Update

Sorry I've been so silent! There just hasn't been any time for me to write much.

Let's see. . . .
Our trip to Florida went well. It was long, but smooth. I had asked for prayer for Asya's ticket. We did get her on the plane with us; that cost a whole lot, but like Will said, it was worth it to be able to have her along.

And we're healthy! Praise the Lord for that, and please keep praying that we won't get sick. It's been so nice to be able to enjoy our time here without any sickness. (I started writing this yesterday. Today it looks like Will has a cold. )

I know people were praying about the car. Getting it on the road was an incredibly quick process. Thank you for praying! Please keep praying that we won't have any trouble with it. So far, it's running beautifully.

Our children have been doing well. Asya’s the easiest of all. As long as her milk supply is nearby—preferably holding her—she doesn’t care where in the world she is or what language is being spoken around her! Raia has struggled the most, but she seems to be doing okay now. She's even been babbling some; maybe she's getting ready to start speaking English? Jaan's doing wonderfully, but he seems to be more emotional than usual.

Travel

We have tickets. We’ll be leaving Russia on the 9th. Please pray for us as we travel!

Please also pray for one last detail: they don’t do e-tickets for infants, so we still have to get Asya’s ticket. There aren’t any travel agents in Kovrov who sell plane tickets; pray that Will will be able to get one in Vladimir.

Health

We’ve really been struggling with a long run of colds and coughs. Please pray that we can get well before we leave. Also, we tend to be sick a lot when traveling and staying with other people. Please pray that we can stay well this time!

Car!

Will's grandfather is going to let us use his car. Praise the Lord! (And thank you, Pop!) Please pray for all the details of getting Will's driver's license, buying insurance, getting the car running and such.

For our children

Please also remember to pray for our children. They’re sick. . . again. It’s nothing serious, but it is just another little thing to deal with. (Jaan says that his nose is drooling. )

They don’t really understand what is going on right now, but they do seem to feel that something is happening. (It’s been funny to see what sets them off. For Jaan it was when I packed up and sorted through the books. He stood next to me and cried the whole time, “No, Mama! Not the books! What will we read?” Raia had a harder time with the clothes: “What will we wear?”) And it’s so hard to stay patient with them! If I have to leave the room for Asya, I’ll come back to find that Jaan and Raia have instantly resorted my carefully sorted piles, unpacked our carefully packed items, and just let their curiosity run wild.

Trip details

Please be praying for us as we get closer to making definite plans for our trip the States. Please pray especially that the Lord would provide a car for us to use there.

Praise!

We are seeing that the Lord is providing. Special gifts for our upcoming trip are already coming in. Keeping praying!

The main prayer requests right now

First, please keep praying that we would be able to return to Russia after the court hearing that we're waiting for. The judge could decide to deport me, which would mean that I would not be allowed enter Russia for five years or more. Or the decision could be different, and we'd get exit visas to leave in around two weeks after that. Either way, we'll be leaving, for a short time (as we hope and pray), or. . . .

Also pray that God would provide the finances we need! To quote a prayer request from a Gospelink letter that came in recently: "We be in need of financial situation."

(And, no, we still don't have a court date.)