![\"\"](\"http:\/\/69.89.31.195\/~sukofami\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/IMG_0081-001.jpg\" "\\"IMG_0081-001\\"")
<\/a>\nThis year we decided to celebrate a little. We joined up with a few other Americans at a WWII memorial park on the south side of Odessa. The kids enjoyed climbing around on the artillery and being able to catch up with a few other American friends who live in town. At one point Naomi turned to me and said, “Papa, this is weird to be around so many Americans all at once!”
\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/69.89.31.195\/~sukofami\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/IMG_0093-001.jpg\" "\\"IMG_0093-001\\"")
<\/a>\nWe ended our time by singing a stanza of the national anthem. I’m pretty sure that it was a strange sight for Ukrainians to see 40 Americans belting out the American national anthem in the middle of the park!
\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/69.89.31.195\/~sukofami\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/IMG_0106-001.jpg\" "\\"IMG_0106-001\\"")
<\/a>\nWhile I enjoy living in Ukraine, I still value my US citizenship and I am grateful for the privileges it affords me. One of the greatest blessings that America has bestowed upon the world is the idea of freedom of religion! May the USA continue to stand strong and free so that the Good New of Jesus Christ can be preached boldly within her borders. May the USA continue to prosper so that she can continue to be one the greatest sending nations of missionaries ever!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It’s always a bit strange to celebrate America’s Independence day when you are out of the country. No one else is taking the day off from work and things seem to be going on as usually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[36],"tags":[170,169,77,171],"class_list":["post-1013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","tag-independence-day","tag-july-4th","tag-ukraine","tag-usa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3izZc-gl","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6650,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/dear-my-american-friends-this-is-why-we-didnt-celebrate-july-4th\/","url_meta":{"origin":1013,"position":0},"title":"Dear My American Friends This is Why We Didn’t Celebrate July 4th","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"July 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Although I was born and raised in the US, I've lived outside of the country for about a quarter of my life now. I know I've assimilated some of the culture here into my life. Nevertheless there are days when I feel a bit more American and a bit out-of-place.\u00a0Usually\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/10569014_10152634444404809_8718650417190721704_n-e1467671785693.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/10569014_10152634444404809_8718650417190721704_n-e1467671785693.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/10569014_10152634444404809_8718650417190721704_n-e1467671785693.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12500,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/summer-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":1013,"position":1},"title":"Summer Update","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"August 18, 2020","format":"audio","excerpt":"Here's a quick summer update, there will be more to come soon! Here's a brief overview: Coronavirus situation in Ukraine is getting worse, some churches have gone back to online services and others are meeting outdoors We are beginning a new ministry to internationals called\u201cOdessa International Fellowship.\u201d We became grandparents\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Gospel Today"","block_context":{"text":"The Gospel Today","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/podcast\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Uncomfortable-Questions-on-Love-and-Marraige.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Uncomfortable-Questions-on-Love-and-Marraige.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Uncomfortable-Questions-on-Love-and-Marraige.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Uncomfortable-Questions-on-Love-and-Marraige.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Uncomfortable-Questions-on-Love-and-Marraige.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":95,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/its-a-celebration\/","url_meta":{"origin":1013,"position":2},"title":"It’s a Celebration!","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"July 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday was July 4th and we were in the mood to celebrate. We went out to Northwest Baptist Seminary and watched the airshow over the bay. In addition to celebrating our nations birth we also celebrated Mishael's fourth birthday and my brother Nehemiah's birthday. Mishael was overwhelmed with superhero garb,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Updates"","block_context":{"text":"General Updates","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2457,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/why-were-not-celebrating-easter-this-week\/","url_meta":{"origin":1013,"position":3},"title":"Why the Orthodox Church Celebrates Easter on a Different Date","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"March 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"We're not celebrating Easter this week, we're not even planning to celebrate it next month! Why? In most of Eastern Europe religious holidays are dictated by the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church follows the Julian calendar, which was introduced by Julius Cesar in 45 BC. \u00a0However, most of the rest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ukraine"","block_context":{"text":"Ukraine","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ukraine-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/DSC07153.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/DSC07153.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/DSC07153.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12478,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/introducing-cosette-ivana\/","url_meta":{"origin":1013,"position":4},"title":"Introducing Cosette Ivanna","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"July 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This year July 4th increased significantly in significance as a holiday for our family. Now we will not only celebrate the birth of the USA on July 4th but also the birth of our second granddaughter Cosette Ivanna Whitaker Suko. Ironically, our granddaughter is not an US citizen but I\u2019m\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family"","block_context":{"text":"Family","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/family\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ab452867-4abc-44dc-8636-9f9ee5611bda.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ab452867-4abc-44dc-8636-9f9ee5611bda.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ab452867-4abc-44dc-8636-9f9ee5611bda.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ab452867-4abc-44dc-8636-9f9ee5611bda.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ab452867-4abc-44dc-8636-9f9ee5611bda.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4489,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/holding-together-world-magazine-interview\/","url_meta":{"origin":1013,"position":5},"title":"“Holding Together” World Magazine Interview","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"October 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This month World magazine featured an interview with me in their cover story! You can check out the full article with my interview in the October 4th issue of World Magazine. Caleb Suko, a Baptist missionary in Odessa, sees the anxiety as he interacts with friends and neighbors. In his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Updates"","block_context":{"text":"General Updates","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Women run from shelling in Donetsk, Ukraine. 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