The News from Here – August 2005
Hello, again, from the mission fields of Ivanovo,
Russia. I pray this newsletter finds you enjoying the
blessing of His presence in your lives, more and more each
day.
THE MONTH PAST
Prayer
Retreat
Our prayer retreat from August 5-7 was a huge
success. We spent our days having teachings about
specific areas of needs in our church body followed by an
hour of praying specifically for those needs. The
teachings were anointed as well as the prayer times.
Those attending came back with a renewed vigor and the
changes in their lives are still evident. They are
now meeting early each Sunday before the service begins for
united prayer.
New
Believer’s Retreat
Our new believer’s retreat, “Encounter with
God”, went well, also. At these retreats, we
have deep teachings about things that hinder a person from
experiencing a full walk with the Lord and about the
atoning work of the cross.. Those who attend are now
giving testimony to how the Lord met them at these retreats
and the miracles and life changes that were the results of
them.
Evangelism
Conference
The evangelism conference from the 15th
–
19th
also
went great. As a result of the workshops and going
out to the streets, 140 people repented. The youth,
and all who attended, have a renewed zeal for evangelism
and are continuing to reach out to the streets even now.
Youth
Picnic
Our youth end of summer picnic was enjoyed by
everyone. We ate hot dogs roasted over the fire, ate
watermelon, played and I shared an encouraging word to the
youth as they return to studying. It was a relaxing
time as well as a time to reflect on all the things the
Lord did in each of their lives during the summer.
Many shared testimonies of how their lives had changed and
the Lord’s blessings they had received during the
summer.
The Visa trip and URGENT MINISTRY NEED
As I told you in the last newsletter, it was necessary for
me to travel out of the country at the end of August to get
my new visa. This is a yearly trip that always
stretches the budget, but, this year, more so than ever.
Sergei and I called and searched for the cheapest place to
travel to get the visa. The cheapest places came down
to Prague, Czech Republic, Bulgaria or Istanbul, Turkey.
After making many phone calls to the Russian consulates in
these cities, and contacting a travel agent, we decided on
Istanbul. The agency was offering a travel packet
that would get me to the country and back in 4 days and,
the consulate there, told us they offered 1 hour visa
processing, so the decision was made and I bought the
tickets.
After arriving in Istanbul, the first day was an off day
for the consulate. On the second day, Thursday the
1st
of
September, I went to the consulate and gave them my
necessary documents for the visa. I asked about the 1
hour processing and was told it would cost $250.00.
While this was more than I had originally been told over
the phone, I had to pay because of my tight schedule.
After paying, they said, instead of 1 hour, it would take 4
because they didn’t’ return visas until after
their lunch break. I spent the time roaming the
streets of Istanbul and sight seeing.
When I returned after 3:00 pm, my visa wasn’t
ready. They looked in their records of where I had
turned in the documents and then told me it was going to
take a week for me to get the visa back. I began to
protest, but they told me they could give me my passport
back without the visa if I preferred. Realizing they
had the “upper hand”, I resigned myself to
wait.
Of course, this meant I would have to stay an extra 5 days
in Istanbul and change my flight plans. Since I was
there on a tour package, the extra cost was DEFINITELY not
in the budget. I could not change hotels, because it is
required to show your passport for booking a room, and the
consulate had my passport for my visa
I got my visa on the 6th
and flew
home on the 7th;
however, the extra costs involved have put the ministry in
dire financial straits.
I was able to borrow money from our youth budget to get me
through this time, but I MUST repay it.
As you can imagine, a hotel stay of 5 days, changing
airline tickets, as well as, the added cost of eating out
for 5 days isn’t cheap.
I must ask, if you have been thinking, “some day I
will send him money” or planning to send some
support, PLEASE DO SO NOW.
With all the extra added expenses, I need you to send what
you can. I don’t want to sound dramatic, and
don’t intend to, I just want you to realize the
burden and situation I find myself in.
IN CLOSING
As
always, I want to thank each of you for your prayers and
support. I am still always appreciative of all you
do. Your faithfulness is known and admired by many
here. Thank you.
Until next month,
Keep the Faith,
Randy