We’ve covered some ground since our last update, visiting friends, co-workers and family in Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. It’s been great to be in Georgia for an extended stay. The days are full, and we are very thankful for this time in the States, though it does have its challenges.

We had a very nice visit with friends near Washington, DC. Their oldest girl and Valerie are like peas in a pod. When we arrived, they gleefully discovered that they wear the same pajamas. It was all uphill from there.

We are still waiting to hear from the US government regarding our applications for Olga’s citizenship, which they received three and half months ago. We have tickets to go to Russia on April 3; hopefully we’ll get everything wrapped up by then.

Olga is faithfully homeschooling and seeing good results. She’s also been baking bread, and she baked her first American style cake, from scratch. Val is doing great. She’s just started swimming lessons and is VERY excited about that. She’s also studying piano, dance and gymnastics. We’re having a very sweet time as a family. 

Mike has been teaching Sunday school on occasion. His work with Stoneworks continues: helping prepare interns and mission teams for the summer work; coordinating trips to the USA for partners from Estonia and Russia; preparing for an upcoming board meeting. Next month he’ll speak at a church in Baltimore. Stoneworks continues to grow, recently sending a long-term missionary to serve in L’viv, Ukraine. You can read the most recent Stoneworks news here.

While this post is an update about our lives, we realized that everything we have is from God. We are thankful to receive the life God has given us. The Lord is King of all. He is the Head of His body, the church. He alone deserves our praise and devotion. Let’s keep our eyes on the prize for which Christ has called us, pressing onward and upward.