From Michigan...With Love!

We are writing with much praise and thanksgiving in our hearts to the Lord for those of you who have been praying for us in our time of transition from Russia to a land that has almost become a foreign culture to us. Things in this country sure have changed, especially during the past year or so. We, as a nation, seem to be in an unstoppable tailspin, full of confusion and uncertainty. This thing I am sure of though, the One that is unchangeable, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, is still on the Throne. There is no confusion in Him, our King of kings and Lord of lords. If we, his people, who are called by His name, will humble ourselves, pray, and turn from our wicked ways, He will hear us from heaven, will forgive our sin, and heal our land. (2 Chronicles 7:13-15)

We have made our journey 'north' to Niles, Michigan, and have begun ministering alongside a wonderful and very committed group of servants of the Lord with Life Action Ministries. As we have shared, the focus of our calling here is to minister to, honor, and encourage pastors and their wives...something the Lord, unbeknownst to us at the time, was preparing us for over the past couple of years when He gave us the same burden for our Russian pastors and their wives. ( 1 Timothy 5:17 "The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.")

Last week, we took part in our first retreat at "The Lodge". We are a part of the staff that welcomes the couples, helps them feel comfortable, loved, and well fed, both spiritually and physically. The facilitators for the hosted couples are Ed (Staff Pastor) and his wife, Gail. It was truly an amazing week with a group of 7 precious couples who love and serve the Lord in a pastoral position. They travelled in from several different states. Though they were all strangers prior to their arrival, they had two main things in common. First, all 14 people were servants of the Lord under an intense amount of pressure due to problems in their churches and family. When the enemy is unsuccessful in bringing down the shepherd (the Pastor), he will often change his strategy and go after their children. Needless to say, most of these couples came tired and wounded. Over the course of the week, we stood in awe of how God knit these couples together as like-minded servants with common trials and struggles and became iron sharpening iron. Through their new found friendships, they were encouraged and their spirits renewed to continue shepherding their flocks and loving the Lord with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strength. Secondly, a significant revelation for all of us attending was that we are not alone in this battle. There are others experiencing the same sting of church splits, gossip, and slander against not only the pastors, but also their families. Wednesday night, we could sense the Spirit of God among us in a powerful way. As pastors and their wives broke down and shared their stories and burdens, God ushered in a time of mercy, grace, and comfort. We experienced an intense time of prayer, bearing one another's burdens, and casting all of the cares upon the One Who cares for us. The Lord met each one at their point of need and we were blessed to witness God's faithfulness and the powerful move of His hand upon the heart of each one. On Friday morning, Pastor Ed recommissioned each couple to return to their respective churches afresh and to continue shepherding the flocks God has entrusted to their care. Each of the men were encouraged to keep their focus on Jesus Christ, as well as the power and truth of His Word. It was a glorious week and we were encouraged to be a part of it.

We have since heard from a few that attended that week's retreat. One Pastor and his wife sent us a note of testimony that blessed our heart. "Our Lord's Day was amazing, with 9 people making a profession of faith, and 6 committing to be baptized. The Lord continues to move and affirm that He is at work among us---He is so good and faithful!"

We serve a mighty God and we are humbled to see where He has placed us to reach out to His shepherds, those who hear His voice and are faithful to teach His precious Word. Please join us in praying for His work to be accomplished as Pastors all around the world seek to lead others to genuine salvation through Jesus Christ. Also, please pray for the Lord's hand to be upon their families and that these men of God will be effective ministers of the faith to their wives and children as well. Thank you for praying for us to be sensitive to the needs of those who come to The Lodge and that we would discern how to best minister to them. We desire that God's good and perfect will be accomplished in and through us as we seek to serve Him in this new arena.

As far as family goes, we enjoyed time with Roz's dad in SC and visiting with other family members before heading north. We have not yet seen my Dad nor siblings, but look forward to being reunited with them to celebrate Dad's 90th birthday in January.We had several good visits with John-David and other loved ones in the Charlotte area. Please pray for John-David as he continues his search for full-time work. He has been volunteering with the Production Crew at his church while still working a part-time job. Sarah and Andrei have both been a big help in getting us settled in our new living situation. We are blessed beyond measure with the housing and transportation God has provided for us through loved ones we have known for years. God is so good...all the time. He knows our every need even before we know we have one. Sarah has also been helping us at The Lodge while at the same time thoroughly enjoying being in one place and finally getting unpacked! We are praying about part time job opportunities and online college courses for her. Andrei is still preparing to take his GED to complete his high school studies. Please pray for him as he takes the tests October 18th & 19th. He is excited about his recent opportunity to serve by helping the ministry's lawn maintenance crew.

Please continue to pray for our Russian loved ones. We have had the joy of speaking with several of them via Skype and are grateful to be able to stay in touch. Our hearts are still burdened for them and we are trusting the Lord to care for them according to His promises. We found out only about 3 weeks ago that the ministry there finally received their re-accreditation. This was a tremendous disappointment to us but at the same time, a huge reminder that God makes no mistakes, even in His timing of events. He could have just as easily granted the re-accreditation a year and a half ago when they first started the process as when He allowed it to be granted 3 weeks ago. Our prayer has always been for Him to make it perfectly clear when the door was shut for us. We believe that He kept that door shut until He got us where He wanted us for our next place of ministry. After 11 years in Russia, we are encouraged to know that the work we were involved in there continues and that some of 'our kids' are walking with and serving God faithfully. Please pray they will remain strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Also, please continue to pray for our loved ones there that are pastors and for their wives and families who faithfully serve alongside them as they reach out to the precious Russian people.

May the Lord bless and keep each of you! We are grateful for your continued support, both financially and especially prayerfully, as we minister Stateside. Though the location has drastically changed, our hearts are the same...to be sensitive to His leading and to be found faithful in what He has called us to. May the Lord find us faithful in our endeavors for His glory.

"I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God Who does no wrong, upright and just is He."
Deuteronomy 32:3-4

The Promised Pictures from Our Last Post...better late than never!

This slideshow made with Smilebox

From...South Carolina...With Love

Dear Loved Ones,

We trust this finds each of you well and resting in the goodness and mercies of the Lord. We apologize for an extended time of silence. Our summer was extremely full in every aspect! The 90 days we had in Moscow flew by. With visiting the orphanage in Bezhetsk, distributing earthly belongings, getting together with loves ones, and packing and moving, our days were long and full, to say the least! We made it back to the States a day later than expected due to a problem with the airplane but we had no complaints about being delayed! Again, God reminded us of His faithfulness in every detail of our lives. We were blessed with an extra day in Moscow with loved ones and were housed for the night at a hotel where we relaxed and waited for the Lord's perfect timing for our departure.

We are writing from Roz's father's house in SC. We arrived in the US on August 31st and drove here to begin our rounds of visitation! We have not been in one place longer than a week but are so grateful for the love and hospitality shown through so many.

Leaving Russia,the children, brothers and sisters in Christ, and dear friends, has not been easy. Instead of departing with thoughts of goodbye, it was rather 'until we meet again'. Only God knows His future plans for us. Eleven years ago God confirmed His calling on our lives to go to Moscow to love the children and those He would place in our path. He called us to teach them both in word and deed, to make disciples of the Lord Jesus. Our commitment to doing that began with surrendering to Him and His leading. With no home, no car, no job, we followed Him to that foreign land. He promised us that He would use us for His kingdom and glory and that He would meet all of our needs through His riches in Christ Jesus our Lord. As we have been faithful to our commitment, He has blessed us richly and abundantly beyond what we could ask or think. Many of you have been on that journey with us. Your support has come in many different forms. We could write a never-ending list of how God has used you to bless, encourage, strengthen, and enable us for His work. Each expression of support has been received as a love offering through you from God. We are so grateful for your obedience to His promptings. Just as God made it clear for us to go to Moscow, He has made it apparent that our labor for Him in Moscow, for now, is finished. We continue to pray for our loved ones there and trust the Lord to water the seeds that were planted and to bring them to fruition in His perfect way and time. He that began a good work in many hearts will be faithful to complete it. Though leaving has been difficult, we trust Him to fulfill His faithful promises found in Isaiah 55:9-13.

At the same time the door has closed for us in Russia, God has opened another window of opportunity for us to serve Him in America. To make a long miraculous story short, we will be joining the outreach ministry of Life Action. Mid-September we will be traveling to Michigan to join the team of God's servants who have been laboring many years to bring revival to our desperately needy nation. The enemy is working overtime roaming about as a lion seeking whom he might devour. At the head of his list is the Church. It is no secret that Christians in this country, Russia, and around the world are under attack like never before. The ministry members of Life Action are committed to following God's leading to encourage church leaders and the body of Christ to personal true heart revival. We believe that God has called us to join them in that mission, specifically reaching out to Pastors and their families to encourage and strengthen them as they are on the battlefront. We are going with our hearts prepared to be open vessels used by Him to love, encourage and bless pastors, their wives, and families. For more information on Life Action, go to www.lifeaction.org. For a glimpse of the pastoral outreach, go to www.lifeaction.org/thelodge

Though none of us know exactly what the future holds, we are resting in and trusting the One Who holds it firmly and promises that He has a good plan for each of His children. (Jeremiah 29:11) We covet your prayers for us during this time of transition.

As we get re-acclimated to life in the States, we find ourselves starting over in a lot of areas. Roz and I are confident that it is God Who is leading us to this new work. His faithfulness in the past causes us to trust Him for the future. He has already provided us with transportation to Michigan and temporary housing once we arrive. We are so grateful!

Like our work with IBLP, Life Action is also a support based ministry. All of our living expenses are taken care of by God through people like you. If He is prompting you now or at any time in the future to be a vessel through whom He can work, please contact us at sullyfam@gmail.com Financial support may be mailed to Life Action Ministries; PO box 31; Buchanan, MI 49107 Checks should be made out to Life Action Ministries with Tom Sullivan written on the memo line. "God's work, done God's way, will never lack God's supply." Great is His faithfulness!

John-David is still in Charlotte, NC, and working part time as he continues his search for full time employment. He has been volunteering and is involved in his church in several different areas. He is weekly being blessed and challenged through his pastor as well as others in his small group. Thank you for praying for him as he seeks the Lord's will for his life.

What about Sarah? Sarah is still with us and will also be going to Michigan. Though apart, she is still in a relationship with Slava as they seek the Lord on what their future holds for them according to His good and perfect will. She is interested in also working with Life Action as well as taking some online college courses to further her education.

Andrei is studying to take the GED to bring his high school education to a close. He, too, is interested in furthering his education as the Lord directs. He will be working alongside us at Life Action, seeking how he might serve the Lord in that arena. Sept. 1st will mark the end of his medical care with Shriner's Hospitals. For 13 years God has used countless doctors and staff to encourage, help, and challenge Andrei to get to the place physically where many said he would never be. Praise the Lord!

Please continue to pray for the precious children and people of Russia. Though the Lord has physically removed us from there for this time, our hearts are burdened to continue to pray for them and encourage them in their walk with Him. May He draw the distant ones close and encourage and strengthen those who are faithfully seeking and serving Him. We are grateful that the work we were involved in continues in our absence. We hope to post some more pictures soon of our special times with loved ones.

In the meantime, we covet your prayers and support as we make the transition from one mission field to another. The Lord is great and greatly to be praised. He does ALL things WELL and His way is perfect! May the Lord bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you, and give you peace.

Russia-June 2010

This free picture slideshow created with Smilebox

It's Amazing What You Can Pack into 30 Days!

Dear Loved Ones,

We are overwhelmed by God's grace, His hand of protection, and steadfast love for us. We have so enjoyed the past 4 weeks and look forward to what He will do in the next 8 weeks!

We are attaching some pictures of recent activities that will give you a brief glimpse of great times with those we hold so dear...

Tom and Andrei went to Tarzhok for a weekend to help a local evangelical church with a work project. Some of the older students that have graduated from the orphanage in Bezhetsk were there to help out also. It was fun to see them and we were encouraged to see that they are attending church and growing in their personal relationship with the Lord.

We were able to attend 'Last Bell' (the last day of school) at the facility that was formerly the

Moscow Training Center. Though it is a military cadet academy now, there were a few familiar faces with some staff members as well as students. It was a bittersweet experience, as Sarah puts it, to walk down memory lane. It was a joy and honor to be invited by Egor L. who has for 11 years been like a son to us. Please pray for the Lord's hand to guide him as he seeks to find a university to attend in the fall.

We are planning a reunion, reaching out to any former students, staff, or friends from the Training Center. Please pray for good weather (rain is forecasted) and a good time of fellowship as we gather. We are planning to meet at a local park this Saturday. Our desire is to encourage each one according to their need and simply share the love of Jesus.

Tom had the blessing of teaching a group of about 20 young leaders that will be working at the summer camp in Elna next month. His message encouraged them to allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through them to effectively share the love of Christ with the children. It was a good group. Many who attended the camp in years past are now grown up and investing in other children's lives as was done for them.

Andrei and one of our pastor's sons, Ilya, sang a beautiful duet in church on Sunday. It was a blessing to hear them sing of the joy that comes from fellowship with the Lord.

Sarah has been busy helping to pack and repack, distribute, and serve wherever needed. She has such a heart to reach out to her many friends here. She is constantly on the phone planning, encouraging, and seeking ways to help. I grabbed the shot of her on the phone one day while taking a break to admire God's beauty all around us in our yard. Our phone coverage is poor, at best, so she can often be seen 'out the window' trying to catch or keep a signal! From haircuts, to cooking, to planning, and to reaching out, she has a full schedule, to say the least!

We recently made a quick trip to Elna to meet with Pastor Sava and his family. They are looking forward to the upcoming camp. We are planning to help them set up and prepare for around 100 children at the end of June. They have recently sold their apartment to buy a house that is large enough for their family as well as orphaned children. It is a dilapidated structure and in great need of renovating. It has incredible potential and we are encouraged by the desire to deny their own comfort in order to minister to the fatherless. We are trusting the Lord to provide us with the time and energy to help them start working on the building as soon as they get all their documents together. Please pray for the Lord's will to be done and for them to have favor in the eyes of the officials.

Last but not least, we are in awe of God's beauty all around us. It is with amazement that we study His handiwork and we are in awe when we realize how vast His love is for us, how tender His mercies are toward us, and how small we are in comparison to Him.. If you haven't seen it already, the dvd by Louie Gigilo, "Indescribable" is a phenomenal reminder of how great is our God.

We are so very grateful for His love and care for us shown through so many of you. We trust He will bless you with His presence, His provision, and His peace, as you seek and serve Him there in your mission field. May the Lord bless and keep each one.

Greetings from Moscow, dear family and friends! It has been a long time since we have updated our blog. As most of you know, we were in the US for 8 months. It was the longest visit since we joined the work in Moscow almost 11 years ago. Though it was not our choosing, God used that time for our good and for His perfect purpose. We were able to spend some extended time with family and friends, take care of some medical check-ups, and attend to a few projects that had been moved to the back burner.

The Lord has been prompting me over the past few years write a book recording the many things He has done in and through over lives over the past 15 years or so. Actually, the events of the book had already been written on our hearts and minds. Our job was to simply write it down as His Spirit brought it to mind. The body of the book was completed a few weeks prior to our return to Russia. There is still much to be done with editing. What a blessing and encouragement it has been for us to put down on paper the many lessons we have learned and the miracles of God we have witnessed. Even if it never gets published, the legacy of it all will be passed on to future generations in our family and the lives of those whose stories are shared in the book. To God be the glory.

We were blessed beyond our wildest dreams to be given a home in the Blue Ridge Smokey Mountain area. Some very dear friends allowed us to stay there as a result of the Lord moving in their hearts to offer it to us. God used their generosity in a powerful way to minister to our family by providing a beautiful, peaceful atmosphere for getting some much needed rest and solitude. Other wonderful and gracious provisions were made as we traveled to different areas visiting with family and friends. We are grateful for each and every one of you who opened your home to us to meet not only a physical need but the need for fellowship and rest. God is so good to us! We returned to the US very weary but the Lord faithfully renewed our strength through many of you and equipped us for our return to Moscow.

We were only able to obtain 3 month visas, allowing us to be in Moscow until July 30th. We enjoyed a good and safe flight over. At the airport in Moscow, we were met by Egor L. as well as friends from Golgotha, our church here. Andrei S., a brother from Golgotha whom we work alongside in the orphan outreach, brought our van to the airport so we could go straight home from there. What a blessing that was. We hit the ground running! Misha H. met up with us that same day and he and Egor helped us shift boxes out of 'Drei's room where we had stored them for the 8 months.

We praise God for the time He has already given us with several of our Russian young people. It has been a true source of encouragement to see how some are serving the Lord and ministering to others, including children in orphanages. We were able to make a trip to the orphanage in Bezhetsk and stayed there for 3 days. There were about 18 of us from our church and other churches in Moscow that were able to make the trip. Arseni S. and Galya K. were among those that went with us. What a blessing and joy it was for us to see the children again and to witness the love and sacrifice displayed by the young people who accompanied us on the trip. God is alive and working all things together for good for His people.

We had a great time over this past weekend sharing time with Galya K., Arseni, Egor L., Misha H., Kostya, Sasha G., and his friend Jaana. We made a Mexican meal at Sasha's request and we enjoyed getting caught up with each one. Please pray for those who need to make changes in their lives based on Truth. They know what's right in their heads but need to transfer it to their heart. Pray they will desire to do what is right above all else. Obedience is not always convenient and usually not the easy thing to do, but it is always the right thing to do.

Our prayer request is simply that we would make the best use of our short time here. May the Lord find us faithful in sharing His love and Good News with everyone He brings across our path. May we walk out our faith, knowing that faith is not what we believe but what we do as a result of that belief. We desire that every decision we make in these next 3 months be consistent with what we believe. May the Lord find us faithful followers of Him.

We are so very grateful for the many ways the Lord reveals Himself to us. We are grateful for His faithful provision through many of you, for His hand of protection upon us, and for the blessing of fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ. May the hand of the Lord be upon you as you seek and serve Him wherever He places you for His purpose and glory.

HE IS RISEN!!

PSALM 113:3 From the rising of the sun

unto the going down of the same

the name of the Lord is to be praised!

We praise God for the resurrected life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! He has blessed us richly, beyond what any of us deserve. He gave His all for us, have we surrendered all for Him?

CHRIST IS RISEN!

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

HAPPY EASTER!