Our third week — the last of CMO 2023 — is complete. This report is admittedly very late, and I’ll spare you the excuses. But now that you’re here let's take a look back at Week 3!
The week began a bit earlier than most. After returning from a hot...
Week 2 of CMO has come to a close, and looking back I’m thinking, “How did all that happen in just one week?” With all the driving, walking, hiking, camping, catching buses, and HEAT, it seems like all we did was exert ourselves and then sleep! All...
Despite the fact that we have been doing Carpathian Mountain Outreach (CMO) for many years, every year is a little different. CMO 2023, however, is shaping up to be not just a little different, but a lot different!
For starters, before CMO begins...
Perhaps you saw our preliminary announcement last month about CMO 2023. Perhaps you wondered if the project would really get off the ground. (We did!) Or perhaps you took a step of faith and filled out our CMO Pre-registration form. Regardless, today...
It’s been three long years since we had a CMO project; our last one was in 2019. The two subsequent years brought cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and these were followed by a third cancellation in 2022 due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine...
This was supposed to be the year CMO came back. With COVID in decline, we had high hopes that CMO 2022 would be the team that returned to the mountains for the first time since 2019. But God knew differently. Our reality today is that Putin has invaded...
Yes, it’s official. We are planning to host Carpathian Mountain Outreach 2022! …Wiiiith some asterisks, of course. 😬✱✱✱
As you may know, we’ve had to cancel CMO for the past two years due to complications relating to COVID-19. But a new year is here...
On January 17 of last year, we announced the opening of registration for CMO 2020. We had all the usual plans: a new Info Pack, an updated Application, dates for the project, the works. Young men began contacting us for more information, applications...
It's time for our annual CMO announcement, so we'll keep this short and sweet: registration is open for CMO 2020! As always, time and space are limited, so if you're interested in coming this year, please let us know as soon as possible. Read through the high-level info below, then head over to cmoproject.org to download the Application and Info Pack.
It seems hard to believe, but Carpathian Mountain Outreach 2019 was our twelfth annual CMO project! We had an outstanding team this summer, and we were all blessed and encouraged to be a part of God's work here in Ukraine. In this post, I'd like to share with you a few of the highlights from this year's outreach.
Today we are sad to announce that the Zhylavy family are leaving ETO. Anatoli, his wife Anastasia, and their four children have been part of our team for about two years, and their contributions to the ministry have been significant. In a recent email, Anatoli explained their decision:
All right, last week of CMO 2019! It has not been easy, but definitely worth all the work. We started the week with our beloved day off, so we relaxed and did anything that needed to be done before the week. The Days very kindly had us over for lunch and a board game (Settlers of Catan).
Wednesday was literally "breathtaking"! We started the day with a 3-hour train ride to the start of the trail that leads up to Mt. Parashka. At the train station leaving L'viv, Kade befriended a German shepherd dog which then followed him onto the train!
Hello everyone! Praise the Lord, CMO 2019 has entered its 2nd week. After spending the weekend in the mountains showing a film on Sunday, and passing out more film invites in the mountain villages on Monday as well as traveling back to L'viv, it was a huge privilege for the team to take Tuesday off to rest. Well, rest from ministry with the whole team.
Hello Everyone! This first week at CMO has been fast and furious. Praise the Lord for His mercy and grace in allowing us all to arrive safely and on time. Ben and Karen win the award for the most excitement. First, before they left to come to Ukraine, Ben was chasing a cow and got his knee all twisted up while trying to jump over a hay ring. Then, when they arrived in L'viv, none of their bags were there. They had to go back the next day and get the lost baggage. Lastly, when Karen went to get out of the van, she fell and twisted her foot on the curb. Despite their injuries they both were able to go to the villages to help hand out film invitations. Real troopers! …. but I am getting ahead of myself.
Today we're excited to announce that registration for Carpathian Mountain Outreach 2019 is now open! In past years, CMO has begun in mid-July, but this year, due to some unusual scheduling needs, we're moving things up a bit with a start date of June 13.
It is with some sadness that we are today announcing Jessie and Teresa Beal's departure from Euro Team Outreach. Jessie submitted his letter of resignation to me on September 21, effective immediately. He has resigned both as a director on our board and as Vice President. This departure represents the severing of all official ties between ETO and the Beal family.
CMO 2018 began on July 12 and ended August 6. We had a great summer and witnessed many blessings as the Lord opened doors for the advancement of His Gospel. In this post, I'd like to provide a brief recap of what was accomplished during the project.
Finally came the text message from Sasha that I'd been waiting for: the truck had left Kyiv and was headed in our direction. The trip took most of the day to complete, and after several delays, it finally arrived around 9:30 in the evening. When it did, our crew of six men and two ladies were waiting.
"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us," (Hebrews 12:1)
Well the last week of CMO is here! We started out with a day off to rest and prepare for the week ahead. We began to fill our packs for the hike and shopped for any food we would need. A heavy storm came in and we were very glad we weren't out trying to do street ministry.
"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)
After returning from last week's village, we prepared for the following week on Tuesday and enjoyed a day off. Some of us spent the morning talking at a coffee shop in downtown L'viv while others had lunch with the Day family. After finishing laundry and drying out our camp gear, we younger guys had dinner together at one of the apartments. Andrew Howard and William were nice enough to make myself (Elliot) and Andrew Joyner pasta for dinner. After finishing we headed back to the Ministry Center and got some sleep.
"I will go anywhere, provided it be forward." — David Livingstone
Tuesday which is our weekly day off, was not just an average day off. Josh and Nathan planned a little bit of a tour around the city for us. We hiked up the lookout over the city to enjoy a stunning sight before heading back down for lunch. Later we toured the clock tower where we bumped into some guys from CMO 2016. After catching up with them we headed to a museum called the Arsenal to view old-time weaponry. After that was dinner with the guys and off to finish laundry and prepare for the week ahead.
"Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." — Joshua 1:9
CMO 2018 has officially started, and it looks to be a good summer of service for the Lord! As we started our ministry this week, we've had the opportunity to settle ourselves in and accommodate to the city, to meet one another and fellowship, and most importantly, do the work that God has given us this year.
It's late Friday evening, and we've just returned to L'viv after a full day of ministry in the Carpathians. We have two film showings scheduled for this Sunday, July 15th. Today we visited both of those villages — Opaka and Zalokots — and distributed fliers inviting people to attend the showings. God blessed and everything went smoothly. We're excited to see what He is going to do on Sunday!
In late 2016 and early 2017, we found ourselves facing a marked increase in demand for copies of Good and Evil in Ukrainian. At one point we were mailing out as many as 50 books per month to individual Ukrainians who were requesting them via our web site. At this rate, it wasn't long before our supplies were depleted and we were forced to disable the request form on our site.
Meet Anatoli and Anastasia! Or, as we've known them for many years, Tolik and Nastia. I was first introduced to Tolik and Nastia back in 2001 before they were married. They were teenagers then, both actively involved in their local Greater Grace church here in L'viv — the same church we attend today. Over the years I've watched them grow and mature in Christ, marry and start a family, and remain active in ministry.
Carpathian Mountain Outreach 2018 will be our eleventh project — a few weeks of intense evangelism and hands-on missions training. To date, more than 40 men have trekked with our team through the mountains of western Ukraine, bringing the Gospel to multitudes. Listen to what they've been saying…