Dear Fellow Laborers,

May 2009

Praise the Lord for the exciting things that are happening in Russia!

Angela Gets a New Prospect

While we were at a doctor’s appointment for Angela a couple of months ago, a Russian mother of two struck up a conversation with us. Her name is Natasha and she teaches at one of our local business universities. We tried to meet with her many times but it did not work out until this last month. She and my wife have been sending each other messages over the phone and getting to know each other. Natasha writes in English, but is insecure about her speaking ability. Please pray that she will be saved.

Starting Mass Bible Distribution

During this next month we will hand out thousands of New Testaments provided by BIMI. The reaction to the Bible distribution is always varied, some scoff, while many are very thankful to have a copy of the Word of God. Although Samara is a large city, there is hardly anyplace where one can get a Bible. The Russian Orthodox Church has two or three kiosks in the city where you can find a New Testament. However, they are hidden among all the Orthodox books and I have not found any complete Bibles there at all. Many people who accept a copy of the New Testament tell me that they have always wanted a Bible, but could not afford one.

The Foundation has to be Solid

Two weeks into April, my architect told me that there are some questions from the permit people having to do with the foundation of our church/house. It looks like we might have to build a more expensive foundation, but we are still not sure yet. This will almost double the cost of the foundation, creating a large extra expense. This means that we could have to wait until next year to finish the walls and the roof. We were planning a foundation built on pillars. However, the city is saying that this will not be sufficient, and that we will need a block foundation. On the piece of land right next to us, our neighbors just had the same problem with their new house. Please pray that God gives us wisdom with this and many other decisions concerning the building program.

Yours in Christ,
Adam, Angela, Alex, Amelia, Alisa, and Austin