Onward

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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.

Merry Christmas

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Merry Christmas to you. We’ve had a great year. The Lord has led us through heartache and rejoicing. We thank Him for the abundant life He has given us.

We have good news. Mike received his Russian visa, and it’s perfect: it is good for three years and allows for unlimited stays in Russia. It is so good to have this done. It’s particularly gratifying to know that the Lord continues to keep the doors open for us to live and serve in Russia.

We applied for Olga’s US citizenship. Because she has a green card, we are obligated to be in the USA for an extended visit. We submitted the application in October and are waiting to hear from the US government if they accept the application or if they need more supporting documents. We hope to have this all done in the first quarter of next year, but the Lord knows His plans for us and we’re content to be where we are. Though, we miss Russia greatly and hope to go there as soon as possible.

Olga continues to homeschool Valerie. It’s going well, and God has blessed our family through the homeschooling experience. Valerie was baptized in July and is doing great. She has a servant’s heart and loves to give gifts. She loves school (she wants to fight bad microbes when she grows up) and she’s also quite talented in drawing, music and dance.

Mike has been meeting with mission teams and individuals, planning the work for next year; he hopes to help several interns serve in Montenegro, Estonia and Russia, and he will help mission teams as well. In addition to ongoing projects in Russia, Estonia, Belarus and Montenegro, Mike’s work is expanding into Norway, Moldova and Ukraine. Olga led a team to Moldova last summer and hopes to lead another team next year.

Click here to read the most recent update from Stoneworks International. 

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Christmas Cards Past

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I posted this last year but thought some people might like to see it again —

I recently told some Russian friends about something I did before I moved to Russia, and they asked if I’d post it on the web:

Years ago, when I was an old bachelor, I had the idea that it would be funny to have a different family each Christmas on my Christmas card.  One year at a church cookout I decided to go ahead and do it.

A friend from church was my ‘wife’, and we had three children.  I can say that it was quite a surprise to people when they got my card that year.  Several people thought I’d gotten married and hadn’t told them. (If you look closely, you’ll see that I have half a mustache; that was my way of saying ‘this is a joke’.)

The second year, I had a different wife and different children, a LOT of different children:

When my cousin got married, her mother (my Aunt Rose) asked if she could be on my next card.  We took this picture immediately after the wedding; the bride and groom are our best man and maid of honor.

As you can see by the groom’s expression, he was a bit befuddled as to why we were taking this picture on his wedding day, using the official photographer.

My church was located in an old movie theater in a strip shopping center.  One day after church, as I was walking to my car in the parking lot with many people going to and from the nearby shops, one of the ladies at church yells across the parking lot to me —

‘I want to be your wife this year!’  I yell back, ‘you’ll have to ask your husband!’  Later I thought about how very strange that must have sounded.

The next year, I was on hard times –

But by the last year, I had a trophy wife and a nice house!

And that was really my dog, Hank.

The story behind the last picture is fun.  I had scouted out this house to use for the card; it was on a large piece of property and quite imposing.  The day of the picture, we showed up and knocked on the door.  It took a little while for the owner of the house to understand exactly what we were asking, but once he got it he was pretty entertained and gave his permission.

I was soon to be married, and so the tradition ended.  Now I’m very happy to have the same wife each Christmas.

Valerie’s Baptism

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Valerie Cantrell was baptized yesterday at Camp Elama, north of St. Petersburg, Russia. Sergei Tovstopyat and I performed the baptism, and we had a ‘cloud of witnesses’.

Valerie has been asking to be baptized for a while. After talking with her about what it means, we all felt the time was right. She has committed herself to following Jesus, living by the Spirit and is VERY happy to join the family of God.

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News from the USA

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Our time in the States is coming to an end. Olga and Valerie went to Russia on Monday and I will go to Russia tomorrow. This has certainly been a bittersweet visit. It has been great to see so many family and friends, and Mom’s funeral went as well as anyone could hope. After the funeral service in Georgia we had a grave-side service at a family plot in Tennessee. It is remarkable how many and varied people loved my mother, and many thought of her as a second mother. She leaves a good legacy.

We are very thankful for all the love and support that has been shown to us in so many ways.

On the trip to Tennessee, I let Valerie do some driving in the very parking lot where I practiced driving when I was 15 years old. She did a good job and had a great time.

Valerie learning to drive

While in the USA, we’ve had great time with our many friends in the Athens area. It’s also been a blessing to be with my Dad, helping him in his transition to a new chapter in life. Everything is good.

Much awaits us overseas. Between now and the end of the summer we will be quite busy. Soon, we’ll welcome a team and run a camp for single mothers at Camp Elama. Olga will lead a small team on our first mission trip to Moldova, and I’ll have a first visit, and deliver some aid, to a church Western Ukraine that is ministering to refugees from the war in Eastern Ukraine. I’ll also meet with our three interns in Estonia and later serve with a team in Montenegro.

I had to leave my car in Montenegro when I flew to the States. I’ll drive it home at the end of July, with visits to Serbia,  Ukraine and possibly Romania. Sadly, the air conditioning on the car broke the day before I left Montenegro; I need to get that fixed pronto since Montenegro will be HOT in July. It’s always something . . . . .

Stoneworks continues to grow and bear good fruit. (You can read the most recent Stoneworks newsletter here. ) We also face various trials and challenges, which is quite normal for life in ministry. Just a few days ago we discovered that thieves have been using counterfeit checks on our account, buying items from Craigslists all around the country. Thankfully we caught it quickly and haven’t lost any money. So, we’ve closed our bank account and are opening new accounts. Time consuming and frustrating.

It’s always good to face hardships of various kinds because it helps us develop perseverance, and if we embrace perseverance then we’ll be better people, not lacking anything.

Onward!

Sad and Joyful News

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jim-n-nancy-crop

My mother passed away on May 22nd. It was my parents’ 61st wedding anniversary. She lived a good life, and one of her long-time friends wrote, “We have many warm memories of Nancy and her generous spirit, compassion, and kindness to others.” She was a good friend and mother.

We are very thankful that we had several months with her and Dad not very long ago. It was great to have meaningful conversations and prayer with her as the Lord was preparing her for the transition from this life to the next. She is now truly free.

I’ve just arrived in the States, traveling from Montenegro. Olga and Valerie will arrive from Russia on Monday. My brother is here as are my sister and her husband; grandchildren and a great-grandchild will also soon arrive. The funeral will be at St. James UMC in Athens, GA on Tuesday at 2pm. Mom’s body will be interred next to her parents and twin daughters (lost soon after birth in the 1960s) in McKenzie, Tennessee on Thursday.

“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.

“We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Therefore encourage each other with these words.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:12-17

A Postcard from Russia

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Our return to Russia went smoothly. The flights went well, we had no problems crossing borders and are almost completely over our jet lag. After a few days in St. Petersburg, we went to dacha (above) to open up the house and get it ready for the summer. Our dacha (summer house) is about 250 years old, and shows it.

Last fall we had the foundation fixed and the workers left quite a bit of rubble and chaos. So, we spent several days cleaning the place and finishing up some projects. I also built a greenhouse that wore me out. During the winter someone broke in and stole many tools (and in the process damaging some property), so we also had to recover from that.

Dacha is looking better, but it still needs a lot of help. Our hope is to turn it into a ministry center, and we’re slowly working our way toward making it able to host larger groups of people.

We’re now back in the city. Tomorrow, I (Mike) go to Estonia for a few days and then drive south to Montenegro, meeting my Finnish friend Heikki Hakala in Riga, Latvia. Heikki and I have wanted to take a road trip together, and we’ll visit historic sites along the way. We’ll also visit Schloss Heroldeck in Austria, a Christian conference center (and castle!) where I’d like to lead a youth retreat at some point. It’s interesting research to say the least.

In Montenegro I’ll meet with many friends and ministry partners. I’ll also welcome Stoneworks board member Glenn Cole and his daughter Sarah, who is an intern with us this summer. We and another intern Anna Savelle will then make ministry stops in Serbia, Romania, and Ukraine as we head to their internship in Estonia, serving at Sunbeam and Camp Gideon.

I’ve recently had contact with a church in Western Ukraine that is helping refugees from the war in the east. We’ll visit the church, learn more about their needs, and hopefully carry some donations with us. Please contact me if you’re interested in helping with that particular need.

Olga and Valerie will remain in Russia, taking care of things in the city and then spending more time at dacha, enjoying country life as Valerie gets a golden brown tan.

The words of Jesus are constantly in my ear, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Let’s keep pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which Christ has called us heavenward.

 

 

A Postcard from America

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Now THAT is a birthday picture. Valerie has just about the most birthday parties of any person I’ve ever seen. Even though her birthday is in July, we decided to throw a party now so she could share it with her friends here in Athens, GA. We met at my dad’s farm, and part of the festivities included a ride in the dump truck. This summer I’m sure we’ll have parties at dacha, at Camp Elama and perhaps even in Estonia.

Our time in the States is coming to an end. Though we’ve been here for quite a while, the time has flown by. It’s been great to be here, and now we look forward to going home and experiencing new adventures on the other side of the ocean. We leave a week from today. Our apologies to all our friends near and far who we hoped to visit but did not. My mom’s health has kept us close to home for the most part, and homeschooling has also kept us grounded.

Much has been accomplished while here. I’ve helped several mission teams and interns prepare for summer ministry. I’ve also had many meetings with friends as we’ve encouraged each other in the faith. I’ve also spoken/taught quite a bit. If you’re interested, you can click on the link on our homepage and listen some of my teachings.

springtime in the USA

My mother’s health continues as it has. Several weeks ago she broke a hip, and interestingly in some ways she’s doing better now than before she broke the hip. God has provided a great team of care-givers to help mom and dad while we’re gone.

We will go to St. Petersburg and then quickly go to dacha to open it up for the summer. I will go to Estonia in early May while Olga and Valerie remain in Russia. I will drive to Montenegro with my friend Heikki. In Montenegro I’ll meet two of our interns and one board member; we’ll meet with ministry leaders and potential new partners in Montenegro, Serbia and Romania before arriving in Estonia where the interns will serve with Sunbeam, the center for disabled children.

As we go, we are quite aware of the increased tensions in that part of the world. Please keep us in prayer, that we’ll love God more than anything else, that we’ll have wisdom about where we are to be, that we’ll be a blessing to our friends in those many countries, and that we’ll have discernment about His will for our family.

 

Been a long time –

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Goodness, it has been a LONG time since my last post. The time has flown by and much has happened.

In early December we arrived in the USA. Olga received her US green card, and Valerie is now a US citizen (we applied for her US passport a few days ago). We’re now starting the process of applying for Olga’s naturalization; that will take several months if all goes well.

We’ve had a very good time visiting with my family in Athens, GA. I’ve also had extensive meetings with mission teams and interns, preparing for the summer work. We’ll send teams to Montenegro, Russia and Estonia, and we’ll have two interns serving in Montenegro and Estonia.

A mission team member recently made a video about Camp Elama, our camp in Russia. This shows one aspect of our work and some of the great relationships God has given us, particularly with my good friend Sergei.