The first photo in our last email update was of our new kitchen. So here it is again. Near the end of the school year Cecil invited his class from the University to visit and have some hamburgers. We figure the reason God gave us the apartment was for ministry anyway. Even thought Cecil will not be continuing in full time language study anymore, we hope to continue building on the relationships we've formed so far. The class includes Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. Some of them have expressed some spiritual interests, but the language barrier has been, indeed, a barrier (we are unable to find literature in Korean or Vietnamese locally). The lady center left is our instructor, and the one American in the group is behind the camera.
Timothy finished the school year with good grades (we're very proud of him). One the last day of school, called "last bell," there is always special presentations. Here is a photo of Timothy (wearing his favorite tie) participating in an activity during "last bell." That is his teacher on the left. The headbands have the name of the school on them, which translated is Rhythm.
Just after Tim's school year ended, we went to a conference in Greece where we involved in training, planning and other meetings. It was attended by AGWM workers from around the C.I.S./Baltic's. It was good to see Greg and Tammy Jenkins, who we worked for several years ago while we were living in Georgia (the one just south of Russia, not the state next to Florida). Our time in Greece proved to be refreshing, encouraging and strategic in nature. That's Greg and Tammy to our left.
The day after returning from the conference Cecil took his finals at the University. His brain was still off by the eight hour time change, but he somehow managed to ace the comprehension test. Grammar? Well, he got a "B." Our work here will be going through a major change now that his full time language studies are over. We will begin focusing on developing programs in the orphanages and finding what will be successful. One thing we have already discovered from the ministry we've done so far is that things will be far more difficult than we originally thought. However we know that God has called us here and he has a plan. Please pray that the Lord will guide us and open doors and give us favor with those in authority and favor with the youth as well.
ALPHA. Ever heard of the Alpha course? It is a wonderful outreach and discipleship program developed in England. It has been translated into Russian, and in May some Alpha trainers from Western Europe hosted a conference in Khabarovsk. Tonya translated for the keynote presentations. Many churches of different denominations attended from all over the city. In fact, it was the best attended interdenominational activity ever done here, several hundred in attendance. We are excited to see the Lord raising up this ministry here, not in one, but in many locations.
Here is a photo of the monument we mentioned in our last update. That is Jason with Tim and Vera. This monument is a short walk from our home.
Blessings,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy & Vera
