{"id":4696,"date":"2014-11-28T00:05:36","date_gmt":"2014-11-27T22:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?p=4696"},"modified":"2014-11-28T00:05:36","modified_gmt":"2014-11-27T22:05:36","slug":"thank-you-from-the-sukos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/thank-you-from-the-sukos\/","title":{"rendered":"Thank You From the Sukos!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today Christina and I want to take a few moments to simply say<\/p>\n

“Thank you!”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We’ve already finished our Thanksgiving dinner here in Ukraine. Guests have gone home and the house is quiet. It was a blessed day, one that we were able to share with some of our closets friends and co-workers.<\/p>\n

Our hearts are filled and so are our stomachs!<\/p>\n

\"family<\/p>\n

(You can download a hi-res version of this photo to print out and put on your fridge or to put up on the missionary board of your church. Hopefully it will be a good reminder for you to pray for us. Download is here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Celebrating Outside the US<\/h2>\n

Celebrating US Thanksgiving when you’re not in the US is a little strange. It’s strange because no one else is celebrating, it’s just another run of the mill work day here.<\/p>\n

In a way it makes you more aware of the specialness of this holiday, it makes you see how easy it is to get caught up in the every day hustle of life and forget how much you have to be grateful for!<\/p>\n

No Water<\/h2>\n

We planned to have our missionary team over for Thanksgiving dinner, then on Wednesday we came home and there was a sign on our door warning us that the water would be shut off from 9:00 AM until 6:00 PM on Thursday, November 27th!<\/p>\n

So how do you do Thanksgiving for 16 people with no running water in the house? We filled the bathtub with water, got a bucket ready to flush the toilet and figured we’d just have to wait to wash the dishes. Thankfully, they turned the water back on a little earlier than we expected at 3:00 PM!<\/p>\n

Gratitude Kills Worry<\/h2>\n

We really didn’t worry about not having water on Thanksgiving too much. You see, we just have too much to be grateful for to let something as insignificant as not having water when we expected it get us down.<\/p>\n

One thing I learned when I wrote my book on worry is that a grateful heart can kill worry and anxiety almost faster than anything!<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve never met a truly grateful person who also struggles with worry and anxiety. The truth is that worry can not coexist with a heart that is overflowing with gratitude towards God. Thankfulness is the knowledge that God has provided and will continue to provide. Thankfulness is the belief that God is still ultimately in control. Thankfulness is giving God his rightly deserved praise for sticking with us in the toughest times and the greatest pain. Thankfulness acknowledges the fact that we really have nothing to worry about if God is on our side!” -What If… How to Kill Worry and Anxiety Before They Kill You!<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Why We’re Thankful<\/h2>\n

So here’s a very short list of a few things that we are thankful for this year.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • For peace in our city!<\/li>\n
  • For the freedom and opportunity to minister and preach the gospel in Ukraine.<\/li>\n
  • For a healthy family.<\/li>\n
  • For parents nearby and far away.<\/li>\n
  • For the many who remember us in their prayers, it’s humbling to know that people are regularly getting on their knees before the throne on our behalf!<\/li>\n
  • For our church here in Odessa and the wonderful fellowship of believers there.<\/li>\n
  • For many supporters who sacrifice on our behalf to keep us working here in Ukraine.<\/li>\n
  • For our fellow missionaries who encourage us.<\/li>\n
  • For many ministry partners who make ministry a joy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Now It’s Your Turn!<\/h2>\n

    Please tell me a few things your thankful for this year!<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Today Christina and I want to take a few moments to simply say<\/p>\n

    \n

    “Thank you!”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    We’ve already finished our Thanksgiving dinner here in Ukraine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4700,"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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[36],"tags":[56],"class_list":["post-4696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","tag-thanksgiving"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/family-thanksgiving.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3izZc-1dK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":295,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/a-word-from-naomi\/","url_meta":{"origin":4696,"position":0},"title":"A Word from Naomi","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"October 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Naomi was kind enough to share with us a little of what she wrote in her diary on Sunday. Below is a picture of Naomi and Noelle standing in front of the opera theater in downtown Odessa on Sunday.The following was written by Naomi:\"Today is Sunday -church, I love church!\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":1013,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/celebrating-july-4th-in-ukraine\/","url_meta":{"origin":4696,"position":1},"title":"Celebrating July 4th in Ukraine","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"July 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"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. In fact I think there were a couple of years when the 4th of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family"","block_context":{"text":"Family","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/family\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/69.89.31.195\/~sukofami\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/IMG_0081-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/69.89.31.195\/~sukofami\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/IMG_0081-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/69.89.31.195\/~sukofami\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/IMG_0081-001.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1636,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/the-lie-that-kills-thanksgiving\/","url_meta":{"origin":4696,"position":2},"title":"The Lie that Kills Thanksgiving","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"November 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Have you ever noticed that one of the first words a child learns is \"mine\"? It's a word that they just pick up on their own without any prodding from the parents. On the other hand the phrase \"thank you\" doesn't come so naturally. It must be cultivated, worked on\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\/2012\/11\/DSC_2146-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/DSC_2146-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/DSC_2146-001.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1665,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/benefits-of-celebrating-christmas-2-weeks-late\/","url_meta":{"origin":4696,"position":3},"title":"The Benefits of Celebrating Christmas 2 Weeks Late","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"January 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"If you already took your Christmas tree down then today would be a great day to grab it out of the trash and put it back where it belongs! Just because December 25th is now 2 weeks behind us doesn't mean that Christmas is over, especially if you're \u00a0from Ukraine.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ministry"","block_context":{"text":"Ministry","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ministry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/soldiers.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/soldiers.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/soldiers.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":252,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/thanksgiving-key\/","url_meta":{"origin":4696,"position":4},"title":"Thanksgiving Key","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"November 28, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Many of you have been praying for some time now concerning the purchase of a new facility for the CMI. How fitting that God would work it out for us to receive the key to this new facility the day after Thanksgiving. After Yura, (Our executive director) and I received\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":211,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/happy-thanksgiving\/","url_meta":{"origin":4696,"position":5},"title":"Happy Thanksgiving!","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"November 22, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0","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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4696"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4703,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4696\/revisions\/4703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}