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)