Merry Christmas

We pray this finds you enjoying time with family and friends, which is exactly what we are doing. We have enjoyed a wonderful visit with my Daddy and nephew, and have spent lots of great time with friends, too. As we look forward to the new year, we have two main prayer requests: first, that God would move in a mighty way amongst our Russian friends here in Moscow. We have received so many calls and messages from friends and students in the last few days--so encouraging as proof that God is at work, even when we can't see that He's at work. Second, we ask that you pray with us and for us as we make decisions concerning our future. We will have to make definite decisions about where we are going to serve (here or elsewhere in the European cluster) around mid-February. Thank you, as always, for praying for us. We couldn't do this without you! Love and blessings to all--Kellye (for all)

We're tired, but happy...

Well, our busy, busy week is finally done, and I think it was a pretty big success. The soccer banquet was great (see S.B.'s pic above with her friend, Nadia), and we received a package on Thursday from FBC Allen, Texas (John and Han are enjoying the goodies above). Thursday also was a great meeting of English Club, one in which we got to talk about what we were thankful for and to whom we were thankful. Friday and Saturday were totally consumed by Bella Notte, but I am pretty sure it can only be called a huge success, so it was time well-spent. Even better, we are all home before 11 p.m. and heading to bed. It's a miracle!! 

Please pray this week for Marc and his partner, Tim Wicker, as they leave on Wednesday evening for a week in the Chuvash Republic. The Chuvash people group is at the top of the list of unreached people groups in European Russia, and we have become very close to Sergei, who has been a faithful member of our English Club since the first meeting, and who happens to be Chuvash. So, Sergei is meeting Marc and Tim on Saturday morning in the Chuvash Republic. He will take them around, introduce them to people, and help them find different things. We are also praying that this is a time to continue with Sergei the spiritual discussions in which he has been very interested. We do not believe it is a coincidence that Sergei, who spends time with us nearly every week, is Chuvash. Please pray that important moves forward can be taken with Sergei this week.

We are also preparing for our Thanksgiving celebration with English Club. We are praying that this will be an important time with them, and that spiritual things will naturally be a part of our discussion. Please pray that God guides us as we prepare for this major event in our lives, and hopefully, in theirs.

Well, we love you guys, but I am really, really tired and need to go to bed. Everyone in the house is winding down and heading off to some much-needed sleep, and I definitely want to join them!!! Thank you for the prayers I know were lifted up for us this week, for your faithfulness, encouragement, and love. We couldn't be here without you!

Blessings,

Kellye (for all)

Hooks Family Saturday Prayer Update

Hey, everyone! Like many of you, we are sitting and enjoying a bowl of chili while we watch College Gameday on ESPN and waiting for the Georgia/Florida game to begin. We hope you're enjoying your Saturday like we have.

Since we "talked" last week, our schedule has gotten a little more complicated. Marc leaves on Tuesday to return to Prague for a week to complete a media project for the Regional Leader for CEE. He will be gone a week, return for a week, and then leave again for Chubaksary, a city in European Russia. He'll return on Tuesday before Thanksgiving on Thursday. Whew!! Please pray for him as he's gone and for us as we "hold the line" here in Moscow. This month will be a lot of time apart. That is never easy, even in the States. 

Our English Club was great this week. We are praising God that Alexei, who hasn't been in six months, was able to be here, and that Mila, one of our friends who is a Buddhist, was also here and brought a friend. We are celebrating Thanksgiving with our English Club on the first Saturday in December, and we are praying that this is one more time we can introduce spiritual ideas into our interactions with our friends. Please pray with us that this will be a time we can continue to develop these friendships.

Finally, we are starting to hear more and more about changes in our company, and while we don't totally know what that means for us, we ask that you pray for our entire organization as we transition through this huge reorganization. There are changes ahead, and change is hard for any organization this large. 

We appreciate each of you so much. Thank you for your continued love and support.  We are grateful for each of you.

Blessings!

Kellye (for all)

Hello Everyone!

We pray this finds all of you doing well. John John, Hannah and I are resting and getting some work done today, and Marc and Sarah Beth are in Udmurtia until sometime on Monday. I just got off the phone with Marc--oh, the wonders of the iPhone, which can get a signal anywhere!--and they are really having a great time. Udmurtia is about 14 hours away by train, located in the western Ural mountains. Last year's International Day of Prayer was focused on the Udmurts, an unreached people group who are more shamanistic than orthodox, which is not unusual in that part of the country. Marc is there with a group doing a follow-up on what has happened since the international day of prayer. Sarah Beth is headed into one of the              villages for a women's group meeting tonight, and she'll be staying with another MK who is traveling with her in the village tonight. Marc is headed to a different village, where he will be enjoying the banya with some Russian brothers. I am smiling even as I type that, because the banya is an uniquely Russian experience which involves a sauna (think a hut heated by burning coals), a pool cut into the ice, and a bunch of branches with which they hit you wherever they think you need to lose weight. Somewhere in there, you're supposed to have tea and cookies with your banya-mates. And clothing...well, let's just say it's very optional. (I didn't ask Marc what he was wearing into the banya, because I frankly didn't want to know.) Then he'll go back to their hotel in a nearby city and prepare to preach his first sermon in Russian tomorrow morning. He is very, very excited about the relationships he is making with Russian brothers in the villages, and it's been great to get the chance to not only videotape all of the things that are happening, but also get to participate in ministry. It was good to hear the excitement in his voice, and in Sarah Beth's. They are also enjoying a great time together. We are always aware that in just a little while, S.B. will be in college, so we are eating up every second of our time with her.

Other than that, it's just been an absolutely crazy week. We had last-minute house guests for a few days, Hannah had a big presentation, and there were the usual language lessons on top of everything else. Plus, it is getting dark and cold quickly. In fact, I have struggled this week with sadness and what I can only call "the blues," and a fellow missionary gently reminded me that I often struggle with the weather when it gets gray. So the sun lamp comes out this week! This Florida girl is awfully thankful to work for a company that takes mental health really seriously--seriously enough to provide a sun lamp for those of us for whom the gray can be overwhelming. Would you pray this week that I will recognize what I am struggling with when I see it, and not be discouraged by it? 

We are getting ready for Thanksgiving already, and we're pretty excited about that. We have lots and lots of people coming, and that should be fun. Having lots of people honestly helps us not to feel homesick. Thanksgiving is, across the board, a difficult day for many missionaries, because it is an American holiday, and no one else is celebrating it. So we are thankful for that.

Marc met a potential student for our English club on the train. Please pray that he will be able to make contact when everyone is back in Moscow, and perhaps move this young man (who is from Udmurtia but lives in Moscow) into a discipling role with Marc here in Moscow. 

Well, guys, I think that's it. Please continue to pray for the many people we come into contact with, that we will see everyone through God's eyes and not our own. Our neighbors have been very unfriendly from the start, but slowly are turning the corner on their opinion of us. We are consistently being greeted and smiled at by several families here in the building--a real answer to prayer. We are especially excited because the girl who lives with one of the young men next door to us seems particularly friendly and ready to--maybe--make a relationship of some sort with us. Pray that we will take advantage of any opportunity the Lord provides. We are praying for boldness, a need to see others come to Christ that makes it impossible for us to miss opportunities to share His love. I'm praying that for you, too--may we all have a boldness and a hunger for everyone to know the love of Jesus! I pray that each of you has a wonderful, restful Saturday, and that you know how much we appreciate each of you.

Blessings!

Kellye (for all)

Back In Moscow

We are back in Moscow after a great two weeks in the Czech Republic. Sarah Beth is on a retreat with the rest of her high school, and John John and Hannah have spent the afternoon playing with friends here in our apartment, so we've had a nice, quiet day today--nice for us since we have done nothing but run since we returned late Tuesday night. Our conference was great, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with friends. Thank you for the prayers we know you spoke on our behalf. We had time to rest and recharge a little, and some much-needed time outside of Moscow.  As we look at our second year on the field, we have several things we would like for you to be praying about on our behalf: --contentment with our lives in Moscow --continued ministry opportunities --Marc's travel schedule/new project: Engage Russia; Marc and Sarah Beth leave on Thursday night of this week for Udmurtia, in the Western Ural Mountains --changes in the IMB: in November, a total restructuring of the IMB will be announced, with new leadership and new organizations; please pray that these changes, which directly impact us, will be effective in broadening access to the gospel; please also pray that we will be wise as we make decisions about our future (where we will live, what kind of work we will do, etc.) --God's best; our prayer right now is that what we will seek is His best, even when that isn't the easiest path We love you and appreciate you so much. We would encourage you to watch the Baptist Press at the beginning of November for more details about changes in YOUR mission organization. We believe God is at work around the world, and we're so honored to represent you in this part of the world.We hope your week is wonderful! Blessings, Kellye (for all)

Hi, Everyone!

It's been a big week at the Hooks house. Sarah Beth had her first soccer match, John-John had cub scouts, Hannah had a great piano lesson, and all three were off on Friday for a faculty retreat for the school, which I attended. The retreat was good, but I was glad to be back home last night. Of course, I've been up since five, so I'd be even gladder if I could go back to sleep!

This week looks typical. Lilliana does go into the hospital on Tuesday for a procedure that we hope will help her stand better--she is very dizzy all the time. We noticed last week that when she would stand up, she would teeter a little bit from side to side. Please pray for her health, and that God will continue to draw her to Himself. 

We will have Bible study this afternoon, of course, and we ask that you continue to pray for the ways God is at work in that time. We also ask that you pray for our English club, that more may feel comfortable moving from English club to Bible study.

On the family front, we have a pretty normal week--school and all the usual things that go with it. All three kids are doing well at mid-term, which we're really pleased with, and school continues to be such a blessing in our lives. Will you please pray that God provides the tuition for the second semester? As of right now, the tuition is taken care of for the first semester. John-John and Marc do leave on Friday for a cub scouts campout. That should be fun. Please pray for their safety, and for the time they will share as father and son. We are swiftly realizing how fast the time is flying.

We are also struggling with John-John as he has continued difficulty sleeping. Will you please pray that God gives us guidance as we try to help John-John regulate his sleeping patterns? He is doing well at school, but by the time he gets home, he is so tired that he's almost hysterical. Unfortunately, that tiredness doesn't translate into sleepiness, so it's a perpetual cycle. We are praying that God will show us the way to help him solve this problem.

Well, the LSU/Auburn game appears to be getting interesting, so I'm going to go watch that for a while. We love you all, and we pray that God is at work where you are just like He's at work here. Thank you for your continued prayers!

Blessings,

Kellye (for all)

Blessed by many activities

Well, it's Saturday night, and like many mothers across the world, I am watching college football and waiting for my teenager to get home. So while I wait for the domophone to ring to tell me Sarah Beth is home, I thought I'd send you a quick update.

It has been an unbelievably busy week. I have worked full days this week subbing for another teacher. Put that together with a visiting team, preparations for friends who are returning to Moscow tomorrow, and not one but two teas to help with/attend, and it all adds up to quite a week. Of course, we never lose sight of what our lives were like this time last year, when we were not even in Moscow but waiting anxiously to arrive. As we think over the last year and the struggles that have come with our transition here, we are so grateful for a busy life full of activity and ministry and friends. What an answer to prayer that life is!

On Sunday, Sergei did come to our house for Bible study. It was such an exciting time for us. When Sergei was leaving English club on Thursday, Marc asked him if he was coming on Sunday again. He said he was, and that he thought he would bring Artur, his brother who has just moved to Moscow to study at the State University here. Then Liliana called to say that she would like to come tomorrow, because she is feeling better. What a great day of Bible study we are looking forward to tomorrow! Please continue to pray that we will be able to move people from English Club to Bible Study. And pray that God would move in the heart of our Russian friends in a way that is beyond logical explanation. 

This week is full of soccer, piano, cub scouts, school projects, and all the other things that fill our lives. That doesn't, of course, even include the wonderful ministry opportunities we have. Please pray that we would be able to juggle and focus on the things that are God's priorities, and not just what we want to do. We always want to choose His best rather than just the good things we can come up with on our own. 

Marc met with Ed Tarleton on Monday, and together they came up with a really exciting schedule of travel for Marc, one that balances ministry needs with family needs successfully. Marc is still hammering out the details, but he is very excited about the places he is going to get to go in the next year. Please start to pray now for his safety, for his language ability during these trips, and that everything he produces honors God's call on his life and the work God is doing in these areas where there is no evangelical presence. 

Well, my 16-year-old is home from her soccer party (where they tie-dyed their socks for some reason), so that's my cue to hit the pillow. Everyone in the house, except for John-John (who may just be too active for the germs to catch up with him), has a cold/cough thing going on...and I have yet another ear infection. The weather turned nasty this week--cold and rainy and gross--and we're battling the same stuff that plagued us last fall. Please pray that we will build up our immunity and be able to fight against the continual cold. This is a miserable place to not feel well. Trust me that little is worse than riding the metro with an ear infection. Just take my word on it. :o)

We love each of you, treasure your friendship and support, and pray that you are safe and dry (for my friends in Texas) and sound as you read this. Thank you for loving us and holding us constantly before the throne. 

Blessings!

Kellye (for all)

Eleven Months and Counting!

It's hard for us to imagine that we have now been here for eleven months. How big is our God?!?! If you'd have told me ten months ago we'd still be here, I'd have laughed. And yet, here we are, settled into the school year and enjoying life. It is late on Saturday night after a full Saturday, and we are watching Ohio/Ohio State as we wait for the Sooners of Oklahoma to take the field.  Marc and John-John spent the day with some of our Russian friends at a picnic outside the city. Though it was really the last thing he wanted to do after a really busy week, our friends were so excited that he came, and he had the chance to teach them a little about American football. It ended up being a wonderful time, and as they went back to the bus station, one of our friends, Sergei, talked to Marc about maybe joining us in Bible study tomorrow. We are so grateful to the team from FBC Allen, Texas, who laid the groundwork for the movement we are starting to see toward moving some of our friends into a Bible study. We would not have a single one of these contacts without the sacrifices of that team to come here to Moscow, and their faithfulness to continue to pray for those relationships to flourish and grow. God rewards faithfulness, and we believe their faithfulness is being rewarded in the growth we are seeing. This coming week is going to be very busy. Besides the normal things--cub scouts, piano lessons, and soccer practices--I will be working full days each day due to the absence of the other English teacher, and we have a team visiting from the States with whom we'll be doing some work. We also have a farewell tea on Friday night for a friend who is moving to Siberia to work and a tea on Saturday for the visiting team. Tomorrow we will have company for most of the day as the parents of some friends in Siberia have a 12-hour layover in Moscow and will be joining us for the day. Oh, my goodness! I'm tired just looking at all of that. Please pray that we will stay focused and peaceful in what looks to be a pretty chaotic week. Also pray that the visiting team, who will be working with several teams here in Moscow, will have a fruitful experience that will challenge them and give them a lasting connection to Russia. On Monday, Marc will be meeting with Ed Tarleton to determine projects and travel for the next year. This is an important meeting for us, so we would ask that you would pray that Marc and Ed would have wisdom as they schedule projects and travel for 2009. Marc is very excited about several trips that have been proposed, and he's even more excited to be digging into the work he loves so much. Our prayer is that we can find a healthy balance between the traveling necessary for Marc to do his job and the time his children (and wife) need him to be home. That can be a delicate balance, as many of you know. We appreciate your prayers. Finally, cold and flu season has started arriving in Moscow, and Hannah is the first to start sniffling. We are praying to head this off at the pass. As silly as it may sound, would you please pray that we have a healthier winter this year than last? We have discovered something called Zicam, and it does seem to make a huge difference, so we've pretty much made Hannah bathe in the stuff tonight.  Well, it's just about time for the Sooners to start playing, so I'll draw to a close. We are so grateful that you take the time to read this, to pray for us, to share our situation and needs and prayers with those you know. We just couldn't do this without you. We hope your week is wonderful, and a little more relaxed than ours! Blessings, Kellye (for all) p.s. The pics are from Sarah Beth, who is taking photography this year. These are a few of her experiments with different lenses, etc. She's a pretty talented girl!

What A Great Week

We hope you are having a great Saturday like we are--watching college football. I must admit, though, that it's made us a bit homesick as we watch the images of home. We are currently watching Virginia Tech play Eastern Carolina and enjoying our Saturday night.

School continues to be such a blessing to us. We had a great week. Sarah Beth is playing soccer, Hannah is singing in the choir, and John-John starts Cub Scouts this week. We are diving in to everything the school has to offer. We are also praising God that the school received its education license this week. Thank you for praying for that.

Our friends, the Tarletons, also returned home this week, an event we have very much been anticipating. Of course, the days ahead without our beloved friend, Teri, will be hard, but we are so grateful for the time God allowed us to spend with them this summer, and we are thrilled to have Ed, Rachel and Rebecca home. Thank you for continuing to pray for them.

We will have been here eleven months this week. Unbelievable! So much has happened during our time in Moscow, and we are so grateful for the ways God has stretched us and grown us, and for the time of peace and contentment we now find ourselves in. Thank you for the many, many prayers you have said on our behalf these eleven months.

We are also grateful that Marc successfully navigated the world of the car accident in Moscow. Another driver was passing on the left (on a two-lane street, of course), and ran into Marc's side of the car. The car wasn't hurt, and neither was Marc, but he had to deal with both the other driver and the police when they came. He did so successfully--no small feat! Marc has decided he's going to add a whole new section of vocabulary to the lexicon--what to say to the militsia!

Please continue to pray that God will move in a big way in our English Club. We had two new people Thursday night. We are really, really excited about how well the club is going, and by the relationships we are developing. We have not successfully made the move from English club to house church, yet, but we pray that is coming soon.

We have just had a great, normal, every day week here. What a blessing. In the worries of visa issues, language issues, and family issues, we have come to appreciate the week in which nothing big happens and life runs smoothly. I do think you would have enjoyed my trip today to buy Sarah Beth soccer socks at the sporting goods store. It turns out that somewhere in my language study, I missed the word for socks. So I grabbed a pair, hunted someone down, and then made a complete idiot of myself asking where the socks for girls who play soccer might be. I even managed to pick up a soccer ball and make what I imagine to be some soccer moves to illustrate my point. Nothing, my friends, is as humbling as the trip to the mall when you must buy something specific. Nothing. By the way--I got the socks. :o)  I hope during your week, you will have at least one opportunity to try to explain yourself in a language you know but don't know. And I hope if that happens, you'll say a little prayer for us and smile. We love you all so much! Have a great week!

His,

Kellye (for all)

p.s. The pics are of Marc because I hardly ever remember to put up pics of my good-looking man. The two on the left are from AGM (yes, he has on a fish-cap), and the one on the right was taken at the zoo in Kiev, Ukraine.

It's been quite a week...

Here are some of the things that made this a BIG week in the Hooks' household:

--we said goodbye to our friends, the Roberts, who headed back to the other side of Russia

--we received an email on Monday telling us that a friend of the family was paying for four months of the kids' tuition at school. That leaves us with only a little over $1500 left to pay for this year

--the kids and I (Kellye) started school at Hinkson Christian Academy on Wednesday (John-John passed out on the couch and slept for 12 hours after school!)

--we received our documents from the Russian government, which means we will be allowed to stay in the country (Hallelujah!)

--we resumed English club after a three-week break and had a FULL HOUSE!

--with our documents, we can once again drive the car, allowing us to pick up more than just a day's worth of groceries--another hallelujah, because my kids were starving!

--we received THREE packages, including one from a VBS class at our home church in Florida, full of goodies for us to enjoy (and enough vanilla extract for an army)

As you can see, this was a tremendous week for us. I can't tell you the relief we feel to have our very important documents back in our hands and know that we are going to be able to stay in the country. HUGE for us. We are so full of praise, we might just explode. Here are some things we would ask you to pray about this week:

--tomorrow is our last Sunday with Dima before he heads to France and Italy for a two-year study program. I will be presenting my testimony in Russian for the first time to the group, so please pray that I can spit out all those syllables in a way that is understandable and meaningful, especially to Dima. We believe Dima is VERY CLOSE to making a decision for Christ--would you pray that tomorrow would be the day?

--our friend, Ed Tarleton, and his daughters, Rachel and Rebecca, are heading back to Moscow this week following the death of their beloved Teri. Would you please pray that this transition would go as smoothly as possible, and that there would be peace and comfort in being home? 

--the decisions regarding our school, Hinkson Christian Academy, are scheduled to be made this week. There is a round-the-clock prayer vigil at the school Monday thru Wednesday. Would you pray that God would show Himself in a mighty way in the licensing process of this place that is so important for the missionary community of Moscow?

--finally--would you pray that our hearts continue to be consumed with a passion for this place and these people, but above all, for our God? We know that faithfulness is what He requires, and we want to be found faithful. Would you just pray that we would continue to be 100% faithful to His call on our lives?

What would we do without you? Well, we'd probably be back in Florida! Never do I want a week to go by without telling you how much we appreciate and need your prayers. We love you, and we're so thankful for you. We pray that God is blessing you in your faithfulness just as He has rained down blessings on us this week. We love you and are praying for you! 

His,

Kellye (for all)

We Need Your Prayers!

You should have received an email telling you we were home from AGM and well. We have enjoyed our time with our friends, the Roberts, as they have been with us in Moscow before and after AGM. They return to Petropavlask-Komchakty tomorrow...ten time zones away. Please pray for their safe travel to the other end of the country.

A situation has come up with our documents. Because email is public, I want to be really careful with what I say. There has been a snag in our registration here in the city. The lawyer has assured the company that it will be taken care of, but we need to be registered quickly.  If the situation cannot be resolved there are hefty penalties, both for us and for the company. Please pray that this situation will correct itself immediately.

Our kids (and Kellye) start school this week at Hinkson Christian Academy. We continue to pray about how we will come up with the rest of the kids' tuition. We basically need $500 a month. So far, we know that two months are paid for by supporters in our partner churches. We are so thankful that God has laid that need on someone's heart and that they responded in obedience. Please continue to pray that there will be no problem with the tuition payments.

We all came home from AGM feeling pretty rotten, especially Kellye and Sarah Beth. Please pray for quick healing--we don't want to start the school year with summer colds!!

Thank you for praying for us during AGM. What we anticipated could have been a depressing, sad time for us turned out to be a really fun time that renewed our spirits and gave us the chance to meet new friends and spend time with our old friends, too. God has been so faithful to us...and we are so thankful and grateful to Him for His continuing mercy and grace. And we are thankful for each of you, too. We say it all the time, but it bears repeating--we could not stay on the field without our faithful prayer warriors, who lift our arms when we are too tired to do it for ourselves. Thank you for continuing to stand in the gap for us. We love you and are so thankful for you.

Blessings!

Kellye (for all)

A Full House

Good morning, everyone! No pictures this morning--I have not had a spare second to load anything new into my computer. It has been a busy, busy week. We started with unexpected guests all day Sunday (a volunteer team stuck in Moscow), IMB summer interns on Monday, a night off on Tuesday, our regular card game guests on Wednesday, a great group for English Club on Thursday (15!), and an MK from another part of Russia who stayed with us on Friday! That is a lot of people in and out of this apartment this week. (That's a praise, by the way!) Yesterday, the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) MKs left for Hungary for MKR (Missionary Kid Retreat), and Sarah Beth was pretty excited to be going. Last night, our friends Rhenn and Terri kept John-John and Hannah for the night so that we could celebrate our 18th anniversary (which is officially on Monday). We had an unbelievable evening...dinner at TGIFriday's, a stroll down Arbat Street (a famous street in Moscow with lots of street musicians and fun shops). We ended our evening at a new Starbucks, drinking delicious coffee and just thoroughly enjoying our time together. We arrived home well after midnight, having had a wonderful, wonderful evening. We are so grateful for a night out without the kids! And we're even more thankful for friends who are willing to have not one, but two kids sleep over so we could have that night together! The coming week will also be a busy one. Sarah Beth arrives home Wednesday afternoon, and Wednesday evening we board a train for Kiev, Ukraine, for our long-awaited visa trip. We are absolutely trusting that everything with our visa is going to go perfectly. We will arrive Thursday morning, and the kids and I will stay in Kiev while Marc goes on to Odessa, about 6 hours away. The kids and I will be staying with our friends, the Bobo's, whom we dearly love. We are looking forward to a time of just strolling around the beautiful city of Kiev, enjoying some "down" time together. We should be back by the next Wednesday. Then we leave the next Saturday for a retreat center outside of Moscow, where we will be attending the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Russia field. This will include everyone who serves with the IMB in Russia and who is not on stateside.  Some specific things to pray about this week: --Sarah Beth and the rest of the MKs at MKR. This is an unbelievably important time for them. It's like the best youth camp ever, but with your friends you only see once a year. Pray that she will be spiritually renewed as she prepares to head into her junior year of high school. --our Kiev trip. Pray that everything will work smoothly, and we will enjoy some rest! --our friend, Teri, whose husband, Ed, is in charge of the IMB's work in Russia. She will have an angiogram and possible angioplasty at a local hospital on Wednesday. --the kids' tuition for Hinkson Christian Academy. Pray that God will not only show Himself mighty in this area, but that He will do so in a way that is only attributable to Him. --Sarah Beth's trip to Uganda in March. She is currently raising the funds for her trip. Pray that she will have no problem raising the money necessary to go to Uganda during her spring break.  --our friends in house church and English Club. We will be gone the next two Sundays and the next three Thursdays. We will miss our friends. Pray that God will be working in their hearts while we are gone.  Thank you so much for your constant prayers for us. It is easy to think that we are forgotten sometimes--a tool the enemy uses to discourage us. But when I write this every week, I picture each of you as you share this with various groups in your churches, and I know that we are not forgotten, we are not alone, and that God is using you in a mighty way in our lives. We are so grateful for each of you! We pray you have a wonderful week, full of great things that only God can do. Blessings to you and yours! His, Kellye (for all)

A Week of Changes

It has been a bittersweet week for us. On the one hand, we had a great trip to the zoo and Marc officially transitioned to the job he came here to do. On the other, our dear friends and team leaders, Jeff and Karla, left with their family to return to the States for a year. We already miss them. Marc and I have been very blessed to have a chance to serve on a church-planting team with such great leadership. 

We also got the keys to the team's van this week, which will make a great difference to us here in Moscow. On the first day we had the van, we managed to get ourselves pulled over by the police, which was an interesting adventure. We were very thankful for two things: language acquisition and contingency training! Not that we were in any danger, because we weren't, but it was a little scary to be pulled over by the notoriously corrupt police. We managed to get through it with a good story and nothing else. 

Here are some things we'd like for you to pray for this week:

--the continuing issues with obtaining a visa for Russia

--our last days of language, at least for a while

--growing friendships with other missionaries

--the house church that meets here--that we would see continued growth and new churches started out of this group

--our English club, which meets every Thursday night

--Kellye's ear infection, which is pretty awful

--Some fun time as a family

We are really excited about some time off from language study, which will allow us to do some fun things with our kids. We had a wonderful trip to the zoo this week, a place we fully intend to visit again soon. There is also a possibility of a trip to the dacha, or summer house, an hour or so outside the city. Sarah Beth will be going to Budapest in three weeks, and then we have Annual General Meeting in August and a trip somewhere(?) for visa renewal. Then in October, we'll be headed to Prague for a conference and a little vacation with friends. So we have a whole lot of fun coming up. We are thankful for a week in which we saw a little light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you so much for partnering with us. We could not remain on the field without your faithful prayer support. It would be impossible. We love you and pray your week is productive and ear infection-free!

Blessings,

Kellye (for all)

Fwd: Hooks Prayer Update

> Good morning! I'm afraid in the hustle and bustle to get things done
> yesterday, I forgot to send this out, so this will just be a quick
> update.
>
> It has been a very hard week, one in which we have struggled with
> seemingly everything. We did have a wonderful English Club on
> Thursday night, and we are looking forward to continuing this
> ministry. Marc is working on a video for Jeff, our team leader, who
> leaves this week for a long Stateside assignment at the Baptist
> College of Florida. We did find a wonderful park only a mile and a
> half walk from our apartment, so that was definitely good news.
>
> Please pray specifically for the following this week:
> 1. Encouragement, encouragement, encouragement--the weather has
> turned cloudy and cold again, and it mirrors our feelings about
> being here. We miss the warm sunshine of Florida, our home, our
> family, and our church. Pray that every day this week, we will find
> something encouraging to focus on instead of what we miss.
> 2. Our relationship with each other--it is hard to be together 24/7
> and never have a break from one another.
> 3. Friendships, for us and our children--we are really lonely. All
> the people we have become friends with are leaving the field or have
> left it, some for good and others just for a year.
> 4. Visas--we thought our visa issues were worked out, and we found
> out Friday that they aren't. The embassy in Kiev, the only one who
> would work with Russian visas and work permits, has decided not to
> do that. Unfortunately, we found that out only because we have
> personnel there trying to get their work permits. Pray for them,
> that a solution will be discovered, and pray for our office, which
> is desperately looking for some solution to this new problem.
> 5. Our house church--pray that we will be good stewards of the work
> already started, and that our language will not be a hindrance to
> the spiritual growth of these people we have come to love so much.
>
> Thank you so much for your prayers. We could not make it through
> weeks like this without you. In fact, we couldn't make it through
> any week without the faithful prayers of our own warriors. We love
> you guys, and we pray that God is working in your life, just as He's
> working in ours!
>
> Blessings!
> Kellye (for all)

June is flying by...

It's been a wonderful, warm week here in Moscow. We had a great house church time last Sunday--thank you for the prayers. We had a great English Club meeting on Thursday--thank you for the prayers. I took the kids to the park yesterday for a picnic--you can see the pics here. It's nice to be on summer break and get to enjoy the outdoors a bit. Please pray for us this week as we are about to transition from one team to the other. And we ask that you would specifically pray for Lilliana, Sardonna and Karoline this week...we feel that the first two have either made a decision for Christ or are about to, and Karoline is a young woman who is seeking, but just doesn't know what. Pray that we will be bold in our witness to her. Remember that we are available to talk to your VBS if you want us to! Blessings!  Kellye (for all)

God has answered your prayers (and ours)

Last week, we asked that you pray continually this week for clear guidance from God about whether or not we should take over the Bible study/house church our team currently has when the team leaders leave next month for thirteen months of Stateside Assignment. After meetings, discussions with our closest friends around the world, and specific times of prayer and fasting, we are convinced that this is the direction God would have us go. We did not expect to take over something like this so soon into our first term, but we also didn't expect to be missionaries in Russia, so God is full of surprises! We had pretty much settled the matter by Thursday, but we still were asking God for something unusual, something that would help us know He absolutely wanted us to do this. Thursday night at English Club, we only had two students (Russian universities are in their exam period right now), so we played cards. During the discussion, one of the students we are closest to, Ksenia, was lamenting that her new job would make it impossible for her to attend on Thursday nights. (Ksenia is an English teacher, and does not need my help to learn English. She is obviously seeking something beyond that.) She was saying that she could not stand the idea of not being with our family every week. I asked her what days she had free, and she replied, "Only one day off...Sundays are my only free days." Marc looked at me. I looked at him. We both smiled. What a perfect position we are now in to invite Ksenia to the new group that will be meeting in our home. Yes, we are headed in the right direction. 

We do have some specific things for you to pray about during this week, things specifically to do with our new work. First, please pray for our acquisition of the Russian language. We were very, very encouraged this week by comments made to us about our Russian by people who have been on the field many, many years. Pray that God will continue to give us ears to hear and tongues that can put all those consonants together in a row! Please pray also for the kids as we work on new Standard Tenable Statements (STS). They have already memorized one STS, and now they will need to memorize something new. Remember that our STS is in place for our safety and security and for the security of the platform on which our team works. Finally, pray that God will make us bold as we invite our English Club students to come study the Bible with us on Sundays. We are praying that God does something supernatural and amazing in this situation. We believe He is about to start something big here, and we are so excited to be a part of it.

Thank you so much for your prayers. Have we told you lately how much we appreciate you? Without faithful prayer warriors, we would have packed the bags and headed home at the first sign of snow, I'm sure. You keep us on the field. You make us more effective. You hold up our arms and stand in the gap when we are too tired to do it ourselves. We love you and praise God daily for your role in our ministry. Thank you for taking this long, arduous, interesting journey with us. мы любим вас! (We love you all!) 

Blessings,

Kellye (for all)

New Prayer Blog

JUNE 13, 2008

MOSCOW, RUSSIA

We have been on the field for just over eight months now and have seen our share of successes and  failures, but more than anything we have seen God moving and working in our lives.  Since we arrived in Moscow in October we have sent weekly emails to our partner churches and family members so they could know how to pray for us in the upcoming week.   In recent weeks we have been asked to share those letters.  So, each Saturday night we will post our weekly prayer letter on this site so it can be shared.  Please feel free to forward this blog address to anyone who may be interested.

I have also posted an archive of our recent letters so you can get aquatinted with our work here.

We know that people from all over the world have been praying for our family. We know because we have felt the direct results of those prayers.  So, we wanted to also thank your for praying and ask that you continue to pray for us. 

Please feel free to post your comments and your own prayer needs so that our large prayer family can pray for each other.

Blessings,
Marc

We need your prayers this week!

This has been a really, really busy week. In fact, as I write this, we have a home brimming with children--John and Han each invited two guests home from an all-mission brunch this morning, so we have six kids running around and being crazy. (Sarah Beth volunteered to walk to the store for tortilla chips--an escape plot if ever I heard one.) We had some event every night (or day) this week, which is unusual for us. On top of that, we also had language lessons, which pretty much wiped us out. The really great news is that Buck and Leslie, friends of ours who have been living in St. Petersburg, have moved to Moscow, along with their three children. We are so grateful that they are here--we had them over for dinner last night, and two of their three kids are here right now. Their arrival is a great blessing for us, and we look forward to spending time with them.
Of course, we always covet your prayers, but this week is especially important, because we have an important decision to make in the near future, preferably this week. Our team leaders, Jeff and Karla, are leaving for Stateside Assignment in a month. We have been asked to consider taking over the Bible Study/House Church that meets in their home. That may seem like a no-brainer, but there are several concerns to consider. First, while we have made gigantic strides in our acquisition of the Russian language, we would have to really prepare in order to teach a Bible lesson in Russian. Conversation is one thing, but "church" words are not in our vocabulary lessons. Second, there are some security concerns. I don't want to spend much time here, but our team is "on platform," which means we (and our children) would have to memorize new "standard tenable statements" about who we are and why we're here in order to protect that platform. That is further complicated by Marc's transition from the team we are currently on--a church planting team--to the administrative team--our permanent team. Finally, and most important to the leadership here, we are at a critical moment in our lives as missionaries. This is the time culture shock hits hard and people leave the field. The worry is that the responsibility would be one more pressure in an already pressure-filled situation. (You know those lists of different events that give a number to how much they stress you? I think the point where it physically affects you is around 150. The average score for a first-term missionary on the field is somewhere around 800. There's a little pressure.)
So there are the concerns. But there are also reasons we would love to do this. First, we have several "kids" in English Club who are obviously seeking something beyond learning English. An established group is easier to invite someone to than a new group. Second, we already have a relationship with the people who attend at Jeff and Karla's. Some are incredibly close to making decisions for Christ, and we fear what will happen if they are "shipped off" to another group. Finally, we have developed a passion for seeing God sweep into this country and do something only He can do. Somewhere along the way, we became missionaries who long to do whatever is necessary for Him to be glorified. If this is what He has for us, we want to be a part of it.
We are asking that in your Sunday School classes tomorrow, each of you take time to explain our situation and hold a specific prayer for God's will in this matter. And then we are asking each of you personally to pray about this during the upcoming week. I don't think we have ever asked for you to pray for/about something every day for a week since we began this journey, so you can see how important this is to us. We are looking for God's clear guidance and the peace only He can give about our decision.
Your prayers matter so much. Many of you have been praying for our kids to have friends. From the other rooms in our apartment, all I can hear is laughter and playing. God answers your prayers. He cares about what you bring to Him. Thank you for being faithful to bring Him our concerns. You are a vital part of what we are doing here.
Blessings!
Kellye and Marc

A Great Week!

Good morning! We have had a busy, busy week, with two parties for Marc's fortieth birthday, English Club, Hannah's promotion to middle school, and the end of (most of) school for the kids. Last night, we said goodbye to friends who are returning to the States, and we found out another family we love is also returning to the States permanently. Pray for us and for our kids that these goodbyes, which are a part of missionary life, are not discouraging, and that God has something fun and wonderful planned for the summer.
The pictures are from Marc's birthday celebration and English club and Senior banquet. The IMB girls below are the girls from our company who went to Senior banquet together. The pic to the left of that is Sarah Beth with her best friend, Sarah Beth (they call themselves SBSquared). We love you and appreciate your prayers. Blessings!

A Week Like No Other

Unlike any week we have been on the mission field, this week has been a combination of exhilaration, exhaustion, excitement, and trauma. (Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else that started with 'ex'.) We spent the week with RamCorps, a group of musicians from the University of Mobile, and they took care of the exhilaration, exhaustion, and excitement. We went to different venues, watched them play concerts, and then watched while they made relationships with the people we met. We had three new people on Thursday night at English club as a direct result of the work they did this week. We sent them home on Thursday, and while we're glad for the rest, we already miss them. They were wonderful, and they did a great, great job here in Moscow.

The trauma was a result of a broken pipe in our wall, which spewed about four inches of steaming hot water onto our floor, and then into the apartments below us. Our neighbors were not happy with us at all, completely ignoring the fact that we did not break the pipe but were victims, too. We think they are all appeased now, and that relations are again on speaking terms, but it's been a tough week dealing with the damage and the angry neighbors who have showed up at our door.

We have also found out that another unit on our team, a family we love very much, is heading back to the States. We know that this is never an easy decision, and we are praying for their peace about it. When we came to Moscow, our team had six units. (Our company counts a single as a unit and a family as a unit.) Now, we are down to two units--us and another family. Please pray for us as we seek the Father's will for the next step our team will take.

Something else to pray about is what will happen to our team's house church when the other family leaves for Stateside assignment in July. Please pray with us as we contemplate where to take the church and in what direction. It is extremely difficult to plant a church here, and we do not want anything to happen to the church that is already in existence. In addition, we have had several people in the last week ask us if we will be having a church in our home when the other family leaves. There are some logistical issues with that, so we are praying through the different possibilities. Please pray with us that no matter what, God would be glorified, and our team's little church would be protected. (By the way, I am assuming you all know this, but I don't use names of other missionaries for security purposes. Our team is here on a platform, and to use names might endanger that. I do actually know everyone's name!)

Here's a story just to let you know how God is at work. On Thursday night, Irina was new to our English club. When I told her as she was getting ready to go that I was so glad she had come, she told me that she had really enjoyed herself, and that she understood now why people want to come every week, because our home is inviting, and the environment is fun and friendly. Pray that it will be only a short time before Irina asks us why our home is that way. There are spiritual conversations waiting to happen there. We are starting to see progress every week. It is such an exciting time to be here!

As you go through your week, please know that we do not take for granted your prayers, and that we appreciate every prayer said for us. We are starting to really feel like this is home, and we know that is a direct result of the prayers you have lifted on our behalf. Thank you so much. We love each of you, and we are so glad to have warriors out there, lifting up our arms when we become too tired. We love you!

Blessings,
Kellye (for all)

p.s. Monday is Marc's 40th birthday! Say a special prayer for him on Monday!

Another Busy Week

While much of our week has been caught up in the volunteer team from the University of Mobile, it was also a big week for Sarah Beth. As you can see from the pictures, she attended her first formal last night. On Friday, she was elected as Vice-President of the junior class for next year. We can't believe our "baby" is almost a grown up. Continue to pray that God will be at work in the transition of our children to their new culture. Your prayers are working!
This is a busy week--RamCorps has performances every night, and sometimes during the day, too. They are an amazing group of young people, and already God has been faithful to return tenfold what we invest here--last night alone, we had five new people ask to join our English Club. Amazing! Please continue to pray for their time here in Moscow.
This has been such an encouraging week for us. After sitting in class every day trying to learn this hard, hard language, it is so great to be able to go out and use it and feel successful with it. Last night, several people commented on our (Marc and Kellye's) Russian and how well we spoke. God has used that to really encourage us to stay the course and really devote ourselves to the language anew. Please continue to pray for our language acquisition.
Be thinking of us this week and praying. Who knows what God is about to do here? We don't have any idea--but it is certainly a great thing to be in on what He's doing and where He's doing it. Thank you for your prayers and support--know that we never, ever take them for granted.

Blessings!
Kellye (for all)

May 4, 2008

Hello!

We are enjoying a Sunday with nothing to do. Because of May holidays, our church, which meets in a dentist's office, had church yesterday because the dentist had to work today. We pray your Sunday is going to be as easy and restful as ours will be.
A miracle happened on Thursday night at English club. Kasinya and Dasha invited us to a party at their dorm on Saturday night. . We have been praying and praying for a breakthrough in relationships with our English Club students, something that would draw us closer, and here it was. Above you can see some pictures from the party. We had trouble getting the right bus and were late. When I apologized for our lateness, one of the girls replied, "It matters not that you are late. It only matters that you came." These relationships are a direct result of the work done by FBC Allen, TX. Please prayerfully consider a trip to Russia to partner with us. It is a difficult, expensive place to come, and no one knows that more than we do, I promise. But the rewards...not a single face you see above is a believer. None of our students are believers. But every face you see above is seeking something more than what they have. And we would not have met any of them if FBC Allen had not taken on the task of bringing a group here. It reminds me of something one of the leadership team here said to us when we first met with them. Marc had said something like he was just a video guy, but he knew God could do something with that. I'll never forget the response. "But who knows that one video you produce won't change minds and hearts? There could be literally thousands around the throne of God because you were faithful to being just a video guy, but a video guy for God." God is working a miracle in our English Club. We never had any idea that we would love working with university students so much. But God knew. We had no idea what the ramifications of the volunteer team from FBC Allen would be, but God knew, and He is rewarding their faithfulness. We love these people so much. Won't you pray about partnering with us?
We have a meeting with trustees tomorrow, and Marc will be spending his day at Red Square with them after the meeting. He's starting more and more to get to do some things that fall in his "media" department, and he is loving it. Please pray that the meeting goes well. We would also ask that you pray for our entire field, which comprises all of Russia. Many, many folks are having to relocate, either outside of the country or in different parts of the country. Please pray for our leadership as they deal with ever-changing visa laws and decide how best to use the funds Southern Baptists have faithfully given us. They are amazing men. If you could meet them, you would want to work with them, too. Also pray for the many children who are impacted by these moves. No one knows better than we the tremendous difficulty children can have in transitions.
We hope and pray that spring has sprung where you are, and that you are enjoying it. We are thoroughly grateful for weather the last week or two in the sixties. Unfortunately, we are expecting snow Tuesday and Wednesday. We love each of you, and we thank you for your prayers. You are an integral part of our ministry.

Blessings!
Kellye (for all)