December 16, 2008
Dear Friends and Family!
Our warmest greetings to you this Christmastide. May the light of Christ shine around you and within you. Emmanuel has come. Let us rejoice!
I admit to being very far behind this year, and know that I have missed all deadlines to get this to you before the western celebration of Christmas on December 25. I have probably missed any deadlines for New Year’s as well, but perhaps this will reach you by the Eastern celebration of Christmas, January 7, or maybe by Old New Year’s, celebrated on January 13. When 2008 passes into 2009, we will probably just sigh with relief, but we will celebrate both Christmases. Our Russian colleagues will continue celebrating the birth of Christ throughout January. For the Orthodox, the days of Advent are a fast time. For the Baptists, who fast only for special prayer times (and not by the calendar), the days leading up to Christmas are a time of preparation for their Christmas outreach. All the trappings that we attach to Christmas were secularized by the Soviets and moved to New Year (New Year’s tree, New Year’s gifts), so Christmas is simply the celebration of the birth of Christ. So in Russia, December is a different kind of a month, though Western commercialization is taking over in Moscow. January will be the celebratory month.
As many of you know, 2008 has been a full and challenging year. I (Ellen) have had a great deal more traveling outside of Russia because of visa issues. The blessings, though, have been there in each challenge, and the blessings have been greater than the challenges. I give thanks for the opportunity to meet Mary Ferris (our colleague in Romania), Joe and Kathy Angi and Dick and Carolyn Otterness (PC(USA) and RCA colleagues in Hungary), Emmanuelle Michel (a Frenchwoman living in London, who introduced me to a valuable ministry that I am still following up on for partners here in Russia), and so many more. The challenges with our former apartment were great, but we are now in a new and much better place with a very kind landlady. Even the dog and cat are happier, and get along much better than before. The troubles have fallen away to nothing, but the blessings abide with us and give us strength for the next round of challenges. As for the visa challenges, we expect them to be resolved before Christmas.
Some of you know that we were due to return to the States to do mission interpretation in August of 2009. When I returned in October from my prolonged stay in the United States, Al and I asked our supervisors in Louisville to consider extending us for another year. For six months, I was gone from our family more than I was present, and we felt we needed another year here to get more settled in our new apartment and to regain a little stability. Given the life that we lead, that may not be possible, but we have different expectations than most people. We are very grateful to Elaine Matthes, Jon Chapman, and Mike Parker for considering our request and granting us not an extension, but a new term with itineration to take place from August 2010 – July 2011.
In spite of the challenges, exciting new ministries have begun this year. The church in Smolensk, with whom we work so closely, has begun two new ministries—a post-orphanage program to help graduates of the orphanage system transition to colleges and universities and a drug rehabilitation program. With the help of a grant from Presbyterian Women, we were able to put on a seminar on early diagnosis and intervention strategies for children with autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Jane Charles from Charleston, South Carolina, and Dr. Lucia Horowitz from Greenwood, South Carolina, were the presenters, and the seminar was very well received. In November, Dick and Carolyn Otterness (RCA missionaries in Hungary working with the Roma), Burkhard Paetzold (PC(USA)’s regional liaison for Central and Eastern Europe and Roma ministries), Otto Jenei (a pastor in the Transcarpathian Reformed Church in Ukraine working with the Roma) and Bela Horvat (a Roma leader working with Otto) joined us for the fifth annual gathering of the Russian Roma Network. The gathering surpassed all of our expectations. We look forward to where all these avenues of ministry are leading us in 2009.
The Smiths of Moscow. Clockwise from upper left: Al, Meg, Ellen, Emma. Allison is very happy in her work as a chemist in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Meg is waiting to hear from colleges. She will graduate from Hinkson at the end of May. We all look forward to seeing what the Lord has prepared for her. She is having an exciting senior year, involved in far too many activities, but juggling well. She has hurt her knee playing volleyball, but we hope it will heal well. Emma is enjoying her sixth grade year and all the changes that has entailed. The middle school has many more opportunities than the elementary, and she is taking advantage of them. She is doing Tae Kwan Do and has joined the basketball team. Life is full. Al and I are hanging on for the ride.
We thank you all for your prayers throughout this year. They have lifted us and sustained us through the difficulties until we could see the blessings. We wish you all God’s blessings in the New Year!
With love to all,
Ellen & Al and the girls
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The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 158 |
