School's End

Dear Friends,

The first photo in our last email update was of our new kitchen. So here it is again. Near the end of the school year Cecil invited his class from the University to visit and have some hamburgers. We figure the reason God gave us the apartment was for ministry anyway. Even thought Cecil will not be continuing in full time language study anymore, we hope to continue building on the relationships we've formed so far. The class includes Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. Some of them have expressed some spiritual interests, but the language barrier has been, indeed, a barrier (we are unable to find literature in Korean or Vietnamese locally). The lady center left is our instructor, and the one American in the group is behind the camera.

Timothy finished the school year with good grades (we're very proud of him). One the last day of school, called "last bell," there is always special presentations. Here is a photo of Timothy (wearing his favorite tie) participating in an activity during "last bell." That is his teacher on the left. The headbands have the name of the school on them, which translated is Rhythm.

Just after Tim's school year ended, we went to a conference in Greece where we involved in training, planning and other meetings. It was attended by AGWM workers from around the C.I.S./Baltic's. It was good to see Greg and Tammy Jenkins, who we worked for several years ago while we were living in Georgia (the one just south of Russia, not the state next to Florida). Our time in Greece proved to be refreshing, encouraging and strategic in nature. That's Greg and Tammy to our left.

The day after returning from the conference Cecil took his finals at the University. His brain was still off by the eight hour time change, but he somehow managed to ace the comprehension test. Grammar? Well, he got a "B." Our work here will be going through a major change now that his full time language studies are over. We will begin focusing on developing programs in the orphanages and finding what will be successful. One thing we have already discovered from the ministry we've done so far is that things will be far more difficult than we originally thought. However we know that God has called us here and he has a plan. Please pray that the Lord will guide us and open doors and give us favor with those in authority and favor with the youth as well.

ALPHA. Ever heard of the Alpha course? It is a wonderful outreach and discipleship program developed in England. It has been translated into Russian, and in May some Alpha trainers from Western Europe hosted a conference in Khabarovsk. Tonya translated for the keynote presentations. Many churches of different denominations attended from all over the city. In fact, it was the best attended interdenominational activity ever done here, several hundred in attendance. We are excited to see the Lord raising up this ministry here, not in one, but in many locations.

Here is a photo of the monument we mentioned in our last update. That is Jason with Tim and Vera. This monument is a short walk from our home.

Blessings,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy & Vera

Victory Day

Dear Friends,

this springs seems to have been so busy we can't even keep track of what we're doing. One thing that seems to take up all our extra time has been fixing up the apartment we purchased in December. It wasn't in terrible condition, it's just that it takes lots of time to paint, wallpaper, hang lights, change clogged pipes and then clean up afterwards. However we do feel a great deal of process has been made. Now that we have the kitchen installed Tonya doesn't need to cook on a hot plate in the living room, like she did for the last three months.
Feel free to come visit and fix up some food.

Cecil has been busy with language study. In less than a month Cecil will be finished with his Russian language studies at the university. He still wants to keep learning that language, but he'll be putting his main energies into the work we came here to do.

Timothy has been buys with school and has taken some piano lessons in addition to swim lessons. He will be finishing classes next week and is ready to go on summer break. We've finished the work on Vera's room so she was able to move into her own room last week. Sure beats sharing a tiny room with her brother.

Tonya has continued to develop secretarial skills in working with officials and dealing with government documents. Everything has gone better than we expected, since we had a number of things we needed to process. We praise the Lord for having given us so much favor with officials. They were unusually helpful. Our kids should be issued their Russian passports this week.

Tonya has also continued to form connections with orphanages. Last week we took a puppet team to one of the orphanages. They were received very well. In the past the director of that orphanage has been against any form of spiritual message. Please pray that this door will remain open and that we will be able to do more ministry there in the future.

The 9th of May is one of the biggest holidays in Russia. We call it V.E. Day in the states, but they simply call it Victory Day. It is the day the Nazis surrendered after the capture of Berlin. Almost every family in Russia lost someone during that war, and it is really a big deal. We went to see the parade.

They really like to show off military hardware during parades. Like this rocket launcher.

In the last three weeks we also printed and mailed out our latest newsletter. We have over 350 on the mailing list, so takes a while to all mailed out. We've placed a copy on our web site at http://hqmail.agmd.org/~tonya.eshelman/NL%202006%20May/NL2006May.html

The work on the church in Novi Orgal continues to progress. The pastor spend a few days at our home last week getting supplies. It costs less to buy them here and ship them on a baggage car.

Near our home is a memorial to some sailors who were jailed and executed during the 1930's and then many years later declared innocent. Their entire boat was placed in the park. It has become a favorite object to climb on.

The weather has turned warmer in the last two weeks. We went for a picnic on a steep bluff above the Amur river. From the picture you can't hardly see that we are about 350 above the water.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

His Servants,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy & Vera

Down the tracks

Dear Friends,

CHRIST IS RISEN! Today is Easter Sunday in Russia. On Easter this is the traditional greeting in Russia. It went out of style during the communist reign, but now it is coming back. RISEN INDEED, ALLELUIA!

Cecil is really excited because his Russian Language Teacher accepted his invitation to church on Easter. She attended this morning and seemed to enjoy it. Please pray for her that she will come to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.

Two weeks ago we traveled by train to Novi Orgal and visited with a church called "Church of Christ the Savior." I found out that there is a road to Novi Orgal during the winter, but it is not passable once the rivers start to melt in the spring (no bridges). The church there has started work on a building. This will be the first church building in this town of about 10,000. This church has prayed several years for a building, and finally were able to begin. Unfortunately they reached the limits of their financial ability, but fortunately, a church in the States heard about it and have send financial assistance. Now work will resume as soon as the weather is warm enough.

The building is located on the edge of town, within walking distance of many people.

The most affordable building material is railroad ties, which are produced in this area. So that is what they are building with, you can see the pile of ties in the foreground.

Here inside the building is the bishop of this region, Cecil, and the pastor of the church. In front are two Eshelman kids trying to look cute. That is a bit of snow on the floor, but by next winter it should be warm and dry. The building will seat about sixty.

It was the first time the kids have traveled on the famed Trans-Siberian railway (think "Dr. Zhavago"). It was only a 15 hour ride each way (it is seven days to Moscow) but we had a grand time in our little room on a Pullman car. We plan to head back to Novi Orgal this summer and get another report.

We managed to have the car re-registered without any hassle. Cecil is now registered at our new address (a small hassle). Paying Russian taxes has been more difficult than we expected. After visiting six different offices, we now think we know what needs to be done, but aren't sure if it is possible to file them by the deadline, which is the end of April. Getting Vera's photo placed in Tonya's passport has turned into a problem, with two different government offices telling us that the other office is the one that should do it. Since we hope to travel outside of Russia at the end of May, we need to get this resolved. Your prayers are appreciated.

Cecil continues to test the limits of his Russian. He even went to a barber shop without a translator and came back looking better than before.

By His Grace,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy & Vera

papers & places

Dear Friends,

this afternoon we are leaving to visit a town called Novi Orgal. By car you cannot get there from here. There are no roads to that area. So we are taking a train. It sounds like an adventure, but really everything is rather safe and settled. Novi Orgal is a major producer of railroad ties. There is a church there that has been building their own building (the local authorities would deny them the ability to rent a theater or gym for their services, so this is very important to them). They started construction but finances were a problem. A church in the States heard about it and have provided the money to finish the project. So were are going there to visit, take photos and encourage them.

Tonya was very busy a week ago translating for the local Bible School. They meet for a month in the spring and an month in the fall. Most of the students are already involved in ministry and want to have a Biblical Education as well. Cecil stays busy in class studying the Russian language (so much progress has been made, but oh, so much more to learn). He also has been working on the electric system in the apartment (it's not exactly up to American standards).

We would ask you to pray for God to solve some problems we are having with documents. We've managed to keep everything legal, but the Russian red tape is amazing. Cecil wants to pay his Russian taxes, and has until the end of April to do it, but the process of just finding where to pay is not yet complete. Vera also needs her photo placed in Tonya's Russian passport, but one office will send us to another and so on. Cecil's address registration needs to be redone and the car reregistered. Maybe God's Angels can guide us through it with no more hassles.

Or, we could send Vera-crocodile to eat them all.

Also, please pray for Cecil's Russian teacher and his classmates. Some of them have shown interest in spiritual matters, and he has even had a long, meaningful discussion with his teacher.

There is always time for playing in the park.

Blessings,

Cecil, Tonya, Timothy & Vera

Spring in the Snow

Dear Friends,

sorry this letter has taken so long to get out, but we've been a little "snowed under" with all the things going on. The new apartment that AGWM helped us purchase is a great blessing, with lots of room, but it has also kept us busy with lots of little things that need to be fixed up. And just as we started to learn where things were we moved here to a different part of the city and are learning the location of stores all over again.

We have taken family time, going for walks and such. We took a few photos just before they started to take down the ice carvings as the weather warms up (today was the first day with the high above freezing). Here are Timothy, Vera and Tonya behind one of the carvings.

The water situation in Khabarovsk has returned to normal. The pollutants have all passed downstream or evaporated. The city has installed a massive charcoal filter at the place where water is taken in from the Amur river, so the water quality now is even better than it was before the accident in China. The swimming pools, which had been closed since the chemical spill, have reopened and Timothy has started his swim lessons again.

Last Sunday Timothy's Sunday School class went on a picnic. They had a Bible treasure hunt and we cooked hot dogs and ate crackers. Here is Tim and his class on the Bible treasure hunt.

Here is Jason helping to get the cooking area ready for hot dog roasting.

Tonya has made friends with several unbelievers since we have come to Khabarovsk. Some of them have receptive to the gospel and made decisions for Christ. A few weeks ago two of them took the step of water baptism. I'm glad to say it was in an indoor swimming pool. One of them has been meeting with Tonya weekly for mentoring/discipleship. Her name is Zhenya. We are so delighted to see the changes the Lord is doing in her life. She has been such a dedicated student of the Word, and today she stated that she wants to help lead a Bible study to help lead others to know the Lord.

March 8 was International Women's Day. Vera's Kindergarten held a special activity to honor the mothers, and Vera recited a poem.

There is a Bible Institute in Khabarovsk that holds sessions for four weeks every Spring and again in the fall. Classes for the spring session start on Monday. The regular translator may not be able to translate, so Tonya expects to be translating for the teacher next week. Today we picked the teacher up at the airport and spent some time with him. Please pray for them as they instruct their eager students this coming week.

Cecil was able to get a new one year visa without even leaving the country. Getting a visa can be a problem, so we praise the Lord for this.

Please pray for Cecil's language learning, as he continues to try to understand new grammar systems and memorize new words. He will study full time until this summer, then he plans to focus more on the work we came to do. Also pray for us to have God's direction as we make more detailed summer plans.

Please also pray for us as we try to fix up numerous things in our new apartment.

God bless you.

In His Service,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy & Vera

Back On-Line In Russia

Dear Friends,

We're back in Russia, but we had a great time in the States. After the World Missions Conference we spent some time with Cecil's folks in Colorado.

Things were great in the States, but it is good to be back in Khabarovsk. When we got off the plane and walked across the tarmac to the building, a stiff breeze at 17 degrees below zero Fahrenheit helped remind us where we were. The trip went without a hitch and we are now back to work.

We are living in our new apartment. We have gotten a phone installed. As you can tell we now have internet access. There are a number of things that need to be fixed up and those projects are progressing. Please pray for Tonya since we don't have a kitchen yet (meaning our kitchen only has bare walls), we need to re-do the plumbing in that room. She's been cooking on a hot plate in the living room.

Jason arrived on schedule with no problems, so our team is growing. We took him out to see some of the local sights. He found an ice carving that he really liked.

Jason is living in a dormitory at a local University, studying Russian and doing outreach among the students. His first night in the dorm most of the students on his floor came to talk with the American. Curious to see if he could read Russian they grabbed a piece of paper sitting on his desk and asked him to read from it. It "happened" to be an invitation to the evangelical church that he had "happened" to pick up on Sunday morning after the worship service. This led to some quality conversation. He says that two students plan to come to church with him tomorrow (Sunday). Please pray that the Lord would continue to give Jason favor and that God would use Jason to bring many students to Himself.

While we were in Colorado we were able to attend a Rodeo. It was the first time for Tonya, Timothy & Vera to see a Rodeo. In January we partnered with some Baptist workers here and are showing a Billy Graham movie production titled "Rodeo" in orphanages. The showings have gone very well so far. If you get a chance to see it, we know you would enjoy it.

A special note of joy. One of the first friends Timothy made when we came is named Vita. Timothy has faithfully prayed for him almost every evening while saying bedtime prayers. Two weeks ago his grandmother and he came to church (the first time for either of them). After Cecil spoke Vita's grandmother came forward and made a decision to follow Christ. She attended again last week and plans to attend with us tomorrow.

Here we are with Vita and another friend Vania. If you've never played with ice carvings during a snowstorm you ought try it.

Oh, we managed to mail out our newsletter in January. It can also be found on our web site at:
http://hqmail.agmd.org/~tonya.eshelman/NL%202006%20Jan/NL2006Jan.html

Blessings,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera

To Khabarovsk

Dear Friends,

tomorrow we will by flying back to Russia by way of South Korea. We've had a great time here in the States for the last month with the World Missions Summit and spending time with family, but it is time to get back to Khabarovsk. Since the new apartment we will be living in does not have a telephone yet, we do not know when we will be able to send out our next email update, but we pray that it will be soon.

Cecil helped write an article about a post-prison ministry that is located near Khabarovsk. It was published in December. Contact us if you would like a copy. We hope you enjoy reading it.

Please pray for Jason Bicket, who is coming to live and work on campus in Khabarovsk. He was not able to accompany us back to Russia, but will be leaving out on Feb. 2nd. Pray that everything would go smoothly for him as he takes care of those last minute details and then travels to join us.

The Peace of the Lord be with you.

Sincerely,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy & Vera

World Missions Summit

Dear Friends,

We're presently in the States. Our flights went well, and it was fun crossing the international date line going East-ward for the first time (arriving in the States earlier then when we left Asia). We spent Christmas at Cecil's brother's house while recovering from the jet lag.

The World Missions Summit was incredible. There were almost 4,000 students and endless activities. Cecil was asked to dress as a Russian Orthodox Priest and to take a part in the "Eurasia Experience." It was a one hour presentation that introduced students to various cultures and countries of Eurasia using sights, sounds, smells and more. They also got a chance to see those countries through the eyes of missionaries and to hear what it is like from those who have lived it.
Here is Cecil walking through the crowd.

The Eurasia Experience was presented six times to about 150 students each time. We also helped man the Eurasia information booth, join the large group gatherings, celebrate new years with the students, worship, pray with students and more. A big high-light of the Summit for us was the Meal-with-a-missionary. For four meals we sat at a table with students and talked about important issues relating to preparation and ministry on the field. It was absolutely delightful to converse and share our hearts with the young people there. We felt energized all over again. Here are photos of two of the groups we interacted with.

(Oh yes, that is us in the Russian costumes)

Please pray for those young people that the Lord of the Harvest would show them where they fit in his plans for the harvest. There is nothing better than being where God wants you to be and doing what God wants you to do. We pray that some of those young folks would come work with us for a time in Khabarovsk.

If you want to check out some more information about the World Missions Summit you could look at the Eurasia web sites: http://www.eurasia.blogs.com/ and http://www.eurasiacommunity.org/

I can't forget to mention that Vera had her birthday on New Years Eve. Since Tonya and Cecil were going to be at the Summit we held the party a little early, and that way her cousins were able to attend (since we had all gotten together for Christmas). It was a birthday fit for a princess.

Blow those six candles out Vera!

For those of you who were praying about the situation with the chemical spill in the River, we day we flew out of Khabarovsk we heard from the "official" channels that the toxic spill had reached the city. We had bought our tickets before the spill, and are amazed at the timing. We will return to Khabarovsk on the 21st of January, and most of the spill will have passed. While we are gone for the worst of it, many of our friends are now having to suffer from the problems of unsafe water. Please pray for the populace along the Amur River, especially that the children will be protected from any long-term problems.

Also, don't forget Jason. If his visa processes properly he will be going with us to Russia and be joining in the work there. Please pray that his visa will process and tickets be available so that he can accompany us as we return to Russia.

God bless you all.

In Him,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy & Vera