In Moldova

Dear Friends,

I am in Moldova right now. I was invited by some missionaries to come for a little. The folks here are friendly and the pastors I've been getting to know are wonderful. For those who don't know, Moldova is a part of the former Soviet Union, located between the Ukraine and Romania. You can find out more about it at http://www.moldova.md/en/start/ if you want to.

I'm in Moldova because my Russian resident permit has not yet been approved, and I have limited time on my Russian visa. I have a one year religious worker visa for Russia, but Russian visas (other than student and worker visas) require that you be outside of Russia for 90 out of 180 days. I've used up most of my legal time in Russia for this 180 days. I have tickets to return to Russia on January 6th. If my resident permit is ready, then I can just stay there, if not, I will need to leave the country again within the week. In mid-February a new 180 day period starts, and then I get a new 90 days to be in Russia. However, if my resident permit is approved, I can just stay there and live. As you can see, this is a big prayer concern for us.

On Sunday just before I came to Moldova, I received a call from the FSB (they used to be called the KGB) on my cell phone. I was invited to come to their office in Khabarovsk and answer some questions. So the next day I went and met with a polite young man who had many questions for me. He mentioned that this was part of the process for me to get my resident permit.

Later that day (Monday) Tonya went to meet with the Director of Migration for Khabarovsk Krai (a Krai is like a State, and Khabarovsk Krai is about twice the size of France). When greeting his secretary, Tonya said she had some questions about the application for a resident permit for her husband who is American. The lady, who didn't even look away, said, "Eshelman?" I guess I'm the only American applying for a resident permit there right now. The lady explained that everything was ready except for approval from the FSB, and there was nothing they could do about that. So please pray that the FSB would make quick process of my permit's approval.

Things are going smoothly in regards to the purchase of a place for the ministry center. Without me there, the local church leaders are moving the project forward pretty much on their own. They are buying some space in a commercial building downtown. Here you can see the front entrance of that building and some windows to what we are acquiring (on the 6th floor).

This is a really good thing for the Bible Institute and the churches here. This building is in an excellent location next to a bus stop with routes all over the city. Please pray that everything continues to go smoothly.

One of the greatest needs we have is for more workers to bring in the harvest. Our master has told to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send workers into the harvest field. Please pray that more people would come an join us. More people are needed to spread the good news. One of our missionaries has put together an excellent video to give a taste of ministry in Russia. All the photos were taken by workers in Russia. Here is a link to the presentation http://animoto.com/play/HqQ2IbmqddcHdB0YrWNaMw?utm_campaign=share_email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_email Please take a look, I think you'll find it fascinating to see the diversity of Russia and the people we minister to here.

One last prayer request. Please uphold my family in prayer as I am in Moldova and they are still in Khabarovsk. While the ministry here is good, I'd rather be with them, and they would rather be with me.

In His Service,

Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera and Deanna

Meetings, Thanksgiving and Snow!

Dear Friends,

yes, we've had snow here in Russia. The Amur River is frozen over. Here's a picture of the kids standing on the river. No danger, the ice must be at least ten inches thick and we were unable to brake a hole in it even when we tried.

We've had some important meetings here. We're in the process of purchasing a property to use as a ministry center. It will be able to host the Bible Institute, church offices, meetings and various ministries. Several local churches are working together to support this project. So we hosted a series of meetings in our home to gain vision, form unity and work out the details. On the last Saturday in November we had a meeting where we chose the property we think the Lord would have us to purchase. Here's a photo of me with the pastors at the meeting.

The negotiations for the purchase are going well. Since the property will be in the name of the Russian Evangelical Church, the Russian leaders are taking over most of the project at this point. We hope to send you some photos of the property soon. Please pray that everything continues to go well, and that participation of the local churches continues to grow.

Thanksgiving! Yes, we had a great Thanksgiving with some friends. We even found some frozen turkeys. They were only five pounds each, so we bought three of them. After the meal we were treated to a play that was completely created and directed and acted in by the children. Here is an Indian teaching the Pilgrims how to plant food.

We also went to the Open Heart homeless shelter and put on a Thanksgiving meal. Folks from three different local churches gave us a hand in preparing the food and with the presentation. The homeless shelter now has two locations, with 85 residents in one place and 35 at their new location. We went to the larger center, and it takes a lot of cooking to make beef stew for 85 people, along with hard boiled eggs, oranges, dessert, bread and tea (in Russia, you gotta have bread and tea to make it a meal). Before we ate our team led some songs and I told the tale of the first Thanksgiving.

This homeless shelter is more than just a shelter. Every morning starts with a prayer meeting, and every evening there is a church service in the dinning hall. It is a truly Christian community. It is also overcrowded. Right now some people are sleeping on the floor between the tables in the dinning hall. They also need to build a bath house. Some funds for construction are coming in from an appeal that was published last summer. We hope to find more ways to help with this need.

One thing that I noticed that bothered me was the shortage of winter shoes. Some of the residents only had sandals, which are totally inadequate in the snow. One of the ladies from a local church who came with us to help noticed this also and mentioned it to me. Her church and our ministry partnered together to provide 20 new winter shoes. Yesterday we visited the second shelter. We weren't able to prepare an entire meal, but we took oranges. After the evening service we gave the shoes to the director of this center. He methodically passed out some shoes to those who needed them, and will pass the rest on to the other shelter.

Here you can compare new shoes and an old shoe that was being used.

Our biggest prayer request right now is for my resident permit. It has not yet been approved, although it is in process in the government migration office. Tonya has contacted several government officials and they say they would like to help, but can't do much for us. There is one more official she has not spoken with yet who might be able to assist us. He is the chief of the central migration office for our Krai (like a State). His office hours are 4:00 to 5:00 pm on Mondays. Please pray that she would be able to meet with him this Monday and that he would expedite the processing of this document.

Since time on my visa is running out, I have purchased tickets to leave Russia on Dec. 16 and return on January 7th. I won't miss Christmas with my family because Christmas in Russia is on January 7th. My arrangements are to go to Moldova for three weeks and help with some ministry there. I'm hoping a miracle happens and I'll be able to just stay here. Thank you for your prayers in this matter.

Because of Him,

Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera and Deanna