Dear Friends,
You've probably heard it before, "on a farm the work is never done." Well, work on the farm continues (garden, cattle herding, renovations, you-name-it). The rehab is not financially self-sufficient, but is working in that direction. And the spiritual atmosphere has become uplifting. Summer is here, so we have the occasional cookout. The residents of the rehab love a good cookout, and helped with the fire and the BBQ.
We've seen improvements in several areas including the building renovations, spiritual atmosphere, quality of the food, fellowship, and organization. What we find must exciting is the increasing interest in a Bible study and church attendance. We're seeing intellectual development and improved planning as well.
The youth group at the local church is growing. The local pastor and us have been organizing weekly youth meetings and occasional other activities, such as a trip to go swimming at a nearby lake.
It is neat that the kids take time to assemble at the rehab center for their own meetings. While adults meet on the first floor, youth meet on the second. We did a lesson on the importance of giving compliments and encouragement. Part of the lesson was writing a compliment or encouragement on everyone else's back (everyone had a sheet of paper taped on their back). It was a blast!
It is also exciting to us that one of the youth group who has grown up in an orphanage is headed to University. Here is a photo of her with Tonya,
Things are calm here in Siberia, and thankfully everyone around us has been healthy. Thank you for your prayers. These have been times of peace and growth. Oh, talking about growth, the garden is doing well and we have eaten some of the first-fruits already (radishes) with other veggies coming along.
We ask for prayers that these would be times of peace and health in Russia where God's truth would spread and all would be well.
Peace be with you!
