Photo of the Week - December 20, 2015

I just love this photo which we took last Sunday afternoon as we gathered to celebrate our daughter's 18th birthday. This is most of our youth group when rarely photographed together. I say that because with the six day school schedule here in Russia, Sunday is the only day the kids have free to sleep in. This also means that often sports competitions are scheduled on Sundays. As a result, it is difficult for teens especially to be faithful to come to church on Sundays, much less special meetings. 

In the midst of all the activities and schedules, we have one young man (pictured on the far left) who has been attending Sunday school faithfully since he was four years old. He is now fifteen. 

Please pray with us for these teens. Not all of them have accepted Christ. But, thankfully, that number is down to four of the ones pictured here. Secondly, please pray for those who are saved to understand the importance of faithfulness to God's house and fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The potential in this group is incredible! What God could do with a group of young people like these who are committed to Christ!

A Reason to Celebrate

Today, November 2nd, 2014 is a special day for our family as it marks 15 years of serving the Lord on the mission field of Siberia, Russia. It is truly hard to believe we have been here for that long!

I put together this slide show to share with you many of the blessings we have witnessed over the years. 

God is GOOD!

We would like to express our sincere appreciate to those of you who have prayed, given, encouraged, and loved us along the way. 

We truly could not have stayed here this long without you holding the ropes for us!

We look forward to many more years and many more blessings. 

We have so many dreams, hopes, and wishes that we beg God to allow us to see come to fruition here in Siberia. 

Please pray for us as we continue on in His name.

A Ministry Need

Dear praying friends and family,

As many of you may know there is still much work to be done on our new house. One of the biggest blessings of being able to move into it as of December 2011, in regards to our ministry, is that is has freed up the old house to be used as a much needed room for our Sunday school ministry. 

Back-to-School Sunday, 2014

However, we still have not been able to install a heating system into the old house. As of this year, we have a stove ready for installation but there are more items needed to complete this project. It is our prayer that we can complete this project before winter comes to stay in November. We have begun the process and have explained all the details on our building blog.

Would you please pray about the need to complete this project? 

If you have any questions about how you can help with this need, please feel free to contact us by e-mail or in the comments of this post.

The Angels Rejoice!

We are rejoicing in the salvation of a teen girl during a recent Wednesday evening prayer service! We remember when Oksana came to some of the first services we held in the village Cultural building back in 2006. She attended for a while and then we didn't see her in church much. Once we started a Sunday school for children, Oksana began attending more regularly. Eventually, she stopped coming to Sunday school. 

First Sunday school after returning from furlough-
2009 (Oksana - three from far left)

Sunday school Spring 2010

Sunday School - December 2010 (Oksana - far right)

Then, several years later as one of her best friends began attending regularly she often tagged along. It was during this time that her friend, Tanya, accepted Christ. Oksana simply witnessed the change in Tanya and even started attending our teen discipleship class we started last year. Through the years, Oksana has definitely heard that Gospel numerous times and has learned much about the God who loves her and sent His Son to die in her place.

8th of March (Women's Day Tea)

Sunday School - December 2011

Recently, during a Wednesday evening service, Oksana expressed to me how she has considered repenting of her sins and accepting Christ as her Savior. She said that for some time she has wanted to be saved and then she would forget about it, then want to again after some time had passed. This was all taking place even during the time she was not attending services. Following the service I spent some time talking with her about salvation and reviewing many things she has already learned about the Bible. She was not ready during that service to be saved so I left her with much to think about and promised to pray for her.

Over the next few days, Oksana felt confident that she was ready to accept Christ. She was so excited she wanted to share the news with her Mother who unfortunately did not share Oksana's excitement. The mother's immediate response was that she didn't need to attend services because it was going to "mix up her brains". This is ironic since her mother has been witnessed to by several Christian ladies in the village over the years. Her mother has always been very friendly with our family, even sharing with me how she is happy that Oksana wanted to come to Sunday School. 

Finally, Oksana told her Mother, "Mom, I don't want to go to Hell. I want to go to Heaven!" 

After that she calmly went to her room and started playing on her computer. Her Mom finally came in and told her that this was her business and she could do what she wanted to do. 

That next Wednesday, Oksana came to Wednesday evening prayer service and couldn't wait to tell me she had made her decision to accept Christ! She also couldn't wait for us to be able to talk through the Roman's Road so we sent everyone else into the other rooms while I again shared the plan of salvation with her. Finally, she was ready to bow her head and ask Jesus to come into her heart and forgive her of her sins! We prayed and she immediately said, "I feel as if a weight was just lifted off my shoulders!" We then called the other kids into the room and rejoiced with Oksana. Our son, Ryan, had been able to witness the whole event and as we looked up from praying he was smiling from ear to ear with tears in his eyes. Such a precious moment for all of us to share!

Oksana and Dee just after she accepted Christ!
May 16, 2012

Sisters in Christ!

Oksana couldn't wait to tell David and the adults in the other service of her decision.

After the service most everyone stayed for cake and tea to celebrate her new life in Christ!

Please pray for Oksana to grow in Christ and be a witness to her friends and family!

Discipleship/ Teen Girl's Class Begins

A few weeks ago Dee Dee began meeting with the teenage girls every Wednesday while the adults continue to meet with David. This decision to start a new teen girl's class is a good opportunity for Dee Dee to teach necessary lessons and disciple those girls who have already made professions of faith. We have already noticed that the girls are much more comfortable in this small class setting to ask questions and participate in discussions. We had previously discipled them one-on-one as they were saved but meeting on Wednesday evenings as a group has been profitable for several reasons. Pray for the Lord to give Dee Dee wisdom as she teaches these girls not only what they possess in Christ but also daily Bible principles to live by. They so need guidance and direction in their lives as most of them are the only Christians in their families. Please pray for us to see more boys come to Christ as well. Then David will be able to start a boy's class and eventually we could have a solid youth group! Since we have been here in Elita, many of the small children who first attended Sunday School and VBS are growing up and becoming teenagers and young adults. We need to take advantage of our time with them while they are within our reach.

Dee Dee and a few of the teen girls in class (minus Beka who took the picture).