Bob and Tina McKinney
|
|
|
|
|
7/11/2008 Prayer Letter Update
Dear Praying Friends;
The past week reminded me how much of a challenge it is to be a Bible
Believing Christian in Poland. Please do not think Poland is a backwards,
uncultured country. The country is modern with a highly intelligent
population. Here is a problem Bible believers face. Grazyna, Grace would
be the closest English equivalent, is twenty five years old, married, with
a daughter. This fall, Grazyna will be sending her daughter to pre-school.
In the public school system the Polish children start their religious
education in the Roman Catholic Church. Over the next thirteen years,
Grazyna's daughter will have religious classes. The classes, as a whole,
will visit several RCC in the immediate area. They will go there to light
candles prior to any important tests or exams in school. Alicia (Alice)
will be taught about first communion and confirmation through the school
system. The class she is in will do all this as a whole throughout her
high school education.
Grazyna said to me the other day she wanted to run away during "first
communion" month. During May, everyone attends first communion parties;
neighbors, friends, and relatives. Grazyna has recognized the false
teaching of the RCC and wants to avoid all connection with the RCC. She is now struggling with how she will explain to her parents her desire to not
have her daughter be part of this belief system. I am proud to say
Grazyna is making a stand for the Lord and has decided not to allow Alice
to participate in RCC teaching. Grazyna asked us about a Christian school
for Alice. There is only one school in this entire region of Poland. The
school is in the city of Krakow, about forty miles east of our meeting
location. Next year Grazyna and her husband will be moving to Bochnia, our ministry city. They purchased a small apartment that is currently being
built. She is now planning to take a stand against the local school in
Bochnia and not allow her daughter to be a part of the religious classes
in the school system. This is a very bold step for a Pole. The country
as a whole follows the teaching of the RCC and to take a stand against it
is like turning your back on your country.
Please pray for Grazyna and other Poles who want to take a stand for
Christ.
Servants of the Master,
Bob and Tina McKinney
Please pray for the US dollar. The exchange rate hit some new record lows
the last few days. Another way of putting it gas in Poland is now $8.92 a
gallon.
September 2008
Prayer Letter Update
The hardest thing to adjust to in Eastern Europe is the rapid change in
the weather. A few weeks ago we were battling warm nights with bugs comin
into the house. For the past ten days the weather has turned cold and wet.
As we head into the fall and winter seasons, we are reminded of the cold
hearts toward the Gospel of Christ in this part of Poland. This is also
the time of year for many religious activities. We recently witnessed the
annual pilgrimage to Czestochowa to worship the Black Madonna. The
churches have started their fall festivals to raise money for their
parishes. We will soon see pallets, which hold several hundred candles in
a jar, appearing in the stores. The candle jars will be purchased so the
Poles can decorate the graves of loved ones on All Saints Day on November
1. This day is more than a day for remembrance of the dead; the church
teaches that lighting a candle for the dead will add a little grace to a
departed loved one's account and get them out of purgatory sooner. During
the first week of November every cemetery in Poland will be ablaze with
dozens of candles on top of every grave. Our hearts break when we see
these religious people seeking after the traditions of men. Recently, as
I witnessed and explained the Gospel to a lady named Kasia, she said that
the Gospel cannot be that simple. She saw the words and heard the simple
explanation of the Gospel and yet refused to accept because it was too
simple. Man-made traditions have made God's simple plan of salvation too
difficult to grasp. This is the problem we face in Poland.
On Sunday mornings we have been covering the topic of the "Deity of
Christ." This past Sunday's lesson was on the name Jehovah used in the Old
Testament and the New Testament reference to that particular passage
identifying Christ as Jehovah. I believe there is no greater joy for a
missionary than to see a young Christian's face light up and say, "Wow, I
never saw that or knew that." Starting this week we will begin an
exhaustive study on Ecclesiology (Doctrine of the Church). The goal of a
missionary is looking to the future, seeing a work mature and become
indigenous. In order to accomplish this task, we must teach and put good
Bible material into the national's hands. Both of these studies mentioned
above have been translated with the help of many of you giving
sacrificially. Thank you for your help.
We are happy to report we bought a little VW Passat with a turbo diesel.
The car has a six speed manual transmission with a 1.9 liter engine. I was
shocked by the fuel economy and power of this little engine. I can fill up
this little car and get up to 600 miles on a tank of diesel fuel. I want
to thank everyone who helped us financially so we could buy this good
fuel-efficient car. I would also like to thank Ray and Marlene Virtue (BWM
missionaries in Hamburg, Germany) for putting us up in their home and
introducing us to a church member in the car business. We saved several
thousand dollars by purchasing a car in Germany and bringing it back to
Poland.
Please pray that God will direct and give us wisdom in how to reach the
Poles with His simple plan of salvation.
Servants of the Master,
Bob, Tina, and Alli
9/30/2008 Prayer Letter Update
Dear Praying Friends,
We just finished two weeks of eye therapy for Alli. This was a major
endeavor for us as it required that we drive to Krakow every day. It was
major because of the construction on the highways. To make a long story
short, it took about 5 hours every day to get to and from the eye
specialist.
Now after saying all that, the eye therapy did help Alli's weak eye.
However, two weeks was really not enough. We have an appointment to see
the ophthalmologist on October 15 for another eye exam and to find out
what we do next. Please continue to pray for Alli's eye problem. She still
needs to wear an eye patch but only 5 hours a day and only 5 days a week
instead of all day, every day. She will need corrective lenses for the
weak eye so it won't cross due to being weak. We may be able to have her
wear one contact lense which would help since she has gone through (broke)
3 pairs of glasses since July.
Pray for us as we seek to do the best to correct Alli's eye problem. After
Alli's last eye therapy appointment, the therapist invited me in to see
what the therapy was like. There were several different machines that the
children used to help them focus and strengthen the eyes. The therapist
told me that the different machines were a help but the best device was
this light (like the little light the doctor uses to look into your ears,
eyes and throat) that they shined into the eye for several seconds and
then had the child stare at a white sheet of paper with a lamp flashing
behind them. The child would see a different colored dot every time the
light flashed. When they saw a black dot then the therapist shined the
light in the eye again. This was repeated three times in a row. With my
best understanding of Polish I think this therapy stimulates the retina
which counts for 75% of the vision. I'll find out more when we see the
ophthalmologist. Praise the Lord, she speaks English. If this little light
is what is needed to help Alli, we may try to purchase one and do the
therapy at home thus saving time and money.
Thanks again for your prayers and concern.
In Christ,
Bob & Tina McKinney
10/16/2008 Prayer Letter Update
Dear Praying friends,
Just a quick update on Alli's eyes. We had our follow-up exam after the
two weeks of eye therapy. The doctor said there was a 30% improvement in
the vison in Alli's weak eye. However, she needs to have more therapy so
we begin again on Monday, Oct 20. Pray for our safety as we must travel to
and from Krakow every weekday, for our schedule as this takes about 5
hours out of our day, and for results that Alli's weak eye will strengthen
and the two eyes will work together.
Thank you for your prayers and concern.
In Christ,
Bob, Tina & Alli McKinney
Servants of the Master
PS can anyone recommend a Christian Ophthalmologist who would allow us to
call and ask a few questions?
| 
McKinney
