It is harvest time in Russia now. People are bringing in the crops from their gardens. Tim & Vera understand how important it is to be involved in the harvest.
But the biggest activity for us right now is the start of school. Timothy started classes at a Russian elementary school on the 1st of September. Vera started kindergarten on Friday and Cecil's first class for the fall is today. This photo is of Tim lined up with part of his class on the first day of classes. Timothy's favorite activity at school is making new friends. He has a great teacher that we really like.
A lot of hard work went into preparing the new kindergarten: painting, fixing windows, cleaning, getting supplies, organizing people, etc. Tonya was heavily involved assisting the director. We are so glad it is now open and Vera is able to attend. Tonya is glad to be finished with most of her assignments and be free of those responsibilities as operation moves into a more normal mode, where she isn't in charge of anything. Thank you so much for your prayers for this. We will send photos sometime.
We have been invited to The World Missions Summit in Louisville, Kentucky, during December 30-January 2. There will be about 4,000 college students attending. We will be speaking with them about missions, the call of God, how they can be involved, and answering any questions they may have about the life of a missionary. You can find more information at http://www.theworldmissionssummit.ag.org if you are interested. Maybe we will see you there. We also plan to piggyback a Christmas visit with Cecil's family during this trip.
Please continue to pray for the pastor's conference we will be hosting the end of September. It has a been years since the last time there has been a conference or retreat for these men and women who labor in the Russian Far East. Please pray that our organizational skills would be sharp so that everything will be prepared, that all the pastors will be able to attend, and that this would be a time of great refreshing and encouragement to those who come.
We also have a special and pressing prayer request. Tonya's home church in Novokuznetsk has been the subject of repeated lawsuits attempting to take their building from them. They purchased this building in 1998 in an open auction. The latest lawsuit introduced forged documents showing that someone else owned the building before that. Although the regional government has started an investigation into who created these forged documents, the lawsuit was decided against them in court and ownership of the building given to the mafia-connected people who brought the lawsuit. (You can see why the court system in Russia is not looked upon by Russians as a place to find justice.) The suit has been appealed to the High Arbitration Court (like our Supreme court) in Moscow. The hearing is for the 13th of September. Would you please take some time today to ask the Lord in bring justice to this situation?
And a piece of good news. We have been approved for a loan to purchase a residence. This is great news for us since owning property would give Tonya some legal rights in the city which would help Cecil with his visa situation. Not to mention that it would save us (and our supporters) money in the long run. We are starting to look at some homes, but we are not in a rush.
Thank you again for planting in the ministry here with your prayers, finances, letters and all kinds of support. We know that you can only expect a harvest if you've done a lot of planting.
Talking about harvest time in Russia. You never know what flower you might find in a field.
Or what might come out during sunset.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
In Christ,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy & Vera
