Our last evening in Moscow was spent at Red Square with loved ones!
Greetings from a little closer... at least for those of you in the US! Our last few weeks in Russia went by in a flash! With packing, preparing our dacha for our lengthy furlough, seeing as many people as possible in Moscow and beyond, the time was gone before we knew it. We were blessed to be able to make a day trip back to the orphanage in Bezhetsk a week before we flew out. The children were disappointed that we had only come for the day, however, all-in-all, it was well worth the trip to give hugs and share the Lord's love with them one more time! We also had the joy of having 15 of our young friends over for a final gathering at our place. We had a cookout and a time of fellowship as we shared with them our love but most importantly, God's faithfulness to and love for them.
A friend from church took us to the airport in Moscow and on the way there we picked up Egor L. and Galya. When we arrived there, we were surprised to find Arseni and another group of friends there to send us off! What an encouragement and blessing it was for us. We felt the Lord had opened the flood gates and poured out His love for us through them. Though it made our goodbyes more difficult, we were grateful to see each and every one of them! Eight months will be a long time to be away, but we are trusting the Lord to fill the gap and meet each one at their point of need in our absence.
Some dear friends, including a Russian, picked us up from the airport in Atlanta and then John-David surprised us by meeting us as soon as we arrived at another friend's home in Gainesville! We are now at Roz's dad's resting and visiting on the east coast of SC for a few more days before heading to the Charlotte area. Since we have been back in the US, we have been able to get caught up on some much needed rest. We think, though we may be mistaken, that we are almost over jet lag!
Thanks to all of you who have been praying for Tom's leg. It is doing great and we are so thankful that medical attention was not necessary. We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made... There was a brother in our church in Moscow that saw Tom limping during our last Sunday there and he went and got Tom two varieties of lotion and told him to use it twice a day. We found out later that the lotion is intended for horses, however, the Lord used it to give Tom much relief.
Please read our updated prayer requests to the right. Thanks to all of you who faithfully cover us in prayer regardless of which side of the ocean we are on. Thank you, too, for those who faithfully support our family financially. Our prayer is the Lord will find us faithful to Him in all of our ways.
