+ 8 - 10 | § ¶January 2009 Newsletter
Happy New Year!
We can expect great things! God can open doors and God can give us one of the greatest gifts ever. Yes, His Son...but also, Children! Do you see where this is going...maybe it’s too early to announce, but we must, Tanya and I are EXPECTING! Yes, we are waiting for our first child to be born in August! Praise the Lord! We would appreciate any and all prayers, as Tanya is already feeling sick most days as her body is adapting to the little baby inside.
The other side of this news is that we had to cancel our Christmas trip to Ukraine:( It wasn’t what we wanted to do but the doctor and our families told us it’s dangerous to fly in the first-trimester, especially for someone who doesn’t like to fly (like Tanya), so we decided to stay put. The Christmas Projects for kids goes on with $2,350.00 given so far.
The Mission to Help Continues...to grow
Our short term trip...might have been cancelled, but our long-term goal is the same...to get back to living as missionaries in Eastern Europe. Yes, this process might be a bit more complicated, but we are at peace with moving to Europe with a young child. Our goal was to move to Ukraine/Poland by October 2009, we probably will revise that to Spring of 2010. There are several reasons, the most obvious, it is hard to plan a complete move of one’s life without knowing what to expect when our child would only be a few weeks/months old. The other thought is concerning this WORLD ECONOMICAL DOWNTURN. Of course, God is our source and I believe in the faithfulness of His Kingdom Givers, but some supporters have lost their jobs and therefore, their budget is out the window. That only means we have to work harder and get a larger support base. And of course, that all takes time. Still, we are working the phones & traveling.
THE TWIST IS...we may be able to purchase the land, building and/or building materials for significantly LESS than before! AND GIVING for the LAND/BUILDING is UP! We just received another check for $3,500! Praise The Lord! UKRAINE is in a real financial crisis. Banks stopped giving loans in September, only a few are starting to do so now. People couldn’t even get their deposits out of banks there. All the money seems to have disappeared one of my friends there told me recently. In addition, the US Dollar has Doubled in Value against the Ukrainian Hryvnia in the past few months. Therefore, at least in Ukraine, we see this summer as a great time to buy land. OF COURSE, the Christmas projects at orphanages are taking place, and you are looking at pictures from the Romanian Orphanage called Bethany House. Pictures from Ukraine will come soon.
Current prayers!
The global crisis. Prayers for John Johnson, a friend who recently moved to WI to help us in building—he needs a complete blessing in his life, spirit, finances, relationships, mind, etc. Prayers for supporters that they INCREASE in their lives, businesses, jobs, families, health, and walk with the Lord! THANKS TONS! Prayers for Tanya, baby, and all the kids in orphanages, as well as, the future kids we will be helping. Prayers for open doors and Churches to hear us and support us. Prayers for the lost and hurting.OUR BUDGET for Missions:
Moving Expenses Received: $4,500.00
Moving Expenses Goal: $20,000
Monthly Income received: $500.00
Monthly Income Goal: $5,000.00
OUR IMI Land Fund Rec.: $5,788.00
IMI Land Fund Matched: $1.000.00
IMI (the parent ministry) will match dollar-4–dollar for land/building. We will keep you informed to that amount also.
