Life on the Edge

New Web Site

2010-04-30T12:03:00.003+12:00

To read our newsletters, receive daily prayer requests, view pictures, take virtual prayer walks, learn about partnership missions in Kamchatka, and other information concerning Kamchatka please check out our web site at www.kamchatkaforchrist.com

Thanks for holding the rope!
The Roberts,
Marty, Suzanne, Lee and Emma Grace

May Prayer Calendar

2010-04-27T10:38:00.002+12:00

Please join us in daily, specific prayer for the peoples of Kamchatka throughout the month of May.

The Month of Prayer for Kamchatka
May 2010

2 New Churches
Currently, there are 2 Baptist churches and 1 new church plant in Petropavlovsk (PK). We’d love to see the number double annually. Please pray that new churches with an intense love for God and a vision for seeing Kamchatka come to Christ will be planted in each of the 31 districts in the city.

3 North Horizon
Pray for this small group to:
*develop into a church

*leadership to rise

*start a new group this year

4 The Fields
Less that ½ of 1% of the population of PK have a genuine relation-ship with Jesus. Please pray that this will change and many will come to know him.
Jesus said “Look!! The fields are white for harvest!”

5 Emmanuel
Emmanuel is the key church plant in PK which is serving as the model for more churches. Ask the Lord to allow the roots of this church to grow deep in Him resulting in much fruit that lasts!

6 Good News
Good News is the oldest Baptist church in Kam-chatka celebrating over 40 years. Pray that they will catch a vision that goes beyond themselves and participate in reaching the peoples of Kamchatka for Christ.

7 AZS
There are several new believers in the AZS district. Please pray that a BS group will form that will lead to a new church in this district this year!

8 Goodwill
Currently, all avenues of long term residence have been adamantly denied revealing a staunch resistance to our presence. Pray for people of goodwill to be placed in the government positions that have influence over our lives in Kamchatka.

9 Natives of Kamchatka
Please pray for the salvation of the Natives of Kamchatka—the Eveni, the Koryak, and the Chukchi. Please pray for the gospel to spread to villages inaccessible by road and isolated by distances.

10 Mil’kovo
The church in Mil’kovo is with-out a pastor but has 6 faithful ladies who continue to meet regularly. Pray that the Lord will raise up leadership. Pray for strength and encouragement for the women there.

11 Esso
Pray for the new church plant (the Way to the Source church) in Esso that they will grow spiritually and multiply.

12 Village K
Pray for the church in Village K that they will thrive and grow spiritually in the midst of the harsh climate and isolation.

13 “A” Village without a church
*95% native
*Animistic/
Shamanistic
Pray for:
*dreams & visions among the people
*the North American Native mission team ministering to this village in August that they will reap a great Harvest!

14 Villages S, Sh, L, Al, R
Pray for wisdom and vision for these villages with no churches and with no laborers working for the sake of Christ.

15 Camps
Please pray for the summer youth and adult camps and other projects engaging in evangelistic activities. Pray that villages will be open and responsive.

16 Sasha & Tanya
Pray for Sasha as he leads Emmanuel church, trains Russian leaders, and supply preaches—all in addition to working full-time. Pray for Sasha and Tanya that God will give them full health and wisdom in ministry and family.

17 Future Leaders
Please pray for these future church leaders in Kamchatka:
*Yuri
*Misha
-*Igor
*Dennis
*Sasha
*Sergei

18 Putnams
Pray for the Putnam family that they will experience His grace as they lead in church planting and leadership training in the city. Pray for strength as they renew visas every 90 days.

19 Roberts
The Roberts finish their first term on the field in October. Pray that God will give them a fruitful first summer in Esso and that they will finish well.

20 Valodya and Nadezheda
As Valodya seeks to lead the Good News church, please pray for an increasing love for God in his heart, a clear under-standing of the Word, and the ability to com-municate the Word clearly to the church.

21 Zhenya and Sveta
Please for this couple as they lead Way to the Source Church in Esso. May God grant wisdom, strength and perseverance as they:
*raise 3 kids
*he works 2 jobs
*desire to plant
churches across
Kamchatka.

22 WANTED
Wanted: Volunteers and Full-Time laborers

Ask the Lord to send laborers into the fields of Kamchatka to help with:
*evangelism
*logistic coord.
*church planting
*church camps
*construction
*leadership training

23 Volunteer Teams
The first of 2010 volunteer teams will arrive this week. Teams will come and depart throughout the year. Please pray for quick adjustment to the time and culture. Please pray for safety and a spiritual harvest as they travel around the city and villages engaging in evangelism and Bible distribution.

24 Appointments
We are looking for open hearts and open homes. Please pray for divine appoint-ments with people who are ready to be saved and willing to open their apartments and homes in the city and villages to study the Bible.

25 Translators
Please pray that the translators that will be helping our teams will accurately communicate the gospel and will be faithful in serving in this role.

26 Weather
Ask the Lord to provide nice sunny days that will bring lots of people outside while the volunteer teams are here.

27 No Trouble
Ask the Lord to shield and protect the volunteer teams from any trouble from local opposition.

28The Multitudes
Please pray that God will save the multitudes! Please pray that churches will be planted across Kamchatka and many strong followers of Christ will emerge!

29 The Continued Vision
Please pray for:
*volunteers to spread the vision of world missions
*a prompt and precise follow-up to newly found contacts
*A thriving, multiplying church in every district in the city and every village in Kamchatka!

Thanks for holding the rope!

February & March 2010

2010-03-29T00:46:00.002+12:00

Matthew 9: 37-38 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.

Here is another great way you can help send laborers into His harvest in Kamchatka.

Joel Strahan, former pastor of Ingram Baptist Church and now singer, songwriter, missionary has written 10 songs that are being released this month. While in the states I obtained a copy of the CD from Joel and it is an awesome CD. Listening to the CD will challenge you through song and worship to “GO”, pray for God “To Stir These Waters” and for the Church to “Arise.” If you like contemporary style Christian Music you will be very pleased with this CD. Now, here is the great part. All the proceeds from this new album will be used to send teams to Kamchatka. Here is some information from Joel about the CD:

Hey Guys,
I just wanted to let everyone know that I am ordering a batch of CD's that will be here in two weeks. If you would like a CD, please go to the following link to reserve your copy. This will help me know how many we need initially. Remember, the profits from the CD sales are used to send short-term mission teams to Kamchatka, Russia. The first team leaves on July 8. If you reserve a copy through this website, you will get your CD for $12 (12% discount). http://www.thenowweekly.com/reserve-a-cd.html
The following link will give you a short overview of the songs on the CD if you haven't already heard them: http://presskit.weebly.com
Thanks,
Joel

Family: WOW….I am writing a newsletter that covers February and March. In February we traveled to the states for visa renewal and some vacation time. It was great to see our family and friends despite having the H1N1 virus, better known as swine flu. I guess the Lord knew I (Marty) needed some rest and the only way I would slow down was to put me to bed. Lee also had a smaller case of the virus and Suzanne was sick on the return trip and is just now reaching full recovery. Thanks for praying for our health.

We were very excited to be able to speak in 11 different locations about what God is doing in Kamchatka. A very special thanks to all the churches who hosted us, to all the people who came to our aid, offering vehicles, gifts, attending birthday parties and joining us as new prayer partners for Kamchatka. We are truly blessed to have faithful “Rope Holders” like you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
We returned to Kamchatka almost running…in fact we had to run through every airport and missed a flight on the trip to the USA and also on the return trip due to weather and late planes. We are very thankful to be back in Esso and as soon as we returned we had ministry opportunities awaiting us.

Ministry Opportunities: Once we landed in PK and spent one night there with the Putnam’s we made the drive to the village and got our registration processed the next day. We arrived in the village on Monday and Saturday made a 150 mile drive to the village of Milkovo to join Team PK and Emmanuel Church in an evangelism project. While in Milkovo Mesha, the young man being baptized that many of you saw on the slide show while we were in the states, led his first person to the Lord on the streets of Milkovo. Praise the Lord! ONE + WON = MULTIPLICATION.

Here are a few stats from the Milkovo project.
Total
Total People Engaged 69
Received Bible – for the first time. 32
Heard Full Gospel Presentation 31
Accepted Christ 3
Blow Offs – would not listen. 16

We joined the Church in Milkovo for Sunday services and had a great time of worship. After the service many of the church members went back out on the streets with us to experience street evangelism first hand. By the close of the evening Sasha had gone back to the church and trained many of the people in evangelism. Pray for this church as they seek a pastor. Pray also they will continue to reach out to the people in Milkovo with the Gospel Message.

We left Milkovo on Sunday evening and made the drive back to the village. Early Monday morning we began to prepare for the Spring Camp in Esso. The teens from Village “A” arrived in Esso on Monday evening. One of our prayer requests has been for God to open a door of ministry to us in Village “A.” There is currently no church in that village. Seven of the native teens in that village contacted Zhenya and wanted to have camp in Esso during spring break. We went to work to make it happen. The Putnam family made the drive to the village to help us with this camp. There were seven great youth who came and attended the camp. We built relationships with them throughout the week and on Thursday night four of them gave their lives to Christ. Praise the Lord! How great is our God! We took the teen’s home on Saturday and they called us on Sunday still excited about camp. We are seeking a place and time to start meeting with them soon. Pray for the new believers as they return to their village to face many obstacles that could hinder their faith. Pray for open doors as we attempt to pursue opportunities in that village.

I, Marty, am writing this newsletter late Sunday night March 28, 2010. On Monday the 29th I will leave the village again and drive to PK to catch a flight to Vladivostok on Tuesday. I will be in Vladivostok for a week attending a team strategy leader training meeting. We will have one day focused on ministry to engage people on the streets of Vladivostok. Pray for open hearts to hear the Gospel, an effective meeting, safe travel, and for my family while I am away.

Language: As some of the “old timers” use to say, “We just keep plugging along.” Suzanne and Marty study with a tutor 3 hours a day, 3 times a week. Our tutor has also started staying late and helping Lee and Emma for an additional 30 minutes each day. While in the states, we purchased several new Russian workbooks that we believe will strengthen our language abilities. Pray for us as we continue to study language.

School: Once we returned to Esso Lee and Emma buckled down once again and even studied on Saturday and Sunday before camp so that they could be servants. Lee did an awesome job leading music, playing the guitar and sharing time day and night with the campers. Emma also served helping with scrapbooking, cooking, cleaning and just being the smiling, laughing, servant hearted child that she is.

Lee’s favorite subject is guitar and geography. Emma has a love for science and history. She loves turning our kitchen into a science lab. Pray for them as they study. Suzanne has the remainder of the year scheduled and the kids are anxious to finish school so that they can be fully involved with the mission teams that will be coming to Kamchatka this summer.

Prayer Request:
If you are not receiving our Thursday prayer updates please let your prayer representatives at your church know this and he or she can forward them to you.
-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 the TSL meeting in Vladivostok and the day of ministry there.
-Pray for the new believers in Village “A” and for an open door in that village.
-Pray for Zhenya and his family as God continues to use him in Esso and the surrounding villages.
-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!)
- Pray for the summer mission teams coming to Kamchatka this year. The teams are already processing paper work and spiritually preparing for their trip.

Thank you for holding the rope!!! We would love to hear from you!

Jan. 2010

2010-01-28T14:13:00.002+12:00

Please take a moment and visit this web site http://www.stirmyheart.com and click on the link Get ready to VOTE FOR "ARISE" in Tate Music Group's Artist of the Year contest!

"Arise" is the first song on Joel's new CD which will be released soon.
Joel Strahan, former pastor of Ingram Baptist Church and now singer, songwriter, missionary has written several new songs and will be releasing a new CD in Feb. The link will allow you to listen to the song “Arise” and view some video footage from Esso and Northern Kamchatka. Please take time to pass this link on to others. Joel’s desire is for this to help make others aware of the needs in Kamchatka and for the Lord to use it as a tool to open many doors. Thanks for your vote Feb. 1-5, 2010.

Psalm 61:8 So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.

Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Matthew 9: 37-38 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.

How you can become “HANDS ON” in Kamchatka? Just ask and we will begin to plan your trip.

Family: We had a great first month of 2010. We experienced very cold temperatures and snow this month. We were also able to meet and spend time with some new friends in Esso. Please continue to pray for further contacts to be made during the long winter months. Please pray that we would be wise to every opportunity that is given us.

Family time this month was spent in local activities around the village. We swam in the public hot springs many times, did some snowboarding and cross country skiing. Lee and I also took part in some men’s volleyball at the local school. Volleyball is a very serious sport in the village and they are good at it.

The family also spent some time planning our trip to the USA. Below is our schedule for our time in the states. We hope to see many of you while we are there and we are very excited about getting to see our families again. Please pray for us as we travel and speak at several different locations while in the states. We will also be meeting with a couple of the mission teams for 2010.

February – March
• Feb 11, travel to USA for visa renewal and vacation
• Feb 14 am – Preaching at Light House Baptist (New Albany, MS)
• Feb 14 pm – visiting our home church – Wheeler Baptist
• Feb 21am & pm – preaching and mission team meeting at Malesus Baptist Church (Jackson, TN)
• Feb 28 – Woodland Baptist Church (Pontotoc, MS)
• March 7 – (Journey) Church plant in Olive Branch, MS and mission team meeting.
• March 9 – preaching at Food Pantry, (Baldwyn, MS)
• March 11 - Back to Far East Russia

How long does it take to travel from Esso to Mississippi? First 8 to 10 hour drive from Esso to PK. Overnight in PK, fly from PK to Moscow (9 hours in air), overnight in Moscow, fly from Moscow to Stockholm (2 hours in air), Stockholm to Chicago (10 hours in air), Chicago to Memphis (2 hours in air) and then a 2 hour drive to MS (total 76 hrs with all transfers and layovers). Pray for us as we travel in just a few days.

Ministry Opportunities: Thank you for continuing to pray for the new church plant in the village, Путь к Источникy (Poot k Ee-stoch-ne-koo) - The Way to the Source Church. The Church grew spiritually this month. The nationals wanted to start meeting on Thursday nights in the village for prayer. It was very exciting this month to watch God work in the hearts of the few believers in Esso as they prayed for one another and for their lost friends and family. Many prayers were also lifted up for you. The believers here are very excited that people around the world are praying with them. For that reason we started emailing the Thursday night prayer requests to our prayer representatives at each church. If you would like to get these requests and have not been just ask the prayer representative at your church and he or she can forward them to you. Please keep holding the rope for us and with us.

We were able to travel to a village north of Esso this month and hold service there. The small village “K” has a handful of believers who meet weekly. There are about 10 women, 3 grandchildren, and one man who regularly meet. They were very excited to have us come and fellowship with them. Zhenya and his family traveled with us. Zhenya and I (Marty) preached while Suzanne, Emma, Lee and Sveta sang. After the service we shared a meal with them and then drove back to Esso. Please pray for village “K” as we learn how we can be a partner and help mate to them.

We were also excited to have several English, Russian speaking Germans in our home this month. Most of them are college age students and are currently in Esso on an exchange program working with the nature park. Pray that this bridge will become stronger, that they will fully understand and believe the Gospel, and that it will open up other doors to minister to the natives of Kamchatka.

Language: As some of the “old timers” use to say, “We just keep plugging along.” Suzanne and Marty study with a tutor 3 hours a day, 3 times a week. Our tutor has also started staying late and helping Lee and Emma for an additional 30 minutes each day.

School: Lee and Emma have been doubling up on some subjects this month in order to be ahead once we travel to the states. They will have school while we are in the states but have worked ahead enough to only take about half of their books to the USA. Pray that they stay focused the next couple of weeks and are able to work ahead as planned.

Prayer Request:
If you are not receiving our Thursday prayer updates please let your prayer representatives at your church know this and he or she can forward them to you.-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 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!)
- 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)

Thank you for holding the rope!!! We would love to hear from you!

December

2010-01-05T17:04:00.002+12:00

Wow! As the old saying goes, “time sure flies when you are having fun.” It’s almost hard to believe that 2009 has gone and 2010 has arrived. Just a couple of years ago when leaving the USA for Russia we looked forward to 2010 because that would be the year we would return to the states to start our state side assignment. Although our stateside assignment does not begin until the last day of October 2010 it will be upon us very soon. We have already calendared many speaking opportunities from Nov. 2010 – April 2011, if would like for us to come and share with your church about missions in Kamchatka please contact us soon due to limited dates.

While taking some time to reflect on 2009 and think about 2010 I was reminded of the words Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Philippi. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 3: 13-14).

Throughout 2009 the Roberts family has faced some difficulties and celebrated some triumphs while serving in Far East Russia. We thank you for holding the rope for us throughout the year. We praise the Lord for every high and low as we learned and are still learning every step of the way. Please remain faithful to pray for us throughout 2010 as we attempt to press on for His honor and glory!

Below is just a snapshot of 2010 before we leave on stateside assignment in October. Please pray that we finish our first term in Russia well.
January
• Lee returns to Kamchatka from youth camp in Germany.
• 2nd week preaching and singing in Kazarevsk, a village 150 KM North of Esso.
• End of January – First of February – Joint mission project in Milkovo with Team PK. (220 KM south of Esso).
• Ministering in Esso and other northern villages.

February - March
• Feb 11, travel to USA for visa renewal and vacation
• Feb 14 – Preaching at Light House Baptist (New Albany, MS)
• Feb 21 – preaching and mission team meeting at Malesus Baptist Church (Jackson, TN)
• Feb 28 – Woodland Baptist Church (Pontotoc, MS)
• March 7 – Church plant in Olive Branch, MS and mission team meeting.
• March 9 – preaching at Food Pantry, (Baldwyn, MS)
• March 11 - Back to Far East Russia

April
• Ministering in Esso and other Northern villages

May
• Kids complete home school for the year
• Prepare for summer mission teams
• Ministering in Esso and other Northern villages
• 1st mission team arrives last of May

June
• 1st week mission teams
• Second week leave Russia for visa renewal and Annual General Meeting
• Last week – return to Russia – prepare for next mission team arrival

July
• 1st week – mission team arrives
• 3rd week – youth camp and float trip in Esso

August
• Mission team from Canada arrives.
• Ministering in Esso and Northern villages.
• Follow up
• Kids start home school

September
• Ministering in Esso and Northern villages
• Follow-up
• Leave Russia for visa renewal

October
• Ministering in Esso and Northern Villages
• Preparing to leave for state side assignment
• Head to the states.
• We will post our states side speaking calendar at a later date which will define the remainder of 2010 and a large portion of 2011.

Family: Our family enjoyed another very white Christmas. We were blessed to be able to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ with 12 Russian guests. Suzanne baked up some yummy favorites and everyone wanted her recipes. We all ate too much and laughed a lot, especially when the Russian men took over the BB pistols and started a target shooting tournament in the house.

We brought the New Year in while in Petropavlovsk waiting for Lee to return from Germany. Lee was able to travel to Germany and attend MKR (Youth Camp) for missionary teen agers. He came back home refreshed and excited. We are very grateful for all the people who volunteered their time and gave funds to make this possible for our teens.

Both the kids and the grownups enjoyed a break from home school and language school.
Marty and Lee had the opportunity this month to take in a day of ice fishing. It was a new experience for them. They enjoyed it very much after they thawed out. While ice fishing they witnessed a volcano explode. You can see pictures of this on our face book page. It was a cool demonstration on just how powerful this land is and how much more powerful is the Creator.

Ministry Opportunities: This month we celebrated the opening of the new church plant in the village, Путь к Источникy (Poot k Ee-stoch-ne-koo) - The Way to the Source Church. We celebrated Christmas during our first service with singing, 2 messages, a Christmas play, and dinner after the service. We were very excited to have 31 in attendance for the opening of the new church. Praise the Lord! Please pray that the church will grow and flourish in Christ.

We were able to host Russians in our home on different occasions throughout the month of December.

During our time in Petropavlovsk we were able to attend a worship service at Good News Baptist Church. We also met with a few people in the city at different times to encourage and pray with them.

We praise the Lord for the opportunities to share the simple Gospel message with others. Please continue to pray for open doors and open hearts.

Language: We were able to take a couple of days off from formal language class. Although we use the Russian language daily a break from class work is always refreshing. Sometimes the language flows easily for us and other days it feels like we are in a survival situation. 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 were both excited for Christmas Vacation from school. Both did very well the first semester and will start the second semester January 6, 2010. Please pray that they will finish well in their studies.

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!

November 09

2009-12-01T17:10:00.002+12:00

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!

October 09

2009-10-28T12:30:00.002+12:00

Please allow me this month to take a brief moment to update you on the happenings in Esso and our family. My desire is over the next month you will focus on the prayer request that takes up the majority of this month’s newsletter. Thank you so much for partnering with us through prayer. Holding the Rope is a vital part of our team. Thanks!

Family: The family is doing great and getting excited about the snowfall. Lee and Emma are anticipating the day they are able to strap on the snowboards and take off. If the snow keeps falling like it is today it will not be long. Lee has constructed a snowboard ramp in the side yard and looks forward to using it. Pray for no broken bones and teens to show up and use the ramp.
Nov. 11 we will be flying to Seoul, Korea for visa renewal. Please pray that our travel and re-entry are normal and without problems.

Ministry Opportunities: Please continue to pray for us as we learn how to minister to people in the village during the winter months. Winter creates shorter, colder, darker days. Many people are not out and about much during the hard winter. Pray that we will find creative ways to meet people during this time.
The construction continues on the church in Esso. Please pray that we will have the upstairs opened with heat installed before the hard weather. We continue to meet in a home every Sunday for worship.

Language: Suzanne and I study language 3 hours a day, 3 days a week. Just when you think you understand a little more….well, I (Marty) usually find a setback. Pray for our language skills to continue to develop.

School: Lee and Emma are doing very well in school. They both have made awesome grades and are ahead of schedule. They are looking forward to some ½ days of school while in Seoul for visa renewal.

Prayer Request:
-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 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!

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.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-2
(1) Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you.
(2) And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.

We have been asked to enter into prayer and fasting with the Russian Baptist Union regarding new legislation that is being pushed through Russian congress. Please pray that it will not pass into law. If it does, our missionary activities and the regular Christian life of Russian Baptists will be severely restricted:

1. Children under the age of 14 would not be allowed to attend church without express written permission of parents.

2. Missionaries would be restricted to preach/teach only within Baptist church buildings with a letter of permission from sending and receiving organization for the specific dates he is to preach.

3. Rehabilitation centers would be shut down. No Baptists could work in orphanages or other places of ministry outside the church building.

4. Baptist churches would not be allowed to offer ESL classes, VBS, or any other social work.

5. Preachers will have to monitor the way invitations are given so as not to appear influential.

6. Foreigners who come to be involved in any way at any time in missionary activity would have to ONLY have religious visas, not tourist or any other.

7. Even a simple Baptist church member witnessing to someone inside a public building would become a crime.
Russian Baptist reaction to new draft legislation on missionary activity

M o s c o w -- New draft legislation introduced by the Russian Ministry of Justice on 12 October will, if it becomes law, greatly curtail religious freedom in Russia. On 20 October, the “Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists” (RUECB) published an open letter signed by its President, Yuri Sipko, and addressed to Dmitry Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation. The letter states: “We observe with alarm and puzzlement the development of church-state relations. Planned changes in the law on freedom of worship will reduce that freedom to a declaratory level” present only on paper. This new legislation intends to exacerbate the already-restrictive current law “On the Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations” of 26 September 1997. Sharper legislation had been proposed previously – the present proposals are in some instances a milder form of those initially introduced in 2006.

Baptist leadership is also offended by the fact that government representatives at a roundtable of religious leaders in the Justice Ministry on 18 September, which Yuri Sipko attended, did not reveal all segments of the new draft legislation. Yet Baptists understand that the new legislation of 12 October already enjoys the approval of Russia’s four official, “traditional” religions: Russian Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. They are defined as such by the legislation of 1997. Rev. Vitaly Vlasenko, the RUECB’s “Director of External Church Relations”, believes the new laws are directed above all against Roman Catholics and Protestants – those without their own geographical territories in Russia.

This new legislation will attempt to register and regulate all forms of mission activity while also determining how it is to be carried out. Mission activity must occur without psychological pressure or the offering of material gain. Activities to the contrary will result in fines.

Proposed changes

The new draft legislation stipulates that only religious groups registered in Russia for at least 15 years will be allowed to apply for permission to engage in missionary activity. Only members of a religious organization will be allowed to evangelize, and the individual’s sponsoring body will also be held responsible for any infractions the missionary commits. But one church organization may officially delegate a member to work for another church body.

Persons excluded from engaging in missionary work include anyone ever sentenced for engaging in extremist activities and foreigners in Russia on a temporary (for ex. tourist) visa. Missionary activities must exclude all “offers of material, social and other benefits” while avoiding “any threat of physical violence, psychological pressure and manipulation of consciousness”.

Mission activity shall not occur in hospitals, orphanages or homes for invalids or the aged without the approval of government and institution officials. Such efforts may also not take place within or on the grounds of government buildings, nor in the vicinity of a religious structure of another faith. The journalist Roman Lunkin (Moscow) notes that this requirement should also trouble the Orthodox, for they have several chapels within government buildings in Moscow.

Central to the draft legislation is the stipulation that minors may not be present at religious activities – nor may they be given printed, audio or video materials - without the express permission of their parents or guardians. The Baptist response points out that requiring pastors to turn away the young flies in the face of Jesus’ commandment to “let the little children come to me and do not hinder them“ (Mark 10:14). The absurdity of such a law is backed-up with an example: “Ill-wishers can send minors to a church service and law enforcement will then fine the church for their presence. This will be a convenient and profitable way to ruin a congregation and supplement the city budget. Why should the pastor need to serve as policeman?” The paper continues: “Why should a teenager need parental confirmation to attend church when the same is not demanded from cinemas, stadiums and discos? Is a place of worship more dangerous than a secular location? This legislation wants to define religious organizations as harmful, and that is clear discrimination.”

Baptists resent being placed in the same category as foul language and property damage. The paper asks: “How can unauthorized religious activity be more malicious than a drunken uproar?”

According to the draft legislation, fines could run as high as 15.000 rubles ($517 US or 349 €) for organizations. The average Russian salary presently consists of 24.600 rubles ($848 US, 572 €) per month. The paper assures that a curtailing of missionary activity will also negatively affect the social work of Protestants. “Without missionary activities, drunkenness and the abuse of narcotics will only increase. Protestants have been involved in the rehabilitation of alcoholics and addicts with very good results. If the state begins to destroy the social ministry of churches, it will be forced to build more prisons.”

Protests against ambiguity

Baptists are worried by the ambiguity of these legal proposals. In a society known for its tendency towards anarchism, growth in the quantity of laws will generally only contribute to greater abuse of the legal system. Their statement asks, for ex: What is meant by forbidding churches to offer “other benefits” beyond material and social ones? Promising an alcoholic sobriety through church attendance could also be listed among “other benefits”. In addition, the paper states, “virtually any discussion could be defined as a form of ‘psychological pressure’”. Roman Lunkin adds that a sermon on the Last Judgment and the necessity for the forgiveness of sins could be defined as “psychological pressure” and “manipulation of consciousness”. The fine for that is 5.000 rubles ($172 or 116 €).

Baptists note that the bill does not distinguish between professional missionary activity and the conversations held by laity in the course of living their daily lives. “Practically all believers will become susceptible to penal sanction” – any one of them could be legally punished whenever the need might arise. Parallels are drawn to the cult of denunciation from the terrorist year of 1937: “The murky formulation of legislation will bring to full bloom a fat tree of possibilities for the denunciation of Christians by hostile neighbors, colleagues and acquaintances.”

Generally, the Baptist statement believes the introduction of such legislation would lead to a further moral decline of Russian society. It would also lead to greater alienation between the privileged and the non-privileged faiths, for it offers no guarantee against the renewed religious persecution of minorities. After all, in the 140 years of the Russian Baptist movement, Baptists “have experienced hardly more than 25 years of freedom”.

Not least of all, according to the Baptist paper, this new legislation would “contradict the Universal Declaration on Human Rights accepted by the United Nations and ratified by Russia”. It clearly impinges upon the freedom of the individual to believe as he or she feels fit. Such legislation would “damage the international authority of Russia”. “There is no objective necessity for a new law on missionary activity,” the paper concludes. “There is enough legislation already in place to deal with those who deceive law-abiding citizens.” On the topic of extremist and terrorist groups it adds: “We doubt that any changes to existing law will be a serious obstacle to their activities.”

Vitaly Vlasenko assures: “The RUECB is not against regulation of missionary activities per se, but we are certainly against their prohibition.” The Union will be asking its 1.750 congregations and groups to “unite for prayer and fasting”. Foreign churches are also welcome to participate. He adds that his church is interested in foreign legal expertise and would like to hear from churches who have had similar experiences in their relations with the state. Letters of concern addressed to Russian embassies worldwide are always welcome.

William Yoder, Ph.D.
Department for External Church Relations, RUECB

September 09

2009-09-24T13:52:00.002+13:00

Please take note of our new home phone number. Our internet is very slow and our Vonage phone will not work. If you would like to talk to us please buy a calling card or call us on our house phone from Skype for 2 cents per minute. We would love to hear from you. If you call from Skype you do not need to dial the 011-7, just select Russia in the country section. When you call please remember the time difference. We are 18 hours ahead of MS time.

Genesis 12: 1 Now the Lord said unto Abraham, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee.

Well, we are not the Abraham family but that is exactly how we felt several years ago. We knew the Lord was calling us out of our comfort zone to another country. We were ready but where would the Lord lead. He placed a people group on our hearts that are called The Small People of the North. They are the native peoples of Kamchatka. God has taken us on a long journey that contained many twists, turns, and learning curves to bring us to the place where we now live.

We have arrived in the northern village of Esso located in Kamchatka, Russia. We have rented a small cabin to live in and we are learning to live as the village people live. We still have much to learn about the place, people, their culture etc... However, we do feel at home. We have a peace about us that can only be explained by the peace that the Father gives. Please pray for us as we minister and proclaim the true Gospel message too many that have never heard or had an opportunity to respond to the Gospel. Please ask the Lord to give us wisdom in developing strong relationships with our new friends and neighbors.

Family: Our family is happy and healthy. We are enjoying the fresh mountain air and quietness of village life. Our kids are getting to experience the way of living as some of you might call the “old days.” Since we have been in the village we have picked an assortment of wild berries and made jam, jelly and syrup for the winter. We also have caught, canned, pickled and frozen salmon for the upcoming winter. We store all of our root vegetables in a root cellar. Our root cellar is accessed through an entry door in the floor of our home. We have a couple of green houses on our property where we can grow tomatoes, cucumbers, etc… Each day we walk to the small store and buy fresh baked bread. There are about 5 small stores in the village. Each store is about the size of an average American living room, around 250 square feet. Each store has its own special product it sells. Most of them will have several of the same things but you usually visit one store for meat, if they killed a hog that day, another for bread, another for household supplies. We praise the Lord for the experience that our children are getting. It is a great way to live for us. Pray that we adjust to the village life and learn to live as they live.

Emma Grace absolutely loves playing outside with her dog Deek now that we have wide open spaces. She and Lee take a ride on their bikes each evening across the creek and up one of the many trails. We also go swimming a couple of times each week in the hot springs. The center of the village has a rock hewn basin that is naturally fed with hot water from the thermal waters produced by the volcanoes. We enjoy a late evening swim and relaxation in the hot water.

Ministry Opportunities: Since our last newsletter we have had several opportunities for ministry. We have preached in the city and in the village. We were blessed to be able to travel back to the city and take part in baptismal service in the Pacific Ocean. This month in the city 4 believers were baptized by the church plants happening there. I am not sure but I think the water was around 45 degrees and the air temp about the same. It was cold but awesome!

Village – We have started a regular meeting in the home of Zhenya in the village. We will soon be moving our Sunday worship service to an adjacent cabin that will be used as the new church. We are planning the opening service to be held the second Sunday in October. Please pray as this takes the turn from a meeting to a church plant. Please pray for Zhenya as we help encourage him to take the lead in the new church plant.

Marty has been able to take part in some physical work/ministry this month. He has enjoyed doing AOK’s (acts of kindness) for new friends and neighbors in the village. Marty has been able to use some gifts that had been put on the back burner due to city life. Just a few hats Marty enjoyed wearing this month: mechanic, carpenter, welder, plumber and fisherman (yes you can use fishing as ministry and an act of kindness). Always be grateful for the knowledge the Lord has given you and be ready to use for His honor and glory.

We have also started a Friday night fellowship time in our home. It is a time for friends to gather, eat, discuss life, play games, laugh, pray and encourage one another. Please ask the Lord to bless this time on Fridays.

Laborers Together: We want to give a special “thank you” to all who pray for us on a regular basis. Please continue to pray and share with others about the work God is doing in Kamchatka. Take a moment to pass on our blog address and/or email address to others. You can view our blog at http://robertsinrussia.blogspot.com or email us at going.east@hotmail.com please remember that we are always excited to hear from you and answer any questions you might have about the work in Kamchatka.

Volunteer teams are needed. If you have any interest in physically joining the work in Kamchatka you are desperately needed. We already have teams that are preparing for their trip here next summer. Please know that it is impossible to plan a trip to Kamchatka in a short period of time. We suggest a year of planning and at least six months of preparation. If you are interested in how you can come to Kamchatka, help in what God is doing and are willing to have your life changed for your investment in the Kingdom don’t hesitate to contact us. The time for planning is now.

Language: Suzanne and I have resumed our structured language study. We currently have 9 hours of class time each week. We meet with our teacher in our home on Monday’s, Tuesdays and Thursdays for 3 hours each day. Please pray for us as we continue to learn a very difficult language. Pray that our pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar abilities will increase. Also pray for Suzanne as these 3 days are especially long for her. She teaches the kids school from 8 am until 2pm and then has language class from 3 to 6pm.

School: Please continue to pray for Lee and Emma. They are full swing in their home school curriculum. Lee and Emma have started the year off very well. They have had several tests and have good grades thus far. Pray for Suzanne as she teaches a 4th grader and 9th grader.

Prayer Request:
-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 the discipleship of new believers.
- Pray for the many visa struggles throughout Russia.
-Pray for Zhenya and his family, our Russian partner in the village.
-Pray for Alexander (Sasha) and his family as God continues to use him in Kamchatka.
- 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!

August 2009

2009-07-29T18:59:00.005+13:00

Prayer request from last month’s newsletter: Please pray for us specifically as we attempt to seek out a place to rent so that we might live in the village over the next 1 ½ years before we come back to the states on our state side assignment. The village is made up of about 3,500 people and will be the strategic place to live as we reach out to other adjacent villages. The village is made up of primarily small wooden houses or log cabins. Therefore, it has proven difficult for us to find a place that is for rent. The majority of the places that are open are for sale only. At the present time due to the shortage of last year’s Lottie Moon Christmas Offering buying or building is not an option for us at this time. Please pray that the Lord directs us to the person of good will that will help us in locating the exact place in which the Lord would have us to live for the next 1 ½ years. Thank you so much for making this a matter of specific prayer.

Thank you so much for praying over this matter. We made the trip to village “E” in order to continue to look for a place to move. We had looked at a couple of places earlier but they did not seem to have great potential. We simply trusted the Lord and headed north over the dirt, rocky, mountain roads. God heard your prayers and gave us a person of good will. We arrived in the village late Friday evening and prepared to sleep. We were sort of camping out there. Saturday morning with some of our Russian believers we loaded up and drove to another village north of village “E.” We slept there Saturday night and held Sunday services in that village. Sunday night we returned to Village “E.” By Monday evening we had received word that one of the houses we had looked at that was for sale might have an option to rent. Tuesday we went to meet with the owner of the house. It was as if God had already planned everything for us. The time frame, price, and all other logistics just fell into place. A special thanks to each one of you who made this a matter of special prayer. We will be traveling to Seoul, South Korea the middle of August to apply for a new Russian visa. We should return to Petropavlovsk around the 20th and then start packing up to head to the village TO LIVE the first of September. Please continue to pray that all travel, document and moving logistics will be routine.

Family: Our family is doing well and we are getting excited about moving to the village. Emma Grace asked over a year ago for a bike, a dog and her own room when we moved to the village. I know that she prayed for this more than once. God is so great that He even takes care of the minor details. As soon as we returned to the city with the assurance of moving to the village in September we went to the sport’s store in the city and purchased Emma a new bike to take to the village. Now wait, that is not the end of the story. While we were looking at the house to rent in the village and had started finalizing all the logistical matters, the owner of the home had one more question. The lady that owns the house will be moving to the city to live close to her grandchildren. She looked at Emma and said, “I want you to meet someone.” She called and around the corner came Deek, a black beautiful spaniel. Deek is 4 years old and when he rounded the corner Emma kneeled down and Deek ran straight to her. Our landlady asked Emma if she could take care of Deek. She seemed to think that he would not like the city and should continue to live in the village. Emma’s face lit up and a big smile went across her face. She said, “Mom and Dad, I got all I asked for, my own room, a dog, and maybe a new bike.” Of course she got the new bike, her own room and a black 4 year old spaniel named Deek. I was reminded of an old children’s song: “Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

We also received 4 heavy boxes from the states this week. Each box was packed full with Lee and Emma’s home school books for next year. They may not have been as excited about the books as they were the village house and moving. Take a minute and pray for their school year and their home school teacher, Suzanne.

Ministry Opportunities: We were able to travel to the villages this month. It was a great time. We visited with several people in different villages. We held services in village “K.” We met with believers in village “E.” Also, in village “E” we were able to visit a few homes and share the Gospel. One lady, I would guess in her upper 60’s maybe early 70’s, prayed to receive Christ. She had been raised in the Orthodox Church and knew about Jesus but had never understood how to have a relationship with Christ. We spent a couple of hours with her and toward the end of our meeting she said, “I want that.” She prayed and gave her life to Christ and the smile that came across her face was larger than the smile on Emma’s when she saw Deek.

We also invited Mesha, Lee’s Russian friend, to tag along with us on this trip. We were able to help do some minor construction work on the youth camp in the village, work on a future neighbors roof, and help repair some of the water lines. Mesha proved to be a hard worker.

The follow up contacts from the mission teams in the city of PK are underway. Please pray for Mesha and Tanya, Russian nationals from Emmanuel Church, as they continue to make follow up contacts this month. Pray for Sasha and his family who are out of PK at this time on vacation. They will be gone for another month. Pray that they returned refreshed.

Laborers Together: We want to give a special “thank you” to all who pray for us on a regular basis. Please continue to pray and share with others about the work God is doing in Kamchatka. Take a moment to pass on our blog address and/or email address to others. You can view our blog at http://robertsinrussia.blogspot.com or email us at going.east@hotmail.com please remember that we are always excited to hear from you and answer any questions you might have about the work in Kamchatka.

Volunteer teams are needed. If you have any interest in physically joining the work in Kamchatka you are desperately needed. We already have teams that are preparing for their trip here next summer. Please know that it is impossible to plan a trip to Kamchatka in a short period of time. We suggest a year of planning and at least six months of preparation. If you are interested in how you can come to Kamchatka, help in what God is doing and are willing to have your life changed for your investment in the Kingdom don’t hesitate to contact us. The time for planning is now.

Language: Praise the Lord!!! We passed our language exam and have been released from full time language. We will continue our language classes three days a week once we are settled in the village. Pleas pray and ask the Lord to direct us to the teacher we need in the village.

Prayer Request:
-Pray for us as we pack and plan for life in the village.
-Pray for the discipleship of new believers.
- Pray for the many visa struggles throughout Russia.
-Pray for Alexander (Sasha) and his family as God continues to use him in Kamchatka.
- 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!

July 2009

2009-07-03T07:40:00.002+13:00

Как вас зовут? (Pronounced - cock vas za-voot). This short phrase in Russian translates in English as, what is your name? But when you literally translate this statement it asks the question, how are you called?

Over the past couple of weeks I have given much thought to this statement. How are you called? We had the opportunity to travel to Athens, Greece for our Annual General Meeting (AGM) with International Mission Board (IMB). It was a time of praise, worship, meetings, and giving. I am proud to share with you that your missionaries serving across Central and Eastern Europe gave over $80,000.00 to overseas missions through our Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

One evening we had the opportunity to walk the streets of Athens and see some of the ancient structures that remain there. I thought about Acts 17 when Apostle Paul visited this very same city. I thought about all the gods and “unknown gods” of the world that are leading so many people astray. I thought about how Apostle Paul referred to himself throughout scripture. Here are a few words that Paul used when identifying himself: bond-servant, apostle, servant, steward of the mysteries of God, prisoner, minister, child of God and the list could go on and on.

Now take a moment and think of some of the ways that Jesus referred to himself. Words like: Son of Man, The Vine, The Door, The Light of the World, The Bread of Life, Living Water, and certainly this list could be expanded for pages and pages.

Acts 19:15 “and the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?’”

A thought to ponder with me: If you had to honestly, truthfully, describe yourself in a few short words……..How are you called? Как вас зовут?

Family: It seems as if the past month has been made up of only a few days. We said good-bye to our last mission team from the states and then had to immediately prepare for our 11 time zone flight to Greece. We spent ten days in Greece and then whirled back to Petropavlovsk to deal with re-registration, and the beginning of new paperwork for our next visa run which will take place in August. Please pray as these documents are being prepared.

While at AGM we were ministered to in our heart language. Please never take for granted the ability to worship with fellow believers in your heart language, your mother tongue. While at AGM, Lee was able to take part in MKR. MKR is best explained as youth camp for all the MK’s (missionary kids). Emma Grace along with her age group was provided the opportunity to take part in VBS each day, The Boomerang Express. It was a great time for our kids to worship with peers and celebrate Jesus together with their friends. Both Lee’s class and Emma’s led us in a time of Worship and celebration one night. It was awesome to see 300 youth and kids lifting up the name of Christ together. A special thanks to all the volunteers who came from the states to help lead our children during this time.

Also, while at AGM Lee and Emma were both given their achievement tests for 2009. We are very proud to report that both Lee and Emma scored in the upper percentile on a national level. In many areas Lee, our 14 year old son, was ranked at college level. We are very proud of our children not only for their test scores but how they live their lives and see themselves as a vital part of the work that God has called our family to. I am also very proud of their home school teacher, my wife, Suzanne. She fills so many roles in our family. Thanks honey!

Ministry Opportunities: During the short amount of time between the mission teams’ departures and the leaving for Greece we were invited to preach at the small church located in Yeililzo. It was an opportunity to simply brag on Jesus about the recent work He did in PK and to challenge the believers to continue to stretch their faith. Also, working with Team PK and Emmanuel Church the follow ups on the contacts made through the mission teams from the states are underway. Please continue to pray for Sasha and Emmanuel Church as they work on making contacts, setting up meetings and Bible studies. Pray that God will do a great work in Petropavlovsk during this time and give everyone the wisdom needed in taking the next steps.

Please pray for us as we will leave in the next few days on a village run. We will travel to village “E.” This trip will be the 800 mile round trip with the majority being on dirt and rock mountain roads. Please pray for us specifically as we attempt to seek out a place to rent so that we might live in the village over the next 1 ½ years before we come back to the states on our state side assignment. The village is made up of about 3,500 people and will be the strategic place to live as we reach out to other adjacent villages. The village is made up of primarily small wooden houses or log cabins. Therefore, it has proven difficult for us to find a place that is for rent. The majority of the places that are open are for sale only. At the present time due to the shortage of last year’s Lottie Moon Christmas Offering buying or building is not an option for us at this time. Please pray that the Lord directs us to the person of good will that will help us in locating the exact place in which the Lord would have us to live for the next 1 ½ years. Thank you so much for making this a matter of specific prayer.

Laborers Together: We want to give a special “thank you” to all who pray for us on a regular basis. Please continue to pray and share with others about the work God is doing in Kamchatka. Take a moment to pass on our blog address and/or email address to others. You can view our blog at http://robertsinrussia.blogspot.com or email us at going.east@hotmail.com please remember that we are always excited to hear from you and answer any questions you might have about the work in Kamchatka.

Volunteer teams are needed. If you have any interest in physically joining the work in Kamchatka you are desperately needed. We already have teams that are preparing for their trip here next summer. Please know that is impossible to plan a trip to Kamchatka in a short period of time. We suggest a year of planning and at least six months of preparation. If you are interested in how you can come to Kamchatka, help in what God is doing and are willing to have your life changed for your investment in the Kingdom don’t hesitate to contact us. The time for planning is now.

Language: Praise the Lord!!! We passed our language exam and have been released from full time language. We can now begin looking for a place to live in the village and start planning a move in God’s timing. We will continue our language classes three days a week once we are settled. Pray that God reveals to us exactly where and how we are to move north. Also, pray for us that we will be diligent to study the language on our own until we are settled in our new location.

Prayer Request:
-Pray for us as we seek housing in the village.
-Pray for the discipleship of new believers.
- Pray for the many visa struggles throughout Russia.
-Pray for Alexander (Sasha) and his family as God continues to use him in Kamchatka.
- 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!

June 2009

2009-06-12T14:29:00.002+13:00

Spurgeon once wrote, “Jesus Christ is the light to the eye, honey to the taste, music to the ear, and joy to the heart.”

Over the past three weeks we have engaged many people on the streets of Petropavlovsk and asked the question: (Кто для вас Ййсус?) Who is Jesus to you? Take a moment and ask yourself that same question. To YOU who is Jesus? I could write pages on the different answers we received. I pray that you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and have a growing relationship with the King of Kings.

We want to give a special thanks to all of you who faithfully hold the rope for us in prayer. God used you in the preparing of good soil and many of you joined the work in Kamchatka the past few weeks in a special season of prayer. Thank you! You will never know this side of heaven the impact of your prayers.

I do want to take this opportunity to invite you to join us physically in the work here. We are in desperate need for laborers to come around the world on short term and long term trips. If God has stirred your heart in this direction please contact us and let’s begin planning a trip for you. It will not only change the lives of many in Kamchatka but it will change your life as well. We are praying for laborers.

Family: Since our last newsletter we have traveled to the states for some vacation time and visa renewal. The time we had in the states with our family, friends and prayer warriors was a blessing from God. As soon as we returned to PK we started preparing for the three weeks of teams that were on the way from the states. We were blessed to be a part of this. We worked with the Putnam family and the teams from Ingram Baptist Church and Oak Hill Baptist Church. We praise the Lord for those who came and invested their time in Kamchatka: Joel, John, Patricia, Holly, Danielle, Greg, Kaila, Jeremy and Joe, thank you guys and gals for allowing the Lord to work through you in Kamchatka.

Ministry Opportunities: We joined together with Team PK and the mission teams from the states for a city wide evangelism effort. We saw God do some might things in just a short period of time. Here are the stats from the past three weeks:
Total people engaged on the streets of PK: 1,328
Total people who would not listen to the Gospel: 620
Total Bibles given to those who never had a Bible: 190
Total people that heard the true Gospel: 708
Total people who want to meet and discuss the TRUTH further: 151
Total people who prayed to receive Christ: 124
Please pray for those who heard the Gospel and did not respond. Ask the Lord to continue to speak to them. Pray for the people of Emmanuel as they contact those who prayed and those who want to meet for further study.

Below are three stories from the past few weeks:

Joel Strahan, pastor of Ingram Baptist Church, wrote:
Imaging this place and seeing it are two different things entirely. As we walked the streets of Petropavlovsk speaking the truth into people’s lives, it became apparent to me why God chose to send us to this place. The people of Kamchatka are living in such darkness that is difficult to describe. After three days I said, “This is what it looks like when you live under the rule of Satan for so long.” The city looks, smells, and feels depraved. The people don’t smile, they don’t initiate conversation, and they don’t have hope for anything better. I praise God for sending the Roberts and the Putnam’s here to live! This is a picture of God’s grace. However, the two families are praying for more workers to come sow God’s Word. I want to encourage everyone to pray for the salvation of these people. Pray for more money to be given to foreign missions long enough for God to tell you to give. Pray for missionaries long enough for God to call you to go.

Joe Veal, evangelist and founder of “U Turn” ministries, wrote:
In a land of volcanoes and vodka we saw God moving. My friends the Roberts have been called by God to move to this cold yet beautiful land, not so unlike the people we’ve encountered here. As spring moves in God’s “SUN” warms the earth and new life buds across Kamchatka. As we spread the warmth of God’s “SON” we saw eternal life spring up. What a privilege to see people come into the kingdom.
In a land where we take freedom for granted we need to pray for the Roberts by name: Marty, Suzanne, Lee and Emma Grace. Thank God for His passion for the people of Kamchatka and for His passion that flows through the Roberts’. This land is consumed and controlled by alcohol. I pray for a great reversal that Jesus would replace the temporary high and they would receive the “Most High.” As we walk the streets of Petropavlovsk the volcano looms in the distance occasionally the earth shakes or smoke rolls from the top. By and large people ignore or take for granted its presence. At anytime this awesome power could erupt. How similar to our attitudes towards God. He’s coming! Do we really live like it? God help us.

Suzanne, serving in Kamchatka, writes:
WOW! Our God is an awesome God! I have been allowed the privilege of feeling His power and protection, wisdom and love, mercy and grace like never before while sitting in a Russian police station. Because of Satan’s desire to keep a stronghold on the peoples of Kamchatka he brought opposition to the spreading of God’s Word. Joe, a fellow laborer for Christ, and myself along with our translator, (a Russian Believer) were taken in for questioning for sharing the Gospel of Christ with teens on the streets of PK. An off duty officer overheard the message and became offended and very angry. He made a phone call and in a matter of minutes we were being carried into a precinct at the end of town. In my opinion, Satan’s attempt to halt the Gospel only backfired because three men and one young lady who may never have heard the Truth were presented the Gospel many times. Praise be to God and may He change their lives forever. Even though I was nervous I was never “afraid” because I knew God was on my side. He allowed me to share my faith with boldness and confidence in the face of opposition. “In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Psalm 56:11
God intervened and sent us a Christian lawyer who know the Russian law well. After two separate trips on two different days to the station, ten hours of “interviews” and waiting we were found to have done nothing wrong.

Language: Praise the Lord!!! We passed our language exam and have been released from full time language. We can now begin looking for a place to live in the village and start planning a move in God’s timing. We will continue our language classes three days a week once we are settled. Pray that God reveals to us exactly where and how we are to move north.

Prayer Request:
-Pray for the discipleship of new believers.
- Pray for the many visa struggles throughout Russia.
-Pray for Alexander (Sasha) and his family as God continues to use him in Kamchatka.
- 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!

May Prayer Calendar

2009-04-29T02:25:00.003+13:00

Please join us this month in specific, daily prayer for the peoples of Kamchatka. The prayer calendar is also available to you in calendar format. Just send us an email and request the May prayer calendar and we will email it to you.
Thanks for praying with us,
The Roberts'

The Month of Prayer for Kamchatka
May 2009

May 3 The Future
Please pray for these future church leaders in Kamchatka who have yet to receive Christ:

Misha-drunk, wife
and kid beater
Boris-scam artist
Michael-atheist
Andre-active in the
occult

Jesus said “Look!! The fields are white for harvest!”

May 4 Yelizovo
Pray for lay leaders Sasha, Sasha, and Anatolli as they grow in leadership during their pastor’s extended absence. Pray that the necessary resources will be available so the volunteer builders from America will have a successful summer completing the next phase of the church’s facilities.

May 5 New Churches
Please pray that new churches with an intense love for God and a vision for seeing Kamchatka come to Christ will be planted in each of the 31 districts in the city. Currently, there is one new church plant. We’d love to see the number double annually.

May 6 Emmanuel
Emmanuel is the new church plant in PK which is serving as the model for more churches. Please pray that Jesus will be first place in all they do and their love for Him will lead to obedience. Ask the Lord to allow the roots of this church to grow deep in Him resulting in much fruit that lasts!

May 7 Good News
Good News is the oldest Baptist church in Kam-chatka celebrating over 40 years. Pray that the 40 people who make up the church will develop a heart for the Lord and His ways.

8 Open Homes
Due to shortage of available land and astronomical building prices, there is little hope of reaching the masses of Petropavlovsk through churches that meet in buildings. Please pray that God will lead us to people who want to open their apartments as meeting places!

May 9 Goodwill
Pray for people of goodwill to be placed in the government positions that have influence over our lives in Kamchatka. We need government favor in order to maintain a long-term presence on the peninsula.

May 10 Tribal
Please pray for the salvation of the Native Russian tribes located in Kamchatka—the Eveni, the Koryak, and the Chukchi.

May 11 Mil’kovo
The church in Mil’kovo is with-out a pastor but has 6 faithful ladies who continue to meet regularly. Pray that the Lord will raise up leadership. Pray for strength and encouragement for the women there.

May 12 Village E
Pray for the handful of believers in Village E and that a church will form there. This village will serve as a great point from which to launch church planting in many villages.

May 13 Village K
Pray for the church in Village K that they will thrive and grow spiritually in the midst of the harsh climate and isolation.

May 14 Village A
Jesus purchased people from every tribe to make up His kingdom. The
people-group in this village have only a few known followers of Christ. Pray for a vast spiritual awakening among them!

May 15 Village S
Village S is located along the N/S road in Kamchatka and is a popular stop for travelers. Ask God to save people in this village and use them to share his message that could be carried across the peninsula.

May 16 Village R
Located not too far from Petropavlovsk, this village has potential for a new church plant. Pray that God will raise up national leaders to embrace this vision and for ready hearts to receive Him.

May 17 Sasha & Tanya
Pray for Sasha as he leads Emmanuel church, trains Russian leaders, and supply preaches—all in addition to working full-time. Pray for Tanya that God will heal her (illness unknown) and restore her so she can fully support Sasha in the ministry and raising their 3 small children.

May 18 People of Peace
Pray for God to lead us to people of peace who would be willing to open their homes for Bible studies throughout PK.

May 19 Putnams
Pray for the Putnam family that they will experience His grace as they lead in church planting and leadership training in the city. Pray for strength as they renew visas every 90 days, and for God to show them a way to live long-term in the city.

May 20 Roberts
Pray for the Roberts that they will locate a great place to live and transition smoothly to the village to begin reaching the tribal peoples of Kamchatka. Pray for God to provide a way for them to live long-term in the village and for strength as they travel every 90 days for new visas.

May 21 Valodya
As Valodya seeks to lead the Good News church, please pray for an increasing love for God in his heart, a clear under-standing of the Word, and the ability to com-municate the Word clearly to the church.

May 22 WANTED
Wanted: Volunteers

Ask the Lord to send short-term laborers from around the world into the fields of Kamchatka to help with:
*evangelism
*construction
*extreme wild-
erness camps
*ESL classes

May 23 WANTED
Wanted: Full-Time

Ask the Lord to send full-time laborers into the fields of Kamchatka to help with:
*evangelism
*logistic coord.
*church planting
*village sports
evangelism

24 Volunteer Teams
The first of 2 volunteer teams arrived yesterday from North MS. Please pray for quick adjustment to the time and culture. Please pray for safety as they travel around the city engaging in evangelism and Bible distribution. Pray for safety as they return Saturday and the 2nd team as they depart the States on June 4.

May 25 Appointments
We are looking for open hearts and open homes. Please pray for divine appoint-ments with people who are ready to be saved and willing to open their apartments to study the Bible.

May 26 Translators
Please pray that the translators that will be helping our teams will accurately communicate the gospel and will be faithful in serving in this role.

May 27 Weather
Ask the Lord to provide nice sunny days that will bring lots of people outside while the volunteer teams are here.

May 28 No Trouble
Ask the Lord to shield and protect the volunteer teams from any trouble from local opposition.

May 29The Multitudes
Please pray that God will save the multitudes! Please pray that churches will be planted across Kamchatka and many strong followers of Christ will emerge!

May 30 The Vision
As the volunteers return to America, please pray that they will spread the vision of world missions!

Thanks for holding the rope!

March 2009

2009-03-31T20:40:00.002+13:00

Charles H. Spurgeon once stated, “God the Holy Spirit writes our prayers, God the Son presents our prayers and God the Father accepts our prayers. And with the whole Trinity to help us in it, what cannot prayer perform.”

Revelation 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

Dear ROPE HOLDERS, (Prayer partners); thank you so much for being so diligent in your prayers for the peoples of Kamchatka. Thank you for being an offering before the Lord. Please continue to be ferverent in your prayers as travel plans and summer mission teams begin to take shape. Pray that many will respond to the clear Gospel message in Kamchatka.

Featured question(s): This is a new section of our monthly newsletter where we would love to answer your questions. Please email your questions to us throughout the year at going.east@hotmail.com and each month we will feature a few questions in the newsletter.

Question submitted by Sherry (Union Ridge Baptist Church - Missouri) What is the main social problem in Kamchatka?The main social problem in Kamchatka would certainly be alcohol abuse. In the city there are several small wooden stands much like a small ice cream stand in the states. Instead of selling ice cream the stands here sell beer, draft beer by the cup. People will buy the beer and stand there while they drink a cup or two or ten. It is not unusual to see men starting their day at 8:00 am at the beer stand. Also, Russia is known for vodka. Daily we see men and women on the streets drinking from a liter bottle of vodka. They do have laws in Russia against drinking and driving but as far as I can tell if you are walking you can drink openly.

Tanya, one of the members of Emmanuel, recently found a new job (an answer to prayer). Oh, by the way she worked six months without pay just to get this job. She is now employed, with pay, by the police agency in PK but would be considered a social worker in the states. She has told many stories of alcohol abuse and the many problems that go along with it. During the long winters of the north many people attempt to deal with winter depression by consuming enormous amounts of alcohol which often lead to suicide.

Family: Our family is doing well. Would you like to see for yourself? We will be traveling to the states in April for visa renewal plus a little vacation time. We can’t possibly visit everyone, so we want to invite you to a pot luck gathering outside by the lake at Suzanne’s parents house in Sherman, MS. We will be outside by the lake May 2, 2009. We will start around 4 pm and hang around until the fire pit burns out. What do you need to bring? If you play an acoustic instrument bring it. We are not professionals but enjoy picking around the fire pit. You will also want to have your lawn chair and possibly some bug spray. If you would like bring a dish of whatever, by all means do so. We are excited about getting to see everyone.

Ministry Opportunities: We had several opportunities this month to minister to others. We were able to make the trip north to village “E,” approximately 650 miles on snow/ice covered dirt roads. We had the opportunity to share in two services there: one on Saturday night followed by a Russian meal and one on Sunday morning where we observed the Lord’s Supper with the handful of fellow believers there. It was also refreshing for us to be in the villages once again. The small group of believers in village “E” continues to pray for and desire a great movement from God. We hope to soon be moving north where our work can expand there. Please continue to pray for those in the villages. Many have never heard a clear presentation of the Gospel.

Praise report: Emmanuel’s evangelism training and broad sowing of the Word is bearing fruit. Praise the Lord, His Word never returns void. This month Tanya, the wife of Sasha, the house church leader, was able to lead her first person ever to the Lord. She used the simple evangelism plan that had been taught over the past few months at Emmanuel. She was able to share the Gospel with her brother-n-law Nicolai. He listened as she shared the Gospel and before she could go through all the verses she had been given during evangelism training, Nicolai said, “I want that!” “Want what?” Tanya asked. “Forgiveness,” said Nicolai. During the next few minutes Nicolai prayed to receive Christ as his Lord and Savior. Just a few days later Tanya was at her mother-n-laws house. The mother-n-law gave her a small gift and Tanya reached into her purse and handed Nadegda a New Testament. She turned the conversation to spiritual matters and praise the Lord for answered prayers, Sasha’s mother, Nadegda, prayed to receive Christ as her Lord and Savior. Please pray for Nicolai and Nadegda as they begin their walk with the Lord.

It was also a joy this month to have 2 of our teen agers take the leadership role in Bible study. Misha, a 15 year old Russian, who was saved in June 2008 has a desire to study the Bible and has begun to lead out in Bible study. He led one of our Friday night Bible studies this month. Continue to pray for Misha as he grows in his relationship with the Lord. Lee, our son, also led his first Bible study in Russian without a translator. We are very proud of him. Lee led one of the Friday night Bible studies also. It is a great time to see the teens of PK taking part in Friday night Bible study (their choice of nights by the way) and also leading.

Language: As we stated last month, we are soooo ready to be out of full-time language. On April 9 & 10 we will be taking the test that determines if we get to become part-time language students or have to remain full-time language students. This is a HUGE test covering Russian grammar, writing abilities, listening and comprehension abilities and speaking abilities. We are excited and nervous at the same time. Please be in prayer for us.

Prayer Request:
-Pray for the Putnam family as they return to Kamchatka on April 3, 2009.
-Pray for Ingram Baptist Church (Baldwyn, MS) as they prepare to send two mission teams to Kamchatka this summer.
- Pray for the many visa situations throughout Russia.
-Pray for Alexander (Sasha) and his family as God continues to use him in Kamchatka.
- Pray for the new believers in Kamchatka as they continue their walk with the Lord.
-Pray for the folks at Emmanuel as they take part in Street Evangelism Training and Application..
- 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.

February 2009 Newsletter

2009-02-26T17:43:00.003+12:00

Charles H. Spurgeon once stated, “O people of God, be great believers! Little faith will bring your souls to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your souls.”

Romans 10:17 so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

Please continue to pray that God’s Word will be spread throughout Kamchatka and Russia so that those who have not heard might hear and believe and heaven brought to their souls. Pray for Ingram Baptist Church as they prepare to send two teams to Kamchatka this summer. Ask the Lord to guide their steps, to prepare them for their time overseas, for support and encouragement from their fellow church members, and for heaven to fill their souls. What we are full of will naturally flow from our lips and lives.

Featured question(s): This is a new section of our monthly newsletter where we would love to answer your questions. Please email your questions to us throughout the year at going.east@hotmail.com and each month we will feature a few questions in the newsletter.

Question submitted by Keith (Wheeler Baptist Church - Mississippi): How will the Roberts family continue to live in Kamchatka? What is the current visa situation?
Visa Update: We are currently in Kamchatka on a 90 day visa. We are officially registered in the city. That simply means that we have permission to live in Petropavlovsk – Kamchatka until April 28, 2009 and then we must leave again. We praise the Lord for this door that is opened for us to return. Please continue to pray that we fully understand God’s plan for long term living in Kamchatka. Pray for us as we continue to seek out a way to live in Kamchatka for longer than 90 days at a time.

To be very honest we have more questions about the current visa situation than we do answers. Until there is a change in the government in Kamchatka or until we discover another avenue to try we will continue to do 90 day visa renewals. We have attempted other avenues such as work permits and temporary residency permits. On both occasions we have been denied because we are in Russia on a religious work visa. In short, that simply means that every 90 days we must leave Russia. In our case the closest and most economical place for us to travel out of country is Seoul, South Korea. Of course this is very expensive and time consuming. At this time this is the only open door that we have and will continue to do this until change occurs. Pray that God would change the heart of the “powers that be” in Kamchatka so that we could re-apply for a temporary residency permit.

Remember our “Holding the Rope” check list? It is found in Colossians 4: 2-5 (2) Continue in Prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; (3) Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: (4) That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. (5) Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

•Join with us this month and pray through this passage with us and for us:
Pray that we would:
o Be diligent and purposeful in prayer
o Give thanks daily (that our attitudes are correct)
o God opens the door for us to speak of Jesus and His love
o We would make every decision with wisdom from above
o We would redeem the time

Question submitted by Sherry (Union Ridge Baptist Church - Missouri) What is the health care system like in Kamchatka?The health care system in Kamchatka is a social medical system. Basically if you are a Russian citizen you are assigned a doctor at birth. This person is your doctor and your first point of reference for medical needs. If you need to be refereed he or she must do that. Most Russians believe that their medical system is expensive. In comparison to the medical system in the states it is much cheaper. We recently had to have a chest x-ray for TB. This test was required in order for us to submit documents to live here. The x-rays for a family of 4 were about $30.00. However, in most areas their medical system is older and dated. For example: Suzanne and I had to have blood work done for some more document purposes. Praise the Lord the kids did not have to have this done. We went to the place called the lab and waited in a small room with several people in it. You just waited your turn and went after the one you followed came out. No appointments, no name calling, you just had to know that it was your turn. It was finally our turn. We stepped across several big holes in the buildings floor, and watched a dog and a cat trot up and down the hall. I sat down and looked into a metal bowl of clear liquid, alcohol I suspected; upon further inspection I notice several razor blades. The nurse entered without a smile, sat down and began to unwrap a long glass tube. I had flash backs of a trip to Dr. Moonies as a child. (You will have to talk to my Mom about Dr. Moonies. I have tried to forget!) She, the very focused, eye browed clinched Russian nurse, proceeded to get her razor blade so I went ahead and yelled before she ever cut me!!! She finally gave me a little smile….I closed my eyes and she drove that double edged razor into my finger and proceeded to take this 2 foot long glass tube with a black bulb on the end and squeeze my finger and suck the blood into this tube and then place it in another blood tube. The medical system in Kamchatka is very different from the states. We have only been to the Russian Social Government clinics when we needed medical work done to apply for Russian Documents. Any major medical stuff that can wait will be done in another place.

There is a place here that is a little more modern. It is independently run and we would use that clinic if we needed medical attention. However they can’t do the test needed for documents. The apteka ( Russian word for pharmacy) has basic meds that you can purchase over the counter. We are very grateful for Suzanne’s nursing abilities and her 15 years of service as a RN. She is now the Roberts’ family official medical provider. We are blessed to serve with the IMB because if we have major medical issues they have medical plans in place for us and we would be sent to places with up to date medical facilities.

Family: This month we had the joy of celebrating Suzanne’s second birthday (Feb. 19) in Kamchatka. Emma Grace’s birthday is soon approaching (March 11) and she reminds us each day on the official countdown of days until her birthday. It is great to have special days such as these to celebrate.

As long as we are talking about aging I guess I will confess. No, I did not have a birthday this month but I did have one day that I really began to feel old. I watched Lee as he shaved for the first time. What!!!? That’s Lee, could he really be shaving, almost 6 feet tall and 175 pounds. Yep, that explains my gray, thinning hair. I thank the Lord for my family and the lessons that He is teaching us together by living overseas.

We enjoyed one day on the ski slopes and invited our language teacher to tag along. She would not ski downhill but did some cross country skiing. Lee and Emma continue to improve on their snowboard abilities. We also were able to spend a few evenings cross country skiing.

The kids continue to good in their home school curriculum. Both Lee and Emma’s grades would make the honor role at Wheeler. We are very proud of both of them and their study habits.

Ministry Opportunities: We were very blessed this month to have several opportunities to share the Gospel with people. We were also able to give Bibles to several people who have never had a copy of God’s Word in their home. We were also able to host a Russian family in our home as dinner guest and discuss evangelism plans for Kamchatka. On February 8 we traveled to Yelizovo and Marty was invited to preach. Lee played the guitar and Suzanne sang a solo. The following Sunday Marty was invited to preach at the Central church in Petropavlovsk. Lee also played the guitar at that service and Suzanne and Emma sang a duet. Please continue to pray for us and our language abilities. Pray that our language would continue to increase and that we will be faithful to use what we know.

Language: We continue to strive to learn more and more of the Russian language. We have language class for 3 hours a day Monday – Friday plus homework. Lately our language classes have been a struggle. To say the least we are ready to take a break from formal language study. We have spent many hours, many days in full time language. We are ready to be considered part-time language students and full time language users. Pray that we stay focused and finish our language studies well. We are in our final book at this time. There could be light at the end of the tunnel.

Prayer Request:
-Pray for the Roberts family as we plan to travel to some of the northern villages in March. We plan to travel March 12-16. Most of this travel will be on snow and ice covered dirt roads. We will travel approximately 1100 - 1200 KM or 750 miles.
-Pray for the Putnam family as they continue the paperwork process to return to PK.
-Pray for Ingram Baptist Church (Baldwyn, MS) as they begin the paperwork process to send two mission teams to Kamchatka this summer.
- Pray for the many visa situations throughout Russia.
-Pray for Alexander and his family as God continues to use him in Kamchatka.
- Pray for the new believers in Kamchatka as they continue their walk with the Lord.
-Pray for the folks at Emmanuel as they take part in Street Evangelism Training and Application..
- 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 what is happening in your ministry.

January 2009 Newsletter

2009-02-03T12:49:00.003+12:00

2 Corinthians 4: 5-7 for we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of the God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
Continue to pray that we will be reflectors of Light in a dark world, that we would always give all praise and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ and be humble followers where He leads.

Featured question(s): This is a new section of our monthly newsletter where we would love to answer your questions. Please email your questions to us throughout the year at going.east@hotmail.com and each month we will feature a few questions in the newsletter.

There were no questions submitted this month. Please send us your questions for this section of the newsletter to work. Our desire is to provide you with information of interest.

Family: We were able to celebrate New Year in Kamchatka. It is amazing on how many fireworks the people in Kamchatka shoot each year at this time. We stood in the apartment with our heads hanging out the window and saw a great display. We splurged with a crab meal and movie night.

This month has been a time of hurry up and waits for the Roberts family. We seemed to be in a constant rush after the New Year to get all the stuff done needed to head to Seoul, Korea for visa renewal. Once we arrived in Seoul and mailed our package of documents we began the waiting mode. On the day before we were to fly out our documents returned to us in order. Praise the Lord, He is always on time.

I believe that Dorothy once made the statement, “There is no place like home.” That is so true, even when you return to 5 feet of snow. We had a blast in Korea while waiting. The kids were able to catch up on fast food favorites, and even took in their first ever adventure theme park. It was much like Disney World with Korean flair. The kids loved it and maybe mom and dad also. Before our waiting period was over we were ready to get back to the place where God has called us. We did not want to leave our new friends but it was time to return. We were blessed with a refreshing time in wait.

Maybe, if we all just took a little time with family and few more days on occasion to simply wait and listen we could be refreshed. Psalm 27:14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Ministry Opportunities: God’s plan always overwhelms me when I can look backwards and see his handy work. When the Roberts family was blessed to serve as pastor at Wheeler Baptist Church we were able to meet several exchange students that church members would bring in to their home each year. One young lady, YeEun, came to live in the Fairs home. Over the next year we were able to develop a relationship with YeEun. God has now expanded our territory to where we have been able to share with her family on three different occasions in their home in Korea. Our God is a big God and builds big bridges.

We were also able to celebrate the Korean New Year holiday with YeEun and her family on the lunar holiday January 24. It was a great time spent by all. We ate traditional food, played traditional games, and Emma Grace even was adorned with traditional Korean dress. Thank you Han family for being special friends of the Roberts family.

We also were able to meet the Holyfield family while in Korea. They are our colleagues and serve in other parts of our world. They were home folks. I don’t just mean brothers and sisters in Christ, I mean Mississippi home folk. They understood fried food, southern accent, and they especially understood the calling we have on our lives. Praise the Lord for such a time of fellowship with them. They have 4 children: 2 of them in college and 2 that our kids loved to hang out with. We look forward to spending more time with them. Please pray for Patsy. She underwent back surgery while we were in Korea. The surgery went well and she was definitely an encouragement to our family the way she handled the process. They will be traveling back to the field soon. Please pray for speedy healing and a comfortable travel back home. They are still in wait!

While in Korea we were able to have several spiritual conversations with folks we had previously met and also strangers. God is doing a great work in Seoul.
Marty was invited to preach at Central church in Petropavlovsk. Praise the Lord for opportunities with believers in the city.

Language: We enjoyed a few days off of formal language study while we were in Korea. Our current language curriculum consists of 3 books. The 3rd book has book A and book B. Before we left for Korea we completed book 3A. Continue to pray for us as we strive to build our language skills and complete this final book.
Visa Update: We have returned to Kamchatka with another 90 day visa. We are officially registered in the city. That simply means that we have permission to live in Petropavlovsk – Kamchatka until April 28, 2009 and then we must leave again. We praise the Lord for this door that is opened for us to return. Please continue to pray that we fully understand God’s plan for long term in Kamchatka. Pray for us as we continue to seek out a way to live in Kamchatka for longer than 90 days at a time.

Prayer Request:
-Pray for the Putnam family as they begin the paperwork process to return to PK.
- Pray for the many visa situations throughout Russia.
-Pray for Alexander and his family as God continues to use him in Kamchatka.
- Pray for the new believers in Kamchatka as they continue their walk with the Lord.
-Pray for the folks at Emmanuel as they take part in Street Evangelism Training and Application..
- 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 what is happening in your ministry.

December Newsletter

2009-01-04T14:15:00.003+12:00

First let me take the time to say thanks to each of you for supporting the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. It is this offering given by Southern Baptists that keeps us and over 5,300 other International Missionaries on field overseas. Believe me when I say that we could not live where we live without your financial and prayer support. So, with all that being said, from the bottom of our hearts, THANKS!

Featured question(s): To end the year of 2008 and to start a new section of our monthly newsletter we would love to answer your questions. Please email your questions to us throughout the year at going.east@hotmail.com and each month we will feature a few questions in the newsletter. This month’s featured question is about food.

What types of foods are common? How is the food on the palette and stomach? What is the favorite food of Russians?

A daily average menu might look something like this in a typical Russian home:
Breakfast – Kasha and hot tea. Kasha is a hot porridge, think about oatmeal. However, Russians make kasha out of oats, wheat, buckwheat, rice and any other types of grain that you can think of. Our favorite kasha is rice kasha. However, we are very glad that Suzanne has not forgotten how to make southern biscuits. By the way, there is no such thing as self rising flour here. Suzanne makes biscuits from scratch. No, you cannot buy them pre –made here in the local freezer section either.
Lunch – Lunch is often their largest meal of the day. They will begin the meal with a soup and follow the soup with some kind of salad and then a main dish. Of course you always finish the meal with a cup of hot tea.
Dinner/Supper - That is sometime around 9:00pm for most families. It could be anything from fish to noodles and of course hot tea.

The most favorite and common foods in Russia are potatoes and bread. Russians could not live without potatoes and bread. Bread is delivered fresh everyday to the local markets. Bread is neither pre-sliced nor pre-packaged. Potatoes along with every other kind of root vegetable you can name are eaten almost daily in Russia. Staple foods for an average Russian home would consist of garlic, onion, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, bread, tea, mayonnaise and some type of canned, smoked or pickled fish or kielbasa.

We enjoy many of the traditional Russian dishes but there are a few that have made our, “well I’ve tried it once, and don’t want to try it again” list.

Family: This month we celebrated our second Christmas in Kamchatka. Of course, we missed being with our families and friends back home in Mississippi. However, we had a wonderful Christmas together in Kamchatka. We would like to say thanks to each person who took the time to send us a Christmas card, gift box, or an email message. They are all very much appreciated.

The kids were very excited to get a few days off from school. Over the holidays we took some family days and just spent time together. We went to the hot springs; swimming outside when a blizzard snow storm begins to fall is just awesome. We swam when it was -12 and during the 2 hours we were there probably about 6 inches of snow fell. We also took time to visit the ski slope a couple of times.

Ministry Opportunities: Suzanne has always loved to decorate for Christmas. When we left the states to come to the field and held our BIG yard sale, she had over ½ of the yard at Wheeler Baptist Church filled with Christmas decorations. We don’t have that many here now but she and Emma have made many decorations and we bought a few also during our travels. Very soon after Thanksgiving the decorations start going up. Decorations on the apartment door, Christmas tree by the window, nativity by the table, you get the picture. How is this ministry you ask? Well, Russians celebrated Christmas day on January 7th each year. It is not much of a holiday here. The Russians put a tree up on New Year’s Day and Father Frost will leave them presents on New Years instead of Christmas. For the majority of Russians Christmas Day is just another day off of work. By Suzanne’s early decorations we were able on several occasions to explain that in America we celebrate Christmas on December 25th each year. We were then able to explain why we give gifts and what we really celebrate, Jesus’ birth. Suzanne and Emma also made homemade cookies and gave out to our neighbors and Emma’s friends with a Christmas message attached. It was a great way for them to be able to share the Christmas story with neighbors and friends.

Marty was given the opportunity to preach at Central Church this month and also lead a Bible study at Immanuel Church.

We shared a Christmas dinner with our language teacher, Zoya, and three of her friends. After dinner we were able to share the Christmas story with them. After reading the Christmas story and talking about it for a while, it opened up conversations about additional spiritual matters. We were able to present each one of them with a copy of the Word. They ended up staying and talking until almost mid-night. We praise the Lord for this opportunity. Please pray for Victoria and her son Volva. They live in PK and we desire to continue this contact with them and to get them involved in Bible study. The other 2 ladies traveled a long way to share dinner with us over 100 miles on dirt (snow covered) roads. Please pray for additional folks to continue the spiritual conversations with Lida and Tanya.

Language: Just when you think you are making ground!!! Suzanne and I were sitting around our small table in the living room with our language teacher Zoya. She had tried a salad I had put together the night before and really like it. She asked for the recipe. I was giving her the recipe and got stumped on the word for mustard. I looked at Suzanne and she shook her head and reached for the dictionary. We both give out that sigh that said I am supposed to know the word for mustard. Lee walks by the door headed to the kitchen and says, “Горчица” with a smile and keeps walking. Praise the Lord that our children are also learning the language as well. Oh, by the way the word for mustard is pronounced (gor-chee—tsa), with a smile!

Visa Update: Visa issues continue to be a struggle for us. We have asked you and continue to ask you to pray for us to be able to find a way to live here long term. We have attempted to get work permits which were denied. We then went through a long process of paper work, getting documents mailed to us from the states, and medical exams in Kamchatka to apply for a temporary resident permit. The temporary resident permit would allow us to live here for at least 3 years and possibly longer. When we had our consultation meeting with the “powers that be” we were told everything looked good thus far and that we needed a couple more translations done. We set up a time for our next meeting and left with a big smile. That evening we received a phone call that stated we could not submit our documents and that our process had been stopped and the next consultation visit had been cancelled. I did not know what to say then and really don’t now.

We were denied because they said we have been in the country on a religious visa. What now, we asked? We are still asking. As of now our plans are on January 13th to fly to Seoul, Korea. We will be there for 16 days while we apply for another 90 day visa. We will return to PK and continue our search for a long term way to live here. We are not sure what will take place after 90 days if we cannot find that door that allows us to live here long term. God holds the keys and we ask you to join us in praying for God’s will to be done in this matter.

Prayer Request:
- Pray for the many visa situations throughout Russia.
-Pray for Victoria and Volva as we will be gone for over ½ of the month of January and will not be able to contact and encourage them.
- Pray for the new believers in Kamchatka as they continue their walk with the Lord.
-Pray for the folks at Emmanuel as they take part in Street Evangelism Training and Application.
-Pray for Alexander, a new believer who was involved at Emmanuel had to move 9 time zones from Kamchatka. Pray that he will find a great place of worship and discipleship at his new home.
- 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 what is happening in your ministry.

November Newsletter

2008-12-01T15:55:00.002+12:00

What a great month in Kamchatka as we celebrated our second Thanksgiving here. We were unable to find a turkey but celebrated with roasted chicken and all the trimmings. We certainly have so much to be thankful for. I trust each and every one of you took time to give thanks for all the blessings you have received over the past year. We certainly want to take the opportunity to say THANKS for being a ministry partner with us in Kamchatka. Thank you for “Holding the Rope” in prayer as we serve on the edge. We want you to know how grateful we are for your faithful giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Your gifts make our ministry — and the ministries of more than 5,300 IMB missionaries serving around the world — possible. Countless souls will one day worship around His throne because you chose to sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel. May God’s richest blessings be yours as you partner with us to proclaim the love of Jesus Christ to all nations.

Thank you for your continued partnership as we work to bring the Small Peoples of the North to faith in our Lord and Savior. Keep Holding the Rope!!!

Family: This has been a month of firsts for us in Russia. Our family had the experience of visiting many of the Russian medical clinics. We had to undergo many exams to receive medical clearance in order to apply for temporary residency. It was not as bad as it could have been but the medical system is a little different here than it is in the states. There are so many stories I could write about the events but it is these experiences that you would just have to be here to understand. Lee and Emma were glad that they had to give blood only once during this month, Suzanne and I were not so lucky. We all survived and now are proceeding to the next step of the process. The process of waiting!

We are the only Americans in Kamchatka now and we took the opportunity to share our Thanksgiving meal with a young Russian Family. In the picture is our family, Sergey, Tanya and their two boys, Benjamin and Reuben. It was a great evening as we gave thanks together and celebrated with a meal.

Lee and Emma continue to do very well in their studies. We are excited that both Lee and Emma are able to report all A’s in their studies. Christmas break will mark the half way point in their studies for this year and they are looking forward to that break.

We have enough snow now so the kids can snowboard. Lee has taken time this month to teach Emma how to snowboard. They have been working on turning correctly. Finally Emma Grace takes off down the hill and turns….YEA!!!!......she turns directly into a JUMP!! Loudly I say, “What are you doing.” She just grins real big and says, “I meant to do that! It was fun!” I guess she thinks she is a professional snowboarder now.

Ministry Opportunities: I would like to say thanks to you for praying for Sasha and his work schedule. I asked you in last month’s newsletter to pray for him. His work schedule has lightened up on the days we do Bible Study. Praise the Lord for answered prayers. God has truly done some cool stuff this month at Emmanuel Church. Emmanuel church is the house church that meets at the Putnam’ home on Friday nights and Sunday nights. Sasha has caught the vision of Church Planting and Street Evangelism. We are now training people how to share the Gospel on the streets. Please pray for Emmanuel and the vision that is being revealed to them through a national brother, Sasha. Pray that many people who have never heard the Gospel will hear and receive the message of Christ.

Marty was also given the opportunity this month to preach at Central Church. Please pray for Marty and his language abilities to be able to share the Good News of Christ.

Suzanne was able to share at Central Church this month about Thanksgiving in America and she sang “Give Thanks” in Russian. (It was awesome!! By Marty).

Thanks to some of the churches back home we were able to minister at the Children’s Home twice this month. We were able to give them 30 toboggans and 18 pair of gloves for the winter. They were excited to receive the gifts. Tobbagons on average cost around $20.00 to 40.00 here in Kamchatka. Gloves are also very expensive. To all of you who have sent stuff comes a very special thanks from the kids who will be warm this winter.

Language: Не хочу но надо (Pronounced - Ne – hachoo no nada) simply stated, “I don’t want to but it is necessary.” We are grateful for the time we have to learn the language. Our language will continue as long as we live in Russia. One of our Russian friends reminds us often that Russian will be the language that is spoken in heaven. When you ask him why, he simply states, “Because it takes an eternity to learn.” I seem to agree. We are doing well and are able to communicate in most areas but still speak with many grammatical errors but can see improvements each week.

Visa Update: We have received a new 90 day double entry visa. What does that mean? That means that we can live in Russia until January 14, 2009 and then we will need to exit for another visa. We are in the middle of the process filing for the Temporary Resident Permit. The TRP will allow us to live in Russia for longer periods of time.

Prayer request from last month - Currently we are awaiting our criminal background check from the states to arrive to submit with the other papers, please pray for prompt arrival. (We received our background from the states this month. We have also had all other documents translated and notarized in Russian)

Prayer request from last month - We will also be getting medical checkups this month in Russia for the TRP. Please pray that God blesses us with a medical person we can communicate with and feel comfortable around. (Again thanks for praying as God answered your prayers and we were blessed with medical staff that we felt comfortable with and were able to communicate with. They were all very helpful to us.)

Information from last month newsletter - We hope to have all the information together and submitted by the end of November. (We were given an appointment date 12-2-2008 to meet with the government officials to submit our paper work.) Once the paper work is submitted and submitted correctly we must wait for 5 months while it is being reviewed. Only after 5 months will we be given a yes or no.

Prayer Request:
-Pray for Looba and Anton who are not believers (yet) but have shown interest this month.
- Pray for the new believers in Kamchatka as they continue their walk with the Lord.
-Pray for the folks at Emmanuel as they take part in Street Evangelism Training and Application. (What good is training without application?) Have you been trained in anything lately?
- Pray for us as we submit all the paperwork for the Temporary Residency Permit and wait for 5 months. Pray that the Lord will be glorified in this process. We must exit in January for 10 days and return with yet another 90 day visa while waiting on approval.
- 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 what is happening in your ministry.

October 2008 Newsletter

2008-11-01T09:47:00.003+12:00

I have started the last couple of newsletters talking about how fast time passes. This month is no exception. We were appointed missionaries through the IMB July 17, 2007 and this month marks our one year anniversary in Petropavlovsk - Kamchatka. Praise the Lord for all we have seen and heard this past year. We truly have experienced God’s greatness through the AWESOME times and the hard times.

Speaking of anniversaries there is another anniversary coming very soon to you. That is the anniversary of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. It is through this offering that we are able to live where we live and do what the Lord has called us to do. Thanks for being a part of that offering. Christmas is fast approaching, and we want to express our sincere gratitude for your gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. In tough economic times like these, giving often means sacrifice. Take the example set by Lottie Moon herself.

For 37 years this pioneering missionary endured hardship and danger in a land oppressed by famine, disease and war. In the end, she loved the Chinese people more than life itself, giving her own food to starving neighbors, eventually dying of starvation herself. During her career, Moon wrote numerous letters home urging Southern Baptists to greater missions involvement and support. One of those letters, excerpted below, triggered Southern Baptists’ first offering for missions in 1888 — enough to send three new missionaries to China.

“How many there are … who imagine that because Jesus paid it all, they need pay nothing, forgetting that the prime object of their salvation was that they should follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ in bringing back a lost world to God.”

Thank you for your continued partnership as we work to bring the Small Peoples of the North to faith in our Lord and Savior. Keep Holding the Rope!!!

Family: This month we had the opportunity to travel to Prague for Visa renewal plus attend a conference with the group of folks we were in training with for 8 weeks before we left the states. It was like a big family reunion. We were all very encouraged and spent the week in training and catching up with one another. Prague is a very beautiful city with a lot of history. While there we were also able to take a train ride through the country-side for a quick stop in Germany. It was neat to find out that we traveled the same rail my dad did over 40 years ago while serving in the army.

Once we returned home from our 2 weeks of travel with our new visa we fell right back into our daily routine of school and language study. The kids had to adjust to a new school teacher this month, THEIR MOM!!! How would you like to have class everyday and your Mom is the teacher? Suzanne is doing a great job teaching and the kids are doing very well in their studies. Please pray for our schedule and all the roles that Suzanne fills at this time. Suzanne, wife, mother, school teacher, encourager, language student, missionary, cook, house-keeper, and the list just goes on and on. But most of all she is just my soul mate. Pray for her as she fills so many roles each and every day.

Ministry Opportunities: This month was a month where we had a 2 week opportunity to be taught, challenged and encouraged. How sweet it is to sit under the teaching of the Word and Sing in your heart language. You will never understand how much this is missed until you live where it is not available. Take the time each day to thank the Lord for your place of worship, never take it for granted. Pray for your leaders and teachers that they will be filled with the spirit when they preach and teach. Praise the Lord for His laborers and encouragers.

This month at the spur of the moment Marty was asked to preach at the church in PK. Spur of the moment? Yes, we walked in to church and Pastor Volodia approached and said, “Marty you are preaching today.” Marty said, “Sure, be glad too but probably only 5 to 7 minutes worth.” With only a year of language study it is difficult for Marty to preach much longer than that. Well 20 minutes later he was trying to close his sermon. This was Marty’s first message at the Petropavlovsk church without the use of a translator. The cool thing is that all the folks understood the sermon. This is truly a Balaam story. Marty does an awesome job in communicating with the nationals. Anyone who knew Marty in the states knows he has a huge heart for evangelism. When we first arrived, because we didn’t know the language, Marty was very discouraged because he saw people that needed to hear the Good News and didn’t know how to tell them. Now, with the help of the Holy Spirit and lots of study, he is able to tell people around PK the best news they will ever hear. Pray the nationals receive the message and have a life changing experience.

We have also had the privilege of helping with the services at Immanuel this month. Please continue to pray for Immanuel as it continues to grow. Pray for maturity of new believers and for the national leadership to continue to become strong. Pray for Sasha and his work situation. Pray that his jobs will allow him the time he needs to lead the church.

Language: Language is simply that, Language. We sit in class each day Monday – Friday for 3 hours and usually have 2 to 3 hours of homework. The Russian language is the most difficult curriculum we have every studied. Just when you think you are beginning to understand the language they add a new set of endings that completely changes the meaning of the root word. We are definitely making progress and can communicate effectively in most daily activities, as long as we know the context.

We were blessed to have the Borders visit us this month and spend a week in PK. It was encouraging to us to be able to translate a few statements for them as they spoke to Russian nationals. The Borders serve in the CEE region and do great work throughout CEE. We thank them for being an encouragement to our family.

Visa Update: We have received a new 90 day double entry visa. What does that mean? That means that we can live in Russia until January 14, 2009 and then we will need to exit for another visa. We are in the middle of the process filing for the Temporary Resident Permit. The TRP will allow us to live in Russia for longer periods of time. Currently we are awaiting our criminal background check from the states to arrive to submit with the other papers. We will also be getting medical checkups this month in Russia for the TRP. Please pray that God blesses us with a medical person we can communicate with and feel comfortable around. We hope to have all the information together and submitted by the end of November. Pray that we are purposeful in our quest. Once the paper work is submitted and submitted correctly we must wait for 5 months while it is being reviewed. Only after 5 months will we be given a yes or no.

Prayer Request: - Pray for the new believers in Kamchatka as they continue their walk with the Lord.
- Pray for us as we attempt to complete all the paperwork for the Temporary Residency Permit.
- 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.
Thank you for holding the rope!!! We would love to hear what is happening in your ministry.

September Newsletter

2008-09-29T15:18:00.002+13:00

Occasionally when I talk with friends in the states they ask me what the weather will be like tomorrow. That is because we are 18 hours ahead of folks in the states. I often wonder where time goes. Month by month time seems to be getting faster and faster. With that thought in mind, I can’t help but to think about the statement that Jesus made in Luke 10:2, “Therefore said he unto them, the harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.” Time is flying by throughout the world and many people die each day without knowing Christ as their Lord and Savior. The task world-wide is too great for just a few to fulfill the great commission. Thank you so much for being a prayer partner for the work in Kamchatka. Please pray for laborers to come and help with the task at hand.

Family: Our family has almost adjusted to the back to school routine and of course more change is on its way. This month we will say good-bye to a dear friend and colleague, Rachel. Rachel served one year in other parts of Russia and has served the past year in Kamchatka helping our children with their home school curriculum as well as many other tasks. Rachel will be returning home to the states the first week of October. A special thanks to her for all she has done to help our children and the PK team this past year.

Fall is here and there is new snow on the volcano. Lee and Emma are both waiting on more snow so they can go to the snow slopes and get the dust of their snowboards. The fall weather is very nice and we have been on outings to pick wild berries, mushrooms and rose hips. All of those are big treats to the peoples of Kamchatka.

Ministry Opportunities: This month was a month that was primarily focused on encouraging believers up and down the peninsula. We were blessed to be able to travel to the hand full of believers who live north and have a service in each village. In just 4 short days we traveled over (1300 KM or 800 miles on dirt roads) and held worship services. Let’s travel together:

Friday 7 am – hit the road, picked up Rachel, Volodya and Uri. Uneventful until we traveled about 150 km which 60 km was on rock and dirt – First blow out occurred – changed tire and continued north to Milkovo another 150 km.
Friday 1:30 pm – arrived in Milkovo, ate lunch in Café at Milkovo and searched for a tire. No tires could be purchased to fit our vehicle, 225 km to go to reach village “E” and no spare……we prayed and headed on north.

About 60 km outside of village “E” we had our second flat…..no spare….we did have a 12 volt compressor with us and we would drive 15 km, stop and add air. Finally we made it to village “E.” Once we arrived in “E” Zhenya and I went to the only 2 “Shinomatage” and look for tires. We found a couple of slick wore out tires that we put tubes in to try and finish our journey. We also purchased an extra tube to take with us in case we needed to break one down on the road. (Remember we are in the middle of the wilderness…..no Wal-mart, not even a house for miles and miles of travel.)

Friday 7:30 pm We had dinner in village “E” and then held a worship service and observed the Lord’s Supper together at 8:15. There were 11 present for this meeting.
Saturday 8:00 am up for breakfast and hit the road north to the next village. We stopped at 2 different shinomatage again to look for tires (they have only used tires in the village). Of course, they had none. So further on north we go with 2 slick tires, a bunch of prayers and a couple of tubes for radial tires.

Saturday Noon – We arrive at the Kamchatka river and wait for about an hour on a small, old, rusty ferry boat to cross the river so we can drive our vehicle on the fairy and cross the river so that we can continue north.

Finally we arrived in the next village, Kassarevsk, where there is a small Baptist church which meets in a house. There we held a worship service, shared a delicious meal, and spent time with believers. There were 21 at this meeting. Marty preached his first Russian sermon without the aid of a translator in this village.

Saturday at 6 pm we turned south to head toward the village of Milkovo. We arrived back at Milkovo late and ready for some much needed sleep at the church.
Sunday morning we woke and prepared for the morning service……….we worshipped, took the Lord’s Supper together, and shared a meal. There were 22 at this service. We spent the remaining part of the day and night in the village of Milkovo before leaving the next morning.

Monday we began our journey back to the city of Petropavlovsk. We certainly did not want to leave the villages. We love the villages. That is where God has called us to serve and soon with the Lord’s help we will be living there. Please pray for the proper documents to be received so that we can fulfill what God has called us to do.

We had our 3rd and final flat about 200 km from PK. We changed the slick tire to another slick spare and continued on into the city. The next day I found myself purchasing tires in the city. Praise the Lord for His provisions and safe keeping. Praise the Lord that believers sharpen one another. Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”

Thanks for going on this journey with us: Please continue to hold the rope!

Language: Language is simply that, Language. Each day we strive to learn more and more and speak more and more. However, just when you think you are making progress you will say something that draws a strange look from a national. I (Marty) have seen this look many times. It is so strange how a Russian word that sounds very familiar to an English word has such a drastic difference in meaning. Nevertheless, we are making progress in our language, for example, this month Marty preached 3 sermons without the aid of a translator. Sure there were grammatical errors but when Marty preaches in English there are grammatical errors. Suzanne also sang a solo at one of the village meetings in Russian. She sang How Great Thou Art in Russia. It was awesome! (Statement by Marty)

Visa Update: The first of October we will travel to Prague for an Ebenezer conference and visa renewal. This visa renewal we will only receive a double entry 90 day visa. We have begun the process to apply for temporary residency. Once we return from Prague we will complete the process. We must submit many documents in order to apply, all of which need to be notarized and apostilled in America, translated and notarized in Russia. Please pray that we understand every step clearly. Once all the documents are submitted with the application we must wait 5 months on an answer. Please pray that God’s will is done in this situation and that He receives all the glory.

Prayer Request: - Pray for the new believers in Kamchatka as they continue their walk with the Lord.
-Pray for the believers across the peninsula that they continue to plow and not look back.
- Pray for us as we continue to search out a way to be able to live here year round.
- 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.

Thank you for holding the rope!!! We would love to hear what is happening in your ministry.

An observation from a mission team from the states who recently spent 10 days in Kamchatka:

Expect the unexpected in God

We had the amazing opportunity of experiencing the good and bad of Russia first hand. We were part of a mission team consisting of 6 people. Our team was originally supposed to head to Brazil to do evangelism along the Amazon Basin, but God changed our travel plans and sent our team to Russia instead. We prayed and prepared for our trip to Brazil for over a year, but we only had a month to plan for Russia. We knew God had His reasons for changing the plans. We didn’t understand it, but we were trusting Him! (Proverbs 3:5-6)

We faced many obstacles while praying and planning for this mission trip. If you can think of it, it probably happened. But when God’s in it, Satan can’t stop it! After the work God did in Russia, it’s no wonder Satan was working so hard to stop it.

We were told in advance that Russia was a cold and spiritually dark place, so we thought we knew what to expect. Guess that’s what we get for thinking. We had no idea how the Lord was about to change our lives. We met people who forever impacted our life and friendships that will last forever.

The Lord opened doors for us to work a youth camp in Kamchatka, Russia. What an amazing opportunity. Most of the youth at this camp were from a children’s home. They didn’t have much, but what they did have, they treasured. Not only did these kids treasure the few material things that they had, they also treasured trust and friendship. These youth longed for someone to show them some love, attention and tell them the truth.

We lived strictly primitive for 8 days on the Avachinskii Volcano. Primitive means…mosquitoes worst than you could imagine, eating things you never thought you would ever eat, living in tents, not having electricity, running water or a bath (unless it was in a creek).

Primitive wasn’t that bad. It really made us appreciate the things we take for granite every day. We were very thankful for the creek we bathed in and the campfire on those cold days and nights.

All of our time spent in Russia was memorable, but honestly some of the best memories were at the youth camp, Camp Favore. We were able to build relationships with these youth which led to trust. That trust, later led to trust in Jesus Christ. We’re ashamed to say, but we went to Russia with the expectation of planting seeds and maybe seeing 1-2 people saved. We’re so glad our thoughts and ways are not the Lord’s thoughts and ways. (Isaiah 55:8) Praise the Lord 18 youth prayed and trusted Jesus Christ to be their personal Lord and Savior. God showed up and showed out!

We apparently had little faith in what God could do. Even though Russia is a spiritually cold and dark country, God loves the Russian people and desires a personal relationship with them. We serve an awesome God and with Him all things are possible!!! (Matthew 19:26)

Visa laws are making it very hard for the missionaries in Russia to stay in Russia and share the love of Jesus. We know the Lord is not finished with this country. We’re asking you to pray with us and expect the unexpected in God!

Kevin & Jodi Nichols

August News Letter

2008-09-01T14:50:00.002+13:00

Once again the month has flown past us. This month we spent two weeks traveling to, in and around Moscow. We attended our first AGM (Annual General Meeting). It was a time that we spent with other colleagues, worshipping in our heart language, and learning new tools to aid us on field. Emma enjoyed a week of VBS. A word of encouragement - never take for granted the ability to worship together in your heart (English) language. When you have struggled for a year with a foreign language and sung every song and heard every sermon in Russian it is almost overwhelming to hear over 100 people burst out from the heart singing praises to the Lord in your native tongue. This was a twofold encouragement to us: #1 give praise to the Lord for times that we have such as this and #2 it encouraged us to strive to become very fluent in the Russian language so that we can experience the same with the Russians during worship.

Our new experience for the month was to wake up one morning and find that our district had shut the hot water off for 2 weeks. We had come to learn how to live without the convenience of hot water about the time they shut all the water off for 2 days while they repaired the pipes. What a blessing….we made it fine, thanks to the mission team leaving us all the extra “bath in a bag” they had brought with them to camp.

Family: Our family continues to do well both spiritually and physically. Lee and Emma have started back to school. We are still waiting on some of their books to arrive from the states but they have started nonetheless. Lee has already read one book and is writing his first book report of the year. (There is excitement in the air) Fall is in the air and the leaves will quickly begin to change and we will prepare for the next eight months of snow. We have had some clear and very nice days, clear blues skies with temperatures in the 70’s. Lee and I were able to go on an overnight fishing trip with some of our Russian friends. It was a great experience and we even managed to catch a few fish. We were also able to host one of our native friends from the village a couple of nights this month.
Ministry opportunities: We were very blessed to be ministered to at our AGM conference in Moscow. While in Moscow we were able to visit with our friends the Hooks and enjoy a Sunday morning worship service with them. A special thanks to the Hooks family for putting up with us a few days.

We finally arrived back in Petropavlovsk……Marty was able to help with Bible studies at Emmanuel and actually led his first Bible study this month without the aid of a translator (although he struggled for words it was a humbling but great experience and all seemed to understand the message). Suzanne has been able to share more and more with her language teacher the truth of the Gospel. Every day Natalia has more questions about why Suzanne believes what she believes. Please pray for Natalia as she is seeking the truth.

We continue to grow a friendship with our neighbor Zhenya. This month we were able to give him some fresh fish and he gave us some fresh berries from his dacha – (a small place outside of town where they grow fruits and vegetables). Pray for this relationship to grow as we share with him the truth of the Gospel.

Language: As we continue our language study we daily realize how much more we need to learn. However, we are also seeing some major steps in our language acquisition. Lee and Emma are both doing very well and are able to communicate easily with their friends. Lee even corrected Marty’s Russian a couple of times this month. (That is not surprising because Marty does not speak English very well).

Visa update: Visa issues continue to be an ongoing problem for us. Russia has now started what is called a 90/180 visa. What this means is that if you hold a religious visa you are only allowed to live in the country of Russia for 90 days and then you must live in another country for 90 days before you return to Russia. Our visa expires in October and we will be able to receive a new visa for only 90 days. We have made three attempts to obtain a work permit and in all three cases we have been denied. We are starting the process now applying for a temporary residence in Russia. This is a long and tedious process. Please pray that we understand everything and that we are led to the right person to help us with this situation. Please pray that the Lord will be honored and exalted in this difficult time.

Prayer request:
- Pray for the new believers in Kamchatka as they continue their walk with the Lord.
- Pray for the Putnam’s who are home for a few months on state side assignment. Pray that they have a blessed time with family and that they are able to communicate with several folks in the states the need to come along side and help with the work in Far East Russia.
- Pray for us as we continue to search out a way to be able to live here year round.
- Pray that we will be faithful to serve the Lord on a daily basis in the midst of __________ (just fill in the blanks).

Thank you for holding the rope!!! We would love to hear what is happening in your ministry.

On the Rope!!!

2008-08-21T22:35:00.002+13:00

Thought of the Day:

Some of you now that I used to send out a daily devotion titled, “Thought of the Day” when we lived in the states. This morning I spent time in my devotion reading Jeremiah 12 and also from H. Norman Wright’s Book: The Perfect Catch. I want to share with you today a verse from Jeremiah and a story from Norman. Thanks for being an encouragement to our family. I pray that this devotion encourages and challenges you, as it did me.

Jeremiah 12:5 (HCSB) If you have raced with runners and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?

1 Corinthians 15:58 (RSV) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord you labor is not in vain.

Matthew 10:38 Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me in not worthy of me.

The Story!

There is a story of two hunters who, while walking through the woods looking for deer, stumbled across an old farmyard. At first glance the two thought it was deserted. There were old car parts and tractor parts pieces lying about. The barn was in great disrepair, the fences needed mending, and the house was a little more than a shack. The only evidence that it was still a working farm were the few chickens and a goat wandering about nearby. As they continued to walking they came to a well near the middle of the property. Looking down the old well they noticed that they couldn’t see the bottom and this started a conversation about just how deep that old well might be.

“I reckon there’s only one way to find out how deep this well is,” said one hunter. “We’ll throw something down it, and then we’ll listen for the splash.”
“Good idea,” replied the other, “What shall we send down the shaft?”
They looked around them, and the closest thing they saw was an old transmission lying on the ground nearby. Both men lifted the transmission over the edge of the well, dropped it, and listened. Although it was only a matter of seconds, it seemed like a long time to the men until they heard the “sploosh” of the transmission hitting the water below.

“That certainly is a deep one, “commented one of the hunters. “Sure is,” replied the other.

As they turned to leave, the men were suddenly confronted with the goat they had seen earlier. The goat was charging right at them! Its head was down and it was running so fast that its feet barely touched the ground. At the last possible moment both men jumped aside and the goat charged right past them, bleating loudly, and fell straight down the well.

The men stared at each other, then at the well, then at each other again. They had never seen anything like that before in their lives. They walked away from the well, shaking their heads in amazement at what they had just witnessed. They hadn’t gone very far when they were approached by the farmer who owned the property. They chatted for a time, and the farmer gave them permission to hunt on his property. As they were about to leave the farmer asked, “By the way, have either of you fellows seen my goat?”

“Have we seen your goat?! Your fool goat tried to kill us. He charged at us and we barely had time to jump aside before he hit us. Luckily he missed—but he was going so fast that he ran right into the old well. That was a crazy old goat. You should have tied him up.”

The farmer scratched his head and looked around him. “I thought I did have him tied up. In fact, I’m sure I had him tied up. I tied him to an old transmission.”
The moral of the story is a simple, yet profound one: You will follow what you’re tied to!

Well, what are you tied to? Think about it, and remember who called us to follow Him. Several times Jesus said to others, “Follow me.”

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If any one wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24 NASB)

It’s a good thing to be tied to Jesus.
Be careful on who are what you run with……….you just might become tied to it!
Thanks for holding the rope!

July Newsletter

2008-08-04T11:44:00.001+13:00

WOW!!! July was a very busy month in the Far East. There is so much that I could write about the month but it would consist of several pages. Please remember if you have any questions or desire to know about Far East Russia please contact us by email and we will do our very best to answer your questions .
Family: Our family is doing well both spiritually and physically. The kids are still enjoying their summer break. We celebrated the 4th of July with friends on the river with a picnic. Emma was able to have her first watermelon in over a year. Watermelons are hard to find here and when you do they are very expensive. Emma sends a special thanks to Caleb and Mandy who splurged and bought her a watermelon.
We are getting excited about traveling to Moscow in early August for our Annual General Meeting. We will be able to see some old friends and make some new ones while we are there. Of course, Emma Grace is excited about getting to eat at McDonalds in Moscow. Lee was able to travel to Budapest, Hungary for the MK retreat. It is like youth camp for all the missionary kids in CEE. He had a great time on the trip and we will meet back up with him in Moscow.
Ministry opportunities: There were many opportunities for ministry this month. Lee was able to help with church construction in Yelizovo. They made a lot of progress on the building but still have some work to finish. We were able to share the Gospel with 58 folks on the street in a city evangelism project. Some that we met on the street evangelism project have already attended a Thursday night Bible study. Marty preached at the church in PK. We were able to help with the “Favore” camp on the volcano. A special thanks goes out to those who traveled so far to assist with the camp. Without them the camp would not have been the same. Thanks to: Andre (Minnesota), Sasha (Minnesota), Mandy (MS), Caleb (TN), Kevin (MS), Jodi (MS), Janie (MS), Jacob M. (MS), Kayla (MS), and Jacob H. (MS). During the volcano camp 18 youth prayed to receive Christ. Praise the Lord. We also saw two adults pray to receive Christ during the Bible studies in PK. We celebrate with you over these decisions. Please pray for these as they begin their walk with the Lord.
Language: Thanks for praying….we have made great steps in our language this month. We passed our second level test and after AGM we will begin our third level of language study. This should take around six months to complete and we will have a final test to complete our full time language study. Pray that we will be able to communicate well with those who are ready to hear the message.
Prayer request:
- Pray for the Tarleton family. They are friends and colleagues of ours, who have faithfully served for over 15 years. Teri Tarleton passed away this month at the age of 49. Pray for the family as they grieve their loss and celebrate her home going.
- Pray for the new believers in Kamchatka as they begin their walk with the Lord.
- Pray for the Putnam’s who will be going home for a few months on state side assignment. Pray that they have a blessed time with family and that they are able to communicate with several folks in the states the need to come along side and help with the work in Far East Russia.
- Pray for us as we continue to search out a way to be able to live here year round. Our visa expires in October and we must begin processing paper work this month. It is crucial that we have doors open to us. Please pray fervently for this situation.
- Pray that we will be faithful to serve the Lord on a daily basis in the midst of __________ (just fill in the blanks).
Thank you for holding the rope!!! We would love to hear what is happening in your ministry.

June Newsletter

2008-06-29T23:11:00.002+13:00

Dear Prayer Partners,
Thanks you so much for holding the rope throughout the month of June. We have seen God do some marvelous work in Kamchatka this month. As you know where God is at work the enemy is unhappy. We continue to face visa issues and other logistical “stuff” just for us to be able to live here. Please continue to pray that God provides us a way to live here year round.
Yahoo, everything is finally green, the flowers are blooming and it is usually a balmy 68 to 70 degrees. Everything looks so different with flowers and green grass. We have made several hikes through the hills and mountains of Kamchatka. As summer is here we have much planning and preparation. We have a couple of different mission teams coming in this summer. One team for “our” neck of the woods will be coming in to help with a youth camp on one of the local volcanoes. One team arrived today and will be working on the church building in Yelizovo as well as helping with the camp in village “E.” Please pray that every decision for the camps will be made according to God’s plan and work so many come to know Christ.
Yes, it is true, Marty and Suzanne are getting older. This month they became the official parents of a teenager. WHAT? That was my reaction (Marty) and then Lee (my now 13 year old son) reminds me that I must be old because my hair is falling out and turning grey. God has blessed with a great son who loves the LORD and loves others. We are very blessed to have the children we have. We praise the Lord for them and pray that God uses them to reach many lost people around the world. I also had my first Father’s day overseas. Of course, Suzanne and I both missed seeing our folks on the holidays. My children bought me a new tent to use during the Volcano camp this year.
We completed our work this month at the children’s home. We were able to end our time with them with a day of activities and gifts that Keownville Baptist from MS sent to them. Many of the children leave for camps during the summer. We were invited back in the fall once school starts. This is a great blessing and opportunity. Pray for continued opportunities and planning as we will begin work with them sometime in September.
We also had to say good bye to some of our friends and colleagues this month. Please pray for Randy and Robin as they have taken a new position with the IMB in another country. Pray that the Lord uses them mightily in their new role. Thanks for supporting missions through your prayers and giving. We able to receive a 2003 4 WD Toyota Helix Surf this month. This is the first vehicle we have had since we left the states. God has already allowed us to use the new Surf to make better relationships with neighbors and others around the city. Pray that we use this gift as a tool to reach many with the Gospel.
MONTHLY HIGHT LIGHT – 14 year old young man prayed to receive Christ as his Lord and Savior. Please pray for Mesha as he begins his walk with the Lord!

May News Letter

2008-05-29T17:14:00.001+13:00

Thank you so much for praying for the Lord’s work in Kamchatka throughout the month of May. Many of you joined us in specific and daily prayer. What a blessing it is to serve the Lord together even though we are miles apart. Please continue to pray that God will open many doors of ministry to us and for us to be able to live here year around. We welcomed our colleagues the Putnam’s back from their 90 days out of country. Pray that the next 90 days will be pleasing to the Lord before their state side assignment.
Ministry opportunities:
Zoya, our language teacher continues to ask many questions each week as we begin our language class each day with a short Bible study. Pray that as her knowledge of the Word increases her heart will open to the truth of the Gospel.
Marty was invited to preach at Immanuel Church once this month. Please pray for national leaders to step up and fill leadership roles. During the month of prayer we saw God work in Nationals leading them in that direction. Praise the Lord.
We are able to meet each week at a children’s home. It is such a blessing to be around this group of children. They are in need of being loved. Pray that our short time with them each week is multiplied by God. The director is very open for us to be there as much as possible.
This month we had the opportunity to meet a lady named Nellie. Nellie is 70 years old and the morning we met her she had walked 3 miles to church in a snow storm. We were able to give her a ride home and be encouraged by talking to her. The next time you are looking for an excuse to miss worship, think about Nellie.
Continue to pray that we are given opportunities to witness to folks every day. Pray that we are able to see where God is working.
School Happenings:
Lee and Emma are very excited that school is out. They have both completed their home school studies and did very well this year. They are looking forward to a summer break. Lee will be able to attend a youth summer camp this year in Budapest. Pray for him as he travels with other adults and MK’s.
Suzanne and I are still plugging away at learning the language. We have both experienced some rough spots in language this month but have managed to keep our heads above water. Please continue to pray for us in our language learning process.
Firsts:
We have finally begun to see signs of spring. The first two Sundays in May we received new snow (about 4 inches each time) but that quickly melted away. There was green grass peeking through the new snow which we found quite amusing. We now have trees budding and turning green. We have even seen a few wildflowers and dandelions blooming. One afternoon we got to go swimming at Golabaya Lagoona (the blue lagoon) and we each got our first Russian sunburn. It was lots of fun and very relaxing. We look forward to getting out and enjoying the sunny days God provides for us. Many people are also out on these pretty days. Pray for opportunities to share God’s love.

April News Letter

2008-04-27T15:13:00.003+13:00

ХРИСТОС ВОСКРЕС ВО ИСТИНУ ВОСКРЕС (Christ Arose in Truth Arose)Thank you so much for the prayers offered on the behalf of our family this month. God continues to teach us daily. We praise the Lord for the opportunity to celebrate Easter with our Russian brothers and sisters this month. I remember often as a kid growing up in the south we would take a fishing trip on Good Friday with the brotherhood from our church. For some unknown reason it would usually turn very cold and the fish would not bite. Early Sunday morning we would then adorn ourselves in our new spring outfits and leave for sunrise service only to realize that our spring clothes were not warm enough. In the Far East this month, we managed to have fresh fish for dinner one night but we woke Easter Morning April 27, 2008 with about 3 inches of fresh snow. We had been in the middle of melt down in PK and everything seemed to look very dirty due to all the black dirt that was put down for traction in the snow. When we awoke this morning God was teaching us a lesson. He is alive and he is the only way that a sin blackened person can be made white as snow!!! Please pray for the people of the Far East. Tradition has taught them to say the above phrase to each other on this day. One person will say, “Christ Arose” and the other will answer, “Truth, in Truth Arose.” For so many people in the Far East these are only traditional words, they have no real meaning at all. For example, this Saturday in Language Club Rachel, our colleague, was able to share the Easter Story for the lesson that day. After class I invited anyone that was interested to join me outside in the hall to learn more about Christ and His resurrection. I was able to present the clear Gospel to eight people who stayed about 45 minutes after class. They were full of questions. For most of them it was the first time they had ever heard that Jesus is the only way and that salvation is by faith through grace. They are reading some in John this week and we will talk again next week. Pray that God opens their hearts to the truth.

Praise: Thanks so much for praying. We received our new registration this month. We are currently registered in PK until October 15, 2008. Please pray that God uses us during this time and that a way is made for us to be able to live here year around. Many of our colleagues are forced to leave due to the new 90/180 law. This law states that we can live in Russia for 90 days and then we must live in another country for 90 days. That is why we spent 2 weeks in Seoul, Korea this month for migration re-registration. Praise the Lord we were re-registered for another 6 months. While in Korea we were able to spend some time with an old friend that came to MS as an exchange student. We spent an entire day with Ye Eun and her family. They picked us up at 9 am and we returned home at 10:30 pm. We were able to share the Gospel with the family over an evening meal in their home. Since Ye Eun returned home from the states her Mom and Dad have been attending church regularly. Praise the Lord for this opportunity to share with them.

School: Lee and Emma enjoyed their spring break in Korea. Emma enjoyed eating at McDonalds for the first time in 6 months. They met some other MK’s there and enjoyed their time with them. They have gotten back into the routine and have about 5 weeks of school remaining before summer break.

Language: Suzanne and I took a Russian language practice test this month. It was a test designed to give us feedback on our grammar and communication level. We were both at the intermediate level. The test indicated that we are a little ahead of where we are supposed to be. Please continue to pray for us. Language is something we need to master in order to communicate the clear Gospel to the Russians in their heart language. Pray that we maintain good study habits and spend our time wisely.

Challenge: Please join us in praying daily throughout the month of May for the peoples of Kamchatka. Please use the attached prayer calendar. Each day on the prayer calendar will give you specific information that we are trusting the Lord to do a work in that will bring honor and glory to Him. Thanks for holding the rope!

Pastors Feature: Please pray for Volodia and Alexander as they lead at Central Church in Petropavlovsk. Volodia is the man with his wife singing and Alexander is the one preaching. Pray that God uses them mightly and that God provides their needs. Pray that many more men are called out for service in the Far East.

May Prayer Calendar

2008-04-27T13:52:00.001+13:00

The Month of Prayer for Kamchatka
May 2008

1 Pray that the MKs living in PK will develop national friendships, learn the language, and be a witness for the Lord among their peers. 2 Pray that a church will develop in Village E where there are a few believers who seek fellowship and desire a deeper relationship with the Lord. 3 Pray that relationships will be built with participants in weekly English clubs and that those individuals will be drawn into Bible studies and salvation.

4 Pray that the Lord will call laborers for the harvest from America and around the world. Team members to assist throughout the peninsula are needed to help bring the gospel to those who have never heard (Rom.10:14), as well as a Strategy Coordinator to work in the villages of central Kamchatka.
5 Pray for the church in Yelizovo as their Pastor is on an extended leave of absence. This church is also in the midst of a building project to enlarge their church. Pray that the necessary resources will be available and that the building will be completed quickly. 6 This summer youth will be camping out under the stars and hearing about the Lord who created them during a Wilderness Camp. Pray as plans and preparations are made and that the counselors and the “heavens [will] declare the glory of God” to those who attend (Ps. 19:1). 7 A small church in Mil’kovo is without a pastor but has six faithful ladies who continue to meet regularly. Pray that the Lord will call a pastor, a youth leader, and other male leadership to this community. Pray for strength and encouragement for the women there. 8 Three camps for children and youth will be held in Village E this summer. Pray that Zhenya, the camp director, will have wisdom in planning and developing these camps. Pray that the children who attend will have open hearts to the gospel. 9 In many villages along THE road, the main road that runs through the peninsula, contacts have been made and people have been open. Pray that churches will be started in Village R, Village D, Village S, and Village P.
10 Pray for single believers within the church, that they will seek the Lord’s will concerning their future mates. There is strong cultural pressure to marry, but very few Christian men. Pray that the Lord will draw young men to Himself.
11 New visa laws are impacting the ability of Ms to serve in all of Russia. Pray that there will be an open door for the gospel. 12 Pray that Ms and national believers will take advantage of every opportunity to share the Gospel. 13 Pray for all of the national church leadership, that they will be able to balance work and ministry and receive necessary financial support. 14 Pray for the church and believers in isolated Village K. 15 Pray that the Gospel will spread into restricted areas where it is difficult to make contacts. 16 Many young believers attend a weekly youth group meeting. Pray that they will have spiritual growth and commitment to the Lord.
17 Pray for a man of goodwill in the government who would help with the ins and outs of living in Russia.
18 Pray that God will call Christian men into leadership and pastoral positions throughout the peninsula. 19 Pray for people of peace who would be willing to open their homes for Bible studies throughout PK. 20 Pray for the Putnam family as they travel today to Kamchatka after spending the required 90 days out of the country. 21 Pray for the salvation of government officials and that they will have wisdom in their decisions. 22 Pray that national believers will have a clear vision for the lost and put it into action to spread the Good News. 23 Pray that national laborers will step out and assist with evangelism, camps, and other summer activities.
24 Pray for the Ms that the Lord has called to the peninsula, that they would have spiritual strength in a cold place.
25 Pray for Pastor Valodia as he shepherds the central church in Petropavlovsk (PK), and gives guidance to the churches and believers in Kamchatka. 26 Pray for seekers like Michael and Alex who, although unsaved, are willing to attend a Bible study. Claim the promise that God’s Word shall not return void (Isa. 55:11). 27 Pray for short-term volunteers who are answering God’s call to serve this summer, that all the logistics and finances will be taken care of, and that they will be a light in the darkness of Kamchatka.
28 Pray for new believers like Sveta who often struggle with family issues after making a decision to follow the Lord. Pray that they will stand firm, grow in the Lord, and boldly share their faith. 29 Pray for the many planned summer projects: that the Lord will take care of the big and little details, but most of all that the Lord will be glorified and proclaimed through each activity. 30 Pray that the Lord will lead a national pastor to Emmanuel Church, a young church in PK. Pray also for a permenant location to meet and for the development of leadership within the church. 31 Pray for opportunities to reach out to young mothers, many of whom are seeking counsel concerning the raising of their children. Pray that this will be an open door to reaching families.

March 2008 Newsletter

2008-03-29T15:23:00.002+12:00

The Roberts family continues to receive the blessing of God in Far East Russia. Throughout the month of March the Lord opened many doors for us. It is a privilege to live in a place like Kamchatka and be able to serve the Lord here. This month’s newsletter will be a little different. We will give a ministry update and then answer the questions that were sent to us by many of our prayer partners. We sent out a request to all of our partners and asked them to submit questions that they would like answered. This month will be Q&A.

Ministry opportunities for March:
• We were invited to our First Russian birthday feast. This is very different from the states where only family and really close friends are invited and the host puts on a big feast. It was a great opportunity for us to strengthen relationships with a family in Petropavlovsk.
• We were able to travel to an orphanage in PK and minister to over 55 children. Praise the Lord, the director has asked us to return on a regular basis. Please pray that God does a great work in the lives of the children there. Many of the children will also be part of the summer camps.
• We were able to travel to village “E” this month. An 1160 km round trip on a dirt road. This is where we plan to live after we complete our language study. We were able to assist with an evangelism event and a home church service. We had 20 people attend the house church meeting (PTL). Please make this a matter of prayer. Village “E” currently does not have a Church. Pray that this will be the start of a great work there.
• Marty had the opportunity to preach at several places this month: Central Church, Elizovo Church, Immanuel Church, and at the house church service in village “E”.
• This month there were four new brothers added to the kingdom. Praise the Lord. One man around 45 and three teen age (15-18 yr old) boys. Please pray for these as they begin their walk with the Lord.

New Experiences for March: (A couple of funny stories)• A month of bites: Learning the Russian language is difficult. However I learned a word this month that I will never forget. I was walking home one day and I heard a young lady behind me yell, “NELZYA!” I kept walking because I was a great distance in front of her. The next thing I knew was that a German shepherd had me around the ankle. The young lady continued to yell, NELZYA. Once I freed myself from the dog and the lady apologized to me I headed home and looked up the word that means, “it is impossible, no, not able, stop.”
• We made a pit stop on the way home from village “E” in the middle of nowhere at one of the out houses along the dirt road. To our surprise there were 2 very pretty bay horses wandering around there. They were very friendly and we all petted them. Suzanne was petting one of them and the other became a little jealous and wanted something to eat and gave her a nip on the back of her arm. She used that famous word, “NELZYA.” I’m not sure if the horse knew this word because he made an attempt to get into the van with us. He was probably confuse because of the use of English and Russian combined, “go on, stop, NELZYA, no, get, get). Finally we were able to close the side door of the van and pull away. Praise the Lord neither of us suffered blood loss and both incidents make for a great laugh now.
• Our colleagues, the Putnam’s, are currently out of PK for 90 days for Visa purposes. We were able to use their van for travel in their absence. I, Marty, drove this month for the first time since we left the states. I sit on the wrong side of the van to drive, I mean right side. Driving in the city of PK is a lot different than driving in Wheeler.
• I parked one afternoon and come out later to find myself blocked in by a stranger. I knew only one thing to do. I shook his car with my hands and made his car alarm go off. When he came out side I received my first Russian “chewing out” because he said I took his parking place. I thought it was funny and told him in broken Russian, God bless you brother, I’m sorry, I did not know that you bought that piece of ground to park on.” He shrugged his shoulders and jumped in his car and pulled up just enough to let me out. Of course, I had to sit there long enough to let my vehicle warm up before I pulled away so he could back into his place. He probably cooled off a little sitting in his car in a short sleeve shirt while it was -13 outside. I now wave at him every time I pass him on the road. Pray that God allows us the opportunity to share our faith with him.

Questions Submitted by our prayer partners (rope holders). We will answer these questions based on what little knowledge we have about the people of the Far East. As one might suspect there are many differences between city folk and village folk. This proves to be true around the World.

Questions about the people and culture:
What kinds of occupations do Russians have? In the city of PK where over 200,000 people call home there are many different jobs. PK has a large fish canning factory and many are employed there. The city also has public transportation such as buses, taxis, marshrupes, that employ people. Schools, stores, postal services, mechanics, snow slope, garbage men, and the military base all provide work for people in PK.
However, in the village there are only a few stores, (kind of like an old country store) and three saw mills. The saw mills are the largest employer in the village. Many native people make their living by hunting, fishing and herding reindeer.
Do the women work or stay home with kids?In the city many of the women work in the locations listed above. In the village a great majority of the women are stay at home moms and tend the green houses and children while the men are out hunting, trapping or fishing.
Do the Russian people live in individual homes or high rise apartments?In PK people live in apartments. The majority of apartment buildings are only 5 stories due to the many earth quakes. Earth quakes are cause by the 26 volcanoes that are in close proximity to the city.
In the villages people live in a small wood home or either in a log cabin. Most homes are heated by hot water. Of course in the village there are some that must heat their water by burning wood.
Do the outlying village people still live in igloos?The native reindeer herders are nomadic and they live in a “yurta.” A yurta looks a lot like a teepee. They have a fire pit or a stove in the center and put evergreen branches on the ground and cover the floor with reindeer hides. Most herders will only move their cloth and hides for the yurta and at each camp site they store additional poles that they have previously used to erect the yurta.
Is there any farming or agriculture or personal gardens?
Many of the people who live in the city of PK have a spot of ground outside the city with a small house called a dacha. There they will plant a garden and usually have a green house. In the village the majority of homes have green houses. There is farming in the Far East but planting does not take place until June. There is a lot of light during the months of June, July and August so the crop is planted and harvested quickly.
What are the most common foods?Russians have many different dishes. Many we really enjoy and some ….well………..we always leave plenty for them. The staple food for a Russian would be potatoes, cabbage, onions, garlic, pasta, rice, tea (served hot in a cup, called chi pronounced with a long i) and fresh bread baked daily.
Do Russians eat three meals a day?
Russians usually eat three meals a day but the big meal is late. The kids at school have what is called second breakfast. Daily eating schedule
Zavtrak – breakfast – Somewhere between 8 am and 10 am, the meal usually consists of kasha. A Russian hot cereal made from either, rice, buckwheat, oatmeal or some other grain. Our favorite is rice kasha which is like rice pudding. They may also have blini which is a very thin pancake and a piece of cold ham or a sunny side up egg and a cup of hot tea.
Obed – lunch – This is also known as chi. It is more of a snack than a meal usually eaten around 2pm. Russians will put on the table things such as, pickles, jams, sweets, processed meats, canned fish and other pickled vegetables with fresh baked bread and cheese. And don’t forget a cup of hot tea. Most meals are eaten without drinking then the tea is served.
Yooshzen – dinner, supper - This meal is typically the large meal of the day. It is usually served between 8 and 9 pm. It usually consists of some type of soup, a salad (which is totally different from what Americans think of salad) a main course with potatoes and maybe a little something sweet and of course of cup or maybe two of hot tea.
What language is spoken is it easy or hard and are there any dialects that make it more confusing?
The language that is spoken here is Russian. There are some native languages that are in the villages but they typically speak only Russian. The Russian dialects are as different here as people from the deep south and from the far north in America. The Russian language is ranked as one of the top 5 most difficult languages in the world to learn. The Russian language has many different endings for each word that in some cases drastically changes the entire meaning of the word. For example, the word for go is (hodeet, edeet, or poete). Now that really means to go by foot, if you are going by vehicle it is different, or by plane or bus etc… Now, under each of those three words there are over 30 different endings and prefixes that can be applied to make it mean different things. The Russian language is very difficult to learn but most people are very gracious and patient when listening and are very appreciative that you are making the effort to learn their language that they know is so difficult.
Are Russians typically friendly, wary, sad, happy or discouraged?All of the above, just like people in America. Typically most Russian people are skeptical of you until they get to know you. Think of the history, you would be skeptical also. Once they have become your friends they are friends that have a special bond. Russian friends typically do everything together and often that means doing nothing but drinking a cup of hot tea and talking about life. They are not an event oriented people like Americans. Americans have friends that they go to church with, friends they fish with, friends they sew with etc, friends that attend sporting events together, friends that do this or that together…..Russians just have friends but only a few very close friends. They are content to just sit a listen to each other talk….I am still learning a lot about the relationship of friends and family in Russia.
What is the attitude toward Americans and/or America?We have been very well received everywhere we have been. Personally, I, Marty, have only had one conflict with anyone who talked down to us for being an American. He was drunk and was at the bunya (local Russian bath house) or sauna room. After a few minutes of stares and conversation he shook my hand and we parted company.

Questions about Church:

Are there many converts?One person has made the statement about the work in Russia, “we are plowing concrete.” However, just this week we saw three young men pray to receive Christ. I have done mission work in South America and it is very different there. People in South America will come looking for you to hear the Gospel. Here, it is much different. People have been lied to over and over again about religious matters. God is opening the heart of many and is giving us new opportunities each day. The Bible is true and teaches us that God’s Word will never return void. What we need help in doing is broad sowing the Gospel so that those who have not heard will hear.
Where are Bible studies and worship services held and how often do the churches meet?In PK Immanuel Church meets at the local library on Sunday evenings at 5pm and Central Church meets on Sunday mornings at 10:00 am in a small rented building. Elizovo church meets at 10:30 am on Sunday morning; they have a small building and have plans to add on this summer. Their sanctuary is currently about the size of the average American Sunday School class room. Thursday night youth group meetings are held in the Putnam’s home.
What types of songs are sung during worship?Before we could recognize any of the Russian Words we were able to recognize many songs from the tune. Russian Baptist sing a lot of songs found in the Baptist Hymnal, other songs I have no idea but enjoy, and occasionally they sing a praise song.
Are their particular passages that Russians are interested in or ask about?
Russian pastors tend to preach primarily from the New Testament and the majority of sermons come from Paul’s letters. A person on the street likes to strike up a conversation concerning the book of Revelation.
What do Russians believe about God?The majority of Russians would tell you that they do believe in God. However, many do not understand salvation, grace, faith, or how to have a personal relationship with Christ. I took a survey on the street one day and asked many the questions, “What more do you think the church could do for Petropavlovsk?” The answer was, “Nothing. They have built a new building. What more could the church do?” The people are content to look across the hill and see a building with 5 huge gold balls on top of it and think about good thoughts. They think about the sacraments inside and remember that soon they need to stop by and burn a candle. Yes, they have heard God’s name but the majority do not have a relationship with Christ.
Have any children received Christ since we have been here?
Just this week we saw three teenage boys make decisions for Christ. Praise the Lord. There are many summer activities coming up with kids and we have now been invited to do some work in the children’s home. Pray for other children to receive Christ as they hear the Gospel in a simple, true and understandable way.

Questions about family:

How were ya‘ll called to be missionaries?
Suzanne surrendered here life to missions when she was in the 11th grade. I was attending seminary at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary when I surrendered my life to the call of missions. While pasturing in Mississippi God allowed many opportunities for missions. We were involved in missions, promoted missions, taught about missions, and preached about missions. It was then that God allowed us to be the example of much of our teaching and allowed us the opportunity to serve Him as IMB missionaries.
When will ya’ll be on furlough?Furlough is now called state side assignment. We will be on State Side assignment in 2 ½ years. We hope to be able to see each of our prayer partner churches while we are in the states and share with them about the great things that God is doing and will do in the Far East.
What is a typical work day/week for ya’ll?
The number one word in the life of a missionary is flexibility. A day for us can change as quickly as the wind. One must learn to be flexible. Suzanne and I spend 40 or more hours each week in language study. We attend and help with morning services and evening services in the churches mentioned above. We help with language club on Saturday’s, Lee is part of the youth group on Thursday’s, and we make as many contacts with people as possible throughout each week. To be honest there is no way to have typical day here. We simply live our lives here for the honor and glory of God and tell as many as will listen about the greatest person we know, Jesus.
How many colleagues are in the Far East and how large of an area do ya’ll cover?Currently we have 4 units who live in the Far East that make up a total of 7 adults and 6 children. The Kamchatka Peninsula is 1,250 kilometers long, with an area of 472, 300 kilometers square. The population for the Kamchatka Peninsula is 402,500. As you can see we are on the edge where one must fly in, no roads lead to Kamchatka and there are a few trying to reach many. As Jesus stated, please pray for laborers…………..the harvest is ready.
What is the biggest surprise about living there, (good or bad)?One of the bad things that caught us by surprise is the price of food and clothes here. Because of the remote location everything here is twice the price of stuff in the states.
A good surprise was how well and quickly our family adjusted to living in a climate where most of the year has enormous amounts of snow.
In their own words could Lee and Emma tell us what it is like for them to be a part of a missionary family?
Lee: For me it was difficult at first because I couldn’t speak to anyone. That meant I couldn’t make friends. Now I can talk a little and have made a lot of new friends. They can speak a little English and I can speak a little Russian, so we can carry on a good conversation. I am homeschooled and like it a lot. It is a lot harder than public school but I am learning a lot more a lot faster. The Russian kids go to what we would call public school. They only go through the 11th grade but go one more year of college than Americans do. I like living in Russia because I get to experience a lot of things that a lot of kids don’t. What I miss the most is family, friends and baseball.
Emma: I like living in Russia because we have lots of snow. I get to play in the snow almost every day. I have made lots of friends. One afternoon this week I played with Katia and we spoke only Russian. I like home school and I am learning lots of new things. I like Russian school but I don’t understand very much because my teacher can only say, “What is your name,” in English. What I miss most: friends, family and mamaw’s dog Maggie.

Thanks so much for holding the rope!!!

Happy Birthday Emma Grace

2008-03-11T19:00:00.004+12:00

Today, March 11, 2008 Emma Grace celebrated her first birthday overseas. She thinks she is all grown up since she turned 8 today. She had a great party and recieved many gifts. She wanted to say thanks to everyone that sent her an email or card and wished her happy birthday.
Miss. Rachel and Lee also gave Emma a surprise birthday party at school today. Emma is pictured with her teacher, Miss. Rachel.

Around PK

2008-03-07T18:12:00.002+12:00

After language we took the afternoon to see a few things around town. Some of the snow is beginning to melt but everyone says not to get your hopes up it will snow at least 2 more times and they will be big snows. Yes, that is a car that Lee and Emma are standing next to. Yes, that is a city bus that we are following on a main street in PK during "melt down." In Mississippi we would call that a "mud hole." We also had a few new visitors enter the bay this week. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Suzanne's b-day & Teen Taco Night

2008-02-29T14:33:00.003+12:00

A picture of the teen taco dinner. Thanks for the mexican spices and tortilla's that helped make this night possible. Also picutred is my gorgeous "now older than me" wife that celebrated her first birth day overseas. Happy birthday Suzanne.

February 2008 New Snow

2008-02-29T14:20:00.002+12:00

Once again we would like to thank you for continuing to “hold the rope” for the Roberts family. It seems that we are always experiencing new things and new people. Even now as I type this newsletter we are in the middle of a predicted four day blizzard. The locals here call it a cyclone, it is a front that comes off the ocean and produces 50 to 60 km winds and drops enormous amounts of snow. For example, there are cars parked outside our window and you cannot see them. One would never know that a car was there if he did not know that it was normal parking places for people. It makes for an exciting day learning how to maneuver around with 5 or 6 foot of snow in places.
Ministry news: The Lord has once again allowed us to speak in some churches this month. Marty was able to preach at the church in Elizovo and at Immanuel church, the new church plant. Great news on Central church in Petropavlovsk, they have found a new place to meet. Thanks so much for praying for this situation. There is also an evangelist in the Far East at this time. He is a Russian poet named Pavel. He will be traveling up and down the Kamchatka Peninsula into many small towns and doing a poetry reading and then an evangelistic service. Please pray for Pavel during this next month. During the meetings the youth will also be told about the summer youth camps that are being planned. Please pray that many young people sign up for the camps.
Thanks to a box of goodies sent to us from the states we were able to have Mexican food night at our house. We were able to have several Russian teenagers come out to share in the meal. They had never tasted Mexican food. It was a big hit and we have plans with them to have a monthly meeting with food and fellowship. Praise the Lord for this new opportunity with these young people. Pray that it will lead to life changing decisions. We also are able to make many contacts during the Saturday English Club. Each Saturday at 4 pm at the library we have an English lesson and many Russians are coming to the lessons. Pray that God would continue to use this to draw people to Christ.
Family & School News: The family is doing well and still loving the snow. Lee has become a pretty good snowboarder and has used this tool to make many new friends. Emma is currently learning to snow board. She is doing well but has not yet graduated to the top of the snow slope. Marty has managed to learn to downhill ski. Suzanne has taken up the sport of cross country skiing. Cross country skiing will be very useful to us when we trek out to many of the villages, not to mention it is great exercise. God has continued to bless us with good health, with the exception of a few colds.
Both Lee and Emma are doing very well in their home school curriculum and have a wonderful teacher, Rachel. Marty and Suzanne continue to spend many hours each week learning the Russian Language. Please pray for all of us as we learn to speak Russian. Lee and Emma are also learning the language. Communication with folks is still difficult due to the language barrier but we are making ground. Thanks so much for holding the rope. Feel free to contact us at any time with any questions or just to let us know how things are in the states.

Marty Roberts
P.O. Box 176
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky,
Russia
683049

Janurary 2008

2008-01-28T21:40:00.000+12:00

Praise the Lord, we are off and running in 2008. January was a very busy month for the Roberts’. We were able to travel to a few places this month and encourage fellow believers. Please take time to pray for each church in Kamchatka.
We traveled 300 kilometers to the town of Milkovo. Approximately 5,000 people live there. There is one RBU (Russian Baptist Union) church there. There are six faithful women who meet every Sunday to encourage one another and pray for one another. They have a church building but do not have a pastor. Please pray that God sends a pastor to lead them. The church is heated by wood and everyday someone must trek through 3 feet snow 6 times a day and fill the heater with wood. At the conclusion of the service they assigned days of the week and each took a day that they would fast and pray the upcoming week for their lost family members. Please pray that God is honored and glorified in Milkovo.
We were blessed to have the opportunity to speak at Emmanuel Church this month. This is the new church plant in PK. Please pray that God would raise up national leadership in the church and that the church would catch the vision of evangelism.
We were blessed to have the opportunity to speak at Elizovo Church. Elizovo has a house that they use to meet in. They also have plans to expand the building. They have some lumber already purchased. Please pray that the building would be completed in God’s timing. Also, the pastor had to leave due to family medical reasons. He is expected to be gone eight months. Please pray for the men who have agreed to lead the church in his absence.
Central Church in PK was issued some bad news this month. They were meeting in an auditorium. The city decided to renovate the auditorium so the church had to move out. They currently do not have a place to meet. We were able to meet one Sunday with them at the library. Please pray that God would direct them in finding a new place to meet for worship.
We were also able to host “G.” He is a man from Village “E.” We were able to prepare a meal for Him and encourage him. He lives where we will be moving. God did some awesome things in our first meeting. Please pray that God allows us to continue to encourage them even if we currently are 600 kilometers away from them.
We traveled once again to Malkie. We were able to take a few days in the mountains for a prayer retreat. We were able to spend time with our team and time with the Lord. Please pray that God directs every decision that is made.
Language update: Suzanne and I were able to complete the first of three textbooks this month. We spent 185 hours each in language this month. We are able to communicate a little more each week. Please pray that we grasp this difficult language quickly and effectively.
Lee and Emma are both doing very well in school. Both of them are learning more language each week. Emma has completed the Russian alphabet and is able to read simple sentences. Lee’s teacher added language to his daily studies. Lee is now working on simple conversational Russian. He is doing very well in language learning and can read Russian exceptionally well.
The snow and the mountains continue to amaze us each day we are outside. We were able to try many new Russian foods this month including our first reindeer. Reindeer, smoked salmon, and fresh baked bread………WOW, that is good eating.
Thank ya’ll so much for “holding the rope” for our family and the people in the Far East. Please continue to lift us up. Please remember the churches here. Here is a challenge for you………take a map of your state and draw a circle that covers 600 kilometers. Now, count how many churches are in that circle. Remember how many churches were mentioned in this newsletter. Please pray that God sends forth laborers to the harvest field. The next time you complain about the church building you attend being too hot or too cold…….think about those 6 faithful ladies in Milkovo who must stoke the fire 6 times a day just to keep the pipes from freezing and bursting and pray for them. The next time the pastor of your church preaches past noon…….think about the Central church who currently has no place to meet or Elizovo church who’s pastor had to leave for a length of time. The next time you complain about having to do so much around the church………..pray for “G” who desires to have other believers living close to him, to encourage him and work together with him. Pray that God is honored in all that we do.
Romans 15:20-21 (HCSB) so my aim is to evangelize where Christ has not been named, in order that I will not be building on someone else’s foundations, but, as it is written: Those who had no report of Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.
Serving Him together,
The Roberts’ (Marty, Suzanne, Lee and Emma)

Happy New Year

2007-12-29T12:26:00.000+12:00

Happy New Year!!!
This is a time of year where many make New Year resolutions. There will be those who will commit to lose weight and never seem to get it done. There will be others who will make other commitments and somehow they lose focus in mid-stream. Please let me take this time to challenge you to continue with your commitment that you made to the Lord concerning missions in Far East Russia. Many of you committed to pray for us daily and many committed to pray for us regularly. Thank you so much for being a part of the Lord’s work in Far East Russia. Please continue to pray for us during 2008. God has so many great and awesome things that He wants to do in Far East Russia. Please pray that the Roberts’ family will be in the center of God’s will and will see all people with the eyes of Christ. Pray that many will come to know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior during 2008.
New Year is when “Father Frost” visits all the Russian Children. They do not celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. We had a wonderful Christmas service celebrating the birth of Jesus. One lady accepted Christ. Praise God for salvation through Jesus Christ. Please pray that many others will hear and understand. The Apostle Paul made a great statement in Romans. Allow this verse to be on your heart when you pray for us this year. {Romans 15:20-21 (HCSB) so my aim is to evangelize where Christ has not been named, in order that I will not be building on someone else’s foundations, but , as it is written: Those who had no report of Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.}
Our children are enjoying the snow. They go sledding at least once a week. There is a great hill just across the road from our apartment. They have met some friends there and the Putnam’s usually meet there for a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon. Lee has met some friends in our building. Emma has made some friends at school. Emma had a Christmas party at school this week. They all dress up in costumes, much like kids do in the states for Halloween but without the scary stuff. The ski slope has opened and Lee is looking forward to going snowboarding soon.
A special thanks to all who sent us cards, letters and boxes from the states. The kids really enjoy getting stuff from home…………well, maybe mom and dad also. If you have sent us something and we have not contacted you to say thanks…………please remember that it takes six weeks for stuff to get here from the states and we will let you know when we get your card, letter, or package.

Contact us at: 011-7-415-227-3716,
going.east@hotmail.com
http://robertsinrussia.blogspot.com
683049
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
P.O. Box 176
Russia
Roberts, Marty

Monthly Medication

2007-12-15T09:09:00.000+12:00

{Расскази как марти получ он медикамент.} This is a story on how Marty received his medicine.

As many of you know I have taken daily medication for hypertension since my senior year of high school. When we arrived in PK we quickly found out that my medication was not available here. We were given information on how to order my meds from the states and have it shipped here while at FPO training. That is what we did. They shipped me a seven month supply. It took about 5 weeks for the medicine to arrive. No problem, I had enough meds on hand to wait that long thanks to Randy’s state side trip. He brought me back a month’s supply.

We received a letter that my meds had arrived at the down town central post office and attached to the notification was a customs form.( I remember one day waiting in line at the North Mississippi Medical Center Pharmacy for about 30 minutes and began to get impatient. ) For me to receive my meds in Russia from the states it took a little longer than 30minutes. Let me just give you a summary report.

1. Received notification that meds were at the post office.
2. Attempted to retrieve meds. We were given the customs notification.
3. Went to customs.
4. Next day sent back to customs.
5. Took a customs inspector with us to the post office to inspect the box.
6. Back at customs, box remains at Post office.
7. Get in a Russian jeep with “Dog the bounty hunters” twin.
8. Ride through the customs ship yard and to a secluded building.
9. Meet with more customs agents.
10. Finally 2 signatures, 2 stamps and back to the post office.
11. Summary (3 days, 24 custom agents, inspector, dog the bounty hunter, ride in Russian custom’s official jeep and we received 7 months worth of Meds).

The next time you are at the pharmacy and have someone in line in front of you. Just smile and remember that you will probably not have to talk to 24 custom officials. All in all Tracey and I laughed a lot and “Dog the bounty hunter” was a funny guy. He even spun some circles in the jeep on the ice.

Philippians 4:19 and my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Notice the picture of Emma Grace standing beside a life size photo of Lottie Moon. Take time this month and research a little about this young lady who devoted her life to missions. Please ask the Lord how you can support missions this month during the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. It is this offering that keeps us on field and helps provide things like monthly medications, even if it takes all the above to retrieve it.

Merry Christmas!!!

2007-12-10T20:51:00.000+12:00

The Roberts Family (Marty, Suzanne, Lee & Emma)
Contact info: going.east@hotmail.com; http://robertsinrussia.blogspot.com
683049
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
P.O. Box 176
Russia
Roberts, Marty
Dear Prayer Warriors/prayer reps,
God is at work in Far East Russia. Each day He teaches us new things about the people and the area in which we live. Suzanne and I are learning new words and phrases each day. In just six short weeks of language school we have completed nine chapters of our book. We know around 700 words in the Russian language not counting the ability to count to 1,000 in Russian. We attempt to use the Russian language daily outside of class. We can know go down to the corner magazine and purchase many items and they actually understand what we are trying to say. We can introduce ourselves and our families in Russian. We can sing a couple of Russian songs in church. We have currently passed four spelling test in Russian. Praise the Lord. Please continue to pray for us as we learn one of the top five most difficult languages in the world. Pray that we will learn the language and have the ability to clearly communicate the Gospel.
The first Sunday of December Marty had the privilege of preaching at Immanuel Church. This is the new church plant that currently meets in the library. Praise the Lord for the opportunity to share the Gospel. During this service we were able to minister to a lady who is currently in the Bahia faith. Please pray that we clearly communicate the truth of Jesus Christ to her.
Marty also celebrated his first birth day in Russia. He turned (tretsat semb) on December 10. You can guess what those Russian numbers are. We also received our first package from home. If you love peanut butter like I do you will never know how good JIF creamy taste after doing without for eight weeks or so. We are grateful for all the stuff that was sent to us. Just a side note…sugar free kool-aid, which my kids love, is not available here.
Lee and Emma continue to do well in their studies. Lee has had 4 tests in the past couple of weeks. They are really enjoying having Rachel work with them in their studies. We did get to take a couple of days this month for recreation. We took one Saturday afternoon and went snow sledding and made a few snow angles. Also, one Friday evening we all went to the Blue Lagoon. This is an outdoor water park with water slides and pools that are heated by hot springs. Have you ever gone swimming outside when it was negative seven? We did!!!
Please remember that this month is when we as SB give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Please know that it is this money that keeps our family on field. Please pray and ask the Lord how you can support missions this year. God bless and Merry Christmas from the Roberts’.

Firsts

2007-11-24T22:27:00.000+12:00

Firsts
The later part of November brought about many “Firsts” for the Roberts family. Marty was given the opportunity to preach at Central Baptist Church in Petropovlovsk-Kamchatsky during the morning service. The Lord certainly moved during the service and we give God all the glory for all that was done. Emma Grace pulled her first overseas (zyb) tooth. She and one of the Putnam’s kids had a race going on who was going to pull their tooth first. I believe they pulled them on the same day. Emma Grace also had her first day at Russian School. She enjoyed it very much. We were able to meet with the administrator (principal) and her teacher two days before she started class. The administrator spoke English very well and the teacher spoke a little English. The school reminded us a lot of Wheeler School. Emma has made friends with many of her class mates, all 22 of them, and has begun to learn to write Russian. She also studies math, science and art at school. Lee and Emma both are doing a home school curriculum and their teacher, Ms. Rachel, arrived in PK Saturday safe and sound.
We also experienced our first overseas Thanksgiving celebration. We celebrated with our team members in PK. There were 12 of us that gathered to give thanks together. We managed to have turkey with all the trimmings despite the fact that we had been without power for 2 days.
We currently have around 5 inches of snow on the ground and it is averaging -3 degrees C each day. Lee has enjoyed snow sledding with some Russian boys and is looking forward to the opening of the snow slopes that are not far from our home. We will need a few more inches of snow before he tackles his first snow board run. Suzanne and I had our first Russian language exam this week. We both scored really well. A (5) was the highest grade available and the teacher scored each of us at (4+). We were both excited.
Don’t forget this year’s Lottie Moon emphasis is on the Former Soviet Union. You can read lots of good info at www.imb.org. Please be in prayer for the Former Soviet Union (Russia and the 14 other countries that gained independence). Also, please pray for God’s guidance on how to give to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering this year. Without the obedience of God’s people in giving, missionaries all over the world will not be able to stay on field to spread the Good News of God’s saving grace.
We are very thankful to have folks like you holding the rope on our behalf. Praise the Lord for faithful prayer warriors like you. God bless each one of you! Roberts family (Marty, Suzanne, Lee & Emma) Philippians 4:13.

Snow! What's That?

2007-11-16T18:54:00.000+12:00

Wednesday night it was difficult for Emma to go to bed. She has always wanted to have a white Christmas. Looks like she might even get a white Thanksgiving this year. About bed time Wednesday it began to "spit" a few snow flakes. By Thursday morning we had a light dusting for PK standards. There was enough snow that it would have caused problems in MS. Wheeler would have certainly turned out school and the grocery store would have sold all their milk and bread. Everything was normal in PK, even the grandmaw's were out and about. It did make for a fun walk to the magazine (grocery store). We picked up some klep (bread)just so we would feel like everyone in MS when snow is predicted. Lee and Emma did have a chance to toss a few snowballs at one another. Suzanne and I spent the day in language school. We are learning many words and different endings but still find it very difficult to make a complete sentence. I feel like I am in first grade again. Each day Zoya makes us recite the alpahbet. Two days this week she gave us a "pop" spelling test. Zoya is a great teacher and has taught us alot in only 7 days of class. Zoya only speaks Russian. That made the first couple of days quite a challenge.

Everyone is doing great. Rachel, the new homeschool teacher, will arrive this week. She has recently had knee surgery. Pray that she and the kids develop a quick and healthy relationship and that she is able to get around and her recovery from the surgery is smooth and easy.

We are here!!!

2007-11-09T22:27:00.000+12:00

We finally made it!!! A little over a week ago we said good bye to our families inside the Memphis International airport and our journey officially began. We boarded and left for Chicago……….no problem. From Chicago we flew to Frankfurt, Germany. We landed in Germany and found our next terminal according to our tickets, gate B-72. The strange thing is that the airport in Frankfurt does not open until 5 am. We know this because our pilot stated that we were going to circle the airport from 4:35 am to 5 am until it opens. At gate B-72 it was a ghost town, no one was there. We sat a few minutes and finally found a lady who only spoke German but finally managed to tell us to check the computer on the wall. When we found our flight number to Moscow it stated in big letters CANCELLED!!! It was off to the races; I ran up stairs to the Lufthansa counter and stood in line for 45 minutes. They issued us a standby ticket for the next flight that left in 50 minutes. I ran back down stairs, found the family, ran back up stairs and around the airport and made the next flight to Moscow. We had someone meeting us in Moscow to help us change airports there. We did not make our original flight because of the cancelled flight in Frankfurt. Oh well, we were tired and it was a blessing to get a hot shower and a night’s sleep in Moscow before we flew on into PK. Our check in and flight the next day went as expected. We flew into PK and the mountain tops were covered with snow………..pictures will never do justice to the beauty of mountains. We were greeted by the Covington’s and the Putnam’s and Pastor Volodya. Volodya is the pastor of Central Baptist in PK.
Every single piece of luggage made it to PK in perfect shape. We loaded our bags and headed to our apartment. It is about 1200 square feet with great heat and hot water, two different views of the city and all the amenities that anyone would desire to have or need. We even got our internet hooked up today. We have purchased beds for each one of us, tea pot, microwave, table and chairs, washing machine and a few dishes. A person can purchase almost anything in the city, even ice cream and microwave popcorn.
We started our language training on Thursday. We have had 8 hours, 4 hours per day, thus far. It is fun but trying at times. On Tuesday’s and Thursday’s Suzanne and I catch a bus and travel to the next town, Elizovo, to meet our teacher, Zoya. On Mon, Wed, and Fri she will travel to our apartment. Please pray for Zoya, she is not yet a believer but a very nice lady and great teacher.
The three big mistakes Marty has made thus far…………………All comical! (1) The very first day in PK attempting to use a little Russia language……………I really thought I knew how to ask someone if they would like something to drink. I asked Pastor Volodya if he wanted something to drink,…..everyone laughed,…….somehow I managed to ask the pastor if he would like to go out and get a drink…………..an alcoholic drink………..Praise the Lord for a sense of humor, everyone just laughed really loud. (2) Attempting to use the Russian ATM to withdraw money to purchase the washing machine I punched in the wrong pin number and the ATM retained my card. Once again in big red letters……..CARD DETAINED IN MACHINE. Randy called the number on the machine and then we had to go to a Russian bank fill out some paper work and show them my passport. They had to go and retrieve the card, call Randy on his phone and then we had to go back and pick it up. (3) Shopping at the market…………….be careful on what you order…………….asking for a small fish and getting several pounds, market is a great place to practice your language but you never really know just how much stuff or what type of stuff you may be asking for. There will certainly be more stories to come from the market.
The kids are adjusting great! Lee already knows the bus routes better than any of us. Emma loves going to the market. They got to go eat real Russian food while we were in our first language class. Lee ate blini (a pancake or crepe type thing) and Emma ate a Russian salad and soup. We have had smoked salmon from the outdoor market. Lee even ate caviar (salmon roe) and liked it. The breads are out of this world. We go to the corner market to get fresh bread every couple of days. We definitely don’t have to be afraid of going hungry.
Thank you so much for praying for us. We are still waiting on a mailing address. As soon as we get one I will post it. Please remember that if you mail us letters or anything it will take about 4 to 6 weeks for them to get to us. Also, if you send material goods please do not list the value of being over $30. If it is over this amount we will have to pay taxes on it to receive it. Just label it as gift and value $25 or $30.
Thanks for holding the rope,
Roberts Family (Marty, Suzanne, Lee & Emma)
Philippians 4:13
Contact Information:
going.east@hotmail.com
http://robertsinrussia.blogspot.com
home # 011-7-415-227-3716
If you give us a call please remember the time difference. We are 18 hours ahead of the states or one day minus 6 hours. For example if it is 12 noon Monday in MS it will be 6 am Tuesday in PK.

The Village

2007-10-28T14:54:00.000+12:00

Pray for the Small People of the North who live in Far East Russia!!!

Visas Issued

2007-10-26T06:26:00.000+13:00

Praise the Lord!!! We have recieved our visas. We were issued a one year multiple entry visa. What does this mean? This means that we fly out on Monday October 29. We will leave Memphis International Airport at 10:47 am. Our flight will take us through Chicago, IL; Frankfurt, Germany; Moscow, Russia and finally to Petropavlovsk, Russia. We will land in (PK) at 10:00am on October 31. It takes a little while to fly around the world. Please pray that we make each flight change and that our flights go well. Pray that all of our stuff is packed correctly and that it will check all the way from Memphis to PK. That would be a blessing. Once on field we will have a week of orientation, learning how to get around the town, where the market is, and eventually will begin our language study. Thank you for holding the rope! We will send out a mailing address when we get one.

Tight Grip

2007-10-11T12:08:00.000+13:00

Thanks for holding the rope!!! PRAISE THE LORD................our LOI's (Letters of Invitation) came in today. We were able to process all the information and get the documents sent over night express to apply for our Visas. Please pray that all the document changing of hands will go smoothly. Pray for a tight grip on our paper work. Pray that our flight will be booked to leave Memphis on the 24th and Moscow on the 27th. God is in control and we are very content with His timing. God bless each one of you for joining us as prayer partners. Keep holding the rope!

Lee and Emma are enjoing their homeschool curriculum. However, Suzanne and I are not as good at recess as we used to be. They are both doing well and are still very excited about going. Lee thinks that he is going to learn to snowboard once we get there, "you might hold a tight rope on that also." Emma is content on the idea of making some snow angels and of course a few snowballs to "smack" her brother with.

Lee invites ya'll to email him at lee_red13@hotmail.com

Mississippi

2007-10-09T08:33:00.000+13:00

The Roberts family is back in MS for a short stay before we leave for the Far East. We had a safe trip in from ILC. We are currently awaiting our (LOI) Letter of Invitation that comes from Russia. Once we get the LOI we will file for our Visas and then the airline tickets will be issued. We should depart on the 24th of October if all goes well. We will be in Petropavlovsk for a year while we are in language school. We will then move to the village. Pray for us as we continue to process the necessary paper work for us to enter the country. Pray that there are no hang ups that would cause us a delay. Thanks to all of you who are continually "Holding the Rope" for our family. God bless each of you!

Mississippi Bound

2007-10-02T13:02:00.001+13:00

Today was the last official day of class at FPO. Tommorrow we will have a departing ceremony and we will head back to Mississippi for a couple of weeks before we depart to Far East Russia. Please pray for us as we travel back home. Pray that the Lord gives us a couple of great weeks with our families. Pray that the LOI's and Visa's come through at the correct time. We are MS bound and we see some of ya'll very soon.

Holding the Rope in DC

2007-09-27T07:50:00.000+13:00

“First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2 (HCSB)

Hello Family and Friends! Our time at FPO is coming to a close. We have been busy learning as much as we can to be effective on the field. We are very excited about being closer to our final destination and working with the people God has burdened our hearts for and called us to.

We were able to take a trip to Washington, DC to experience some cross-cultural awareness. We got to ride the Metro (subway) which Lee and Emma Grace had never done. We will have to take public transportation in Russia while living in the city so this was a very helpful experience. We encountered several different nationalities, heard lots of languages we couldn’t understand and got to witness to people who do not have a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Two in our group were able to lead a young lady and gentleman to Christ. PRAISE THE LORD!!! We were able to see many things in our nation’s capital. Emma Grace was so funny when she saw the Washington Monument. She said, “Whoa! That thing is huge!” We were able to prayer walk from the White House to the Capitol Building. Our county’s leaders need our prayers.

FPO ends October 2 (next Tuesday) and we will begin our journey back to Mississippi to await travel arrangements. We are still waiting for our Letter of Invitation from the Russian Baptist Union so we may obtain visas. Continue to pray for this situation even though we know everything will work out in God’s timing. Pray for discernment for us as we make final decisions on what to pack.
Thanks for Holding the Rope,
Roberts Family (Marty, Suzanne, Lee & Emma)
Philippians 4:13

Sow & Reap/Pizza Hut

2007-09-25T15:15:00.000+13:00

Papaw and Nanney took the time to plant some seed several weeks ago. Mississippi went through a time of drought this year and each day Pop would go out and water his garden. The harvest went well.....especially the "sweet taters."

Galatians 6:7-9 Don't be decieived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap, because the one who who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.(HCSB)

How was your spiritual garden this year? Were you able to pick any fruit for the kingdom? Please pray that we will have boldness to broad sow the Gospel ever where we go.
Let me share with a short story. Last Saturday the family and I had a day off and we drove up to VA Beach and spent the day. We stopped by a local Pizzan Hut for supper. Several college kids [15 or 20 of them] came and sit at a long table next to us. One young man had on a blue and white shirt that read, "Got Jesus?" After I had paid for the meal Suzanne and the kids went out to the van. I walked up to this young man and in a very stern voice asked him this question, "What gives you the right to wear that shirt in here?" I was wondering if I was going to get out alive. He looked straight at me and stated, "I wear this shirt because Jesus loves me and I have Him in my heart and He loves you also." WOW!!! If only more college 26 yr olds loved Jesus like that. This young man loved the Lord and was unashamed to sow the Gospel.

Well, our conversation turned friendly and encouraging at this point. They then asked if they could pray for our family. I went out and got Suzanne and the kids. Those 15 or 20 college kids surrounded us in Pizzan Hut laid hands on us and prayed heaven down.........out loud and ferverently. God bless those young people. Many people in Pizza Hut that night heard the name of Jesus proclaimed. If we are expecting a harvest then we must be busy planting.

Have you planted anything this week? God bless my Pizza Hut friends..........each one of you was an encouragment to our family.

FPO Week 7/Prayer

2007-09-22T16:08:00.000+13:00

1 Chronicles 29:10-13 David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, Praise be to you, O Lord, God our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the spledor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours O Lord, is the kingdom you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.

WOW!!! What a blessing to be able to talk to God. Can you imagine talking to some unknown spirit in hopes of your prayers being answered? Maybe, if you tied a prayer cloth to something it might work? Look at the picture above closely. All those pieces of fabric represent prayers that have been offered up to some false spirit. Please pray for the Small peoples of the North. God's desire and our hearts desire is for them to know the true and living God as Lord and Savior so that they can expereince true praise to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Thanks for Holding the Rope!

Because you can why not just stop right now and give God PRAISE, He is worthy! After your praise session go and tell someone about His love, goodness and grace.

Showtime

2007-09-20T08:52:00.000+13:00

Lee and Emma have experienced many new things during ILC. Who would have thought that "Red" would have been salsa dancing twice a week? Emma Grace has turned into a complete animal lover. Each week they have many reptiles, fur and feathered friends that visit their class. Of course she always states, "Mommy, I want one." We are currently in week 7 of our training. We have about 13 days before our session in VA is over. We will be home for a couple of weeks before we ship out. Thanks for holding the rope, "keep a good grip."

Scenic Backyard

2007-09-14T06:33:00.000+13:00

Kamchatka is a place that is full of beauty for the outdoorsman. Please pray that God's message will spread and His beauty and hope will be the greatest attraction in Far East Russia. Thanks for Holding the rope!

Why Hold the Rope?

2007-09-09T08:11:00.000+13:00

Our basic means of understanding and fulfilling God's mission is learning how to hold the rope.

Holding the rope undergirds God's work in the world.

Holding the rope enables us to discern His priorities and the development of His strategies for carrying out His work within a given people group.

God has chosen to accomplish His purposes in this world in response to the "rope holders" of His people.

Holding the rope can work with all nations and peoples in this world.

Everyone can help Hold the Rope.

Holding the rope is hte most crucial work a person can be doing.

Oswald Chambers once stated, "Prayer does not just fit us for the greater work. Prayer is the greater work."

Thanks for holding the rope. Keep up the good work!!!

2007-09-05T03:51:00.000+13:00

FPO Week 4

2007-09-05T03:36:00.001+13:00

Well, we're half way there. We've completed four of eight weeks of orientation. We have stayed so busy the time has really passed quickly.

Friday August 24 we got our first round of shots. Everyone did pretty well, other thatn Lee getting a bit pale on us. He gave all the medical team some entertainment. We have out next round of shots August 31.

Marty completed ESL which means he is certified to teach English as a Second Language. This is quite ironic for the man who hated English in high school.

Lee went on a field trip to two foreign markets: Asian and European. He bought Russian chocolate at the European market. They ate at a Mediterranenan restaurant. He enjoyed the food.

Emma Grace had some visitors in her classroom: exotic birds and scorpions. She has learned a lot about other cultures and the song "God is so Good" in Taiwanese.

We has another "special meal" Thursday. The meal was typical of South Asia and the Pacific Rim. We had curry chicken, rice and all kinds of toppings: diced tomatoes, pineapple, peanuts, coconut, raisins and some type of sour fruit preserves. It was good.

Bible study has continued to be very good as we continue through the book of Acts. We are using SPECKA which means you look at the verse to see if they have: Sin to confess, a Promise to claim, an Example to follow, a Command from God, Knowledge to understand,and Application to life.

Ways to hold the rope:
Language teacher for when we arrive in Russia
Letter of invitation and visa process
Eveni and Koryak Tribes
Rachel possible teacher for Lee and Emma

Tight Rope News:
Praise God for answered prayers. We have a teacher for Lee and Emma Grace for the time we are in full-time language school. We also get to by-pass Moscow and go straight to Kamchatka.

Thanks for holding the rope!!!

FPO Week 3

2007-08-26T01:12:00.000+13:00

Week three is coming to a close. It has been another busy yet GREAT week. This week's feature pictures are Lee and Emma taking part in a special hands only meal Hungrian style. We continue to work on language and transition. We spend about eight hours a day in class and then most of the night doing outside work. Please begin to earnestly hold the rope for our people group. You do remeber their names, don't you? Ask the Lord to begin a CPM in their home land. Thank all of you for "Holding the Rope."

FPO Update

2007-08-19T11:25:00.000+13:00

We have almost completed our second week at FPO. The days are very long and filled with study and preparation. Thanks for continuing to hold the rope as we are preparing for the edge. One could never imagine what goes on during this process. You should be very proud and honored to be involved with such a concerned and well organized company. Thank you for being a part of our team.

The kids are adjusting well and both have made many new friends. Our quad is divided into 3 apartments with 3 families living around the main great room. We have a total of 8 children who live in our quad. Each day there are many freinds who drop by. We've been told that we have the "party quad." You can read into that whatever you want.

Fishing has been slow due to hot weather and time restraints. However the hot weather broke today and it was very nice outside. I will try to post a few pictures on the next update.

Hold the rope!

Holding the Rope

2007-08-08T13:18:00.001+13:00

Hey we found a new way to communicate................well..............maybe.............let's give it a test run. Thanks for your help and holding the rope.