Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to update and ask for prayer for our holiday season. Please pray for our family's health, too; it seems like someone is always sniffling or coughing these days. And don't stop praying for Ukraine. This winter is a hard one for many people in this country.

Upcoming events:

• Christmas banquets for Tsyurupinsk orphanage workers.
• decorating cookies with Tsyurupinsk kids
• Agape Christmas orphanage visits
• and more!

Thank you for praying.

• Pray for Ukraine!
• Right now Will is in North Carolina. His grandmother died, and he went to be with his family for a little while. Please pray for him and his travels.
• Will gets back on Tuesday. On Wednesday we will travel to Odessa to spend the night and renew some passports. Please pray for that travel, too.
• Pray for the next family coming to adopt. They will be arriving next month.
• We are enjoying our new neighbors. Please pray for our relationship with them and for their people, the Crimean Tatars.
• Pray for Will to be able to catch up on office work when he gets back.
• I have had to miss some time at the orphanage because of Will's absence. Please pray for me to be able to jump back in there.

Older requests and answers:

• Don't stop praying for Ukraine!
• Our landlady is gone. Thank you for praying for us while she was here. Her sister went back to Donetsk, so please pray for her safety.
• The family that was adopting is successful and home; continue to pray for their adjustment. I also know of another family working on paperwork to get another little one out of "our" orphanage now.
• I have stepped back from the person I was counseling. Please pray that I would have peace about that decision, and that she will understand and move on in her life. Keep praying for her.
• The orphanage picnic was wonderful!
• Jaan and Raia loved camp.
• We got a new computer!

New:

• Two of "our" boys were transferred from the orphanage to an adult institution in a village a few hours away. We should be able to visit them on Thursday or Friday. Please pray for them; they are probably quite confused and upset by the unexpected change in their lives. Pray our visit will be possible and that it will go well. (UPDATE: We're going tomorrow, that is, Wednesday.)
• We have new neighbors in the other half of this house. Please pray that we will be able to get to know them well. So far they seem very nice.

• Pray for peace in Ukraine and for President Poroshenko.
• Our landlady's sister is here, and life is much more peaceful now that she has someone to be with.
• Please continue to pray for the family adopting here.
• Wisdom, patience, and compassion in my counseling relationship.
• Praise God for a wonderful vacation for us! You can pray that the refreshment from it will stick with us.
• Saturday is the orphanage picnic. Please pray for all the details involved, safety, good weather, and for the children to have a wonderful time.
• Will has a lot that had can do for Agape to catch up after being gone.
• Jaan and Raia are going to camp next week.
• Pray for "healing" for our computer: that it will spontaneously work better, or that I'll have time and brain power to figure out how to fix it. You can pray for our internet connection, too; it's been really off and on lately. (Maybe this is weird, but God takes care of small things, and this really is technology that we use a lot in daily life!)

• The Ukrainian elections went well. Now please pray constantly for the new president, Petro Poroshenko, and continue to pray for peace.
• We're getting used to our landlady, and--more importantly--she seems to be getting used to our weirdnesses. You can pray for her health; she keeps scaring us with falls and heart trouble!
• Keep praying for the adoption I mentioned.
• Keep praying for my "counseling ministry." I am in way over my head with the it.
• Praise God for a good end to the school year.

The next two weeks should be quite fun and busy. Right now Will is on his way to the last session of Agape ministry school for this year. We'll need lots of prayer Thursday and Friday, as we travel Papa-less to join him in the western part of the country. Praise God for this opportunity, and please cover us with prayer while we're gone. Thanks!

• Will is away at a conference this weekend. Pray for safe travel and good encouragement for him.
• I'm still revelling in being back at the orphanage each week. Please keep praying for that. We've been going on random days, instead of Saturdays lately. By the way, it takes about an hour on buses to get out there, and sometimes the trip leaves me more tired than all the rest put together; pray for strength.
• Please continue to pray for lots of wisdom for me with the counseling I mentioned before.
• Our landlady is here for the summer, and it's going to take some work for us to get used to each other. Please pray that we can all learn to live together well and that we would constantly show Christ's love to her.
• An American family is going to be adopting from "my" orphanage soon. Pray for them as they work through that process, and that we would be a help and encouragement as we meet them in the next week or so.
• Ten days until the Ukrainian elections. Pray for peace and right to prevail!

Something I forgot to mention: Will has another session of the Agape school next week. This time is when the students prepare lessons to teach and be evaluated. Please pray that Will would be able to find the time and energy to get his part done before he goes, and for another good session, too.

• Ukraine: just keep praying!
• Orphans: like I said before, this is a hard time for orphanages and many other people.
• Health: Bogdan has been really sick, but is getting better now. Praise the Lord with us for that, and please pray for good health for our whole family.
• Counseling: I (Phyllis) spend a good bit of time on the phone counseling someone long-distance and doing a Bible study with her. It takes a lot of time and emotional energy, but is very worthwhile (I think). Please pray for her and for me.
• Will: you can always pray for him to be able to keep up with the office work he does and to do a good job.

Thank you for praying!

Our residency documents are finished and back in our hands! This time was the easiest ever, probably because we hired a lawyer to handle it, but glory to God for all.

Please keep praying for peace in Ukraine and wisdom for us.

KEEP PRAYING FOR UKRAINE!

• My friend who I visit the orphanage with has left Ukraine for a little while, so I didn't get to go today. Please continue to pray for the kids, and pray that my friend will be able to return soon.
• Our neighbors, the family that lived in the other half of this house, moved out unexpectedly. Please pray that the next tenents will be nice and that we will be able to reach out to them.
• Praise God that we're getting over the colds we had last week.
• We still aren't finished with our documentation to live here.
• Orphanages are struggling financially. Pray for them and for us, as we may have some chances to help with basic needs that they have.

• Our unregistering trip went beautifully. The government office there even stayed open late for us! That's a miracle.
• Still working on registering here and extending our residency.
• Still visiting the orphanage on Saturdays (Phyllis).
• Still working in the Agape office (Will).
• Fighting some sickness here.
• Andrei Nalivaiko is out of jail! (I had asked for prayer for his situation on our blog.)

PRAY FOR UKAINE! Things do seem to be getting better, but there's is still a long road ahead for this country.

I used to update here most Saturdays, but that has gotten hard lately, because my Saturdays are busy now. I need to find a new day of the week and get in the habit of posting then.

New prayer requests:

• On Saturdays I get to visit an orphanage for disabled children. I love them! Please pray for me each week and for the children I get to spend time with.
• We're in the middle of getting residency for the next year. Please pray for that process.
• Pray for our trip tomorrow, and for our children who will be with friends while we're gone.

I'll try to write again here more often.