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

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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.