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
