Dear Partners,
You are reading our normal activity update for the month. Following
this will be a special edition with some meaningful musings of
Steve's from early this morning. We pray that both will be a
blessing.
One of the things we were taught during our training is that the
first full year of ministry will and should be comprised mainly of
relationship building. Building friendships, trust and listening,
learning of the needs and how we can truly be God's hands and feet
for the people here. You have heard this before. We have been doing
that. God is now blessing us with results and very special
relationships filled with growing disciples for Him. It is like
watching a flower open.
During this past month, we have been called upon as a couple to
counsel two couples with serious problems in their marriages. One
marriage in particular we would like you to pray for was on the verge
of divorce. It is confidential counseling so I cannot share more but
please pray that we are able to help them weather this crisis and
continue building a wonderful, truly Christ-filled marriage that will
stand the test of time.
Steve has started meeting with Pastor Yura by himself with no
interpreter! This is a HUGE step in faith for Steve as this is his
first real "speaking in Russian" for a couple hours at a time. It is
a result of relationship building during this past year that has
given Yura a heart to truly trust and want to share privately with
Steve. It is already paying off in more intimate, sharing
conversations. Praise the Lord!! They have also decided to start a
Men's Group when we return in July. They will begin on a Saturday
evening and BBQ together! Man stuff. It is very cool. New personal
relationships. New chances to help disciple strong, committed
Christian men. God just keeps providing! Please pray for this
important ministry.
Anya's mother and sister tell me that they now have a new Anya,
thanks to Anya's relationship and encouragement from me over this
past year. I have reminded them that God has only used me as a tool
to help Anya realize her own power and self-worth through God as a
Christian woman. I think that I am more blessed than she is!! It
has been such a joy to watch her grow. She has grown in her self-
confidence in English, she has acquired her new "real" paying job,
she has a wonderful self-assurance and is ready to be a leader. She
has given her Mom fits this year as she has grown more insistent on
doing more and more things independently. Remember, this is a girl
who was in a wheelchair and extremely dependent until she was 18 (she
is now 23). Yesterday we went to visit a friend of hers and there
was a mud puddle near the front door. Claudia cautioned her not to
step in it. Anya told us that when she was in a wheelchair she
dreamed of splashing in puddles and still loves to do it!! There has
been some serious and difficult "letting go" growing on her mother's
part and I am really proud of her. She is a very strong woman who
has overseen Anya's growing, surgeries, care and pushed many things
to happen to help Anya get where she is today. Anya seems to have
gone through the entire teenage "independence" process in one year
and emerged an awesome woman. She is also now interested in doing
her hair in special ways and trying out make-up! Most importantly
she is about to start leading a special bible study group for
handicapped people!! She will also begin to teach them English AND
they will finally have motivation to get out of their apartments and
socialize as well. This will help offset a huge problem they all
have with depression. It is HUGE and I love that my Anya is now
ready to lead this herself. She has been co-leading the English Club
with me for some time and doing all the translating for that. She is
such a very special Child – no – Woman of God!!!
There was a strong Christian woman here a couple of weeks ago from
Nashville, TN. She is a mom with two grown, married boys of her own
and has 9 adopted special needs children. Amazing. God had called
her to come here and see what needs she might help meet for
handicapped people in this area. Once again, God answers prayer in
the most amazing ways. I cannot stress how much your prayers mean in
this ministry as well. At the end of the week, and after many
conversations and meetings where she polled the people, she came to
several conclusions. One of them is that she is going to try to
collect teams willing to come here in September 2009 and conduct two
separate summer bible camps. One for physically handicapped people
and one for deaf people. Please begin praying now that she is
successful. It is what all the people here requested and dream of.
If you had seen the excitement in their faces when she said she would
try to do it you would feel their joy like I did all the way to my
toes!! Please pray for yourself as well that God would show you how
you could physically, financially or materially support this
endeavor. If anyone is interested in participating actively in these
camps, please let me know and I will put you in touch with Sue. I
will guarantee that you will be amazingly blessed. Sue is also
sending Anya some wonderful material to use for her bible studies
which Anya will translate and use.
The Women's Group is going strong and the women are growing in their
understanding of how to apply their faith to life. They are now
working through the bible study on Friendship by the Women of Faith.
I pray that God will grow them into a group of women who will have a
deep bond and stand by each other in true Christian friendship for
years to come. They are learning what true Christian friendship is
like - from the bible.
Steve will be presenting a one day seminar for pastors and church
leaders next weekend. He will be speaking about how to grow true
disciples in the church. We have 9 people who will be taking back to
back overnight train rides down from Komsomolsk to attend, two doing
the same thing up from Vladivostok and more than 20 people from here
in Khabarovsk! It will be from 9 am to 4 pm and the wonderful Korean
Baptist Church that is lending us the facilities is also providing
lunch for the cost of the ingredients. We will make a donation, of
course, to their church ministries but just being able to use the
facilities is another huge answer to prayer!! We checked with local
hotels and they wanted $80 an hour to use their conference rooms, if
they had one. And lunch would be an additional cost. Please pray
that God will use Steve's words and through the power of the Holy
Spirit bless all those who come with some new ideas and understanding
about growing disciples that are committed, with the help of God, to
do the best they can to live their faith.
We have not been back to Vladivostok yet, we will go the weekend of
April 12/13, so I cannot give you an update on the woman who is
having trouble with her husband allowing her to attend church or even
read the bible. Please continue to pray. I think this will be
something that will take long term prayer. I am still working on the
relationship with my neighbor, Ludmilla, but have only had short
corridor talks and hugs with her lately.
We leave here with difficulty this time as we do feel our ministries
are truly just starting to bloom. Steve's email will give you a real
sense of our hearts.
We fly from here on April 16 and will arrive in San Francisco on
April 17. My total knee replacement surgery is scheduled for April
24th at 11:30 am at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, CA. I can't
tell you how blessed I have been by those of you who have already had
this surgery!! Thanks to each who have emailed me. I now feel like
the only one left in the US with old knees! I am not nearly as
intimidated by the process thanks to all of your encouragement and
prayers. And thanks from the bottom of my heart for all the prayers
for the surgery in advance. It will be another huge blessing for me
to know you are all out there praying!! I want you to know that your
prayers have been miraculously answered for my knees during these
past couple of months. I have been walking with less pain (often
with none!) than any time during the past year. I have walked more,
done more and slept more than I have in a year as a result! Thank
you!
We will stay with our daughter, Melissa who lives in Redding, for my
rehab time. We have also scheduled time to visit several churches
while we are in California/Nevada and are still working on the last
of the schedule. If you would like us to visit your church and have
not contacted us yet, there is a small window of opportunity. Please
let us know as soon as possible. We will be in the states the 90
days required by Russian law and we will fly back here on July
24th.
We will also be attending Redwood Christian Park July Family Camp
where we will be the Mission Speakers this year! If you would like
information about what I call "My little heaven in the redwoods,"
RCP, you can find it at www.redwoodcp.
God.
While in the states we can each be reached by Verizon cell phones.
Carol: 510-648-9875 Steve: 510-648-9832.
As always, your prayers and support are the jewels of our life. May
each of you be blessed by God this week in a totally unexpected way
and may you each find someone to bless yourself. You already bless
us!
Blessings and hugs,
Carol
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