Dear Brethren, 

Greetings from snowy Rochester, New York. We are in the middle of a “snow hurricane” whatever that is--- it looks beautiful from inside.

This letter will be in two parts: first a report from Teresa and Alexandria. We are still in the States, but only for two more weeks and we’re counting down!  The second part of the letter will update you on Jessie and Cassia in Ukraine.

We are so excited to tell you how the Lord has worked concerning Alexandria. Our first hurdle when we arrived in Rochester was insurance.  The Lord put us in touch with a “friend of a friend” that was able to help us submit all the necessary paperwork before the deadline. Sure enough, Alexandria was insured February 1st. In the meantime, our doctor insisted on seeing her and running some tests. The only payment he asked for was that we pray for him and his family! He also arranged for Alexandria to see one of the best children’s cardiologists at the leading heart center in Rochester. On February 3rd, three days after the insurance kicked in, Alexandria was at the hospital. To make a long story short, the doctor found that Alexandria has been having some severe growing pains in her chest. This is a fairly common condition for children her age and accounts for her “heart pain”, breathing difficulties, dizziness and vision problems. Her heart is absolutely fine, healthy and strong. She will eventually outgrow these pains, most likely in her mid to late teens. We also began working with a certified herbalist and I’m so happy to report that only once since Alexandria began supplementing with herbs has she complained about her heart hurting. She is a completely different child, her color is better, she has more energy and she hasn’t had recurring illnesses since we’ve been here. Of course, we are overwhelmed with God’s goodness and His amazing answer to prayer. And we thank all of you that have prayed for us during this trial. To God be the glory! 

Meanwhile, back at the “ranch”…. 

Jessie and Cassia have been fighting snow, snow and more snow! Ukraine has had one of the most difficult winters since we’ve been there with temperatures as low as -16F. The road to our village has been plowed only twice this winter: Jessie and Cassia have ended up in the ditch several times, taking turns pulling the neighbors out, and or being pulled out themselves.  Jessie said that the snow was as high as the windows on our van. You can imagine trying to drive in that and making it back and forth into town! They also experienced frozen pipes for several days during a period of extreme cold. Thank you to all those that prayed and praise the Lord, there was no permanent damage. Just recently the weather has warmed to 40 degrees F and much of the snow has melted.  Hopefully the worst of winter is over….we’ll see as March is yet to come.

English Club continues to go well. The students seem to really enjoy Jessie’s teaching. The regulars keep coming and bringing visitors on occasion. In spite of the rough weather, we experience a very regular turnout.

The Bible correspondence course is booming! We’ve just added 27 new students in February alone. On two separate occasions, two unrelated ladies signed up four other people by word of mouth. Lesson 14 is completed and ready to send out. We are now using our revised Lesson 1 and already three have been returned.  (Lesson one was the first we ever worked on, after a few years experience we decided to rework some things.)

On a more negative note, the Ukrainian presidential elections are over and Victor Yanukovych has been inaugurated as the new president. He is the least pro-western candidate and has already promised to improve relations with Russia 100%. This could mean even more problems for Americans with immigration and registration laws. Please be in prayer for the Ukrainian government to continue to allow us to minister here in Ukraine.

Alexandria and I will be flying back to rejoin Jessie and Cassia on March 11th. They will be picking us up in Warsaw, and then we will drive back to Ukraine. Please pray for our flights during all of this winter weather, and also that our bags will arrive along with us this time! And please pray also for our border crossing into Ukraine.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support over the years. May the Lord bless you with many opportunities to serve Him in 2010.

Your Missionaries for Jesus’ Sake,

Jessie, Teresa, Cassia and Alexandria