November 09

Luke 2:10-11 and the angel said unto them, fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

Praise the Lord for the Birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus came for ALL.

We want to say thank you to all the people who pray for us on a regular basis. We could not live here without the support of prayer partners like you. Also, there is the reality of giving that keeps us on field. Without the funds that are made available to us through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering we could not live where we live and serve the Lord in Kamchatka. The Christmas season is the time of year that the majority of our supporters will give to International Missions through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Last year the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering did not reach the set goal. In fact the LMCO was short several million dollars. Because of the decrease in budget many changes have occurred over the past year and many people who feel called to the foreign field will be unable to go. The task at hand is larger than any one person but with a combined effort and the guidance of our Lord and Savior we can reach the ends of the earth. Please take time and ask the Lord how you can pray, give and go to help spread the Gospel around the world.

Here are a few statistics from our European Affinity Group:

EUROPEAN AFFINITY STATISTICAL HIGHLIGHT

Total population 778,795,029
Unreached People Groups (UPGs) 662

Unreached Population 636,552, 281

Unengaged UPGs, over 100,000 population 41

Mark Edworthy, leader of the European Affinity, states to the missionaries across Europe, “While we are certainly facing a difficult year ahead, there is also much that should encourage and embolden us. Earlier this month, we shared with trustees our annual report on the previous year’s work. Last year, you and your national partner’s implemented church planting strategies among 1,159 people groups and 208 major urban centers. 93 people groups and 34 urban centers were newly engaged during the year. Particularly encouraging were reports of more than 11,000 new outreach groups, more than 500,000 baptisms, and more than 24,000 new churches!”

The holiday season is here. We want to take a moment and wish everyone a Merry Christmas Season. The Thanksgiving festivities have ceased and Emma and Suzanne are ready to put up our Christmas tree. I expect that to take place later on today, December 1, 2009.

Family: It seems as if this month has “flown” by. That is probably due to the traveling that we had to take part in to renew our visas and get driving documents in order. We traveled to Seoul, South Korea and received our new Russian visa, spent 2 nights in Vladivostok, Russia, 2 nights in Petropavlovsk, Russia and traveled to and from the village. We were back in the village only a couple of days when Marty had to take the bus back to the city to get our vehicle documents in order. Praise the Lord after 2 weeks of traveling we are back in the village with ALL documents in order. I honestly believe one must live here in order to understand all the paperwork that must be done. This is certainly one of my (Marty) struggles that you can pray about. I don’t enjoy the document processing and being very dependent on a Russian native to help with the processing.

We had a great time celebrating our first Thanksgiving in Esso. We managed to find a turkey in the city and bring it back to the village for our traditional meal. We had turkey, dressing and all the trimmings including many Russian dishes prepared by our friends. We had 15 people crammed into our living room/dining room for our meal. A great time indeed!

Everyone always wants a weather report especially if they are from MS. So, how’s the weather in Esso? We have plenty of snow and more will come, temperatures are usually high 15 below zero and low 35 below zero. The lowest temperature we have experienced thus far 37 below zero. Weather that cold is very strange to a MS boy especially when his mustache freezes on his face.

Ministry Opportunities: During our travels this month we were able to share the Gospel in Seoul, South Korea, join a small group Bible Study in Vladivostok and in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka, preach and teach in Esso and have dinner guests in our home. Our territory was wide spread and God used us where we were for His purpose. Praise the Lord for opportunities.

Language: Suzanne and I take 9 hours of language a week. 3 hours a day, 3 times a week. We have come a long way in 2 years but still have a long way to go in the language learning process. Please continue to pray for our language ability.

School: Lee and Emma are doing very well in their studies. Emma has found a new love for science and each week our kitchen turns into a lab for the latest experiment. Of course, Suzanne also loves science and this makes for a great class. Emma also loves geography and can name the 50 states and capital cities of each. Lee has maintained a great GPA this term and is really enjoying the Bible program. He is using a DVD program with books and enjoys the majority of his teachers. His guitar ability has flourished this year and he now plays the guitar at all of our worship services in the village.

Prayer Request:
Please take time each day and pray for the new law that is being pushed through Russian congress. Pray for the speed and spreading of the Gospel. (You can read more about this law on our blog at http://robertsinrussia.blogspot.com)
-Pray for {Путь к Источникy (Poot k Ee-stoch-ne-koo) - The Way to the Source Baptist Church} a church plant happening in the village of Esso.
-Pray for Edict and Eger. They have both heard the Gospel many times. Pray for their salvation.
-Pray for Sergei and his family of 4. (A new family visiting our fellowship in Esso.)
- Pray for the many visa struggles throughout Russia.
-Pray for Zhenya and his family, our Russian partner in the village. Zhenya is now working 2 jobs plus working in the church.
-Pray for Alexander (Sasha) and his family as God continues to use him in Petropavlovsk.
- Pray for the new believers in Kamchatka as they continue their walk with the Lord.
- Pray that we will be faithful to serve the Lord on a daily basis in the midst of __________ (just fill in the blanks).
- Pray for laborers. (We invite you to join us physically in the work – for more information about bringing a mission team to Kamchatka…..just ask!)
Thank you for holding the rope!!! We would love to hear from you!