March 10, 2010 Comments Off
Dear Friends,
We are hanging in there over here in Siberia. The snow is falling
fast today, and it is beautiful. Our weekend was good. We spent time
with Iris and Tim Loomans and their two little boys. They are
missionaries who minister to the approximately 42 native people groups
who live around Siberia. It is amazing work they are doing, and they
have lived in Russia for 10 years! We spent most of the afternoon
with them on Saturday at their house, and they took us to their
church, a Russian baptist church, on Sunday. The whole service was in
Russian, but Iris (who speaks four languages fluently!) translated
much of it. Even in the parts we could not understand, we felt the
Holy Spirit moving in that church. Getting to hang out with the
Loomans has definitely been a huge blessing during this trip, and it
has helped the time pass more quickly. Peet even tried out their
cross country skis – his first time to try this – videos are
available!
That being said, the last few days have been somewhat frustrating for
us. We did not get to see Elena Saturday, Sunday or Monday (Monday
was Russian Woman’s Day – the second biggest holiday in the country
next to New Year’s). We were able to visit yesterday, but we think
that she is getting weary of these visits. Honestly, we are getting
weary too. She just did not seem as happy as she has in the past. We
think this is all very confusing to her. She has been told by
everyone that she is going to America with her Mama and Papa, but
trying to explain the 10 day waiting period to a three-year-old is, we
are sure, impossible. We are not getting to see her today because our
facilitator is busy with another family who just arrived for their
first trip. So, that means two more visits, and then, if all goes
according to plan, we will get her on Saturday.
Another frustrating thing that is happening today is with the video
sermon we are trying to record for the Cathedral on Sunday. Things
were going well with it; our friend Tim, the missionary, helped us get
the video clips done on Monday. Now, we are having a lot of trouble
getting the videos to transmit via the Internet. We did not have this
trouble earlier in the trip with some other videos we sent, so we
would appreciate your prayers for this technology to work!
Thank you so much for your prayers for us. I suppose it is only to be
expected that weariness would begin to set in at this point in the
trip. We are trying to learn a few Russian phrases now (it is not an
easy language), so please pray for our communication with Elena once
she is with us all the time. Also, please pray for her during this
most confusing time in her life – that she would be at peace as best
she can. We also have seen many other precious little children during
our visits to the orphanage. The adoption process in Russia is
getting increasingly difficult, and as we see these little ones every
day, our heart goes out to them. We do not know their stories, not
every child is available for adoption, but they are certainly all
precious in God’s eyes. Please pray for them – our hearts are
burdened for these innocent children. Pray that despite the
difficulties with the process, more people would be moved to adopt.
We love all of you, and we cannot wait to get home!
Love,
Jenny and Peet
March 10, 2010 Comments Off
Dear Friends,
Well, we have made it one week into our trip, and things are going
well. We continue to have good visits with Elena, and she warms up to
us more each time we see her. We are anxious to have her with us all
the time; only one more week to go. We will not see her for three
days – there are no visits on Saturday and Sunday, and Monday is
Russian Woman’s Day, some kind of national holiday.
We were talking the other day about how interesting breakfast foods
are in different cultures. The breakfast bar at our hotel is included
in the price of our room, so we sample Russian breakfast everyday.
Rather than turning our noses and saying, “ewww,” we figure it is
better just to dive right in (well, mostly) and enjoy what they
enjoy. They do have hard boiled eggs and a coffee machine that grinds
the beans just before it sends the coffee to your mug, so we have
those things everyday. Other items that we have seen on this
breakfast bar: sausages, porridge, beef goulash, mashed and boiled
potatoes, meatballs, slaw and mayo (they put mayo on everything, ok,
maybe that’s an “ewww”). Jenny has even eaten green beans for
breakfast. Russians also love to drink a soured milk-like substance
called “kefir.” We have not gotten up the courage to try that yet,
but we both have decided that we will before we leave! It is
supposedly very good for digestion.
Today we are going to an open air market with an American missionary
and his family who have lived in Russia for about 10 years and
Krasnoyarsk for about three years. Jenny has lost her gloves, which
is something one really needs in sub-zero temps, and they say this
will be the best spot to find some. We were “e-introduced” to him by
some other adoptive parents who we met here on our first trip. They
will also take us to church with them on Sunday. What a blessing to
get to spend some time with this family. Another couple arrived here
last night from Florence, SC (of all places!). They are also on their
second trip, so it will be good to spend some time with them too. We
will spend most of our weekend working on filming the sermon which
will be put together and shown at the Cathedral services on March 14.
Tim, the missionary, is going to suggest some good locations for
filming, and hopefully, Jenny can learn effective camera techniques
really fast. This should be a fun project for us to do together.
That’s about all from Siberia. We will send another update soon. We
miss everyone so much and are anxious to get home, but we are trying
to make the most of this special time with Elena before her little
world changes so profoundly.
Love,
Jenny and Peet
March 8, 2010 Comments Off
The Rev. Shay Gaillard, Rector of Church of the Good Shepherd, speaks about “The Problem” during our Lenten series.
Download
March 3, 2010 Comments Off
The Way of the Cross is an essential part of the Christian preparation and expectation of the Resurrection!
Easter will be here soon- be sure to prepare your heart by walking the way of the cross and attending as many Holy Week events as you can.
View the times and places for Holy Week Observance and Easter Celebration.
March 3, 2010 Comments Off
Old Point By Candlelight: A Walking Tour of Historic Beaufort’s Most Distinguished Neighborhood.
The tour is on Friday, March 19th
The tour of St Helena’s Church is from 4-6pm and is FREE!
The Candlelight Walking tour is from 5:30-8:30pm and includes a reception with entertainment for $40 per person.
Tickets may be purchased by calling 843.524.0363.
March 3, 2010 Comments Off
A Message from Jenny and Peet sent from Siberia:
Dear Friends,
Well, we just returned from a successful court hearing where our
adoption was approved! It lasted about 1 hr. It wasn’t too bad, but
we are glad it is over. Your prayers were answered, so thank you so
much for them.
Our reunion with Elena yesterday was wonderful. When we got there, we
were waiting outside a door where we could hear her speaking with the
caregivers in the other room. Our facilitator told us that she was
directing the caregivers about her hairstyle, because she wanted it to
look good for her “Momuska and Papuska,” which translates into “sweet
mommy and sweet daddy”. They told us that she has been talking about
us while we were away, and telling all of her friends that her Mama
and Papa are coming to pick her up and that she is going to live in
America. Just before she came out to see us, she said to the
caregivers, “bring me my bags, I am going to America!” Apparently,
she has not been told about the 10 day waiting period, or the 4
business days in Moscow, but her time to leave will come soon enough.
Peet and I are trying to learn a little Russian while we wait out the
10 days to make the transition easier.
Tonight we will have a celebratory dinner, and tomorrow night we will
go to the ballet. We do not get to visit Elena today, but we will go
tomorrow at 10 am. We look forward to being able to speak with her
with total assurance that she will be coming with us very soon.
Before we left, Mae made a video where she gave Elena a tour of our
house – showed her the bedroom they will share, the playroom with the
toys, and of course the refrigerator! It will be fun to show that to
Elena tomorrow.
Today during our Morning Prayers, we read Psalm 62, and verses 5-8
were very comforting: “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope
comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my
fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on
God; He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in Him at all times, O
people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.” (v.
5-8). Can you think of anything better to read before heading into a
Russian court? Praise be to God for the gift of our TWO daughters.
Love,
Jenny and Peet
March 1, 2010 Comments Off
Sunday, Feb. 28 Jenny and Peet sent an update.
Please pray for a smooth adoption hearing. It is scheduled for Monday 11:00PM eastern time (U.S.)
Dear Friends,
We are safe and sound half way around the world. Our travel went very
smoothly, so thank you for your prayers for that. Other than brutal
jet lag, we are feeling well, and have even been watching some of the
Olympics in Russian. We are trying to decide whether or not to wake
up at midnight here to watch the hockey game.
We are very happy to be back, and are really looking forward to seeing
little Elena “Ellen” tomorrow. We are going to call her Elena while
we are here, then will transition to Ellen once we are back home. We
asked the facilitator here if she had heard anything about Elena from
the orphanage. She told us that Elena had been telling everyone that
her mama and papa were coming to pick her up and that she is going to
live in the United States. Of course, that warmed our hearts, and we
look forward to our reunion tomorrow.
Tomorrow is a busy day for us, so we plan to go to bed early to try
and ease some more of the jet lag. We have a medical exam at 8am,
then we will visit Elena at some point for our official “before court
visit,” and then we will have a meeting with our facilitators to
prepare us for the court hearing, which happens Tuesday at 11am in
Krasnoyarsk. For any of you night owls, that is 11 pm Monday night
Eastern time, so if you are awake, we covet your prayers. Even if you
are not awake, we appreciate your prayers for a successful court
hearing resulting in an approved adoption! Hopefully, everything is
in order for the court hearing. There is so much paperwork that goes
back and forth, so please pray that everything we need is in order.
We will update again after the court hearing on Tuesday. So many of
you have called, sent emails and left messages for us. We cannot
thank you enough for all of the loving support and prayers that are
being offered. We could not do this without you. We felt an amazing
peace when we left home. We were really anxious about the departure -
worried about how Mae would do saying goodbye, and worrying how we
would do. Well, it could not have gone better, and as we left
Charleston, we were both calm and relaxed. The ticket agent at United
even waived the extra baggage fee for us when she overheard us saying
we were traveling to adopt a little girl. God is good, and we
attribute this supernatural peace to answered prayers and God’s great
mercy.
Thank you again for everything.
Love,
Jenny and Peet
February 20, 2010 Comments Off
Living Water Engineer field training
begins on Thursday, Feb 25th
Children 4 years to 5th grade are invited to take the Operation Thirsty Theology challenge.
The Cathedral welcomes Jerry and Sharon Miner from Water Missions International for our opening evening of training.
Read more details
February 20, 2010 Comments Off
Join us for coffee as women of the Charleston area gather for Christian fellowship, prayer and teaching.
Friday, February 26th
10:00 – 11:30 AM in Wellbrock Hall
Learn about upcoming ministry events and opportunities for women, find out how churches in our area do women’s ministry, and just enjoy this morning of spiritual refreshment with your sisters in Christ.
Jeanne Lyles, a Bible teacher and writer who is a member of St. Michael’s Church, will lead a teaching entitled “Choose for Yourselves this Day Whom You Will Serve.”
There is no charge for this event; however, we ask that you reserve your spot so that we will know how many to set up for. Contact Amy Smith at amywatsonsmith@gmail.com or call her at 843.906.1064 to let us know that you will be coming. Please pass this invitation on to your family and friends as all are welcome.
February 16, 2010 Comments Off
Friday evening, February 12th it snowed on the Lowcountry. Give thanks to the Lord for this rare and beautiful blessing.
Flickr Photos
