another title of this update would be "One and a Half Praise Reports." But before I tell you what that means, let me first say, "Praise the Lord, we're home." Yes, we're back in Khabarovsk and glad to be here. We've been doing a lot of travelling, and while we enjoy it, we'd rather take a rest from travel for a while.
In Moldova we continued in the ministry of preaching until the end of February. Since most Moldovans understand Russian, Tonya was able to translate for me. On the pulpit in the photo it is written in Russian, "We Preach Christ."
At the end of February we left Moldova. Here we are saying good-bye at the international airport in Chisinau, Moldova. Our kids enjoyed getting the know the other MKs there.
After leaving Moldova we went to Egypt for the annual conference and training for AGWM workers in Russia. Russia is so big that this is really the only chance we have to get to know the rest of the team that works in Russia. The time was very helpful in coordinating our work, getting some teaching, making plans and evaluating things. It was also refreshing, and we had a chance to visit Cairo and see the ancient pyramids.
Timothy and I were even able to go inside the Great Pyramid. It was amazing to me that Moses would have seen this structure as he lead the Israelites out of Egypt so many years ago. But from Egypt we headed back home, spending half a day in Moscow. This was the first time our kids walked on Red Square. That's the Kremlin behind us.
And then on home to Khabarovsk. We are so glad to take a break from travel. And our first Praise report has to do with that. I have received my Resident Permit for Russia. That means I can now live in Russia. I no longer need a visa. This is a major thing for us, a big answer to prayer, and will save us a lot of time and money.
The half a praise report is also a prayer request. The ownership documents for the minstry center continue to process with the government real estate registration office, but there has been a delay. They requested that some additonal documents be submitted, so the process has been held up. Right now we expect that the national church in Khabarovsk will be able to take possession of the property on March 29th. Please pray that there will be no more delays. The property will host several ministries.
Our plans for the next several weeks include lots of meetings with our ministry partners, that is the Russian churches and minstries that we work with here. It is so delightful to be able to make plans with the expectation that I won't have to leave the country again any time soon. Please pray that all our plans will line up with God's plans, and that the Lord would give us wisdom as we move forward.
Oh, after we got home we took a walk and visited a playground here where there are some ice carvings. The sign behind us says Welcome!
From Our Hearts to Yours,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera and Deanna
