Joining the team

Dear Friends,

 

before we even came to Khabarovsk we had hoped to build a ministry team.  We are excited to announce the first new member of the team is planning to come from America in January to spend almost a year with us.  His name is Jason Bicket and I've asked him to write a letter introducing himself.  Here is his hello to you all:

 

Greetings and salutations from the windy city, my name is Jason Bicket. 

 

I am a 2001 graduate from the University of Illinois with a degree in International Relations emphasizing Russian Politics.  Since graduation I have helped the college pastor at Calvary Church of Naperville, Illinois start the college ministry, and have seen God move greatly there not only with the numbers attending, but also in spiritual depth.  Also, for the last three and a half years I have been working as a website maintainer at the magazine corporation Christianity Today International.  Now, I am looking forward to joining Cecil in serving God in Russia.

 

Other than that, I love playing and watching sports especially soccer, which I hope to use to find common ground with the guys in Russia.  Speaking of which, please pray for favor with all of those I have a chance to minister to.  Also pray that I will be able to communicate God’s message clearly despite the language barriers.  Along those lines please pray that the Russian lessons I will be taking go well.  More urgently, please pray that I will remain at peace as God works out providing the necessary funds for the trip.  Lastly please pray that preparations for the trip and all the little details come together.  Thank you in advance for your support. I covet your prayers greatly, and God bless you all as you journey with Jesus Christ down the road of life.

 

In Christ,

Jason Bicket

 

As you can imagine, we are very excited about this development.  I've asked Jason to undertake the daunting task of bringing a gospel witness to one of the major Universities in Khabarovsk.  He won't be just sticking his toe in the water, he will be living in a student dormitory among a population that is less than 5% believers (indeed, many of them have never heard a clear explanation of who Jesus is).  On top of that, he will be taking language lessons as a university student.  Please take his prayer requests seriously.  He has raised much of his financial support, but needs a little more to put him over the top.  If you feel led to give any financial assistance to Jason it would speed him on his way.

 

The latest piece of news from the Eshelman household is that we have purchased a mini-van.  It is a Hyundai Starex, eight seater, 4 wheel drive.  I'll send pictures soon (yes, I know I promised to send pictures of Vera's kindergarten and I haven't done that yet, but I will soon).  The process of purchasing a vehicle in Russia is not as simple as in the States, so we appreciate all your prayers that saw us through. 

 

Being as we plan to live here for many years, we feel it best to purchase a place to live rather than keep renting.  We've been approved to purchase a home and have been looking at buying an apartment (kind of like you would buy a condo in America, only different).  To make a long story short, we will soon be entering into some serious negotiations.  This will be the most money we have ever spend on any one thing in our lives.  Please pray for wisdom and guidance in this endeavor.

 

We've been putting a lot of stamps on envelopes lately as we mail out our latest newsletter.  Our mailing list is 365 long and we had to put five stamps on each envelope.  It was a dangerous time to visit the Eshelman home; visitors found themselves sitting at a table licking stamps if they stayed too long.  We'll try to get a digital version posted on our web site soon.

 

May the Lord bless and keep you all.

 

Because of Him,

Cecil, Tonya, Timothy and Vera

conference and answered prayer

Dear Friends,

thank you so much for your prayers. God has answered all our prayer requests from our last email update. The Supreme Court in Moscow dismissed the lower court rulings and Tonya's home church is able to keep their building. The new Christian kindergarten is continuing to go smoothly. Timothy and Vera have adjusted to Russian speaking school without problems. And the pastors/leaders conference went well.

Despite an unexpected but necessary last minute change to a different retreat center, hassles lining up transportation and uncertainly about whether our keynote speaker would be unable to attend, everything suddenly fell in place. In fact, the pastors/leaders conference exceeded our expectations. The retreat center we found (or should I say God provided for us?) is nestled in a beautiful spot south of Khabarovsk where we could view the mountains which radiated a golden glow from the birch trees in their autumn glory. The weather was wonderful, the fellowship was fantastic, the speakers were splendid, and the food was acceptable. The conference was attended by 55 Russians (19 couples, 1 single lady, and 16 men who came without wives). These workers rarely get a chance to see each other as they labor in various locations across the Russian Far East. Our keynote speaker was Doug Johnson, who serves with AGWM in Moscow. Also speaking was Karla Isom, who ministers with AGWM in Irkutsk. And above all the Spirit of the Lord was present. The folks who attended expressed thanks for your prayers and support.

Tonya and I personally want to thank the churches and individuals who contribute to our ministry here. The financial support we have received has been so generous that we did not need to spend any time raising additional funds to make this conference possible. The conference was paid for by extra funds received in our account. It is a blessing that even before we knew what the need would be, you had provided the resources to do it. You are indeed full partners in this ministry, and every success we experience belongs to you as well. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Here is a photo of Tonya translating for Doug as he speaks about Daniel being a role model for leadership.

And here they are having a little late-night fellowship with cake & tea.

On Friday afternoon of the conference, Tonya hosted a "tea time" with the ladies. They decided to form prayer partners by drawing verses (like drawing straws), and Tonya got a new prayer partner from a small town. Her name is Nastia. Tonya told her we are buying a vehicle and would like to visit her sometime. Nastia responded by saying there weren't any roads to her town. Tonya said no problem, we are going to get a four wheel drive. Nastia then clarified that there are absolutely no roads to her town, you can only get there by train or helicopter. So .... maybe we'll take the train there to visit sometime.

Tonya's home church is doing well and they asked us to thank you for your prayers during the trial.

Cecil is busy at his Russian language lessons with three 90 minute lessons per day, five days a week. He REALLY wants to learn this language. Here is a photo of the front of his University with a bus from route # 23 (the route he takes to his lessons) at the bus stop.

Please continue to pray for Cecil's language acquisition, the children's schooling and friendships, and Tonya's orphanage ministry. Cecil is trying to write another snail mail newsletter, so pray for his creativity. And please pray for the lost here to discover the joy of knowing Jesus. Since our last e-newsletter we have had the pleasure of leading two more to the Lord.

My the Lord bless you in all your ways.

Yours In Christ Jesus,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy & Vera