"The Council of Brothers"

Will has just become an official member of the "Council of Brothers" at church.  (I don't know exactly how that translates.  Elders?  Board of deacons?  Whatever you want to call it, it's the group of men who lead the church.)  He has attended their meetings since we arrived here, but not officially.  He asks that you pray specifically for wisdom and grace for him in this new role.

Praying for various people

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written anything here!  We've had some wonderful visits with friends and other good, busy times.

I've asked for prayer for a girl I called O. before.  She's back from an extended absence, so once again I need love and wisdom for spending time with her.

Today on the way home from church we bumped into a man that Will had met on a hospital visit: Aleksandr.  Please pray for him!  He's having a hard time physically (just got seriously beaten up and is almost starving, too), mentally, emotionally, spiritually.  He has tried praying and has visited a church, but doesn't think God is listening.  He's also facing a possible jail sentence.

Registration

We got our passports back, and now we're registered for another year!  Please thank the Lord for that with us.  You can also be praying that the laws don't change any more.

Picnic answers

Thank you for praying!  The picnic went well.  You can read about it here.

Weather for picnic

We're planning a picnic at our dacha for the youth tomorrow.  Please pray for good weather!  We're really enjoying some rain, after a dry spell, but it would be really nice if the rain stopped for a while tomorrow. 

News from Kovrov

I just talked to Pavel and Tanya.  They're working on selling the church apartment and buying a house or other bigger place to meet.  Pavel asked us to pray for wisdom and for everything to go well, if this is what they should be doing.

Visiting

On Sunday afternoons Will and several others from church have been visiting sick babushki at home and/or anyone who is interested at the hospital. Please pray for those visits!

Re-registration

It's almost time for us to re-register our visas. Will is (or all of us are?) going to Zaporozhye on Thursday to at least get started. Please pray for us to be able to do this right and without any problems. No one is very sure about what the law actually says about this.

Easter

Easter is coming! (April 19 here.) It's the biggest religious holiday of the year, so please pray for all that will be happening at church. Also, pray for our family as we prepare for Easter and then celebrate the Resurrection at home.

Colds

After a long time of good health (praise for that!), we've succumbed to colds and they seem to be dragging on. It's nothing serious; we're just tired and want to be well again!

Prayer for E.

The church here is right next to the hospital, and one of the ladies from church works there.  Tonight she sent one of her patients over for Bible study, since he's so interested.  He asked for prayer, since he's having an operation tomorrow or the next day, but also because he's really searching for God.

Also, please pray for Lyuba, who works in the hospital and is constantly witnessing, and for Will and others who visit there.

G. and Y.

A few nights ago Leetra babysat, and Will and I went to visit G. and Y..  I was so happy to see their new baby!  I thought we would probably sit around talking about him, but instead they jumped right in with all kinds of questions about the Bible and church.  It was really good to get to talk to them!

O. is gone

Please keep praying for the girl I asked for prayer for before.  She is gone, so I'm not spending time with her anymore for a while, but I don't think she's in a very good situation now.

Answered prayer

I should have asked you all to pray for Leetra sooner!  She felt better almost right away after I posted that.  Thank you, Lord, and thank you for praying!

Now she'll be heading back on Tuesday, so you can pray for safe travels in that direction.

Leetra's stomach

We're having a great visit with my sister, but she hasn't felt well this whole time.  Please pray for her stomach!

Another person

Please be praying for another girl (O.), who I'm spending a whole lot of time with. She's very needy, so pray for strength for me. There are also a whole lot of things I'm praying about for her that I can't really share. Just pray!

Leetra is coming!

My sister is coming soon! Please pray for her travels and a good visit. We always like to "use" guests as a good excuse to get together with people, too, so please pray that we would be able to introduce her to lots of people here.

Youth conference

Will and some of the youth will be going to a youth conference in Kiev Feb. 23. Please pray for safe travels and a really good time there.

New people

We have been encouraged to see new faces in the group of young people that come to the church. I don't think there have been more since I last wrote, but I'd like to update on the ones I mentioned before.

(I'm going back and adding initials to the last post, if you want to look back there.) N. is a regular at youth meetings now; she can't come on Sunday mornings, because of her work schedule, but she would like to. I haven't seen Z. around for a while. G. and Y. are adjusting to life with a new baby. We gave them The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, and they're reading it. Please keep praying for these new believers/seekers!

It's been too long

I'm sorry that it's been so long since I've updated here.  Thank you for praying for us anyway.  We survived the holidays, and thoroughly enjoyed them, too!  We're also finally feeling settled back into normal life now.

Please be praying for some new people who have been coming to youth meetings and Bible studies.  There's a girl (N.) who's been quite faithful and interested in the evenings, a guy (Z.) who really wants to get his life together, and a young couple (G. and Y.) trying to read and understand the Bible on their own.  The couple are expecting a baby soon and also need prayers for health!