to what those are).  Then we headed towards home but as we were crossing the bridge we saw something that caught our eye.  It caught our eye because in talking to AnnMarie’s mom last night we learned that she was sending us white beans, amongst some other things.  Well this couple was selling white beans (in three different forms) in plastic bags for about $2.00 a bag.  We walked by them and said, “Hey, do you think we should take a picture?”  So I went back and asked them if I could take their picture with the beans.  I am not really one for doing that.  I don’t like taking photos of others and publicizing them as a general rule unless they are our friends.  Well, they asked where we were from and we had a fairly long conversation in a mix of English and Russian.  Then we said our goodbyes and crossed the bridge onto our island. 

 

Then I noticed the line at the bread kiosk.  It was long, but we needed bread so after AnnMarie encouraged me that standing in line would be fine if I got us a loaf of bread.  Finally we stopped at the meat and cheese kiosk and I purchased some Edam cheese, as we had just used up the last of our cheese. 

 

So finally we got to our building and shortly after we rounded the corner I was looking ahead and I saw this man go straight down on his face.  I was concerned as the way he fell just looked like he went head first without trying to stop himself.  I handed off everything to AnnMarie and ran to his side.  He was conscious and bleeding.  I had some tissues in my coat pocket and I just stayed with him till he got his wits around him.  He was probably 70 something and was just bringing some groceries home.  I think he tripped but because his hands were full, he wasn’t able to stop himself.  He had some scrapes on his hands and face, but wasn’t too bad off.  I was able to help him up and see him to his entrance.  He lives in our building in the next stairwell.

 

For me it seemed like everything was a line of divine appointments.  If we had not stopped at one of the places we had, we would never have been there to stop and help this old man.  I was surprised how many people just walked by and didn’t seem to take notice.  I guess they thought he was drunk or something.  But I felt like we made more new friends today; Serge and Ksenia on the bridge and this old man, who I will be keeping an eye out for.  God is so good.  It feels so good when you do the littlest thing to help someone or when you start a new friendship – Looking forward to more divine appointments in the days ahead.

Ukrainian life event January 2010

Divine appointments or Random happenings

Today on the way home from church we ended up helping an old man who tripped and fell.  But we wouldn’t have been there if a number of other events hadn’t taken place. 

 

First, we decided to leave church instead of sticking around for a members’ meeting.  The meeting would have been in Russian, and I wasn’t up to another hour or so of Russian language, especially after a sermon in Russian that came at me like machine gun fire.  But then I realized I needed to refill my phone, so on our way to the bus stop I went down the metro entrance to find either someone selling phone cards but ended up recharging my phone at an electronic kiosk.  Once I was done with that AnnMarie and I got right onto a marshrutka headed for our place. 

 

We got off at our stop and then decided to pop into the renok (bazaar) to pick up some carrot rolls (watch for a post from AnnMarie to answer the question as to what those are).  Then we headed towards home but as we were crossing the bridge we saw something that caught our eye.  It caught our eye because in talking to AnnMarie’s mom last night we learned that she was sending us white beans, amongst some other things.  Well this couple was selling white beans (in three different forms) in plastic bags for about $2.00 a bag.  We walked by them and said, “Hey, do you think we should take a picture?”  So I went back and asked them if I could take their picture with the beans.  I am not really one for doing that.  I don’t like taking photos of others and publicizing them as a general rule unless they are our friends.  Well, they asked where we were from and we had a fairly long conversation in a mix of English and Russian.  Then we said our goodbyes and crossed the bridge onto our island. 

 

Then I noticed the line at the bread kiosk.  It was long, but we needed bread so after AnnMarie encouraged me that standing in line would be fine if I got us a loaf of bread.  Finally we stopped at the meat and cheese kiosk and I purchased some Edam cheese, as we had just used up the last of our cheese. 

 

So finally we got to our building and shortly after we rounded the corner I was looking ahead and I saw this man go straight down on his face.  I was concerned as the way he fell just looked like he went head first without trying to stop himself.  I handed off everything to AnnMarie and ran to his side.  He was conscious and bleeding.  I had some tissues in my coat pocket and I just stayed with him till he got his wits around him.  He was probably 70 something and was just bringing some groceries home.  I think he tripped but because his hands were full, he wasn’t able to stop himself.  He had some scrapes on his hands and face, but wasn’t too bad off.  I was able to help him up and see him to his entrance.  He lives in our building in the next stairwell.

 

For me it seemed like everything was a line of divine appointments.  If we had not stopped at one of the places we had, we would never have been there to stop and help this old man.  I was surprised how many people just walked by and didn’t seem to take notice.  I guess they thought he was drunk or something.  But I felt like we made more new friends today; Serge and Ksenia on the bridge and this old man, who I will be keeping an eye out for.  God is so good.  It feels so good when you do the littlest thing to help someone or when you start a new friendship – Looking forward to more divine appointments in the days ahead.

Update on Virginia and us

For those of you who did not get the email....

Dear friends and family

At this point we have been looking after Virginia for over three months ensuring that she is watched and cared for 24-7.  The end of August will mark three months that she has been officially on Hospice care.  Her strength continues to wain.  She has so little tone in her muscles that she cannot even sit on the edge of the bed; this is hard on her.  She realizes the reality of her situation, but she really hasn't come to the point of accepting it.  We are seen denial, anger and bargaining, but she has not come to full acceptance of her circumstances.  She has lucid days and other times she has trouble remembering where she is.  Her appetite has also dropped off.  She has trouble chewing and so she is limited to soft foods and liquids.  At times the nurses are convinced she is in her last days and then she'll bounce back and surprises them.   One nurse who visited her in the first weeks was surprised to hear that she was still with us.  I wonder sometimes if the Lord has her hanging around for some unfinished business.  

I talked to one of the nurses yesterday about her episodes of forgetfulness and imagining other people living with us and she said that is a result of her COPD.  It is called COPD dementia.  Even though she is on 4 litres of oxygen, her body isn't able to properly process out her CO2 and it builds up and causes problems.

Today is a bit of a sad day for her, Today her deceased husband's birthday.  Remembering that has brought tears and sobs.  Some how she briefly confused me with her deceased son as well, which brought more tears remembering that loss.

We continue to hang in there.  There are times that we get pretty tired, so at times,during the overlap of our shifts, one or the other will take a nap. One day AnnMarie took a brief nap with Alan when a friend stopped by for a visit. Lately Alan has been taking more of the naps as he recovers from the surgery he had two weeks ago.    It wasn't serious, but moving around tends to aggravate the surgical site.  It was such a blessing to have our niece Heather come up and give a few days relief so that he could have the surgery and start the healing process.  We have hired a young man from our church to take care of the yard work until Alan finishes his recuperation. God's grace continues to avail itself for us.  We continue to walk in His peace and His love.  

I don't think we have fully shared about what we experienced when Alan had heart attack like symptoms one Sunday last month.  Alan had been feeling rather tired that day when our friend Steve came over to give us a chance to go to church.  The weariness didn't want to lift, but Alan continued to press in believing that in worship he would find relief.  During the service he started to experience some pain and numbness in his left arm along with pressure in his chest.  He didn't have any difficulty in breathing though.  But AnnMarie was not aware of any of this until on the way out of church.  She asked what he would like for lunch and then he told her about the symptoms.  We decided to go to Base emergency as there would be no paperwork or bills to deal with.  On the way there we looked at each other at a stop light wondering if this might be our last moments on earth together and we both smiled.  We were just so thankful for each other and had no regrets.  It was strangely wonderful to walk in God's grace and have no fear in the face of potential loss and death.  As it turns out there was no heart attack.  Alan took a stress test (EKG while on a treadmill)  and all was normal.  His primary care doctor suspects it might have to do with his stomach or esophagus and wants to do a endoscopy.  He also seems to experience low oxygen levels while sleeping so next month he will be undergoing a sleep study to see if he suffers from apnea.  That is all we need another compressor running in the house.

AnnMarie continues to do well.  She is tired and would like an extended break but at the moment that does not seem possible.   The other night we ordered out for Chinese food.  It was a welcome change to our routine and quite tasty.  

We;thank you all for all the prayers and fond thoughts.  We also thank all of you who brought us meals.  Please feel to call us to say hello we would love to hear from you.  The best number to call is 702.255.8119, that is our home phone.  If you want to do a Skype call, send me a message at this email (preacheral1975@Gmail.com) and we can try to set up a time.  Alan normally comes on shift at 3:00 a.m. and is headed for bed about 7:00 p.m.  AnnMarie normally gets up before noon and is in bed shortly after Alan comes on shift.  The noon to 6:00 p.m. PDST (GMT -8) is the best time to call as usually both of us are available, that is if one of us don't go down for a nap.:)

Blessings, 

A&A

BTU Update June 2013

Dear friends and family,
as of this date, if you haven’t heard already, we are doing 24-7 care for AnnMarie’s mom.  She has suffered a collapsed lung as a result of a fleshy obstruction in her left lung.  She now only has the use of her right lung.  To put it crudely, she had two lousy lungs now she has only one.  They have on 4+ liters of 0₂ and she is very weak and tired.  Some of you might be asking how long does she have.  Quite frankly we do not know and no one is telling us.  She could go on like this for months or she could last just a few more weeks.  Her mind is still sharp, she has no pain but has difficulty expressing her needs sometimes.  She is ready to go.  She is at peace and she has no regrets.  She looks forward to coming into the fullness of God’s Kingdom and being reunited with loved ones who have gone before her.

Alan gets up to watch her at 3:00 am (AnnMarie goes to bed then), then AnnMarie is up around 10:00 or so, so that we can have some contact time.  They have nurses coming a couple times a week and nurse’s assistances coming almost every day.  The good news is that in addition to the wonderful caregivers who we have been coming, she has been receiving spiritual care as well.  Last week a chaplain who serves at the hospice stopped by to check on Virginia and us.  Her prayers and encouraging words were most welcome.  Friends have also stepped in so that we haven’t missed any Sundays at church, although they are no longer able to attend, home group, Tuesday prayer or serve at the first worship service.

Ukraine is out for this summer.  Alan had wanted to go, but just wasn’t getting the peace to go.  So when Virginia was hospitalized it seemed to confirm that he wasn’t to go this year.  As it turns out there will be no Zatseni camp for the 20 somethings.  Two couples are getting married this summer and there were some issues with the tents.  Alan had hoped to serve along side his friend Yuri in eastern Chernighiv Oblast, but we are afraid that is off too.

Alan has some minor surgery to have this summer; we are hoping that it will not interfere with Virginia’s care.  We do have an option for her to return to the hospice care facility for up to 5 days – we may need to take advantage of that.  

Alan’s writing and teaching have been stopped for the summer but he hopes to be back at it in the fall.

Prayer Needs

Please continue to pray for peace, wisdom and strength as we continue to minster to Virginia.
Pray that God will make new opportunities for serving
Please pray that we might find jobs when the time comes.

Praising God for:

Strength, patience and compassion
All those who are praying for us
For the friends who have stepped in and given us relief
For how God has prepared us for this time

Blessings to you all in Jesus Name,
With Love,

Alan & AnnMarie Beckett

May 2013 update

Update from the Becketts

As I think about what has occurred it seems like we are seeing so many milestones. As of a year ago, January 25^th, AnnMarie and I got on a plane to leave Ukraine for the foreseeable future.  On one hand it seems like ages ago, on the other the fondness we still have for our friends there makes it seem more recent and more painful.  We know that this was God’s will for us.  We have had difficulty accepting that at times.  I, Alan, wanted to blame it on corrupt public servants in Ukraine.  I wanted to blame it on the lack of funds available to us.  But the reality of it is that it was time for us to come to Las Vegas. 

Another milestone was March 22^nd.  We celebrated our 38^th anniversary.  Wow that seems like such a long time, but time waits for no man.  May is the 9^th anniversary of our first trip to Ukraine; A trip which forever changed our lives and forever made Ukraine part of our hearts.  And June 1^st will make 8 years from when we first arrived in Ukraine to go into fulltime ministry.  On one hand it seems like ages ago but in other ways it seems like yesterday.

In this Letter

·       Life in Vegas

·       This summer

·       Conclusion

·       Prayer needs

·       Contact info

Life in Vegas

We know that we have been sent here to love and care for AnnMarie’s mother.  She is not an invalid, but her health isn't getting better.  All I know is that we are fully prepared to surrender to this calling that God has given us to care for Virginia.  There are challenges to be overcome.  We are use to doing things on our terms but love doesn't say “Only if it is easy; only if it goes my way”.  Love says, “I will meet you where you are and strive to build bridges."

I guess one of the hardest things to do is not have a clear idea of what our ministry is to be within the local body of Christ.  We have a ministry in our home, but there is always part of me the thinks (wrongly I might add) that ministry only takes place in the church.  I, Alan, have been asked to teach a class in the Biblical Theology of Missions.  I completed my first class back in December and taught my first class online in February.  I don’t expect to be teaching a class again formally until September.  I was very blessed getting to know my students and sharing my life with them.

I think AnnMarie’s road is a bit harder.  When we left Ukraine she was working fulltime as the secretary for KCA (Kiev Christian Academy); a K-12 Christian school for the children of missionaries.  She loved her job and I know that they adored her.  I know that her mother is so pleased and happy to have AnnMarie at her side, but still AnnMarie misses all the children, teachers and staff of KCA; they were a big extended family.

My days are spent behind the computer, trying to put down all these incredible ideas that the Lord has birthed in me.  I am regretting not being a better student of English at that moment.  Sometimes I am challenged to find ways to explain these thoughts without very long run-on sentences.  But now I have found a friend who has done some authoring and has shown a willingness to guide me through this process.  I feel very blessed for that. 

We have also found a church home here in Las Vegas.  It is a match made in heaven.  They have a heart for missions.  They have four mission trips planned for this year.  They also support fulltime missionaries in at least two continents.  The church has developed an excellent discipleship school of sorts with classes which help prepare people for the responsibilities and opportunities to minister with the gifts the Holy Spirit has granted. AnnMarie and I have taken all the classes in the series. I especially like that they allow people to fail without condemning them.  If someone gets it wrong then the attitude is “Brush yourself off, get up and let’s try again or try something else”

AnnMarie has been attending a series of Bible studies offered by Pastor Paula, the senior pastor’s wife.  Alan has been invited and has been participating in weekly prayer with the pastoral staff and with the church starting a third service we have decided to jump in and help with the 7:30 service.  Right from the start we got involved.  The last Saturday of every month we help with a ministry to the street/homeless people of Las Vegas.  We also joined a home group so that we would have a group of friends to grow and pray with.  The two past Thursdays, we hosted the group. We truly feel like we are becoming part of this body of believers.

Plans for this summer

Alan’s plans are to return to Ukraine again this summer and serve with his young friends in the ministry called Zatseni and to help his friend Yuri with some ministry he is doing with some churches in the provinces.  He is not sure if he is going to attempt the whole travel my military transport again or not.  It would be easier to just hop on a regular airline and get there within 24 hours, but there was something special about all the time spent with those struggling to get through the military transport maze.  But he hasn’t felt God’s release yet either.  He has some health issues that need to be cleared up before he does any long distance travel.

Conclusion

We are so thankful for all the prayers and support that have kept us going.  We are grateful for our new church family here in Las Vegas and glad for the opportunities that God is providing to put our gifts to work.  We are also grateful for the ways that God is stretching us here in Las Vegas.  We continue to have a vision for those in Ukraine and lift them in prayer.  And we are thankful for all of those who have supported us in the past and continue to do so as we look to the future to see how God will use us.

Prayer Needs

·       Provision for this summer’s ministry

·       Please pray for Alan’s health, he has been wrestling with asthma for a while now, and now two more concerns have arisen.

·       For God to make a way for provision in day to day (We give thanks that thus far, God has make enough provision to keep us afloat.). 

·       That Alan’s passion to write and teach would lead to some form of financial gain – he would like to write a book or two

·       Please pray that Alan would be able to find a translator to go with him to Chernighiv for ministry in the provinces/villages.

·       That both of us will keep the Lord’s desire for us first and foremost in our lives

·       We ask that you would prayerfully consider supporting any trips we make to Ukraine in the future.

We appreciate all your prayers

Contact Information

Local address

1417 Mink Creek Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89117
702-255-8119
Skype: preacheral.in.kyiv

Please send support checks to:
            and attach a note saying that this is for the Becketts and Ministry to Ukraine

Meadows Fellowship
7801 W. Alexander Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89129

Grace and Truth to You: Mission Arlington: Where the Lost Are Being Saved and Nobody Even Thinks About the Preacher's Gender

Grace and Truth to You: Mission Arlington: Where the Lost Are Being Saved and Nobody Even Thinks About the Preacher's Gender

A new year looms before us and we look forward to seeing what God will do. We are so thankful for all of you who continue to support us. We are grateful for those who because of the economic situation are no longer able to support us. We trust that God will bless you and help you through this tough time.

We are looking at changes here in Ukraine. Oh AnnMarie will continue to serve at Kiev Christian Academy, but Alan's ministry is taking a new turn. He has stepped away from helping pastor the English speaking church we had been attending and is looking at putting more energy into teaching and training with the Antioch group. He also hopes to visit Chernighiv more often as well.

This new year has started out cold and white, but who knows what next week will bring.
One constant has been God's faithfulness. He continues to demonstrate His love for us, both in the care and support of our friends and in our daily prayer times.

We would love to come back and visit but we are unsure when God will make provision for that. We have finally paid off our last visit to America, I would like to save up some money so we could pay for our next visit without going into debt.

We pray that all of you who follow our goings on and our adventures with God will be blessed this New Year. I am seeing 2010 as a year of renewal for us, with new possibilities and new opportunities.

Please pray that we will be obedient to follow God, wherever He may lead us. Pray that we will continue to be faithful in what He call us to do.

Blessings from Ukraine,
Alan, AnnMarie and Emily