We've been back from the Eurasia conference for two weeks now. Thailand is certainly very different than Russia. It was interesting to watch the way our kids responded to the culture of Thailand. Vera enjoyed the way Thai people put their palms together when they said thank you. She was a real hit when she would put her palms together and say thank you in the Thai language. Of course her blond hair made her stand out there. She was fascinated by the handicrafts and artwork there, specially the woodcarvers. And Tim? Well, Tim liked the elephants.
Tonya and I will never forget the response Tim and Vera had to the idol worship there. The prevalent religion of Thailand is common Buddhism which involves the worship of Buddha and Buddha idols. Our first day in Thailand we had some free time to go on a tour of Bangkok. The guide took us to a couple of temples. The kids were amazed people worshipped statues and started saying things like, "idols can't help you," and, "you should only worship the true God." Tonya and I tried to help them express this truth in ways that were a little more sensitive, but the strength of their reaction was surprising. We feel that the true God has a calling on the lives of our children.
Since we have returned to Russia Timothy has continued to be concerned about the people there that didn't know who the real god is. He even asked us if he could become a missionary to Thailand some day.
In the last two weeks Cecil has been busy trying to catch up on paperwork and get out our latest newsletter. Authoring an interesting, informative and balanced letter can be a creative challenge. And now that our mailing list is over 350 addresses it takes a while to print them. We will email you a copy soon.
The weather here in Khabarovsk has become quite warm. Today it was about 95 degrees with no clouds in the sky. That doesn't sound too hot to the folks in the Carolinas, but here it doesn't cool down until after sunset, which is about 10:30 these days.
One big problem facing churches here is difficulty with buildings. Many churches do not have buildings and must meet in rented facilities, where there is the ongoing threat of being forced to find a new meeting location with little warning. Those that manage to purchase a building usually need to expand their facilities almost constantly (most church congregations here are growing). Sunday afternoon and evening Cecil joined some of the men at a church and put some sweat into the new nursery and Sunday School rooms they are adding on the end of their building.
While he did that Tonya was inside with some ladies helping them make plans for starting a Christ centered kindergarten. They have been praying about this for a long time but it looks like they will be able to start soon. They have just rented a place in a good location and this evening Tonya will join them again as they start remodeling the place.
We want to thank you for your prayers. God has been blessing us and we are thankful for it. Our prayer for ourselves is to show true love to the people here so that they can come to know Jesus for themselves. If you would like us to pray for you, just send us an email.
In His Love,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy & Vera
