Dear Brethren,

The past two months have been a whirlwind of activity!  As always, getting ready for the Carpathian Mountain Outreach (CMO) consumes much of our time in late spring/early summer and added to that were a few other pressing family needs, primarily new passports and visas for Cassia and Alexandria.  Children’s passports expire every five years and as much as it seemed that we just renewed them and how could it possibly have been five years (!!!) it was time to take the overnight train to Kiev and make our appearance at the American consulate with birth certificates, pictures, and all other various and sundry documents necessary to prove that these girls do indeed belong to us, and are without a doubt American citizens.

The girls hadn’t been on a train since they were really little, we had a compartment with four beds all to ourselves, Cassia and Alexandria vied for the top of course and we had a great time.  Praise the Lord, and thank you to all who prayed, everything went very smoothly.

After receiving the passports by courier service one week later, we were then allowed 10 days in Ukraine before we had to leave the country to renew the girl’s visas.  This is always a tricky process as we are very much at the mercy of the Ukrainian governmental employees.  We try our best to comply with every regulation, but there is no standardization from consulate to consulate, and there are no guarantees that the regulations won’t change from person to person.  We did hit one snag, in gathering information before our trip to Krakow we were told by a consular employee that it was no longer necessary to have an invitation by a receiving Ukrainian organization.  But, of course when we submitted our paperwork the first question was, “Where is your invitation??”  Praise the Lord, because the girls were children coming in under Jessie and I, we were allowed to write the organizations that invited us on the paperwork and that sufficed.  We can’t tell you how grateful we are to those prayer warriors that help us through these situations, there are many times when your prayers from back home are just as tangible as if you were standing right next to us praying out loud.

Well, if a trip to Kiev and a trip to Krakow weren’t enough to keep us busy, CMO approached faster than ever this year, not only due to our increased activities but also I think because we were still missing Nathan Day, who normally plays a major part in our scouting trips and logistical planning.  (He is FINALLY back by the way, and we forgive him for leaving us so long due the fact that this fall he’s getting married to the girl of our choice, Katelin Rebsch!!! :>)   Yes, she was actually pre-approved by our team (it’s too long a story to go into) and we are so excited for Nathan and Katelin!!

The Carpathian Mountain Outreach has had a slower start this year.  The attendance has been on the low side for the film showings, and the guys have experienced quite a bit of opposition from the local priests.  One Sunday, the team was forced to turn around and drive back to L’viv due to the absence of electricity in the entire region.  Last week, a lady told us not to hand out the film invitations so far in advance but to wait until just a few days before because posters and invitations are taken down and disposed of.  So, we are once again seeking new tactics and praying for the Lord to show us new strategies.  Yesterday however, was a great Sunday, the guys were able to show the film in two villages to a total of about 80 people, praise the Lord!

We are also taking a little different approach to the outreach in L’viv this year.  Instead of once again blanketing the tall apartments throughout the city, after three years, we decided it was time to hit the smaller housing areas within L’viv, and the small townships and villages in the L’viv region.  That means a lot less literature is being distributed, but these are areas where our team has never evangelized.   These small townships are less exposed to foreigners and other religions so most people firmly cling to their old religious ways.  This makes for fewer responses in our post office box.  In the city of L’viv, one man may potentially put out 1,000 tracts per day, but in small neighborhoods they are only able to pass out 200 tracts per day.  Still, imagine one young man reaching 200 homes a day with the gospel!  And, although fewer than in past summers, we have already begun receiving responses from people signing up for our Correspondence Bible Course.

Even in the midst of what might be considered by some as less than encouraging circumstances, the Lord has reminded us that He is Sovereign… even over priests!  In 2006, our first CMO project, we showed The Light of the World in the small village of

Khashchovanya.  We had already experienced quite a bit of  opposition from the local priests and were very surprised to see Khashchovanya’s priest not only attend the showing, but bring all of his children to see the film as well!

After the film Father Stephan introduced himself and began asking questions about our group. Josh basically assured him that we weren’t a sect and explained that we believe the Bible and salvation by grace through faith.  To our astonishment he replied, “That is the message I have been preaching to these people every Sunday.”  The conversation was minimal that day but we’ve always wondered about this priest in the Carpathians, could he really know the Lord? 

Well, three years later now, Jessie chauffeured the team up to Khashchovanya hoping to show a new film, Fireproof.  Sure enough, Father Stephan remembered our group and was enthusiastic about another film showing.  Josh scheduled the showing for a couple weeks in advance, and explained that the guys would return later to hang posters and hand out invitations. 

The weekend came to advertise the film in Khashchovanya but we (the Beal family) were in Poland renewing visas so this time the guys rode the train to the mountains.  Thirty minutes from the mountains, the team took a bus which would then take them all the way to Khashchovanya.  (Now I’m borrowing from Josh’s website because we weren’t there but you’ve just got to read this story!!!)  Well, as Josh relates, after just a few stops, who should get on but Father Stephan.  He took a seat by Joshua and for the next two hours they talked about family, ministry and surprisingly, the Word of God.  Father Stephan had this to say, “Of course the Bible must be our final authority.  I studied in Catholic Seminary for five years, and I didn’t learn that. I started reading the Bible on my own, and they almost kicked me out.”  He went on, “You know, the problem with people is that they all want to trust in their own works for salvation. But a man can only be justified by faith. I’ve been screaming that to my people for eight years now. Only the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ can save.”

After that, Joshua and Father Stephan began swapping their favorite scripture verses.  To make a very long story short, this priest has been preaching salvation through faith in Christ to his village for years.  He has been listening to radio broadcasts from preachers like Dr. J. Vernon McGee since the early 90’s.  (Ooooo, gooosebumps!!!)  He has a shelf of notebooks that are filled with notes from listening to preachers on the radio.  And through a special set of circumstances, the Lord opened the door for us to give Father Stephan every lesson by J. Vernon McGee that has ever been translated into Russian (about 1600).

Please pray with our team for Father Stephan, that God would open the hearts of the people in Khashchovanya to the message of Christ.  You can be certain that his job is not an easy one, he is holding the line in a very dark place without the fellowship of other believers that most of us enjoy.  For eight years he has preached the Gospel to the people in his village and he is preaching still.  Men like that are few and far between.

We are continuing with English/Bible Club on Tuesday nights. Usually our yearly schedule corresponds with the school schedule here, but this year we’ve had such overwhelming response to the Bible teaching that we decided to carry on through the summer.  Although attendance is lower than the norm, we still have our faithful regulars and a few new people that show up from time to time.  Two of the men, Marion and Taras are so interested in spiritual things that they asked if they could go with the team to the Carpathians for a film showing.  Not only have they gotten the gospel in many different ways at English club, they watched the film, and sat through the gospel presentation at the end of the movie.  Please pray for their salvation! :>)

The girls continue to grow so fast, Cassia is very excited that she can wear my shoes…I confess I’m not quite as excited as she. :>)   The girls are having extra piano and music theory lessons this summer and really enjoying studying without the pressure of exams and performances.  Cassia has started her first Rachmaninoff Prelude, and Alexandria has her first Chopin Etude.  Jessie and I get to listen. :>)

Thank you all so much for your prayers and continued financial support.  Please continue to pray for our family as we serve the Lord here in Ukraine.

Your Missionaries for Jesus’ Sake,

Jessie, Teresa, Cassia and Alexandria