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Summer Slips Away

Dear Friends,

Summer here in Siberia has gone, Fall has come, and Winter is just around the corner for us.  Things are going well here at the rehab center.  We've brought in the harvest on the farm and have piles of hay for the cows this winter.  The ministry is going slowly, but going well.  My kids are in school (and college) in the States.  Tonya and I are doing well here in Siberia. Blessings to all of our friends and supporters. We especially enjoy the teens that come to the local church and have gotten involved with a youth Bible Study.

The children's church is a blast!

The farm continues to be successful.  Of course, on a farm the work is never done. And renovations on the building is coming along.

We hope to get the concrete set before the frosts begin.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Blessings,

The Eshelman Family

On The Farm

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!

 The Farm is doing O.K.  The guys who live here are part of a rehab, and things are going successfully.  Lives are being changed and straightened out.  Summer has set in and the garden is getting planted.  We're praying for a good harvest to help provide food for the winter.  The herd of cows is small, but doing well.

We have to be careful about doing anything publicly, but the local church was able to put on a Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames presentation that went well.  We were able to be of some assistance in transportation and such.  

Our kids are all in the States advancing on their education.  They seem to be doing well, and helping each other out while Mom and Dad are on the opposite side of the planet.

We've become involved with a youth group.  It is a real joy to be accepted by a bunch of teen-agers.  They seem to enjoy the Christian training along with the fellowship and activities.

Thank you for the prayers!

Snowy holidays

 We're not dreaming of a white Christmas, we're assured that there will be plenty of snow to play in.  We've already had plenty of white snow before Thanksgiving.  While Thanksgiving may not be a Russian holiday, our friends sure enjoy having a feast with us.

 The renovations on the rehab center continue, and it is becoming a nicer and nicer place.  The entire facility is now snug and warm and generally clean.  The program itself is making progress as well, with continual step-by-step improvements.  We enjoy working with the leadership here, they are good folks. The Kingdom of God moves forward step-by-step.  It is a joy to watch people's lives improve. Of course, living better lives is what this program is all about, and we hope the Lord is pleased with how things are going.

We are grateful for the support and prayers of so many people.  Blessings to all!

Back on the Farm

 We have made it back to the rehab center in Siberia.  We're still in jet-lag, but starting to do things.  The folks here are very glad to see us and have us back.  The building is in better shape than when we left (they kept working on it while we were gone).  The farm seems to be doing fine as well.

Coronavirus has changed the way some things are being done here, much like the changes in the States (mask are common, people are distancing, etc.).  

We're getting organized and oriented.  Hope to post some good news here soon.  Thank you for all your prayers, they seem to have gotten us through.

All our kids are in the States (going to school and working).  They seem to be fine, from what they tell us.

 We have gotten tickets to return to our work in Russia.  The first time we bought tickets the flight was cancelled, so we have had to buy tickets again.  Flights keep getting changed around, international travel is a bit messy right now.  Hoping things work out and we actually fly this time.  We'll try to stay in touch and let everyone know if we actually manage to make it back to Russia.  Please pray that everything works out this time. 

Still waiting to return

Dear Friends,

we continue to look forward to travel opening up so that we can return to Russia and the work that is waiting for us there.

So many things have happened and changed since the beginning of the year 2020, so many plans have been altered that it is hard to decide which one to begin with.

In January we were in the city of Novokuznetsk in sunny Southwest Siberia, involved in different outreaches and ministries, working together with the Russian Church building the Kingdom of God. One of our favorite outreaches was an evangelistic play “God Is Where Love Is” by Leo Tolstoy. Cecil helped to direct the play while Tonya and Diana performed with sisters and brothers from the adaptation center. Though for most of them it was the first time performing in a play, everyone enjoyed it, and it was successfully shown in nearby towns around Christmas, and the Gospel message preached. Our hope was to perform it in the orphanages as well, but the director of the orphanage did not give us permission. Please pray with us for God to open that door sometime.

Another delight for us was teaching a water baptism class for three new believers. They were a part of a larger water baptism group in January. The pastor wanted them to fully understand what they were doing beforehand.

On January 11^th, we conducted a small seminar for children’s ministry workers. It was entitled, “Ministering to a Hurting Child.” We met with wonderful dedicated children’s ministers who said the subject is very relevant and they would like us to do more seminars like that. Apparently, God is moving in their city bringing a lot of physically challenged children and their parents to church. It is a new field for them and they asked us for specific help and training. Maybe you have children’s ministers in your church who would like to share their experience or know of a good resource for parents and ministers of disabled children. If so, please let us know.

Well, in mid February we returned to the States to apply for a new visa for Cecil. The visa was granted, praise the Lord. Thank you for your prayers. But we were not able to fly back because international travel shut down due to COVID 19.

So three long stay-at-home-order months followed for us in North Carolina. If you know anything about missionaries, you must understand that it is hard for us to stay home. Yes, it was not easy, but we are grateful to God for providing a place for us to stay, for meaningful interactions with our now grown-up children and His “grace that is sufficient for us.”

We are thankful for your prayers and financial support during these challenging times. We have not given up hope to go back to Russia as soon as the borders open up again.

Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you while we are Stateside, of how we can best pray for you. You are in our hearts and prayers.

God bless you,

The Eshelman Family