We're back in Russia, but we had a great time in the States. After the World Missions Conference we spent some time with Cecil's folks in Colorado.
Things were great in the States, but it is good to be back in Khabarovsk. When we got off the plane and walked across the tarmac to the building, a stiff breeze at 17 degrees below zero Fahrenheit helped remind us where we were. The trip went without a hitch and we are now back to work.
We are living in our new apartment. We have gotten a phone installed. As you can tell we now have internet access. There are a number of things that need to be fixed up and those projects are progressing. Please pray for Tonya since we don't have a kitchen yet (meaning our kitchen only has bare walls), we need to re-do the plumbing in that room. She's been cooking on a hot plate in the living room.
Jason arrived on schedule with no problems, so our team is growing. We took him out to see some of the local sights. He found an ice carving that he really liked.
Jason is living in a dormitory at a local University, studying Russian and doing outreach among the students. His first night in the dorm most of the students on his floor came to talk with the American. Curious to see if he could read Russian they grabbed a piece of paper sitting on his desk and asked him to read from it. It "happened" to be an invitation to the evangelical church that he had "happened" to pick up on Sunday morning after the worship service. This led to some quality conversation. He says that two students plan to come to church with him tomorrow (Sunday). Please pray that the Lord would continue to give Jason favor and that God would use Jason to bring many students to Himself.
While we were in Colorado we were able to attend a Rodeo. It was the first time for Tonya, Timothy & Vera to see a Rodeo. In January we partnered with some Baptist workers here and are showing a Billy Graham movie production titled "Rodeo" in orphanages. The showings have gone very well so far. If you get a chance to see it, we know you would enjoy it.
A special note of joy. One of the first friends Timothy made when we came is named Vita. Timothy has faithfully prayed for him almost every evening while saying bedtime prayers. Two weeks ago his grandmother and he came to church (the first time for either of them). After Cecil spoke Vita's grandmother came forward and made a decision to follow Christ. She attended again last week and plans to attend with us tomorrow.
Here we are with Vita and another friend Vania. If you've never played with ice carvings during a snowstorm you ought try it.
Oh, we managed to mail out our newsletter in January. It can also be found on our web site at:
http://hqmail.agmd.org/~tonya.eshelman/NL%202006%20Jan/NL2006Jan.html
Blessings,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera
