Dear Brethren,

This is a difficult letter to write, almost as much of a surprise to us as it will be to you.  It has been two years since we got back from our whirlwind "tour" of the States and yet the Lord has allowed a need in our family to come up and it has become obvious that a short trip back to America is in order.

Many of you already know that Alexandria has been dealing with some breathing difficulties, and pain in her chest, back and side for several months now.  There are a lot of other symptoms that we won't take time or space to go into, but this seems to be getting progressively worse.  We were hoping to find out what was going on over here, we spoke with our doctor in Poland, and then found a pediatric cardiologist at a children's hospital in L'viv.  After an EKG and ultrasound on her heart, she was diagnosed with an obscure type of arrhythmia.  We've been in contact with two very good doctors in the States, neither or which have heard of the this specific arrhythmia.  Our concern is of course that

Alexandria has been misdiagnosed, this is very common over here, and that she could have some sort of degeneration if something isn't done.
Jessie and Cassia will remain in Ukraine for now.  Jess will continue to do the English Club and keep things running over here.  This will be easier financially and logistically for the time being.  I (Teresa) will be taking Alexandria home.  We are driving to Warsaw tomorrow (Jan 3rd) and will then fly from there to Rochester, NY, Jan 6th.

We are in the process of getting to ready to leave at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning, taking care of all the last minute things that need doing on the spur of the moment (including writing a prayer letter!) when something like this happens.

Our prayer requests are as follows:

1) Please pray that we can obtain good health insurance, we need to make the right decisions.  There is always a waiting period before insurance goes into effect, and Alexandria is going to need to see some specialists for some pretty extensive testing.
2) Please pray the Lord will lead us to the right doctors that will be willing to “delve” to find out exactly what is going on.
3) Please pray we will be able to get appointments with doctors soon so Alexandria and I can come back home! :>)  
4) Please pray for Jessie and Cassia as they stay behind in L’viv.

As for the ministry during November and December:  

We were very sad to bid farewell to Bryan Schufelt until the spring.  He returned to the States for the holidays and some ministry opportunities there.  We’re all missing him, he’s been a great big brother for the girls, and the Lord has really used him to fill in some holes in our staff this year.  Hurry back Bryan!

The English Club is continuing to grow.  We usually experience a lull during the holidays but surprisingly we’ve had more people show up lately.  Last week, a mother and daughter came for the first time.  The mother is a teacher and enjoyed the English teaching so much she asked if we would be willing to come to her school.  We were able to give both mom and daughter our starter packet for the correspondence course and they were genuinely interested, so much so, that they asked if they might be able to hand this out to other people!

Every week, the English students read from the pictorial Bible book, Good and Evil, and then they discuss words and concepts that they don’t understand.  This is a great method for sharing the Bible on a continuous basis and they really seem to enoy it.  There is not a week that goes by that Jessie is not given many opportunities to talk about the Word of God.  

The correspondence course also continues to grow.  Interestingly, we’ve recently had several students sign up on our Ukrainian website from outside the L’viv region.  Most are from towns we’ve never even heard of.  We’re really excited to see the Correspondence Bible Course beginning to reach further and further into different parts of Ukraine.  Also, we now have 35 students that are prisoners.  This all started with the sister of one of the inmates giving him a starter packet.  Since then it has grown inside the jail by word of mouth, praise the Lord!    

Many thanks for your prayers and support during this difficult time.  We are so grateful for our friends and family.  I Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”   

Your Missionaries for Jesus’ Sake,

Jessie, Teresa, Cassia and Alexandria