A Prayer Reminder

Hi all.. we just returned from Turkey after getting new visas and everything with our registration/visas went very smoothly - huge praise!

This morning I read the following report and I'm still so affected by what I read. To think that while our family was enjoying the ocean and singing Psalms a few hours away our brothers in Christ were sacrificing their lives for HIS namesake. What a powerful reminder this was for our family to remember our brothers & sisters in Christ around the world that are being persecuted for their faith. May we all learn from these men's example... 'And whoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.' Luke 14 (warning this is very graphic, not for children to read, but I didn't want to edit it)

A letter to the Global Church from The Protestant Church of Smyrna

Dear friends,
This past week has been filled with much sorrow.† Many of you have heard by now of our devastating loss here in an event that took place in Malatya, a Turkish province 300 miles northeast of Antioch, the city where believers were first called Christians (Acts 11:26).† †

On Wednesday morning, April 18, 2007, 46 year old German missionary and father of three Tilman Geske prepared to go to his office, kissing his wife goodbye taking a moment to hug his son and give him the priceless memory, “Goodbye, son. I love you.” Tilman rented an office space from Zirve Publishing where he was preparing notes for the new Turkish Study Bible. Zirve was also the location of the Malatya Evangelist Church office. A ministry of the church, Zirve prints and distributes Christian literature to Malatya and nearby cities in Eastern Turkey.

In another area of town, 35 year old Pastor Necati Aydin, father of two, said goodbye to his wife, leaving for the office as well.† They had a morning Bible Study and prayer meeting that some other believers in town would also be attending.† Ugur Yuksel likewise made his way to the Bible study. None of these three men knew that what awaited them at the Bible study was the ultimate testing and application of their faith, which would conclude with their entrance into glory to receive their crown of righteousness from Christ and honor from all the saints awaiting them in the Lord’s presence.

On the other side of town, ten young men all under 20 years old put into place final arrangements for their ultimate act of faith, living out their love for Allah and hatred of infidels who they felt undermined Islam. On Resurrection Sunday, five of these men had been to a by-invitation-only evangelistic service that Pastor Necati and his men had arranged at a hotel conference room in the city. The men were known to the believers as “seekers.” No one knows what happened in the hearts of those men as they listened to the gospel. Were they touched by the Holy Spirit? Were they convicted of sin? Did they hear the gospel in their heart of hearts? Today we only have the beginning of their story. These young men, one of whom is the son of a mayor in the Province of Malatya, are part of a tarikat, or a group of “faithful believers” in Islam. Tarikat membership is highly respected here; it’s like a fraternity membership. In fact, it is said that no one can get into public office without membership in a tarikat. These young men all lived in the same dorm, all preparing for university entrance exams. The young men got guns, breadknives, ropes and towels ready for their final act of service to Allah. They knew there would be a lot of blood. They arrived in time for the Bible Study, around 10 o’clock. They arrived, and apparently the Bible Study began. Reportedly, after Necati read a chapter from the Bible the assault began. The boys tied Ugur, Necati, and Tilman’s hands and feet to chairs and as they videoed their work on their cellphones, they tortured our brothers for almost three hours*

[Details of the torture-- * Tilman was stabbed 156 times, Necati 99 times and Ugur’s stabs were too numerous to count. They were disemboweled, and their intestines sliced up in front of their eyes. They were emasculated and watched as those body parts were destroyed. Fingers were chopped off, their noses and mouths and anuses were sliced open. Possibly the worst part was watching as their brothers were likewise tortured. Finally, their throats were sliced from ear to ear, heads practically decapitated.] Neighbors in workplaces near the printhouse said later they had heard yelling, but assumed the owners were having a domestic argument so they did not respond.

Meanwhile, another believer Gokhan and his wife had a leisurely morning. He slept in till 10, ate a long breakfast and finally around 12:30 he and his wife arrived at the office. The door was locked from the inside, and his key would not work. He phoned and though it had connection on his end he did not hear the phone ringing inside. He called cell phones of his brothers and finally Ugur answered his phone. “We are not at the office. Go to the hotel meeting. We are there. We will come there,” he said cryptically. As Ugur spoke Gokhan heard in the telephone’s background weeping and a strange snarling sound. He phoned the police, and the nearest officer arrived in about five minutes. He pounded on the door, “Police, open up!” Initially the officer thought it was a domestic disturbance. At that point they heard another snarl and a gurgling moan. The police understood that sound as human suffering, prepared the clip in his gun and tried over and over again to burst through the door. One of the frightened assailants unlocked the door for the policeman, who entered to find a grisly scene. Tilman and Necati had been slaughtered, practically decapitated with their necks slit from ear to ear. Ugur’s throat was likewise slit and he was barely alive. Three assailants in front of the policeman dropped their weapons. Meanwhile Gokhan heard a sound of yelling in the street. Someone had fallen from their third story office. Running down, he found a man on the ground, whom he later recognized, named Emre Gunaydin. He had massive head trauma and, strangely, was snarling. He had tried to climb down the drainpipe to escape, and losing his balance had plummeted to the ground. It seems that he was the main leader of the attackers. Another assailant was found hiding on a lower balcony.

To untangle the web we need to back up six years. In April 2001, the National Security Council of Turkey (Milli Guvenlik Kurulu) began to consider evangelical Christians as a threat to national security, on equal footing as Al Quaida and PKK terrorism. Statements made in the press by political leaders, columnists and commentators have fueled a hatred against missionaries who they claim bribe young people to change their religion. After that decision in 2001, attacks and threats on churches, pastors and Christians began. Bombings, physical attacks, verbal and written abuse are only some of the ways Christians are being targetted. Most significant is the use of media propaganda. From December 2005, after having a long meeting regarding the Christian threat, the wife of Former Prime Minister Ecevit, historian Ilber Ortayli, Professor Hasan Unsal, Politician Ahmet Tan and writer/propogandist Aytunc Altindal, each in their own profession began a campaign to bring the public’s attention to the looming threat of Christians who sought to “buy their children’s souls”. Hidden cameras in churches have taken church service footage and used it sensationally to promote fear and antagonism toward Christianity. In an official televised response from Ankara, the Interior Minister of Turkey smirked as he spoke of the attacks on our brothers. Amid public outrage and protests against the event and in favor of freedom of religion and freedom of thought, media and official comments ring with the same message, “We hope you have learned your lesson. We do not want Christians here.”

It appears that this was an organized attack initiated by an unknown adult tarikat leader. As in the Hrant Dink murder in January 2007, and a Catholic priest Andrea Santoro in February 2006, minors are being used to commit religious murders because public sympathy for youth is strong and they face lower penalties than an adult convicted of the same crime. Even the parents of these children are in favor of the acts. The mother of the 16 year old boy who killed the Catholic priest Andrea Santoro looked at the cameras as her son was going to prison and said, “he will serve time for Allah.” The young men involved in the killing are currently in custody. Today news reported that they would be tried as terrorists, so their age would not affect the strict penalty. Assailant Emre Gunaydin is still in intensive care. The investigation centers around him and his contacts and they say will fall apart if he does not recover.

The Church in Turkey responded in a way that honored God as hundreds of believers and dozens of pastors flew in as fast as they could to stand by the small church of Malatya and encourage the believers, take care of legal issues, and represent Christians to the media. When Susanne Tilman expressed her wish to bury her husband in Malatya, the Governor tried to stop it, and when he realized he could not stop it, a rumor was spread that “it is a sin to dig a grave for a Christian.” In the end, in an undertaking that should be remembered in Christian history forever, the men from the church in Adana (near Tarsus), grabbed shovels and dug a grave for their slain brother in an un-tended hundred year old Armenian graveyard. Ugur was buried by his family in an Alevi Muslim ceremony in his hometown of Elazig, his believing fiance watching from the shadows as his family and friends refused to accept in death the faith Ugur had so long professed and died for. Necati’s funeral took place in his hometown of Izmir, the city where he came to faith. The darkness does not understand the light. Though the churches expressed their forgiveness for the event, Christians were not to be trusted. Before they would load the coffin onto the plane from Malatya, it went through two separate xray exams to make sure it was not loaded with explosives. This is not a usual procedure for Muslim coffins.

Necati’s funeral was a beautiful event. Like a glimpse of heaven, thousands of Turkish Christians and missionaries came to show their love for Christ, and their honor for this man chosen to die for Christ. Necati’s wife Shemsa told the world, “His death was full of meaning, because he died for Christ and he lived for Christ… Necati was a gift from God. I feel honored that he was in my life, I feel crowned with honor. I want to be worthy of that honor.” Boldly the believers took their stand at Necati’s funeral, facing the risks of being seen publicly and likewise becoming targets. As expected, the anti-terror police attended and videotaped everyone attending the funeral for their future use. The service took place outside at Buca Baptist church, and he was buried in a small Christian graveyard in the outskirts of Izmir. Two assistant Governors of Izmir were there solemnly watching the event from the front row. Dozens of news agencies were there documenting the events with live news and photographs. Who knows the impact the funeral had on those watching? This is the beginning of their story as well. Pray for them. In an act that hit front pages in the largest newspapers in Turkey, Susanne Tilman in a television interview expressed her forgiveness. She did not want revenge, she told reporters. “Oh God, forgive them for they know not what they do,” she said, wholeheartedly agreeing with the words of Christ on Calvary (Luke 23:34). In a country where blood-for-blood revenge is as normal as breathing, many many reports have come to the attention of the church of how this comment of Susanne Tilman has changed lives. One columnist wrote of her comment, “She said in one sentence what 1000 missionaries in 1000 years could never do.” The missionaries in Malatya will most likely move out, as their families and children have become publicly identified as targets to the hostile city. The remaining 10 believers are in hiding.

What will happen to this church, this light in the darkness? Most likely it will go underground. Pray for wisdom, that Turkish brothers from other cities will go to lead the leaderless church. Should we not be concerned for that great city of Malatya, a city that does not know what it is doing? (Jonah 4:11) When our Pastor Fikret Bocek went with a brother to give a statement to the Security Directorate on Monday they were ushered into the Anti-Terror Department. On the wall was a huge chart covering the whole wall listing all the terrorist cells in Izmir, categorized. In one prominent column were listed all the evangelical churches in Izmir. The darkness does not understand the light. “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.” (Acts 17:6) Please pray for the Church in Turkey. “Don’t pray against persecution, pray for perseverence,” urges Pastor Fikret Bocek. The Church is better having lost our brothers; the fruit in our lives, the renewed faith, the burning desire to spread the gospel to quench more darkness in Malatya …all these are not to be regretted. Pray that we stand strong against external opposition and especially pray that we stand strong against internal struggles with sin, our true debilitating weakness. This we know. Christ Jesus was there when our brothers were giving their lives for Him. He was there, like He was when Stephen was being stoned in the sight of Saul of Tarsus. Someday the video of the deaths of our brothers may reveal more to us about the strength that we know Christ gave them to endure their last cross, about the peace the Spirit of God endowed them with to suffer for their beloved Savior. But we know He did not leave their side. We know their minds were full of Scripture strengthening them to endure, as darkness tried to subdue the unsubduable Light of the Gospel. We know, in whatever way they were able, with a look or a word, they encouraged one another to stand strong. We know they knew they would soon be with Christ. We don’t know the details. We don’t know the kind of justice that will or will not be served on this earth. But we pray-- and urge you to pray-- that someday at least one of those five boys will come to faith because of the testimony in death of Tilman Geske, who gave his life as a missionary to his beloved Turks, and the testimonies in death of Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, the first martyrs for Christ out of the Turkish Church. Reported by Darlene N. Bocek (24 April 2007) -.-.-.-.-.-.-

Please please please pass this on to as many praying Christians as you can, in as many countries as you can. Please always keep the heading as “From the Protestant Church of Smyrna” with this contact information: izmirprotestan@gmail.com // http://www.izmirprotestan.org/

Christ is Risen!

I love the traditional Russian greeting on Easter morning.. 'Christ is Risen!' to which you reply 'He is Risen INDEED!' Rachel, David & Caleb had so much fun going to all our neighbors to give them eggs and kaluchi - a traditional Easter cake. They returned with their arms filled with eggs, chocolate candies and the largest apricot/liquer candy bar I had ever seen. Even Caleb learned to shout out "Viestemoo Voskress" (He is risen indeed) and enjoyed shouting it out to everyone he saw regardless if they had said anything to him.

James had an interesting Easter experience.... a few weeks ago an Orthodox Monk began attending the weekly Bible study. He said he really enjoyed actually studying the Bible without formal ceremony (hmmm good observation). So the Monk invited James to visit his church for the traditional midnight service (Sat. night) and then the large meal/celebration that lasts until 4-5:00am. Here's one picture James took of the Priest and people marching around the church three times at midnight. James said parts of the ceremony were very meaningful and God-honoring, but unfortunately most of the service was in the old Slavic language that is very difficult for everyone to understand. (like us attending a service in Latin) Pray for James' continued friendship with this Monk who's name is Slava.



Well I've been meaning to update this blog for weeks.. so here are random happenings from the past few weeks...

*our dog Snowflake had 6 puppies... our kiddos are wild with excitement! I know James is excited but he is hiding his joy very well (heh!) The father is a gigantic pure white Siberian 'kafkaz' - a huge huge dog (I'm guessing 200 lbs at least). Anyone out there want a puppy??! Hmm can you ship those UPS?

*Just when you think Johanna can't possibly get any cuter/sweeter.. she does! She is saying a few words her favorites being 'JoJo' and 'ut-oh' She has also become obsessed this week with stuffed animals... we have a collection of stuffed animals that none of our other children have ever played with - but now Johanna toddles around the house with her arms stuffed with 4-5 assorted bears, chipmunks and dogs. It's quite entertaining because you can hardly see her head as she walks around singing and talking to them constantly. (ohh and please ignore the black markings on her face.. I was getting the other kids ready for a walk so she decided to climb up onto the kitchen counter, grab a black permanent marker and decorate herself.. I was in a hurry so decided to just wash it off after our walk... and then afterwards wondered why all our neighbors looked at me funny...)



*UPDATE: on the house we are trying to buy for a youth center - they passed a new law in January and everyone is so scared of this law (??) that no privatization of houses/lands are being done right now... so we will wait some more :( The good news is that the lady we are buying the house from is also very discouraged about the wait and has agreed to let us rent the house! James & Andrei spent several days cleaning it and our friends Chris & Camilla moved in! So even though it's not *ours* yet, it's great to think about this summer and the many things we could do with a yard/more space. We are thinking of trying to have a children's day camp... pray for wisdom as we make plans for summer ministry! Thank you again to all our dear family & friends for your love and prayers for us - we are so grateful for each of you! I just don't express it near enough....

Home Again!!

Yes we're home again! It's been wonderful to be back in our own familiar surrounding, but of course we sure do miss all our dear family in the States!

We had quite the adventure traveling... sometimes I think they should make one of those TV reality shows about a family with 4 children under the age of 8 traveling half-way around the world.. quite, quite entertaining let me tell you - you have it all.. drama, humor, tension, hilarity, adventure just to name a few. We flew from San Antonio to Atlanta no problemo.. but then on our flight from Atlanta to New York we circled & circled New York for what seemed forever (fog). By the time we finally landed and actually got to our gate (another 45 minutes) our flight to Moscow had already departed. So we got our tickets changed to fly out the next day and headed for the nearest hotel. We went outside the airport and started walking through this dimly lit walkway trying to find the train we had to ride to get to the shuttle bus station... I was feeling exausted and just then looked over at Rachel - she had a gigantic smile on her face and put everything into perspective when she happily announced, 'Boy, now THIS is fun!!' Yes, oh yes the fun and adventure continued as we met interesting people riding the train, then the shuttle bus and then dinner in the hotel. We flew out the next day with no problems and the kiddos actually did fantastic on the planes - yeah!!

I was really struck this time of how completely different life can be over here! The day before we left Texas the kiddos went wading in the Guadalupe River and our ride to the airport was in a most comfortable 15 passenger van that was like riding in the lap of luxury. (thanks again Tom!!) We landed in Moscow to almost 3 feet of snow on the ground and piled into a 25 year old *jewel* of Soviet machinery... it's sorta like an extended cab pick-up but nothing like what Ford or Chevy offer. This vehicle I'm pretty sure had no shock absorbers anywhere.. in fact at one point we hit a gigantic pothole and I was convinced the entire vehicle would fall apart around us - anyway we did arrive back in Nara-Faminsk safe and sound.

When we opened our front door we discovered none of the lights worked and the temperature was just barely above freezing - Hmmmmm! More adventure - we put a space heater in our bedroom and everyone jumped in bed to snuggle for the night. About midnight I got up and discovered 2 inches of water flooding the bathroom floor - the radiator in the attic had burst and drained all the water down into the 1st floor bathroom!! So we ran around for the next several hours fixing, tightening, and draining all the water from our radiators. (We've already had practice with this kinda stuff when we lived in the apartment in happened 3 times to the radiators above us). Okay there is a reason I'm telling you all this :)..... in the midst of all the wonderful happening I sat there in the cold thinking 'I WAS ACTUALLY HOMESICK FOR ALL THIS!!' And then I realized that YES I was homesick for *all this*! God's grace in our lives is just amazing and when he calls you to live and work and serve somewhere, HE will give you supernatural love for the people and joy & peace in your living circumstances - even when it means being halfway around the world from the people you love most in all the world. So yes, our whole family was indeed very *homesick* the entire time we were in the States because God has put it in our hearts to call Nara-Faminsk, Russia home... and man it's GREAT to be home!!

We're in Texas! :)

I can't believe I haven't written in over a month! We had a safe trip from Moscow to Pittsburg - the kiddos did amazingly well so thank you for praying. When my Dad picked us up at the airport he told me the sad news that my Aunt Mary Alice has passed away that morning. She had been in excellent health until 2 months ago when a very aggresive brain tumor was found. I had really hoped to see her one last time so it was a sad trip down to her funeral.

The next two weeks at my parent's house was a wonderful time of enjoying family; especially my brother Matthew's family that lives in Papua New Guinea (missionaries with New Tribes). We had not seen each other in over 4 years so it was quite a wonderful celebration. They now have TWO TEENAGERS!! ::gasp! how did my brother get so old! :):: Their children are amazing and and it was especially fun to see Rachel and Karis together - they are only 18 months apart and were like two peas in a pod. We were laughing when our combined 8 children were together the ages are 15,13,11,9,7,5,3 & 1.. you would have thought we had actually planned it!

Thank you to all who prayed for us as we traveled! It's been very special to be around loved ones.

Please be praying..

Tomorrow morning we will be traveling to America! Yes, I can still hardly believe we are actually going. We had planned to go this spring, but then realized that both Andrei (James' ministry partner) and our friend Chris Brudi would both be gone this spring so it was now or never. I am really looking forward to seeing my brother Matthew and his family - he is a missionary in Papaua New Guinea and it's been 4 1/2 years since we've seen each other... I can't believe I now have a nephew & niece that are teenagers!! So please pray for safety traveling and no sickness for our kiddos. Also please be praying for Andrei and Chris as they have many things planned around the Christmas and New Year's holiday.

Catching up...

Did you ever just have 'one of those weeks'?? The past two weeks for us have brought a burned up computer - thankfully the hard-drive was salvaged!! My wisdom tooth decided to appear knocking my last molar at a 90 degree angle and causing not just a little bit of discomfort.. I was supposed to get the wisdom tooth pulled yesterday but the Dr. was sick so I'm on hold. Please pray as going to the Dentist here tops my list of 'things I never want to do in this lifetime.' A messed up transmission on the van, Johanna finally cutting her two front teeth (can we all say HALLELUIAH!) and quite a few visitors rounded out my schedule. So know you know why I haven't updated the blog :)

But we did get to celebrate our precious Johanna Joy's FIRST birthday!! We had such a wonderful celebration! Of course Johanna could have cared less; but the siblings were very excited and made cards, had a fancy meal to which we invited Andrei & Inna, Summer, Chris & Camilla. Johanna is such a sweetie and I wanted to take the time to write a little story about how we came up with her name.. I actually wanted to write this when we sent out her birth announcement but forgot (sleep deprivation hit early!:)

When I was in my third month of the pregnancy I went to the Doctor to get my thyroid checked. She kept saying that because my thyroid was low I should have an abortion and went on and on about 'you have 3 healthy children, why would you want another?' Later that day I walked over to where we were in the process of building our house; our next door neighbor is an abortion Doctor and his wife in his assistant. The wife saw me walking outside and came out to talk.. she had just found out I was pregnant and went on & on about 'why in the world would you want another child, they are SO much work!!' At the end of our conversation she even offered me a discount at their clinic. I went home that night and felt discouraged and overwhelmed - I wondered did we really have the emotional strength to love and teach FOUR children?!? I couldn't sleep so I got up and opened my Bible to the Psalms - I started to read Psalm 30 which says 'His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, but JOY comes in the morning.' As I sat there reading I heard a little whisper that said to me 'Don't you worry Susan, this one is going to be your Joy-giver.' I was so encouraged that when I told James about it the next morning we decided that if it was a girl her middle name would be Joy.

Her birth was such a miracle and she has truly brought our family abundant Joy! Just last night Rachel had Johanna in bed with her 'cuddling'. I told Rachel it was time for bed, and Rachel smothered Johanna with kisses and hugs and said 'But I just love her so much I want to keep cuddling forever!' God knew exactly what our family needed and sent us precious Johanna Joy as a priceless treasure. We love you little Joy-giver!
With all our love,
Your Adoring Family

Babushka Nadeshda

Last week the children and I were walking in the woods and kept finding mushrooms that I didn't know the names of (and if they were edible). We found a Grandmother with her knife and basket also gathering mushrooms and decided to ask her... she was friendly and asked the usual 'are ALL these children yours' etc. etc. questions. She talked on and on and told us she had just moved to Nara-Faminsk 10 months ago from way up in Siberia and was very lonely. She then invited us to come to her apartment later in the week for tea. I told her we'd love to but only if she promised just to have *tea* and not fix a meal or anything fancy. She promised over and over to just have 'an apple cake & tea.' So a few days later we all arrived at her apartment.. there in her tiny kitchen she had prepared potatoes and mushrooms, two different salads, hot dogs, pickles and up on the windowsill because there was no room on the table... an apple cake. She just loved having children around; ooohed and ahhed over Johanna while she shoveled three pieces of cake into Caleb. As we visited she began to cry as she talked about her 25 year old son that was killed in a car accident 4 years ago.. he was so strong and handsome and had tried out for the Russian downhill ski team. She said after his death she became so angry and bitter that she drove her husband of 30 years away; she now was alone and terribly sad and lonely. As we left she hugged and kissed the children and thanked us over and over for coming and to please come back soon... 'very soon, I haven't been so happy for a long time.' Later that night I was reading a book by Brennan Manning in which he made the statement 'When we bring a smile to someone in pain, we have brought Christ to them.' Hmmm, his comment really made me reflect on the truth that sure James goes out and leads a Bible study but our entire family right down to Caleb and Johanna can share Christ by being focused on giving Christ-like love to the lonely, discouraged and hopeless people around us. There was a dozen other things James could have been doing that afternoon besides eating hotdogs in a Grandmother's apartment... and yet 'Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their afflection.' James 1:27 tell us. So pray for Nadeshda and the countless other Grandmothers God brings into our lives. Pray for James as he hauls their potatoes for them - that in all things that people will know that we are HIS disciples because we do have love for others.


Here's Rachel in the woods that day feeding sunflower seeds to a squirrel. She was beyond thrilled and now has plans for a pet squirrel.

A trip to the ZOO!

This past Tuesday we had a wonderful trip to the Moscow Zoo! It was a beautiful sunny fall day and we enjoyed every minute. Our friends the Hunsuckers were able to meet us with their two children Jaan & Raia. Caleb & Jaan are only a month apart and I call them the 'Best Buds'. I enjoyed watching them together more than the animals :)


Jaan had just celebrated his 3rd birthday so although it was a bit late we had another cake with candles for him... I asked Caleb to go over and stand beside Jaan so I could get a picture of them together; Caleb got up from seat went over and serenaded Jaan with his own version of 'Happy birthday..' - it was so cute!


Here's Raia (L) and Johanna together - they both have blue eyes and blonde hair and so sweet together!


One thing that struck me was the difference between the zoo in San Antonio - in the States everything is in their *natural habitat* and you can hardly see the animals. In Moscow we were sooo close to the animals with just a concrete valley and simple iron fence. Believe it or not I hardly used my zoom to get this picture.. it was that close! When I was tucking Caleb into bed that night he said the lion was his favorite.

Caleb feeding bread to the ducks


Not the best picture, but I have a picture of Caleb on his first birthday sitting on this same walrus.



Caleb & Jaan watching the monkeys


Rachel thought it so wonderful that Raia was walking already. (she's a few months older than Johanna) She told me on the way home that we 'had to work more with Johanna to get her to start walking.. it's just so fun to walk when they hold on to your finger.' :)



Caleb & Jaan were just tooo cute together in their matching dog hats!

They're ENGAGED!!

I'm happy to report our dear friend Chris Brudi (we both knew Chris from back in 1995 when we were both single - I was actually friends with Chris' sisters) and the lovely Camilla are engaged! Camilla is from up in Siberia, but has been living in Moscow the past three years working as the translator for Joyce Myers television show. She is an amazing young lady and seeing how God brought Chris & Camilla together just further deepens my awe of God's Sovereignty. They have so many common interests; and yet are such *opposites* in personality that they wonderfully compliment each other. Yes, if anyone needed a 'help meet' it was Chris (hee hee!) and God brought along someone just perfect! We are mainly excited (selfish motivation!) because Chris & Camilla are planning to live here in Nara-Faminsk for about 4-5 months every summer to help do camps & ministry. Please pray for Chris & Camilla as they have many major decisions to make this next week - mainly where to marry; and all the lovely visa paperwork to submit.

In other news.. it's been raining here for 3 weeks now!! I mean torrential rain.. all.day.every.single.day.every.day.every.hour Okay, the kids have major cabin fever but we have gotten off to a good start in school, so yeah for that. Rachel was to be baptized on Sunday, but due to the rain it was cancelled and we hope to have it this Sunday if the weather is nice. Last Sunday there were exactly 40 for the Bible study!!! Poor James doesn't know what to do.. I mean that's a lot of people to fit in a one-room apartment. He and Andrei are trying to figure out a way to have more home Bible studies during the week in apartments scattered around the city - be praying for wisdom for them!

English Camp

This was the first year to try out an English camp. We decided to have a 2nd camp because after 3 years of advertising and passing out invitation pretty much *everyone* in our city who is interested in studying the Bible has been contacted. So we decided to invite people to an English camp as a way to build relationships and hopefully some time in the future the friends we made would be interested in coming to the regular Bible camp. Our expectations were exceeded!! as one young man Pasha accepted Christ and almost everyone told James, 'make sure and call me next year I want to go to your regular camp.' Praise the Lord!


This is 18 year old Pasha that trusted Christ at the camp. He is from the city of Obynisk - about 45 minutes away so James and seen him only once since camp, but was happy to hear he had been reading his Bible. Please keep praying for Pasha as he is a natural leader.




On the right is 15 year old Daniel and his friend from Tajikstan. Daniel's Mother speaks English and came over to our house for a visit. They had to leave the country of Tajikstan two years ago and have very few friends here in Nara-Faminsk. We were so glad to get to know this family.



Cathi brought so many great books and teaching resources - what an answer to prayer!


Most of the group


When they weren't studying English, there was still plenty of time for games

James celebrating his 34th birthday out at camp

Changed Lives and some additional photos

The girl in the middle of this picture in the gray sweatshirt is 14 year old Katya. She had been coming to some of the Bible studies this past year, and at camp trusted Christ as her personal Savior.


This is 18 year old Lena who also accepted Christ. She's been faithfully attending the Bible studies. Please pray for her as she has a very, very difficult home situation - an alcoholic mother and they live in a government building.


Micah was a great addition to the kitchen

Making wordless book/gospel bracelets


Cathi from Kansas sharing her testimony. Having help from the States was just an incredible, huge help!! and such an answer to prayer. Be praying people can come over next summer!

James was impressed with Micah's chainsaw skills

Changed lives in the city of Mitayava

Two years ago at summer camp a 13 year old named Julya was saved. Her grandmother lived in Nara-Faminsk, but Julya was from the city of Mitayava - a closed military city almost 2 hours away. The past two years Julya came to the Bibles studies every chance she could; sometimes traveling 5 hours round-trip. (there is no church or small group meeting in her entire city). This past Christmas she asked James & Chris Brudi if they would come out and go sledding and then talk to a group of her friends. James took a van load of youth out to Mitayava and was suprised to see huge brick walls and barbed wire everywhere. He drove through 2 different check-points then to the large *mountain* to go sledding. (it's a grass covered missle silo!! :) Afterwards they went back to Julya's apartment where 20-so of her friends crowded in to hear James & Chris share... James said it was an amazing experience as they were so eager to hear anything about the Bible. James wanted to go back to Mitayava and then found out it is completely forbidden for anyone with a foreign passport to enter the city. The guards at the two checkpoints just assumed James was Russian and didn't ask to see his passport - if they would have know he was in their city James could have been arrested. So unfortunatly, James has never had a chance to go back to do more evangelization in the city. But Julya continued to read the Bible with several of her friends and also handed out invitations to the summer camp - and 7 different youth ended up coming to camp! The neatest thing was that her older brother Eliya decided to come... and yes as an answer to Julya's many prayers her brother accepted Christ as his personal Savior! (picture of Eliya above)


Here is Julya (on the right) again with her friend Lena.


Both Lena and Olga because Christians

Changed Lives - Lena & Katya

This is Lena age 14. Her Dad left the family when she was a baby and she was raised by her Mom and Grandmother. After camp, Lena's Mom decided to give Lena over to the state-run orphanage, so Lena moved just last week to live there. This is the orphanage that James goes to teach an English lesson every week, so we hope he'll have a chance to be a positive influence in her life. We're praying that the orphanage director would allow James to hold a Bible class in addition to the English lessons. Please pray for Lena; she is such a sweet girl but I know the difficult life that she will be faced with at the orphanage.




Here is 15 year old Katya (on the right) and Cathi from Kansas that came over to help. This was the first time for Katya to come to camp, and the first time in her life she had read a Bible and heard anything about Jesus. She has also been faithfully coming to the weekly Bible studies.

Changed Lives - Valara & Alyosha

Valara is 14 years old and lives with his Mother, his parents divorced when he was a baby. His Mom works every long hours and Valara used to spend most of his time hanging out in his apartment entryway smoking and drinking alcohol. On the last night of camp Valara came forward and said he wanted to put his faith in Jesus Christ. Please pray for Valara that his faith and character would grow; he has been faithfully attending the Sunday afternoon and Wednesday evening Bible studies.




The young man 3rd from the left in the hat is 18 year old Alyosha. This year was the first time he had been to camp, and the first time he had ever seriously studied the Bible. The last night of camp he prayed to receive Christ. A few days after camp ended two policemen showed up at his door to search the apartment and ask his Mother lots of questions about the camp. It scared his parents to the point they've asked him not to come to the weekly Bible studies. As disappointed as we were about this chain of events, it is neat to see that Alyosha is still reading his Bible for himself. He told James that the camp was a complete turning point in his life and that he has made many changes in his life since returning home.

Changed Lives - Ksenya's Story

Below is a picture of 16 year old Ksenya or 'Susha' as everyone calls her. This was her first time at camp, and she had never read a Bible or heard anything about Jesus before she came. Micah led her to the Lord one morning and it's a much better story to hear Micah tell it.. so here's part of her e-mail.

Not knowing what time it is I look over at the clock and see that its 6 AM. I immediately thought ok going right back to bed. As I'm laying there I get this urge to get up and read my Bible. But I was so tired so I didn't. About 5 minutes passed and I couldn't go back to sleep. I was tired but it my life depended on it I couldn't fall back asleep. I felt like the Lord was telling me to get out of the bed and read my Bible. So I said ok Lord, maybe you want me up. So I roll out of bed and grab my Bible. I find a log and sit down. I opened the Bible to psalms (random spot) and the first verse I see is "The lord determines the steps of the righteous" I instantly thought ok lord, maybe you have something in store for me this morning. a minute later Susha comes up behind me and asks me what am I doing. Now these kids don't get up until we wake them up so it was VERY unusual for one of them to be up on their own. Especially at 6 in the morning! I say "I'm just reading my Bible, do you have one?" She said no. Immediately after asking me that she asked me if I wanted to have some tea. I said sure. So we went over the the kitchen area and made tea. I felt the Lord telling me to witness to her. I instantly knew this is what God got me out of bed for. I asked her why she was up so early. She just said well, I have a cough and it woke me up. I prayed a quick prayer asking the Lord to give me the right words. As we sat down I looked at her and said "Susha, if you were to die today do you know where you would go" She said no. I said well, you can know. and ya'll it was amazing!!! God gave me verse after verse to share with her. I began really talking to her about becoming a christian and how amazing a life with God can be! Her eyes were huge. I knew she was taking it all in and I was getting so excited! She then said "before this camp my heart was not opened to the Lord, but now its open and I want to ask him in my heart, right now" I about started crying when I heard that! I was amazed that God answered my prayer, and how fast he did it too! To think I was doubting God. God showed himself so strong that morning! So back to Susha... I asked her if she wanted to pray with me and ask the Lord in her heart, with a big smile she said yes. I grabbed her hands and we prayed. Her prayer was so beautiful. As I sat there praying with h er I was so amazed at God. How we plans things...how we allows things to happen to show how big he is. When we finished praying and Susha looked up at me there was something different in her eyes. She looked so much happier. We continued to talk about how God can change a life and how no matter how much sin we come with God can wipe it away. Hearing her share about how she didn't want anything to do with Christ before this camp and how now she wants to live a life with him was so encouraging. We talked for about 2 hours, it was awesome! God taught me so much through that experience. I'll never forget it.

Camp Report

I especially love this first picture.. it's so neat to think that some of these young people had never in their life read a Bible until they came to camp.

Yes we are still alive!

Well it's been forever.. we've had an interesting couple of weeks since camp. First our computer crashed which was so much fun to deal with - I never knew it was possible to have over 1100 viruses on your computer (this is WITH the latest Norton whatever anti-virus protection installed on the computer). So we are back in the world of cyber communication and I really.really.will get camp pictures uploaded.

One thing to pray about - a few days after the English camp ended we found out that the police were visiting the homes of almost every young person that had gone to the two different camps. In some cases the police stayed in their apartment for hours, searched through things and kept asking, 'what did they do to you? What did they feed you? Did you drink anything strange? etc. etc. We spent a tense few days expecting a police visit here at our home, but they never arrived. It has been very frustrating because technically the police are calling the Baptists here in Russia a *cult*, but technically in the laws they are given the freedom of religion etc. So anyway, James tried to talk with several of the parents and every single one was very grateful and thanked James for the camp. We are really praying that the police visits will not deter any of the youth from being allowed to come to the weekly Bible studies.

In family news - Caleb celebrated his 3rd birthday on the 11th!! I can't believe how grown up he is.. such a little man. The kids are doing great. We did have quite a traumatic experience Saturday - James was gone to the Pastor's meeting in Moscow so I took the kids for a walk. We were walking down the sidewalk when we heard a crash - I turned around to see that a large 18 wheeler type truck had gone up onto the curb and struck a baby in a stroller. The vehicle behind the truck just happened to be an ambulance so all we saw was the Mother yelling 'you killed my baby' as she ran with her child and jumped into the ambulance. When James got home that evening I told James I couldn't sleep until I knew if the baby was okay - so James said he'd go down to the hospital and check. (what James does for his poor emotional wife! :) Anyway, he found out the baby had miraculously survived (the stoller was completely crushed under the wheel) with only a concussion and scrapes. James then decided to go to the store and bought them a nice stroller. When he returned to the hospital with the stoller the other visitors had left the room and he got a chance to sit and talk with the parents for quite a while. Anyway, it was neat to see how God turned a traumatic experience for the kids (Rachel especially was very upset about the whole thing) and turned it into a way to share Christ with this family.

Camp Update - INCREDIBLE!

Here's Tabitha doing a craft with the girls



Well James and the four girls (we've nicknamed them the Florida Girls) arrived back safe & sound from camp. They said it was amazing, incredible and God was very much working in people's lives!! Thank you so very much for praying! Everyone was so exausted that they pretty much ate, took veerrryyyyy long showers :) and slept & slept - so I haven't heard lots of stories yet - but will post more later. They had just one day to rest and then on Saturday they headed back out to camp for a five day English camp.

James said he counted 56 different youth that came to the camp (some came just a few days then left). This was more than we were expecting and James was excited to see that many of the youth that came were friends of the ones that got saved last summer. Micah (from FL) did have one incredible story of how she got up early one morning and was reading her Bible when someone came over and starting asking all sorts of questions. The young lady ended up praying to receive Christ with Micah! Cathi from Kansas is flying home tomorrow so please pray for protection as she travels (and Chris as he drives her to the airport). James, the Florida girls, and Summer Baird from Oregon will be coming back tomorrow evening and I can't wait to hear all their stories and see more pictures after they get a good 12 hours of sleep in them. One thing James did have time to share with me was one of the youth came up to James the last night and said 'Thank you James, if you had never come to Russia I would have never know anything about God or had a reason to live.' Just hearing that one little story (for me personally) made all the work and preparation of the last two months just melt away. Just one neat answer to prayer.. one afternoon we had a terrible violent thunderstorm and heavy rain for several hours - I called James to warn him it was headed his way - then the kids & I got down and really prayed that God would not let any rain fall on the camp.. the next morning I called James and he said they saw lightning and heard thunder all night but not one drop of rain fell at the camp during the night (but it rained for several hours in the town only 10 miles away!) Okay I promise to write more soon!

Birthday celebration at camp!

Well today is James' birthday so to celebrate I loaded up the kiddos and two very large cakes and drove out to camp.. what a fun fun FUN day! The kids were so excited to see Daddy again, visit in his tent (so fascinating!) go swimming, get to ride on a boat AND tube, and best of all (for David at least) get to shoot a BB pellet gun! He kept telling everyone he was 'the Lone Stranger'! (in case you don't know who that is.. he is somehow related to the Lone Ranger:)

Please be praying as the camp is going very well, but it takes lots of energy to keep 49 youth fed, learning and occupied. James looked pretty exausted and said that 'he was now officially too old to do this anymore' Ha! Cathi, Megan, Micah & Tabitha have been a huge help and the youth have enjoyed hearing their testimonies and practicing their English with them. Please continue to pray for physical protection and strength, continued good weather, and most of all that God would work in these lives. We really covet your prayers for the next few days!!

PLEASE be praying!

Okay what a week we've had!! We are used to having everything fall apart the day before camp begins... but when the chaos ensues it's still unexpected - if that makes sense...

Anyway, camp was to begin Saturday morning - late Friday night a terrible storm blew in - the temperature dropped 35 degrees and incredible winds blew four of the tents down. When we woke up Saturday morning it was 42 degrees! and many of the parents were calling concerned it was too cold/wet to start the camp. So James decided to delay until Monday (the weather forcast for all of next week is great!). So Saturday James, Cathi, and about 7 other youth went out to camp to help set up and make sure everything is ready and then camp will officially begin on Monday. (does this make sense?? :)

We have about 42 youth planning on going so please be praying - that is a lot of people to be camping out in tents beside a lake.

Here's a newsletter I typed up and then decided to just send out the regular newsletter in a month with pictures from camp. So, this newsletter has lots of mistakes, run-on sentences etc.. but at least it's information :)

Dear praying friends & family,

Summer and sunshine have finally arrived! Here's an update of the past few months...

Easter Outreach:
The week before Easter James & Andrei spent several days passing out the Gospel of John with a special Easter message on the cover. They spent one whole afternoon talking with a group of ten young men from Armenia about the Bible; they were very open and receptive and thanked them afterwards for taking the time to answer their questions. Two of the young men they met are planning to come to the summer camp. While James was standing on the street passing out tracts he just *happened* to see the Director of the nearby orphanage - the one where we do a Christmas program and give out gifts every year. He had told the Director if she ever needed any help to please contact him... as they were talking she mentioned that some of the older youth at the orphanage really needed help with their English and could James possibly come by once a week to tutor them. So James started spending every Thursday afternoon tutoring and talking with about 11 youth. The first time he went he was walking down the hall of the orphanage trying to find the Director when he heard "JAMES" being yelled down the hallway; he turned around and saw 15 year old Katya that had gone to summer camp last year. When James asked her why she was now living in an orphanage she told him that in January she was very sick and hospitalized for two months. She kept waiting for her parents to pick her up from the hospital but they never came to see her. Finally she discovered they had sold their apartment and moved away and told a neighbor to tell Katya they 'couldn't take care of her anymore.' She had no idea how to even contact them so she was now a ward of the State. When she finished telling James she then added, "When I was laying there in my hospital bed all I could think about was next summer when I could go to your camp again." It made me realize just how much the love and attention these youth receive at the summer camp means in their lives.

A Few Good Men:
One thing we have prayed for was the chance for James to really disciple a few men who could in turn be the leaders of the Bible studies and Youth Center. God has answered this prayer this winter as two young men Sasha - a 22 year old who grew up in an orphanage and was saved three years ago - began to take a more active part and begin seriously studying the Bible on his own and with James. Also Sergei - who was saved at last year's summer camp - told James he wanted to be more involved in ministry and evangelization. Sergei began witnessing to the people he worked with at the factory and also going on Saturday to an orphanage on the other side of Moscow to do a program with a group from YWAM (Youth with a Mission). Please pray for Sasha and Sergei to grow in their faith and become leaders - something that is very difficult for a man to do in this culture.

Prayer Requests:

We've got lots!!
-Summer Camps - July 1st - 10th
- July 13th - 17th (special English camp)
- July 19th - 29th (with Pastor Andrei from Mozhaisk)

-Traveling safety for the team that is coming to help at the camps: Chris Brudi, Micah, Megan, Tabitha and Cathi.

-Spiritual and physical protection for those at the camp. Pray that God will WORK! in these hearts and lives.

-Sanity (!!) and protection for Susan as she home-schools Rachel and takes care of the homefront while James is away. It's of course a non-optional law of the universe that as soon as your husband walks out the door for an extended absence that everything immediately breaks down, explodes or somehow disintigrates in your home. :)

-Please pray that in all we say and do our lives will glorify Jesus Christ. We need such wisdom and feel so very inadequate. I constantly cling to the promise God has given us, 'Faithful is HE that calleth you who also will do it.' We know God has called us to live out our life here in Russia so we know HE will accomplish the endeavors He has put on our heart to undertake.

Our deepest thanks and gratitude to all those praying and giving to meet our needs. I sometimes think about how wonderful it will be in heaven to introduce you to Sergei & Sasha & Katya and all the others who will be rejoicing around the throne of God because of your prayers and faithfulness! May God richly bless each of you!

Grace & Peace,
James, Susan, Rachel, David, Caleb & Johanna Joy