One Big Praise Report

Dear Friends,

the documents for the Ministry Center have been finalized and we took possession of the property this week. This is very exciting for us. It is a great answer to prayer. It also means that it is time for the real work to begin. The purpose of the center is to reach the people of Russia with the love of God. The building won't do that by itself, it is merely a tool. Soon we will start the remodeling and then begin doing ministry.

Here is the first gathering we had, the day we got the keys. We started out with a prayer meeting.

Unfortunately all the beautiful plastic paneling no longer meets fire codes, so we'll need to strip it all out. We'll also need to move some walls to create a classroom for the Bible Institute. The windows are old but mostly in usable condition. It's not a bad view from the sixth floor.

Thank you so much for your prayers for the purchase of this property. It is centrally located and will be greatly used by the local churches.

The month of March has been a good month: we attended an excellent training retreat in Egypt, we got back home and into routine, I received my resident permit for Russia, the kids basketball teams are doing well, Tonya has been able to start some outreach in a nearby orphanage, I had my birthday, and we received possession of the property for the ministry center. So all of March has been one praise report after another.

Tomorrow, Timothy and I will be participating in an evangelistic outreach with our church. It is tied with the Easter theme (this year Easter is the same day in both Russia and the States). Please pray that many are drawn to the love of Christ.

Amazed by His goodness,

Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera and Deanna

There And Back Again

Dear Friends,

another title of this update would be "One and a Half Praise Reports." But before I tell you what that means, let me first say, "Praise the Lord, we're home." Yes, we're back in Khabarovsk and glad to be here. We've been doing a lot of travelling, and while we enjoy it, we'd rather take a rest from travel for a while.

In Moldova we continued in the ministry of preaching until the end of February. Since most Moldovans understand Russian, Tonya was able to translate for me. On the pulpit in the photo it is written in Russian, "We Preach Christ."

At the end of February we left Moldova. Here we are saying good-bye at the international airport in Chisinau, Moldova. Our kids enjoyed getting the know the other MKs there.

After leaving Moldova we went to Egypt for the annual conference and training for AGWM workers in Russia. Russia is so big that this is really the only chance we have to get to know the rest of the team that works in Russia. The time was very helpful in coordinating our work, getting some teaching, making plans and evaluating things. It was also refreshing, and we had a chance to visit Cairo and see the ancient pyramids.

Timothy and I were even able to go inside the Great Pyramid. It was amazing to me that Moses would have seen this structure as he lead the Israelites out of Egypt so many years ago. But from Egypt we headed back home, spending half a day in Moscow. This was the first time our kids walked on Red Square. That's the Kremlin behind us.

And then on home to Khabarovsk. We are so glad to take a break from travel. And our first Praise report has to do with that. I have received my Resident Permit for Russia. That means I can now live in Russia. I no longer need a visa. This is a major thing for us, a big answer to prayer, and will save us a lot of time and money.

The half a praise report is also a prayer request. The ownership documents for the minstry center continue to process with the government real estate registration office, but there has been a delay. They requested that some additonal documents be submitted, so the process has been held up. Right now we expect that the national church in Khabarovsk will be able to take possession of the property on March 29th. Please pray that there will be no more delays. The property will host several ministries.

Our plans for the next several weeks include lots of meetings with our ministry partners, that is the Russian churches and minstries that we work with here. It is so delightful to be able to make plans with the expectation that I won't have to leave the country again any time soon. Please pray that all our plans will line up with God's plans, and that the Lord would give us wisdom as we move forward.

Oh, after we got home we took a walk and visited a playground here where there are some ice carvings. The sign behind us says Welcome!

From Our Hearts to Yours,

Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera and Deanna

Leaving Moldova

Dear Friends,

our time in Moldova is coming to a close. The end of this month we'll be going to Egypt for the annual retreat/training for AGWM personnel serving in Russia. We'll be in Egypt for one week and then on our way back home to Khabarovsk. Yes, home sweet home.

Today we received some good news about the purchase of the property in Khabarovsk for the ministry center. Payment has been made and the pastors have submitted the documents to the real estate registration department. We are to get them back on the 16th of March. Then the property will belong to the national church of Khabarovsk Krai. Renovations will begin as soon as we take possession of it.

This property is in downtown Khabarovsk, which is the capital of Khabarovsk Krai (a Krai is like a province). Khabarovsk Krai is about twice the size of France. This will be a wonderful resource for churches both in the city and all across Khabarovsk Krai. We praise the Lord that this center is becoming a reality. We thank you for your prayers.

We haven't heard anything yet about my resident permit in Russia. We're continuing to pray that it will be ready when we get back to Khabarovsk in March. I have another 90 days on my Russian visa, so it is important that the permit be ready before that time runs out.

We continue to pray for the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers into the harvest field of the Russian Far East. One possible way the people can come and serve with us is the StudyRussianDoMission program. Come to Russia, study the language, and work alongside a missionary. If you are interested, our StudyRussianDoMission team put together a website to help you get started: http://sites.google.com/site/studyrussiandomission/ and another at StudyRussianDoMission http://101649.agwebservices2.org/SiteFiles/101649/Content/Study%20Russian.pdf

A new bill has been submitted to the Russian Duma (parliament) by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation to regulate religious freedom and religious organizations. It deals with three issues:

1. People under age being involved with religious groups. 2. Control of religious groups. 3. Regulation of missionary activity. It would make it illegal for a church to allow a child under the age of 18 to attend a service or activity without parental permission, require the name of every person attending a service to be recorded, require any person doing evangelism to have a permit, and things like that. Please pray that this would not become legislation.

An interesting talent that we saw on the internet was a sand drawing done in the Ukraine. As we watched this video it touched us deeply, because Russia continues to be effected by the repercussions of World War II, when a large portion of the population was lost. It uses popular music from that time period, and the lyrics draw on strong emotions. Take a look at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOhf3OvRXKg&feature=player_embedded

We've heard that you folks back in the States have gotten some snow in the last few weeks. If you wonder what Russians think about this news, check out the following link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/weekinreview/14levy.html

While we've been here in Moldova we've continued to be invited by churches to preach.

We also have gotten out and made friends. In one village they took us for a sleigh ride.

Jingle Bells!

God bless you, every one,

Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera and Deanna

More Adventures in Moldova

Dear Friends,

we are doing well here in Moldova. Deanna had her birthday and is now nine years old. They don't have a McDonald's in Khabarovsk, but they sure do here in Moldova. So Deanna was delighted to have her birthday party at McDonald's.

How did she make so many new friends in just one week? At church!

Tonya has been delighted to discover that most Moldavians speak Russian as well as Romanian. So she's been able to talk with people. Actually, the local pastors have kept us rather busy with invitations to preach (seven times in the last week). Here we are at a small village church where we spoke, they have an amazing painting on their wall:

I was even invited to speak at a funeral for a man I'd never met in a village I'd never been to in a language I don't know (Romanian). Beforehand, I asked a local pastor about funeral traditions here in Moldova. It turns out that you aren't expected to talk about the deceased. The sermon should be of an evangelistic nature, usually something about the afterlife. So I spoke from Revelation 20:11 to Rev. 21:4 (He will wipe away every tear.... ). A young lady (high school student) translated for me into Romanian. The funeral was outdoors at the person's home. After I preached, the the funeral procession left his house and we walked all the way to the cemetery (about a mile). A man with a large cross lead the procession. A choir from the Pentecostal church walked and sang Psalms. There were several pastors there, so several times along the way we stopped and one of them would preach a short sermon for the villagers to hear. When we reached the cemetery there was another sermon, the casket was nailed closed (they actually used nails) and lowered into the hole. Then we walked back to the house and had a meal.

The whole experience was like something I read in a book about peasant life long ago. There are wells in the villages here where people gather. As we would pass by the wells everyone would stop and be quiet, the men would often doff their hats. Some folks joined us. The family felt very honored that an American pastor would come and speak at the funeral. So I was very excepted.

During the church services the kids had my camera and took a bunch of photos. Some of them turned out pretty well (if you take a hundred photos...). Let me show a few to you:

Even while we are not in Russia, things are going on in Russia. The national church is waiting on a document from the Russian government to allow them to make a bank transfer to buy the building in Khabarovsk. The Seller is unhappy about the delay, but there isn't much we can do about it. We're praying that things will move forward quickly, and the purchase will soon be completed.

Our plan at this time is to continue whatever kind of ministry we can do in Moldova until the missions retreat at the end of February. We'll attend the missions retreat (the training will be in Egypt this year) and then return to Khabarovsk. We pray that my resident permit will be approved by then.

Everything is in the Lord's hands, and we're learning to be content in all circumstances.

The Lord richly bless you.

In Christ,

Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera and Deanna

Guidence in the Midst of Chaos

Dear Friends,

right now I'm on a jet flying over the Ukraine from Moscow, Russia, to Chisinau, Moldova. This is my second trip to Moldova, but this time I am travelling with my family.

I arrived back in Khabarovsk on January 7th in time for Christmas (in Russia Christmas is January 7th!). It was a wonderful reunion, and I brought presents from my trip to Moldova. We also opened some gifts that had been mailed to us.

Our hope was that my resident permit would be approved by this time, but it was not. Since visas to Russia (other than student visas and work visas) require you to be out of the country for 90 out of every 180 days, I've needed to leave Russia again. Once I receive my resident permit, that will no longer be a problem.

The annual training for the AGWM Russia team will be held in Egypt this year, February 28 to March 7th. So we've decided to stay in Moldova and go straight to the training before we go back to Khabarovsk. This will be more cost effective. We'll be involved in ministry in Moldova mostly in the same way I was doing ministry my previous trip, by preaching and doing a bit of handy-man help around the Home of Hope. Russian is commonly spoken in Moldova, and we're ready to help out however we can.

During the last few days I was able to work out some of the last details in the purchase of the property for the Far East Ministry Center. The legal details have been rather complicated, making sure everything is done right by both Russian and American law, and learning the Russian side of the law has been an education to me.

God has really amazed me with how sovereign his guidance is even when I have felt clueless and ignorant. We scoured real estate listings and looked at over thirty properties, but the one we settled on we found through a "chance" encounter with a pastor who has just "heard" about a property that was going to be listed. I have no control over the visa situation, but the Lord is able to use it. When I purchased tickets for my first trip to Moldova, I had a long lay-over scheduled in Moscow. Just before the trip I discovered that some legal documents would need to be taken care of in Moscow, and so during the lay-over I was able to take care of those. Actually, it took longer than expected and I would have missed my flight but the departure was delayed, and so I was O.K. Then after returning to Khabarovsk I found out that I needed to have the local church union make an official vote on the matter (since it is being put in their name). Their official business meeting just happened to be scheduled during my short stay in Khabarovsk, but I didn't know that when I arranged my schedule. The Lord really is Lord, even of all our human doings. Proverbs 3:5-6 is so true.

A few days ago we sent the kids - Tim, Vera and Deanna - to go buy themselves a treat at the store. The weather was kinda cool, about minus 10 degrees F, but not unusual for January in Khabarovsk. They ate their treat as they walked back from the store, so we asked them what they had gotten. When they replied that it was ice cream, I asked why they didn't wait until they were home to eat it. "Well," said Tim, "we were afraid it would melt." Tonya and I laughed so hard it hurt. It was a good break from the tension of packing.

We also took a family day and had a picnic and went skating and cross country skiing with some friends at an outdoor rink. And yes, Tim is taller than his mother (he's not standing on anything).

Yum, yum. There's nothing like a winter Russian bar-bee-que.

Another thing we did while I was home was print our latest newsletter. A friend is to drop in the mail for us, so if you get our snail mail newsletters, you should get yours soon. I've posted a copy of it in pdf format.

The girls want me to share this picture that Deanna took of Vera and one of their Christmas gifts: a guinea pig. They named him Teddy.

Today is January 16th. I don't have any internet connection right now, and I'm not sure exactly when I'll get one. I'll post this entry as soon as I'm able.

Peace to All of You,

Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera and Deanna

In Moldova

Dear Friends,

I am in Moldova right now. I was invited by some missionaries to come for a little. The folks here are friendly and the pastors I've been getting to know are wonderful. For those who don't know, Moldova is a part of the former Soviet Union, located between the Ukraine and Romania. You can find out more about it at http://www.moldova.md/en/start/ if you want to.

I'm in Moldova because my Russian resident permit has not yet been approved, and I have limited time on my Russian visa. I have a one year religious worker visa for Russia, but Russian visas (other than student and worker visas) require that you be outside of Russia for 90 out of 180 days. I've used up most of my legal time in Russia for this 180 days. I have tickets to return to Russia on January 6th. If my resident permit is ready, then I can just stay there, if not, I will need to leave the country again within the week. In mid-February a new 180 day period starts, and then I get a new 90 days to be in Russia. However, if my resident permit is approved, I can just stay there and live. As you can see, this is a big prayer concern for us.

On Sunday just before I came to Moldova, I received a call from the FSB (they used to be called the KGB) on my cell phone. I was invited to come to their office in Khabarovsk and answer some questions. So the next day I went and met with a polite young man who had many questions for me. He mentioned that this was part of the process for me to get my resident permit.

Later that day (Monday) Tonya went to meet with the Director of Migration for Khabarovsk Krai (a Krai is like a State, and Khabarovsk Krai is about twice the size of France). When greeting his secretary, Tonya said she had some questions about the application for a resident permit for her husband who is American. The lady, who didn't even look away, said, "Eshelman?" I guess I'm the only American applying for a resident permit there right now. The lady explained that everything was ready except for approval from the FSB, and there was nothing they could do about that. So please pray that the FSB would make quick process of my permit's approval.

Things are going smoothly in regards to the purchase of a place for the ministry center. Without me there, the local church leaders are moving the project forward pretty much on their own. They are buying some space in a commercial building downtown. Here you can see the front entrance of that building and some windows to what we are acquiring (on the 6th floor).

This is a really good thing for the Bible Institute and the churches here. This building is in an excellent location next to a bus stop with routes all over the city. Please pray that everything continues to go smoothly.

One of the greatest needs we have is for more workers to bring in the harvest. Our master has told to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send workers into the harvest field. Please pray that more people would come an join us. More people are needed to spread the good news. One of our missionaries has put together an excellent video to give a taste of ministry in Russia. All the photos were taken by workers in Russia. Here is a link to the presentation http://animoto.com/play/HqQ2IbmqddcHdB0YrWNaMw?utm_campaign=share_email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_email Please take a look, I think you'll find it fascinating to see the diversity of Russia and the people we minister to here.

One last prayer request. Please uphold my family in prayer as I am in Moldova and they are still in Khabarovsk. While the ministry here is good, I'd rather be with them, and they would rather be with me.

In His Service,

Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera and Deanna

Meetings, Thanksgiving and Snow!

Dear Friends,

yes, we've had snow here in Russia. The Amur River is frozen over. Here's a picture of the kids standing on the river. No danger, the ice must be at least ten inches thick and we were unable to brake a hole in it even when we tried.

We've had some important meetings here. We're in the process of purchasing a property to use as a ministry center. It will be able to host the Bible Institute, church offices, meetings and various ministries. Several local churches are working together to support this project. So we hosted a series of meetings in our home to gain vision, form unity and work out the details. On the last Saturday in November we had a meeting where we chose the property we think the Lord would have us to purchase. Here's a photo of me with the pastors at the meeting.

The negotiations for the purchase are going well. Since the property will be in the name of the Russian Evangelical Church, the Russian leaders are taking over most of the project at this point. We hope to send you some photos of the property soon. Please pray that everything continues to go well, and that participation of the local churches continues to grow.

Thanksgiving! Yes, we had a great Thanksgiving with some friends. We even found some frozen turkeys. They were only five pounds each, so we bought three of them. After the meal we were treated to a play that was completely created and directed and acted in by the children. Here is an Indian teaching the Pilgrims how to plant food.

We also went to the Open Heart homeless shelter and put on a Thanksgiving meal. Folks from three different local churches gave us a hand in preparing the food and with the presentation. The homeless shelter now has two locations, with 85 residents in one place and 35 at their new location. We went to the larger center, and it takes a lot of cooking to make beef stew for 85 people, along with hard boiled eggs, oranges, dessert, bread and tea (in Russia, you gotta have bread and tea to make it a meal). Before we ate our team led some songs and I told the tale of the first Thanksgiving.

This homeless shelter is more than just a shelter. Every morning starts with a prayer meeting, and every evening there is a church service in the dinning hall. It is a truly Christian community. It is also overcrowded. Right now some people are sleeping on the floor between the tables in the dinning hall. They also need to build a bath house. Some funds for construction are coming in from an appeal that was published last summer. We hope to find more ways to help with this need.

One thing that I noticed that bothered me was the shortage of winter shoes. Some of the residents only had sandals, which are totally inadequate in the snow. One of the ladies from a local church who came with us to help noticed this also and mentioned it to me. Her church and our ministry partnered together to provide 20 new winter shoes. Yesterday we visited the second shelter. We weren't able to prepare an entire meal, but we took oranges. After the evening service we gave the shoes to the director of this center. He methodically passed out some shoes to those who needed them, and will pass the rest on to the other shelter.

Here you can compare new shoes and an old shoe that was being used.

Our biggest prayer request right now is for my resident permit. It has not yet been approved, although it is in process in the government migration office. Tonya has contacted several government officials and they say they would like to help, but can't do much for us. There is one more official she has not spoken with yet who might be able to assist us. He is the chief of the central migration office for our Krai (like a State). His office hours are 4:00 to 5:00 pm on Mondays. Please pray that she would be able to meet with him this Monday and that he would expedite the processing of this document.

Since time on my visa is running out, I have purchased tickets to leave Russia on Dec. 16 and return on January 7th. I won't miss Christmas with my family because Christmas in Russia is on January 7th. My arrangements are to go to Moldova for three weeks and help with some ministry there. I'm hoping a miracle happens and I'll be able to just stay here. Thank you for your prayers in this matter.

Because of Him,

Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera and Deanna

Feeling At Home

Dear Friends,

it's been less than four weeks since we returned to Khabarovsk as a family. We marked the kids' height on a door frame before we left and after we returned. While we were in the States Timothy grew 7 inches, Vera grew 4 inches and Deanna grew 3. It's good to be back. The kids were sure glad to see their friends.

That's Tim in the middle.

One night we played Bible Charades with their friends. Can you guess which Bible scene is being acted out?

Deanna and Vera with a friend, Sasha.

We have our Speed-The-Light van out of storage. It didn't want to start at first, but with new glow plugs, fresh diesel, and an oil change, it is ready to go. We had a warm front come in and it looked like snow, so I put the snow tires on. It turns out we didn't need them yet, even after two days of blowing a 40 mph breeze, we only got a dusting of snow. Somehow in my mind when it's freezing outside there should be snow on the ground. The locals just laugh and tell me that winter hasn't gotten here yet.

Other than settling in as a family, the big activity for us is the search for a property to buy for the Far East Ministry Center. We've looked at a couple dozen places so far, and are still looking. While some places are obviously not the right place, the final decision of what to buy will be a group decision. Last week we hosted a mini-conference to hammer out the details of our agreement with the national church and to do some listening to the local leadership. On the left with the beard is the Bishop for the Russian Far East, on the right you can see the back of the head of Rick, my supervisor, and the guy in the red shirt is the director of the Bible Institute in Khabarovsk (they plan to use the Ministry Center a lot), the others are local pastors.

That's me in the yellow shirt. Glasses? Yes, I've started to need those if I want to read anything closer than the length of my arms.

The meetings were very successful in bringing unity and vision to the group. Please pray that the Lord would show us the place that He has in mind.

On Sunday we had graduation ceremonies for eight students graduating from the Bible Institute. They are receiving a government recognized four year degree. It is a serious study program, and most of the students are already involved with full time ministry. Now that they have graduated, that leaves about forty students in the program in Khabarovsk. I once heard ordination defined as empty hands laid on empty heads. Even though I may be empty-handed, (and this was not an ordination ceremony), I know these graduates are not empty-headed. God has a clear call on each of their lives. There is a shortage of trained pastors and leaders in the Russian church, and the Bible Institute is one of the best tools we have.

Deanna continues to heal nicely from her bicycle accident. The only thing that continues to need attention is broken hinges on her jaw. The Lord has provided a doctor here in Khabarovsk who is treating her. To make her jaw symmetrical again, she needs to wear a device in her mouth when sleeps and for a couple hours a day. We laugh that it's the only time we can keep her quiet.

Deanna's been enrolled in public school and her biggest problem there is that she's forgotten how to speak Russian. Amazing that a year and a half ago she didn't speak a word of English, and now that's all she speaks. Tim and Vera are being home-schooled. They've had no problem with their Russian, but all our home-school curriculum is English.

One big prayer request is for my resident permit. The local office cannot tell us when we will hear back from the regional office. If my application is approved, I'll be able to stay in Russia. If we don't hear back soon, then I'll need to leave the country before Christmas. We'd rather all stay together, so please pray that my application will be approved within the next couple of weeks.

Shalom,

Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera and Deanna