Visas

Our applications for invitations for me and for the children were supposed to be turned in last week. However, we heard that they need more documents now. Will sent those off, but we haven't heard if they received them, or if the applications have actually gone in. Please pray that that has already happened, and that we would be able to get in touch with the people at the Baptist Union who take care of visas.

Also, please be praying for an answer soon! It should take a month, just to hear whether or not they're granting the invitations, then after that we'd still have to apply for visas and wait for them. We need to know what's going on before the baby is born.

Most of all, pray that we will get these invitations. There is more scrutiny than ever, and new regulations are coming into effect.

My health

I'm still doing okay, but I would really appreciate your prayers. If nothing else, I'm just uncomfortable! Beyond that, I'm still fighting with weakness at times and trouble sleeping at night. I did sleep wonderfully last night, so you can praise the Lord with me for that!

Bike expedition

Thank you for praying! All went well. It seemed like there were more police at the program than anyone else, but they need to hear the gospel, too. And because it was right in the center of town, there were plenty of people who stopped and listened some as they were walking by. Pray for seeds that were planted to grow and for the expedition as it continues on to other cities.

Visa invitation application

It should have been turned in again this week. Please pray that every will go quickly and smoothly, and that I'll be granted an invitation this time around! Pray that we'll be able to wait calmly and trust the Lord in this. It should be about a month before we know anything.

Gospelink

We just need extra prayer for keeping up with everything, even with limited communication abilities.

Returning

Please pray for Pavel and Tanya and family as they travel back. Pray that they'll be rested and ready to get back into life here.

Evangelism

There is a group of Christian young people riding around our region on their bicycles, doing presentations and sharing the Gospel in different cities. They'll be coming through here on Thursday. Please pray for them as they travel, for our church in preparing for this and hosting them, and for the actual presentation on the city's central square Thursday evening.

Blood sugar

I've been reading and trying to figure out what was making me so weak and shaky. My self-diagnosis is low blood sugar. So far, staying on a careful diet is helping. Please pray that it will continue to help, and that I'd be able to stick to it. Other than that, all is going well with this pregnancy. I continue to have some trouble sleeping, but often a good snack to get my blood sugar back up seems to be enough to get me to sleep. Praise the Lord for that!

Church meeting place and unity

Please continue to pray that our church would find a place where we can all meet together. Will is concerned about how we seem to be developing into a "morning church" and an "evening church," with different people coming to each group and different styles developing in each.

New ministry

There has been a small group from our church visiting the Home for the Elderly off and on for a while. Now they're going every Wednesday, showing Christian movies, and just spending time with the people there. It's not exactly what you would think of, if you're imagining an American nursing home. It's more like the Home for the Elderly/Drunk/Poor/Ex-cons/Etc. The people soak up any attention and really just need listening ears. Pray for Will and the others as they minister there!

Pavel and Tanya

Our pastor here and his family are in the middle of their month-long trip to visit their friends and relatives in Ukraine and southern Russia. Please pray for a safe and profitable trip for them.

Also, Pasha needs to decide if he's going to apply for Russian citizenship or renew his five-year "green card" here. There are some other document questions complicating that, too, so please pray for wisdom and for the document processes to go smoothly.

Sleep update

Thank you for praying. I continue to have good and bad nights, but it seems like the good are outnumbering the bad. Don't stop praying!

Waiting on the invitation

My application for an invitation didn't go in at the time we had thought it would, and now we're being advised to wait. We would really rather get this settled, but we're going to wait a little while, to give more time in between the refusal and another application. Please keep praying that when we do apply, I'll be granted an invitation!

Sleep

I've been enjoying several weeks of feeling great, but now that it's getting hot again, I'm struggling more. I've had a few sleepless nights, and I really don't do well with that. Please pray for me to sleep well every night!

Applying again

Apparently we were told wrong that I can't reapply for a visa invitation. The Baptist Union doesn't want our consultant to get involved or any appeals to be made, so we're just going to try applying again. Will went back to Moscow on Thursday to give them the right documents, and they'll probably be turned in today. Pray that this time I'll get an invitation! It should be about a month before we know anything.

"Friends" in high places

Please pray for the officials who are interested in us and what we are doing here. Pray that they would be able to understand what we do here and that God would calm their suspicions.

Weather

Maybe this is frivolous, but please pray for a cooler summer in central Russia this year. We've already had some very hot weather, and it was hard for me to put up with it. Now we're enjoying cooler days again. Pray that the weather will stay more like this.

Moved!

We're moved onto the first floor! Thank you for praying. Now please pray that we'd be able to sort through everything and get settled. For the first part of last week, Will moved things down very slowly and deliberately, finding places for them and putting them away as he went. Then we ran out of time, and our friends came to help. In one afternoon, everything that was left came down the stairs. Now it's just lying around in heaps, though. We're working on figuring out what's what and where to put it.

I really like the apartment, and I had forgetting how nice it is to live on the ground floor. Thank you, Lord!

General update

PTL! We have electricity at the dacha!

Also, we're moving to the first floor here in our building. That has taken priority over the dacha right now. Will has slowly been moving things yesterday and today. On Thursday we'll ask friends to come help with the big stuff.

Tomorrow Will needs to go to Moscow to pick up the letter about our visas and meet with someone about Gospelink business. Friday he has a meeting in Ivanovo, but he may end up staying here to finish moving instead. Please pray for travel safety.

On Sunday Ira, Yulia and Will invited the children from the Bible lessons to come to an end of the year party. We can't go to them, but they can come to us. Three girls showed up.

Please continue to pray for our landlord's family situation. Instead of moving in here with his daughter, he's found someone else to live here with her.

And please keep praying for me to get a new visa!

Did I forget anything?

Electricity soon

Please keep praying about our dacha. The electricity is turned on for the area, but ours doesn't work. It was just rewired, but now we have to wait for Dedushka Genna to have time to come back and see what's wrong. Please pray that he'll be able to do it soon. The heat here on the fifth floor is already getting to me, and I want to be out of here!