Dear Partners,
We have completed our 90 days out of country to meet the new Russian
requirement! Aside from my awesome, successful surgery we were able
to visit with 15 churches while we were home! Our time in the States
was completed when we had the honor to be the Missions Speakers at
Redwood Christian Park July Family Camp. What a joy it was for Steve
to issue the same challenge to the campers that led the two of us
into missions. And it was even more special because it was the same
camp and the same "tabernacle" where we heard our own call to
missions! Over 20 people, half of them young people,
came forward to
the altar in response to the challenge: "If God would call, would
you go?" They made a holy covenant with God that if He DOES call,
they will go! What an awesome, awesome experience. Praise God! It
was a huge blessing to see many of you and to meet new people and
churches as well. Thanks to everyone for your warm welcomes, your
support and encouragement!
We arrived, safe and sound, back in
actually a few days later than anticipated due to some last minute
business. Teammates Sue and Tanya met us at the airport with big
smiles and "welcome homes" along with Pastor Yuri, Zhenya and
Claudia. Yuri brought his van and transported us and all our baggage
to our building only to discover that the elevator was out of
commission!! Welcome back to
Zhenya, Claudia and Steve hauled all
the luggage up all 12 floors.
It was a challenge and a huge gift for us that Pastor Yuri and Zhenya
were there!!! If we had come in a cab, we do not know what we would
have done. Praise the Lord for faithful friends.
The cold water was off when we arrived in the late afternoon but came
on about 11 pm. Claudia said it was hardly off while were gone. I
think it just wanted to remind us that we are not in
But I must tell you, the remodeling of the square in front of the
train station is completed and it is a beautiful place. There are
lots of benches for people to sit and last evening we saw many people
doing just that. My two favorite buses stop right in front of our
apartment building now. It is quite wonderful.
I want you to know that my knee is doing so well that I often forget
that I even had surgery or ever had a problem!! I am convinced that
the reason for this is your continuous prayers! Thank you, thank
you, thank you. However, now that I have lived the
American life
style for a few months, I must get my walking legs back!
Claudia has taken papers which we hand-carried from the owner of our
apartment (who currently lives in
have them translated so that our landlady, her mother, can register
us. Registering is the process that controls our being legally in
the city and must be completed within three days or we could be asked
to leave the country and not return. It is also the process that
limits us to 90 days in
business. (If this paragraph is confusing, that's because the process
itself here in
Which brings me to a new subject. Since we have to be
out of the
country for alternating 90 days because of Russian registration
restrictions, we needed a new plan for our ministry. After
discussions about various options with our awesome leader, Jim, and
some serious prayer, we decided to return to
approval of the Team Leader there – Scott Tucker – and availability
of housing) and use our next two 90 day "out of
continue our Russian language studies. It is a very difficult
language and we lose some of it every time we spend time in the
We also need to learn more!! At this time it appears that this plan
will work out just fine. Please pray that all falls into place if it
is God's will.
So our current plan is to leave here (Russia) on October 1 when our
current Russian visa expires and return to the US for three weeks
during which we hope to secure a new one year Russian visa and a new
one year Kazakhstan student visa. Please pray for these visa
requests to be approved.
On October 23rd we will travel to
Mission Society future planning meeting that Steve is part of because
of his role as Regional Coordinator for
on to
2009 when we will again return to the
our road trip to visit many of you around the country and take some
actual Furlough time off. The plans after that are up in the air
with several ministry possibilities depending on what the Russian
Government rules are for continuing our ministry here at that time,
and what God has planned for us. Once again, the necessity of
being "flexible" in the mission field is being reinforced. We are
sure glad that God is in the lead on this. He will open the doors
that will take us where He wants. We just need to continue to be
faithful. Pray that we will.
Thanks to all of you for being faithful along this journey with us.
We can never express how important and what a blessing you are to
us.
Today, Steve has been in contact with all the pastors he works with
here and trying to set up a schedule for the next few weeks. Already
this morning three have called and asked him to preach this Sunday
and spend some time with them! (I guess it's true that absence makes
the heart grow fonder!)
We still need to arrange to get our new passports from the American
Consulate in
paperwork on our new visas. We are arranging to have them brought
from Vlad to
is called "Pony Express" and I just love the name. We did all the
paperwork back in April, but the promised one-day process turned out
to be two weeks, and we had to leave
up! Nothing ever seems to be as simple here in
told it will be! Getting the passports is the key to the next chapter
in our saga: with them, we can begin the process to request a new
Letter of Invitation from the regional officials that will ultimately
result in a new visa for us to continue ministering in
passports are a priority. Please pray for a smooth process and
success.
The Women's Group will meet here on Saturday and I have a date with
Anya and her Mom, Tanya tomorrow afternoon. Another joyful reunion!
Again, thanks to all of you!
Grace and Peace, Blessings and hugs,
Pastor Steve and Carol