ECONOMIC STRESSES:
The faculty and staff of the Bible college meet together each morning for prayer and a short devotion. Two days ago, the text was taken from Romans 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." The main point of the devotion was that we should “seek God” before we seek solutions to our problems. The early church had no building, no Bible colleges, no professionally trained leaders, and no money. They lived in a difficult time and place and were persecuted by both the Jews and Romans, but they had the “God of hope” who is able to make us “overflow with hope.”
Today we face many difficult issues. The economic difficulties are being felt by each of us. Last month I noted that some of our Ukrainian workers at the college had to be laid off. This has certainly been difficult, but at the same time I suspect that some of you who are reading this newsletter have also recently suffered economic difficulties. This school year has seen other changes at our college to try to cope with the changing times. In the past our non-resident students came to our campus ten times and stayed three days each time they came, now they come five times and stay a whole week. This cuts down on travel expenses for the students. We have also seen a decrease in enrolment because part-time students cannot get off from work to attend classes and fear losing their jobs. Full-time students are facing similar difficulties. The fact is that in Ukraine, married students make better students, but married students cannot afford to move their families to Odessa and go to school full-time. I don’t have an answer. I think the point of our devotion, “Seek God before we seek solutions to our problems,” is our only hope.
For the past three years all Bible colleges in Ukraine and Russia have been experiencing a similar problem. The problem is complex but centers around two areas: first, there is a decline in the number of potential students available to each college, and second, the cost of operating a Bible college has dramatically increased. During the Soviet period the government set the price of everything and subsidized everything from utilities, health care, to transportation. The government of Ukraine continues this policy today, but to a lesser and lesser degree. There is another twist to this problem. Businesses, churches, and Bible colleges are billed for goods and services at an “above market rate” as a way of making it possible to subsidize the same services for individuals. As an example, our college pays five times the price for internet access as a private citizen would pay, and several times the price for gas and water as the home owners next door to the college. The concept of “non-profit organization” does not exist in Ukraine, so our college is treated by the government as a business. One of the ways the government has chosen to assist individuals during this difficult time is to ‘double” the burden upon organizations, so they can be more lax with individuals. To summarize, this means that our non-employee costs have skyrocketed. Again, I don’t have an answer. I think the point of our devotion, “Seek God before we seek solutions to our problems,” is our only hope.
As Americans living in Ukraine, we are completely dependent upon your financial contributions; the Bible college is relieved not to have to worry about our salary as missionaries. We have seen a slight decrease in monthly support over the past year. In 2 Corinthians 8:13, Paul is talking about money and says, “Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.” Paul is not talking about every Christian giving the same amount, but an “equal” commitment. We would never think of asking you to sacrifice so that we don’t have to. We are in this together, and each time we receive a check for monthly support we are reminded of your commitment to God’s work in Ukraine. We want to say “thank-you” for the fact that you stand with us in this effort. We must continue to “seek God” together and he will provide the solutions to the problems that we face together.
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