Cold Days, Warm Hearts

Dear Friends,

Tim is learning how to take pictures. Here's one he took of Dad.

On Saturday we moved into our new apartment. It is spacious and warm. Tonya has been working hard to get it fixed up the way she wants it. We envision doing a lot of ministry out of our home. Hopefully we won't have to move again for a long, long time (other than when on furlough in the States).

On Wednesday we will head to the States. We'll leave in the afternoon, change planes in South Korea, change again in Chicago and arrive in Pittsburg in the evening the same day (strange thing that international date line). We'll spend Christmas with Cecil's brother and then go on to the World Missions Summit. Please pray that thousands of the students attending the summit will hear from God about their place in missions and in the Kingdom of God.

Cecil finished his finals today. He's enjoyed the challenge of studying with smart University students who are about half his age. His grades are good, but most importantly he is speaking Russian much better than before. He has high hopes for what he will learn next semester. His plan is to study for one more semester (until May) and then devote full time into the work here.

One of Khabarovsk's winter specialties is ice carving. They take big frozen chunks of ice, set them up and carve them in parks and other public areas. Right now most are still in the starting stages.

I took these pictures at noontime. The sun doesn't get very high in the sky this time of year.

I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.

They didn't take the ice from the Amur River this year because of the toxic chemicals spilled in the river in China. You would be amazed at all the rumors and information and misinformation that is spreading even faster than the pollution. However, the official word is that the main slick is passing through the Jewish Autonomous Republic right now and will reach us in a few more days. It seems we keep hearing that the poisons will reach us in "a few days." I guess they are flowing down the ice-covered river slower than expected. We had been told that our new apartment is in a part of the city that gets its water from a well, but we've found that too was not correct (we are just next to that part of the city). But we had stored up large quantities of water, so we've been using that for washing and such. But it looks like we'll be out of town when the worst part of the toxic spill arrives.

Tonya formed a friendship with a lady and has been meaning to invite her to church since this lady was interested in spiritual things. With all the activity going on with the apartment purchase, moving in, preparing for a trip to the states, etc., Tonya didn't get around to inviting her. But on Saturday the lady called us and asked if she could come to church with us. Sunday she came and after the sermon she decided to make a commitment to follow Christ. God is so good.

We thank you for your prayers, because of them there is fruit.

Blessings to you all,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy & Vera

Water of Life

Dear Friends,

On Saturday afternoon we went to an interdenominational prayer meeting being led by pastors of various churches. This is a fairly new thing here in Khabarovsk. The Spirit was very present and the two hours felt like a few minutes. One elderly pastor was to lead the prayers for healing of the land. He read from the Bible where God uses Moses at Meribah to heal the waters and make them drinkable. Then he knelt and as he began to pray I felt a brokenness in my spirit as I have not felt in a long time. Many of those present began to cry. Sometimes it takes the consequences of sin to cause us to see our need for God. If so, perhaps the Lord can use this poisoned slick of water that is approaching the city to awaken some people to their need for him.

The water in the city is still on. Every day the governmental leaders were making television announcements that the water was still safe, until two days ago. There have been no announcements in the last two days, which many people here interpret that as meaning the water is no longer safe but they don't want to turn it off. Harbin was without water for five days, but the toxic spill has spread out and may take much longer to pass us. Perhaps the authorities fear that turning off the water would cause a greater sanitation problem (toilets don't flush, etc.) We never did drink the water here, but now we have stopped taking baths and stopped washing our clothes.

Good news: we have finalized the purchase of an apartment. We are fixing it up and hope to move into it in mid December. Some more good news: the water in that part of the city comes from a well and will not be effected by the chemical spill. The apartment is spacious, warm and in a nice location. It has made us a bit busy as we are now trying to fix it up, get moved in, still do some ministry and have Cecil prepare for finals before we head to the States on December 21 to attend the World Missions Summit.

Thank you so much for your prayers for wisdom and guidance. This is the first time we purchased property in Russia, but all went well.

Two weeks ago Cecil and the kids went to see the Amur river. Here is Tim standing on the bank and throwing chunks of ice trying to find the thin spots. He wanted to play at the river before you weren't allowed to touch the water.

On Friday last week we want with a fellow named Dmitriy to visit a children's home for babies whose mothers are in prison. Dmitriy leads the prison ministry in this area. He will very familiar with the prison system since he was a resident of it for over twenty years. Now that he follows Jesus he is no longer the same man, but he goes back to visit the same prisons. His work has won official recognition from the regional government. More important than human recognition is God's blessings, and God has been using Dmitriy to bless many others. As the Apostle Paul says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

At the children's home we delivered some children's clothing. The director here became a believer not long ago. Dmitriy had been witnessing to her for three years before she decided to follow Christ. She showed us the facilities and let us meet the children. Their mothers are allowed to see them for one hour a day. There is a child by the name of Camellia that we prayed for especially. She is kept separate from the other children since her mother has AIDS and they are not sure if she has it too.
We know that God has a plan for Camellia's life. She has a hope and a future.

Thank you again so much for your prayers.

God Bless You,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy & Vera