sorry this letter has taken so long to get out, but we've been a little "snowed under" with all the things going on. The new apartment that AGWM helped us purchase is a great blessing, with lots of room, but it has also kept us busy with lots of little things that need to be fixed up. And just as we started to learn where things were we moved here to a different part of the city and are learning the location of stores all over again.
We have taken family time, going for walks and such. We took a few photos just before they started to take down the ice carvings as the weather warms up (today was the first day with the high above freezing). Here are Timothy, Vera and Tonya behind one of the carvings.
The water situation in Khabarovsk has returned to normal. The pollutants have all passed downstream or evaporated. The city has installed a massive charcoal filter at the place where water is taken in from the Amur river, so the water quality now is even better than it was before the accident in China. The swimming pools, which had been closed since the chemical spill, have reopened and Timothy has started his swim lessons again.
Last Sunday Timothy's Sunday School class went on a picnic. They had a Bible treasure hunt and we cooked hot dogs and ate crackers. Here is Tim and his class on the Bible treasure hunt.
Here is Jason helping to get the cooking area ready for hot dog roasting.
Tonya has made friends with several unbelievers since we have come to Khabarovsk. Some of them have receptive to the gospel and made decisions for Christ. A few weeks ago two of them took the step of water baptism. I'm glad to say it was in an indoor swimming pool. One of them has been meeting with Tonya weekly for mentoring/discipleship. Her name is Zhenya. We are so delighted to see the changes the Lord is doing in her life. She has been such a dedicated student of the Word, and today she stated that she wants to help lead a Bible study to help lead others to know the Lord.
March 8 was International Women's Day. Vera's Kindergarten held a special activity to honor the mothers, and Vera recited a poem.
There is a Bible Institute in Khabarovsk that holds sessions for four weeks every Spring and again in the fall. Classes for the spring session start on Monday. The regular translator may not be able to translate, so Tonya expects to be translating for the teacher next week. Today we picked the teacher up at the airport and spent some time with him. Please pray for them as they instruct their eager students this coming week.
Cecil was able to get a new one year visa without even leaving the country. Getting a visa can be a problem, so we praise the Lord for this.
Please pray for Cecil's language learning, as he continues to try to understand new grammar systems and memorize new words. He will study full time until this summer, then he plans to focus more on the work we came to do. Also pray for us to have God's direction as we make more detailed summer plans.
Please also pray for us as we try to fix up numerous things in our new apartment.
God bless you.
In His Service,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy & Vera
