Dear Friends,

New Years Eve this year was spent in a little Baptist church half a world away from home where a handful of the church members gathered for a special service. After praying in the new year, we stood outside in the frosty air and watched the sky all around us erupt with fireworks. The fireworks and celebrating continued long into the night all over the city. In Russia, New Years is the biggest holiday of the year. Christmas on the other hand is a small, religious holiday celebrated on January seventh.

Last lesson, we spent thirty minutes talking to them about evolution. They have been so indoctrinated at school that they have a hard time believing that God could have made the whole world. This week they were trying to understand the virgin birth.

Sometimes it is difficult to get through the lesson but, it is great that they are asking questions. It must be unbelievably hard to be without parents in a world filled with conflicting ideologies. Please pray for these children.

Dear Friends,

Hello again from icy Siberia! Today is a little warmer than yesterday with a current temperature of 9 Fahrenheit. Of course there is that -16 windchill. Fortunately, I am getting used to the cold.

Semester exams begin on Friday and I am a little apprehensive about my spoken Russian exam. It is, of course, a verbal test, and I have been struggling a bit in that area. I know the correct forms and structures but when it is time for me to speak I get tense and it all comes out wrong. So, I will be devoting some time to practice and prayer and with God's enabling I hope to do well.

My spoken Russian teacher, Larissa Ivanovna has shown some interest in my beliefs lately. I am praying to have further opportunity to witness to her.

It's hard to believe that it is the Christmas season in America. Here in Russia, Christmas is a small religious holiday celebrated on the seventh of January. The highly celebrated holiday is New Years. After experiencing American Christmas celebrations all my life, it is a bit odd to see "Happy New Year" decorations every where.

At church, the children are practicing for the Christmas play that we will have on the 7th. We will also have a celebration at the children's home. I am looking forward to this.

Once again, I want to thank you all for your prayers for Lily. She has a new joy since she received Christ. I was able to give her a Chinese Bible and I hope to spend some time discipling her. I am praying that the Lord will bring a strong Christian Chinese lady into her life. She needs someone to work with her in her own language.

In Christ,

Dear Friends,

I am happy to begin this update with some wonderful news! Lily informed me this morning that she has asked Jesus into her heart! I was overjoyed. She says that she plans to come to church every Sunday. It's amazing how the Lord works. She did not come to church for the past two Sundays and I was concerned that she had lost interest. Then on Friday she told me that she met a Russian woman who witnessed to her at the Chinese market. I don't know who that woman was but I am grateful to her. Pastor Jones is helping me to get a Bible for her in Chinese. Please pray for Lily as she grows in Christ.

We were pleased to welcome the Dean family to Russia this past Wednesday. They have been on deputation to come to Krasnoyarsk as missionaries for the past four years. This visit will be for three months to work on their documents and then they hope to return permanently. It's exciting to see another missionary family planning to help fill the great needs here. They would appreciate your prayers as they adjust to the culture and climate. Also, due to recent changes to immigration policy, it has been harder for missionaries to stay here. So, please keep the document process in prayer as well.

Hello Everyone!

I can't believe that tomorrow is the first day of December! November has flown by. It has been an unusually warm winter so far. Temperatures have only gone as low as -6 (Celsius) but I have been assured that things will be back to their usual -25 by Wednesday. Thursday was a very enjoyable time of celebrating Thanksgiving with the Jones and Heron families. Lubov, our friend who teaches at school 33 was there also with her son. They were both amazed by all the American food. Pastor Jones hopes to send an invitation to the students from school 33 to visit around Christmas time. It is a good opportunity to reach out to them even though we are no longer allowed in the school.

Amy, Jessica's sister in law is doing well. The doctors are planning a less aggressive chemotherapy so there will be less chance of it harming the baby. Please continue to pray for her. Also, the ladies that I usually drive to church are all suffering health problems. Valia has been struggling with her blood pressure making her very weak. Zoya and Nadya are both in the hospital. Nadya is having a recurrence of an extensive paralysis. She recovered from this once before but the doctors are very concerned. These ladies have had very difficult lives, please pray for them.

Hello Friends!

The past few days have been eventful. The services went well on Sunday and I was pleased that my Chinese friend Lily came to church. Although her Russian is much better than mine, she did not understand the Sunday School lesson. The simple explanation for this maybe that Constantine was preaching. He is a history professor and a very intelligent man, therefore, he tends to use more a more complex vocabulary. Lily went with me to the children's church downstairs for the morning service and seemed to enjoy herself very much. She plans to continue coming and it is my hope that she will understand the sermons given by Pastor Jones and Volodia. Please pray for me as I witness to her.

I spent my afternoon and evening on Monday babysitting the Jones and Sterling children while their parents went out. Babysitting eight children can be quite a busy job even when they are as well behaved as these missionary children are. All in all, the everything went well and we finished the day with only a bruised head, a pinched finger and a small nosebleed.

Tuesday, I was invited to visit my teacher, Larrisa  Ivonovna's, English class. I spent an hour and a half talking with a room full of Russian university students. The questions covered everything from politics to hobbies. I enjoyed myself and was able to share a little about my faith.

Today, I was in the same building as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. He came to Krasnoyarsk to review some federal projects and the university was one of them. Unfortunately, I did not get to see him. He came and went while I was in class. There were police everywhere and the building security was tight. The most I saw of him however, were some pictures that an excited student was showing off on the bus. He was offering to sell copies at 100 rubles apiece. (And who says that Russians aren't capitalists!)

The days are flying by. We have had the first snowfall of the season and the winter is just beginning. They say that the winter is extremely cold but beautiful here. I will be sure to take many pictures.

Miss Mandy