“And I say to you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9)
И Я скажу вам: просите, и дано будет вам; ищите, и найдете; стучите, и отворят вам. (От Луки 11:9 Russian)
Almighty God, our Dear Father in Heaven ~ Thank you for the numerous uplifting benefits that greet us on this new day. Give us wisdom to recognize what is pure and holy so that we will concentrate our energies on things of the greatest value to ourselves and others. Fill us with your Holy Spirit as we obey Jesus as Lord. In Christ name we pray, Amen.
Our Tuesday night Bible study went very well. It is truly remarkable that these dear people will come out under such difficult rainy weather conditions. We even had two more come in late to check us out. After my lesson dealing with 'what it means to be a Christian', Evgenia had an excellent question about the Lord's Supper.
We spent the majority of the day dealing with a problem regarding our visas. In the first part of this month, we visited the office of local police that deals with foreigners and other visa and passport issues. She said to come back five days before the date when we would be in Ukraine for 90 days, and she would extend our stay. That is why we were there first thing in the morning yesterday. We know from many similar experiences that things can change suddenly. And they did. This person who was in charge of the Nikolaev office decided she needed to consult with a higher up and that person told her that we must have our landlady appear with us to vouch that we indeed have rented that apartment and are living there. We came back to the flat and talked to our neighbor the landlady, and she did not want to go to the police about anything. That is not uncommon in countries of the former Soviet Union. The only option we have is to leave Ukraine and then return. Hence, late today we will catch an overnight bus to Rostov-na-Donu, Russia. We chose Rostov because it is the shortest bus ride - 15 hours. Even though my multi-entry visa to Ukraine does not expire until 2012, the problem lays in the fact that Ukraine law only allows us to be in their territory 90 days at a time on this type visa. So, we leave and when we return we will be given a new immigration card for another 90 days. It is a complication that many travelers who stay for extended periods have to deal with. We chose to go to Russia because we both have multi-entry religious work visas to Russia. We thought about taking a train to Moscow and visiting some people there, but that is a 30 hour train ride and a stay in Moscow for one night will eat up much of our expenses. We considered Moldova or Romania that are closer to Nikolaev, but both of those countries require that we have a valid visa. We will try to make the most of this short visit to Rostov. Igor Egirev helped our campaign group as an interpreter when we began the church in Magadan. He was born in the northern Magadan region, and converted to Christ there in Rostov and served the church as a preacher for several years. Even though we will not get to see him since he now lives and works in St. Petersburg, we will at least have some connection to the brothers and sisters there in case we have any spare time to visit with them. Our main mission is to get a stamp in our passports showing that we left Ukraine, entered Russia and re-entered Ukraine. Jesus didn't say we would be without complications when He said, Go! However, we have boldness since we are promised His abiding presence. We hope and pray that we will be back in Nikolaev in time for our dear children who come to the Saturday Bible Class. We sincerely appreciate your prayers for our safety and success.
We spent the majority of the day dealing with a problem regarding our visas. In the first part of this month, we visited the office of local police that deals with foreigners and other visa and passport issues. She said to come back five days before the date when we would be in Ukraine for 90 days, and she would extend our stay. That is why we were there first thing in the morning yesterday. We know from many similar experiences that things can change suddenly. And they did. This person who was in charge of the Nikolaev office decided she needed to consult with a higher up and that person told her that we must have our landlady appear with us to vouch that we indeed have rented that apartment and are living there. We came back to the flat and talked to our neighbor the landlady, and she did not want to go to the police about anything. That is not uncommon in countries of the former Soviet Union. The only option we have is to leave Ukraine and then return. Hence, late today we will catch an overnight bus to Rostov-na-Donu, Russia. We chose Rostov because it is the shortest bus ride - 15 hours. Even though my multi-entry visa to Ukraine does not expire until 2012, the problem lays in the fact that Ukraine law only allows us to be in their territory 90 days at a time on this type visa. So, we leave and when we return we will be given a new immigration card for another 90 days. It is a complication that many travelers who stay for extended periods have to deal with. We chose to go to Russia because we both have multi-entry religious work visas to Russia. We thought about taking a train to Moscow and visiting some people there, but that is a 30 hour train ride and a stay in Moscow for one night will eat up much of our expenses. We considered Moldova or Romania that are closer to Nikolaev, but both of those countries require that we have a valid visa. We will try to make the most of this short visit to Rostov. Igor Egirev helped our campaign group as an interpreter when we began the church in Magadan. He was born in the northern Magadan region, and converted to Christ there in Rostov and served the church as a preacher for several years. Even though we will not get to see him since he now lives and works in St. Petersburg, we will at least have some connection to the brothers and sisters there in case we have any spare time to visit with them. Our main mission is to get a stamp in our passports showing that we left Ukraine, entered Russia and re-entered Ukraine. Jesus didn't say we would be without complications when He said, Go! However, we have boldness since we are promised His abiding presence. We hope and pray that we will be back in Nikolaev in time for our dear children who come to the Saturday Bible Class. We sincerely appreciate your prayers for our safety and success.
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