we're sprinting toward July 18th, when we head back to see the States for the first time in three years. Looking forward to seeing family and friends again. We plan to take some vacation time, then head to North Carolina to start itinerating churches and reporting of the work in Russia.
Right now the girls are at camp. Timothy went to camp last weekend in Komsomolsk, and I ended up driving the six hours (one way) with a Speed-the-Light van load of wonderful youth. We had a great time. Tonya got to translate for me the three times I preached last week-end. The young people were incredibly responsive and the Holy Spirit moved among them.
Earlier this month we took a trip to the Jewish Autonomous Region (just west of Khabarovsk). We toured the museum that tells it's very interesting history. On Sunday I preached in a church that had born-again Jewish members.
After the service they took us to a picnic and put a hat on my head.
We participated in the "March for Families" that took place about a month ago. We were one of four families in the city recognized for having adopted a child.
As a note to homeschooling, we watched the transit of Venus. Although there were a lot of clouds, we got a number of clear views of Venus against the sun during the passage. Here in Northern Asia we were able to watch it from beginning to end. A couple weeks before that we got to watch a solar eclipse. Here's a photo of us viewing the eclipse by projecting an image through binoculars onto a piece of paper (note: the light part is the sun, the dark spot is the moon).
The "Open Heart" homeless shelter that we work with has had a number of young single homeless moms start to live there. The shelter's work certainly is expanding. They are building more rooms for mothers and families.
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Here's an amazing article about Russia's history, present times, and Khabarovsk. It's written by a Catholic priest and what he found after communism in Russia.
We haven't seen smoke ourselves, but they say say there's fire.
Abortions are all-to-common here in Russia. So we know many who carry feelings of guilt about it. This article shows a beautiful piece of art that ministers to many women.
The girls have a great time playing hid-and-seek this spring.
Blessings,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera and Diana
