this afternoon we are leaving to visit a town called Novi Orgal. By car you cannot get there from here. There are no roads to that area. So we are taking a train. It sounds like an adventure, but really everything is rather safe and settled. Novi Orgal is a major producer of railroad ties. There is a church there that has been building their own building (the local authorities would deny them the ability to rent a theater or gym for their services, so this is very important to them). They started construction but finances were a problem. A church in the States heard about it and have provided the money to finish the project. So were are going there to visit, take photos and encourage them.
Tonya was very busy a week ago translating for the local Bible School. They meet for a month in the spring and an month in the fall. Most of the students are already involved in ministry and want to have a Biblical Education as well. Cecil stays busy in class studying the Russian language (so much progress has been made, but oh, so much more to learn). He also has been working on the electric system in the apartment (it's not exactly up to American standards).
We would ask you to pray for God to solve some problems we are having with documents. We've managed to keep everything legal, but the Russian red tape is amazing. Cecil wants to pay his Russian taxes, and has until the end of April to do it, but the process of just finding where to pay is not yet complete. Vera also needs her photo placed in Tonya's Russian passport, but one office will send us to another and so on. Cecil's address registration needs to be redone and the car reregistered. Maybe God's Angels can guide us through it with no more hassles.
Or, we could send Vera-crocodile to eat them all.
Also, please pray for Cecil's Russian teacher and his classmates. Some of them have shown interest in spiritual matters, and he has even had a long, meaningful discussion with his teacher.
There is always time for playing in the park.
Blessings,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy & Vera
