March 5, 2002

Hello friends!

How should I describe the month of February?  It has been busy, as usual.  Life has settled down from the holidays, and we've been spending most of our time with school and church.  Of course, there have been several real highlights of the month, and I'll write about those.

 

First, one of the best highlights of the month of February, at least for me, was a visit to an orphange for handicapped kids.  We were able to go from bed to bed and visit the ones who couldn't get around on their own.  I sat and held one little girl, who just laughed and laughed and enjoyed the attention.  Of course, I laughed with her!  And then we moved into a room where a group of the kids were gathered.  We sang songs with them, part of the group did a puppet show, and we gave out gifts.  We really didn't have much time there, but now I'm praying that we'll have a chance to go back.  I enjoyed being with those kids so much!  (The photos at the top are Steve Hayes' pictures from that day.)

 

Our wedding anniversary was a fun highlight last month.  Can you believe it's been a year since we were married?  Many thanks to those who wrote or sent us cards.  My big surprise from Will was that he shaved his beard for me!  (That was really a nice present.  He was fairly attached to it.  I think he looks much nicer without it.  I don't think I stopped smiling for two whole days.)  We spent the actual day of our anniversary with the youth from church, visiting a small church just outside Moscow.  Our group sang, shared, and encouraged the other church in whatever ways we could.  It was really a great day of fellowship with other believers, both our friends from church, and our new friends in this other church.

 

Also, thank you to those of you who were praying for Will as he prepared a message and preached in the youth service on February 17th.  He was able to communicate clearly what he wanted to say.  The whole service that day went well and was very enjoyable.  Our church is working at building a relationship with a particular orphanage not far from here, and a group of about ten of the kids from there were able to come.  Afterwards they stayed for tea, and we had a great time getting to know them a little. They will be visiting the church again this Sunday, and Lord willing we'll be able to go and visit them sometime soon. Please do be praying for those kids and for the church's continuing ministry to the children's home where they live.

 

Another highlight this month was a visit to a different orphanage with the church youth.  It is an hour or so outside of Moscow.  One of the guys from church visits there a lot, and has had quite an opportunity to minister to the kids there.  He stays for days at a time, but can't always convince the director to let him bring a group from church.  We pretty much put on a church service of our own for the kids, with lots of singing, testimonies, and a presentation of the Gospel.  They loved having us there.  Now they are begging for us to come back, particularly for a soccer match!

 

We were also able to go with the youth to visit another church February 25th.  (Can you tell that we've been busy with youth activities?)  That church was mostly young people.  They were eager for fellowship, and we had a really good time.  After the service we stayed on singing, talking, and having tea together.  And that night Will and I, just the two of us, visited yet another church.  This was a church that Will's Dad had found through contacts in the States. It had been started by American missionaries and was very American in many ways. At this point, however, the pastor and all the leaders are all Russian.  It was very different from what we have gotten used to here, but an interesting change and an encouragement for us.

 

Will and I have both had a Russian chorus running through our heads a lot lately.  We just learned it recently: "I will live under the protection of Your wings."  It's a paraphrase of Psalm 57:1, which says "Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yes, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge."   The Lord is our daily strength and it's wonderful to live fully dependent upon Him.

 

School this month has been good in some ways and really hard in others. Will's schedule has become especially difficult to keep up with.  There's a new head of the English department and an accompanying set of demands and pressures.  We are both still really enjoying being with the kids, but overall it seems to be just too much for a part time job.  To the extent that all of Christian life is ministry, we are able to minister at school, but it's also just a regular secular job.  We're really seeing that we may need to move out of teaching, either working less hours or doing something completely different, maybe even as soon as next year.  As I mentioned last month, we have been looking at all kinds of options, as we pray, think and talk about the future.  We are seriously thinking of taking some time for both of us to focus on studying Russian.  We would welcome advice and suggestions from any of you, and we certainly need your prayers!

 

One thing that we're really looking forward to is a visit from Will's parents and sister!  They'll be here March 16-29.  Please be praying for them as they get ready and travel, and for all of us to have a great visit together.

 

Please do write to us, either by email, or by regular mail.  We would love to hear from you!  And please do keep praying for us.
Love and prayers,
  Phyllis and Will Hunsucker