Lena and I met at an IFES conference in Odesa, Ukraine in 1994.  She had just begun to work with IFES full time and I had brought a group of students to the conference.  We became close friends over the course of the next two years, and in 1996 we were married.  Since that time we have been living and working in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Lena is a native of Ukraine who dedicated her life to the Lord during college.  In 1994, she was called to work full time with IFES.

Robert grew up in a Christian family in Anderson, IN.  In 1993, he graduated from Johnson Bible College and began work in Ukraine.

In 1990, a group of Christian students came to Ukraine through IFES to tell students in the Soviet Union of the love of Jesus Christ.  What started as a small group of students studying the Bible in Kyiv, has led to a movement of students  in over 17 cities in Ukraine who regularly meet together to pray, study the Bible, and encourage one another in Christ. The organization that was formed from these students became CCX, Spivdruzhnist Studentiv Xristian, which means Fellowship of Christian Students.  Though CCX is affiliated with IFES, it is still an indigenous Ukrainian movement.  An example of this in the USA is InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, which is also a member of IFES and still autonomous.

CCX is an interdenominational movement that serves the local Christian churches in Ukraine by encouraging college students to grow spiritually and to apply a Christian world view to every aspect of their lives.

The four goals of CCX are:

Spreading the Gospel

Spiritual Growth

Missionary Activity

Faithfulness to God's Word