Nov. 11, 2005
A Close Call:Some people asked me (somewhat skeptically, I felt) about the girl that we were afraid had been a victim of trafficking. I spoke with some acquaintances that work with an NGO battling trafficking in Ukraine and they said that her story was a true miracle. These are not folks that claim to be religious, nor were they using those words lightly. They said they are afraid what this girl probably had to do to be released and undoubtedly, (as they have seen before), it is due to the shame associated with these situations that she won't be saying anything to anybody about what really happened and will be putting on a face that all was fine.
PLEASE PRAY that God would protect this girl, (if indeed these folks are right in their assumptions) and that God would already be healing her from this situation. I hope to be in her city soon and am praying that if this is something the Lord wants, there would be an opportunity to speak to this girl. We don't know each other, I am a foreigner, and I don't live in her city, so the NGO workers think I would be a very likely person for her to feel safe to talk to. And if I had a "kopek" for everytime someone started a conversation with me saying ..."You're the first person I've ever told this to..." So PLEASE PRAY that if God wants to use me in this way that He would open the door and that I would have wisdom and His words, not my own.
"A Van in the Hand is Worth Two in Budapesht"...sorry, bad pun, but I couldn't resist. And yes, with the Russian pronounciation it is Buda-peSHt. ANYWAY...through the generousity of an anonymous friend we (Tree of Life) have purchased a van! Someone gave a large donation to where it was enough that the owners were willing to sell it to us and let us make payments to pay it off. We still owe approximately 2 thousand USD. They are missionaries returning to Canada and so they understand the way it is with finances (sometimes you have it and sometimes you don't!). So they are very flexible with when we pay it off. But PLEASE PRAY that we would be able to pay it off soon. It will be better for everyone.
Right now the van is still in Hungary and I hope for the documents to be finished soon so that I can go get it. PLEASE PRAY that this would all be resolved soon and that the drive back from Hungary would be uneventful! :)
In some ways I never wanted a car here. It just means extra expense and extra headaches. But we so often have to rent cars to haul books, etc. that when this one came available it just seemed a natural idea. So PLEASE PRAY for my safety as I drive in Kiev (think: people driving on the sidewalk to go around traffic jams...seriously!), parked on the street at night, etc. God has blessed us with this van, so He will keep it safe.
"Esho" Conferences!... "Esho" is "and still more" in Russian (of course spelled differently). We have another conference this weekend where we have been invited to do the book store. PLEASE PRAY for energy and strength, these conferences are really tiring. PLEASE PRAY also that we would be able to serve the group of Baptists Ukrainian seminary wives that we will be serving there that they would find encouragement in their relationships with the Lord through the books and materials that we will have on hand. This is a big privilege and I'm thrilled that Tree of Life is able to continue to serve a wider and wider spectrum of the Body of Christ beyond just the churches that are in our circle.
