Belonging

Dear Friends,

we rejoice to tell you that as on Monday (January 14th), we received the documents finalizing Deanna's adoption. This is the main step in the process we've been going through as this makes her legally one of us. Of course there are more things to be done (change the her last name on her documents to Eshelman, get her a passport, etc.). She is an active child, speaks no English, fits in well with our family, and will turn seven on January 28th.

Oh, and she is learning to bake cookies.

January 7 is Christmas in Russia, and we fixed a big dinner for the folks at Open Heart Homeless Shelter. They now have 74 residents. We couldn't have done it without the help of our entire team. Aaron, Beth and Elf and our kids spend hours peeling carrots and potatoes and stewing the beef and boiling eggs and buying food and so on. Even with all the preparation the actual serving seemed like feeding the 5000. We told the Christmas story, and many of them had never heard it before. This center is such a miracle from God.

We've been having a Royal Ranger group meet in out home for several months now. Two different churches have adults who have been helping us lead it. We have five boys who belong to the group so far. Anyway, it was about time to do something outside the house. So on Saturday we took them to the woods. For several hours we went tramping through the snow, climbing hills, tending a fire, cooking sausages and having a generally great time.

The temperature was about -10 degrees F (-24 degrees C). We had to keep drinks next to the fire or they would freeze in short order.

Olga, our translator/secretary, has announced that she is getting married to a nice young Christian man. He works as the administrator of her church. However, along with this change, she has decided not to work for us any more. We know she will continue to work for the Lord, especially with Royal Rangers, which she has become very involved with. Olga, may the Lord bless your marriage and your future!

Announcing a prayer request. Aaron and Beth have joined with a couple (the husband is Russian and the wife is Chinese) to start an Alpha Course. They are gathering a small team and will have a planning meeting on Saturday to seek the Lord's direction in this regards. Please pray that the Lord send them the right people and that His hand be upon their efforts.

Lord willing, we will be coming to the States in June for a year of home service. We plan to start by attending Missionary Renewal (that's the new name for summer School of Missions) and then travel and speak. If you would like us to come to your church, just let us know.

With Love from the Russian Far East,

Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera and Deanna

Holidays, Hearings and Warm Hearts

Dear Friends,

The preliminary hearing for Deanna's adoption went well. It was very business-like, neither hot nor cold. The final hearing was then scheduled for Dec. 27th. By the way, one of the things they required for the adoption is for Tonya to have her own source of income, so she's gotten a teaching position at the Baptists Seminary teaching English for three hours a week.

The final hearing for Deanna's adoption also went well. On January 10th the adoption certificate will be issued, making the adoption both legal and final. So we praise the Lord for how things have gone. Of course there will be more documents we'll be working on after that (getting the birth certificate amended, getting her Russian passport, getting a visa to the U.S., etc.).

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas to all of you. Actually Christmas in Russia isn't until January 7th (offices and schools will be closed). But our family celebrated Christmas on December 25th, even though Russian schools and banks are open on that day. We had a Christmas tree with presents under it (and with Tim's train running around it on the floor).

And what did we do with the presents?

Later that day we went to visit the kids at Orphanage #31. We did a Christmas presentation.

And on January 1st we went and just played a game of "Real Life" with them.

Since we are presently a foster family, the city of Khabarovsk gave us tickets to the circus for a special presentation to foster families a week ago Saturday. It was a great performance. Russia has declared 2008 to be the Year of the Family. We see this as a very positive development. While we know that government cannot create healthy families, it is good to see an interest among Russian leaders to do what they can.

On the morning of New Year's eve, Cecil, Timothy, Aaron and Beth went to the Chinese market in Khabarovsk and handed out New Testaments. We thought they could use some good reading materials for the holiday break.

Also on the list of events was Vera's birthday party (December 31). In Russia they set off fireworks in honor of her birthday (and maybe because of New Year's). Anyway, since it is 2008 she must be 8 years old. Here's a photo of some of the friends who came to her party:

If you've found our email updates interesting or entertaining, you may want to read from the blogs of our Khabarovsk co-workers. Aaron and Beth's can be found at http://aaronandbeth03.blogspot.com/ to read about how a young married couple is starting Royal Ranger ministries. Elf's can be found at http://elsbethpotter.blogspot.com/ to see what life for a single young American lady in a Russian dormitory is like.

If you ever come to Khabarovsk in the winter, we'll take you out to see the ice sculptures.

With warm hearts,

Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera and Deanna