Blog | Joshua and Kelsie Steele — Missionaries serving Christ in Ukraine

By far our largest conference was the Black Hills Mini Shindig in South Dakota. We were blessed to meet and fellowship with so many like-minded believers!

Shindigs and Such

Kelsie Steele · December 14, 2021

You could sum up our last few months in just 2 words: travel and people! Here are some of the highlights from our time in America, broken down into 4 phases.

Missionaries and airplanes go together. Just paper airplanes today — the real one flies September 1!

Coming soon to a neighborhood near you...

Kelsie Steele · August 19, 2021

It’s official. The Steeles are coming to the States for a visit!

This summer, despite having to cancel CMO, God opened the door for us to make two trips to the Carpathian Mountains. And during one, we had a chance to preach the Gospel!

“Will you come to our play on Saturday?” Nine energetic youngsters bounded between houses, inviting hardworking and weather-worn villagers to see a performance of Exodus. “Don’t forget! Saturday at 6:00!”

Bible First Pioneers

Joshua Steele · June 2, 2021

For some of our readers, the launch of the Bible First Pioneers project may already be old news. That being said, we’ve yet to write about it here in our newsletter because of all the recent upheaval in our schedule. Additionally, the Pioneers project has grown in the months since it was launched, and we’re excited to tell you what’s new!

As we neared the end of our transatlantic fight, Abby and I were struck by the beauty of the sunrise. Just a few more hours, and we’d be home in Lviv!

Leaving Home to Go Home

Joshua Steele · April 17, 2021

On March 18, I observed 20 years since boarding a plane at DFW, bound for Lviv and a life of ministry amongst Ukrainians. Another year or two, and I will have lived longer in Ukraine than anywhere else in the world. Which brings up a difficult question faced by many missionaries who serve abroad: “Where’s home?” As a close friend of mine once commented, “We can never be on the same side of the Atlantic with all of our loved ones at the same time.”

On January 18 of this year, I flew to Texas for a surprise two-week visit. Now, on March 5, I’m headed back again, and our family is in great need of your prayers.

An Unexpected Journey

Joshua Steele · March 4, 2021

It was the morning of January 17, and as I made final preparations to leave for Lviv’s Danylo Halytskyi International Airport, I quietly switched off the “Find My Friends” location tracker on my iPhone. A surprise visit for Mom was in the works, and it just wouldn’t do for her to notice that I was suddenly stopped at a hotel in LA. Thanks to the cooperative efforts of my siblings and their spouses, Mom was about to get what turned out to be, in her words, the shock of her life.

This summer, we printed our Ukrainian translation of Learning from the Atheists, by Michael Pearl.

A Time to Write

Joshua Steele · December 8, 2020

Ministry in a COVID-19 world continues to present both challenges and opportunities. With face-to-face meetings often restricted, we are again reminded of the value of the printed page — both physical and digital. For the past several months, our team has devoted more effort to writing, and in particular, to translation.

Joshua preaches the Sunday morning service at Living Word Church in Lviv.

Standing in the Gap

Kelsie Steele · August 6, 2020

Over 20 years ago, our friends and fellow missionaries, Mark and Rhonda Blessing, came to Ukraine and began a thriving ministry. Among other things, Mark pastors a church here in Lviv and his family is very active in the lives of the members. At the beginning of 2020, Rhonda needed an operation in the U.S. which kept them there for a few months.