I (Cecil) arrived back in Khabarovsk five days ago, safe and sound. Tonya and and the girls seem to have survived without me, but it is good to see them again. The ministry seems to also have continued just fine. I still have a touch of jet-lag, but my days and nights are pretty much straightened out.
I am here on a visa. That is not as good as the resident permit I had previously, but will work for now. We'll take things one step at a time.
Tonya and the girls kept things going while I was gone. One of the things they do is go to orphanages with crafts and spiritual lessons. Every Saturday our team of volunteers go to an orphanage for special needs children. These children are especially glad to see us. They don't get out very often. Last Saturday we told them about Jacob's ladder. And that Jesus is our way to God. Here they are holding their crafts that they made of Jacob's ladder.
We had a get-together with our ministry team. It was a productive time of planning and fellowship. Nothing can unite people more than sharing the call of God. These are some great people we have the honor of working with.
Please pray for construction of the new ministry center. Little progress was made while Cecil was gone. We hope to pick things up again in April.
A few encouraging words I read recently:
After his wife died, Dr. Albert Schweitzer continued to work in Africa till he died at the age of 90. Overcoming innumerable difficulties, he once wrote: "One day, in my despair, I threw myself into a chair in the consulting room and groaned out: 'What a blockhead I was to come out here to doctor savages like these!' ... Whereupon his native assistant quietly remarked: 'Yes, Doctor, here on earth you are a great blockhead, but not in heaven.'"
Please also pray for us to have wisdom in making plans.
Blessings,
The Eshelman Family
in Russia
