Dear Friends, March
2022
not long ago we sent you an email update saying that we were
in no danger in Siberia and were planning to stay and minister there. A lot of
things have changed since then. Because of sanctions, it became nearly
impossible for us to bring the support money into Russia to continue the
ministry. Cecil’s medication, which is produced in Germany, was no longer
available at the local pharmacies. Most important, though, the Russian
Government limited travel out of the country for Russian citizens and it was possible
that Cecil and Tonya would get separated because of that. Taking into
consideration all the above, we consulted our leadership and it was decided
that we needed to leave Russia as soon as possible.
On March 4th we
headed to the local airport and were informed by the official that all flights
abroad were cancelled for that day. We started to drive to the closest border
with Mongolia. Half way there we found out the check point crossing was
closed to private vehicles and open to commercial trucks only. So, we rerouted
our trip to the Kazakhstan border where the Russian border patrol officers did
not allow Tonya to leave the country because of “COVID” regulations. They told
Cecil at the same border crossing that because he was a foreign citizen, they
had no right to stop him from leaving the country, so he was free to go.
Cecil decided not to leave Russia without his wife.
At that point
we felt exhausted, confused, and cornered. So, we prayed and returned to the
hotel, not knowing what to do next. That evening we found out there was a whole
security committee with our leadership in Springfield brainstorming ways to get
us out of the country. They found a flight from the closest international
airport to Dubai, purchased on-line tickets for us, and were praying that the
airport border officers would let Cecil and Tonya fly out of the country
TOGETHER. We drove for 6 hours to Novosibirsk, spent the night with Russian
friends, and then flew to Dubai on March 8th.
We
had mentioned in our previous letter that the 8th of March is widely celebrated
in Russia as International Women’s Day and asked you to pray for the outreach
we were planning that day in Taizhina. Sadly,
the outreach was cancelled that day. But thank you for your prayers for
us. As our friends were driving us to
the airport, we watched Russian men walking through the blizzard carrying
traditional gifts to their loved ones - tulips and roses carefully wrapped in
paper. Tonya said she thought that most
of them and their families were grateful that they were not marching on the
fields of Ukraine carrying guns that day. She was also especially thankful to
God for the best 8th of March gift ever… a flight to safety for her
husband and her.
We spent a few days in Dubai with a friend, recovering from
all the stress, and on the 12th of March, flew to US and landed in DC area
where a friend met us.
Please
pray for:
- God to give peace to Ukraine and Russia
- Russian brothers and sisters to continue
God’s work in Taizhina while we are gone
- for the young Russian men who are not willing to fight, yet can be drafted
any time
- for God’s guidance and direction for us
while here in the US
Blessings
to you,
Cecil and Tonya Eshelman
