September 1, 2008

We are alive and well. Without internet unfortunately so our ability to update everyone more regularly has been delayed. I have 2 minutes left on my laptop battery so here goes:

– Container ‘may’ arrive this week, we’re told to be prepared to go to Kiev for customs and pick up the truck. I would say ‘pray this goes smoothly’ but that is no longer the kind of prayers we offer up, it’s now “Lord help us deal with the obstacles with grace and perseverance!”

– We need the gas at our house to be hooked up. The gas man came a few weeks ago and has yet to return. This week the nights turned briskly chilly and the urgency for heat in the house increases with each passing week. We are loving the colder weather though, ask us again this question mid Feb.

– Family is doing great, the kids are getting to know their new neighborhood friends. We routinely have 3-4 young boys Brent/Tuckers age, hanging out at our door asking us in Russian if the boys can come out to play. We have also met our neighbors (two families) directly down the street from us. They have been friendly and I’m excited about having them over for dinner and building a friendship that will allow for sharing our faith.

– Pray for our internet to be hooked up, we have a phone line now, which is step 1 (a big step 1) but the internet has not been activated yet, waiting on somebody in Kiev to flip the switch… this will be soooo nice to work at the house and provide a more consistent routine for my company in Texas. It’s been quite ridiculous lately to say the least, conference calls from smoke filled internet cafes, outside peoples houses with dogs barking and kids screaming… very professional stuff.

– We are praying for a local russian teacher for our family, we have asked a few people and they are considering it. Pray please for God’s direction and help solidifying the decision. We really need to get back into language lessons, it’s so easy to stay in English.

– We have met as leaders in the church here in RZ and determined to organize ourselves with biblical eldership model. I will be serving as an elder now with 2-3 other men, and I ask that you pray for the church, that it continues to form into something God enjoys and blesses with his power to impact this community.

– Jono is starting his new English Class business this week. Pray that God brings him a good amount of students and shows him favor as he reaches out into this community. This is an exciting ‘missional’ ministry that could be a lighthouse for many families to hear about the gospel.

– Deb just celebrated her birthday last week, and mine is this week. Most of you know we are not big party or game people (unless it’s Xbox), but the funny thing here is that you throw your own party.. so this is great, we will never have another birthday party again! I took Deb to Kiev last week, it was so nice to sit on a grassy hill and just rest. We didn’t want to do anything, just sit and reflect. It’s been a crazy past 2-3 weeks, many times wanting to throw in the towel. It’s been a compilation of many things that have become so frustrating to deal with on a daily basis, but we thank God for the times of relief where He ushers in His presence and allows you to see truly how blessed you are in Him. We thank you for the sustained prayer, folks we need it, more than you realize.

Bruce