Thank you so much for praying. We asked you to pray for Yura and Lena, who are part of our church planting team, and were trying to move to Donetsk with their three foster children. You prayed - God answered. At this point, His answer was "No." or perhaps, "Not Yet."  So I raised my hands to heaven and simply asked, "Do you know what you're doing?" Thankfully our heavenly Father is secure in his position and a sense of peace came over me as if He was gently saying, "Yes, I do." 

I've invested a good amount of time and energy into the bond we share with this sweet couple and when the Department of Social Services said, "No", I was more than a bit disappointed, but I was reminded of one of the responses to our August 19 prayer request we sent to you. A friend, we'll call him Dan (because that is what his name really is) wrote these words: "...I join you in asking our Father to do what is best in this situation."  Great job, Dan, in keeping the proper perspective. We'll keep trusting the Father since He sees the bigger picture.

Meanwhile, the rental house we secured in the target region of the church plant stands empty. By faith, I have pulled weeds, trimmed trees and made the yard a welcoming sight. Maybe God wanted that house for someone else, not Yura and Lena. Maybe God will use that house for the likes of Oleg and Lena (different Lena).

Oleg is in Donetsk right now tending to his wife after she had a botched emergency C-section and a baby that died shortly after childbirth. The incompetent doctors in their small town ignored her complaints until the infection inside almost killed her. Indeed it would have if Oleg had not spirited her off to Donetsk and put her in a hospital here. Trying to save her life, the Donetsk doctors performed emergency surgery, removing 5 liters of infection and every organ that wasn't necessary for the sustaining of her life. Lena has been in intensive care for about 10 days and the doctors say she will live, but she will not be having any more children. We have offered the house to Oleg and Lena during her extended recuperation.

God has a way of making things work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Sure, I don't know what God is doing, but I can trust His promises. Will you join us in praying for Oleg and Lena this month?

We have many praises and prayer requests this month, so hang on to this letter until you get the next one, and pray, pray, pray.

This letter has a lot packed into it. Hopefully you'll have time to peruse the contents and we hope you find them informative and and sometimes even fun. Thanks for hanging in there until the finish line. Next month's letter should be a bit shorter. Once again... thanks for praying!