July - August 2008
Summer in America
Our five-month furlough continues. It has been such a blessing to get back to so many of our supporting churches and give a report about what the Lord has done in Russia. I visited churches in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Georgia, and South Carolina. It was also a blessing to get back to Tennessee and meet with the BIMI personnel committee. Before we go back to Russia at the end of September, I plan to visit churches in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New Jersey.
We were so thankful for many opportunities to spend time with our four children and other family members. I spent a few days with my dad in Michigan, my brother Bob in Georgia, and my brother Jerry in Indiana. Our whole family went to Indiana for the wedding of my niece, Amy. Ruth has been able to visit her mother and sisters and brother several times in Indiana.
Our daughter April took a few summer school classes at Bible college. She and our son Alan both started as freshmen there when the fall semester began at the end of August. Our son David and our daughter Cindy are now staff members at Northwest Bible Baptist Church in Elgin, Illinois. David is working with grounds and maintenance, and he is taking further training in heating and air conditioning, so he will be even more useful there in the ministry. Cindy is the assistant financial secretary, and she is continuing her studies as a senior in Bible college this year.
It has been great to be involved in bus ministry and other soulwinning ministries while we are here for the summer. We have seen people saved in our personal witnessing. I have been able to preach in summer school chapel and at a local homeless shelter a few times.
Missionaries Travis and Colleen Decker and their family have been taking care of the ministry in Oryol, Russia while we are on furlough. They tell us that all is going well, the people continue to come faithfully, and some visitors have come. We were especially excited to hear that Irina finally decided to get baptized this summer! She has been saved for almost two years, but she had been putting off baptism. Praise God for this step forward in her Christian life!
We have paid $30,250 for our church building, which is about 58% of the loan amount. You may want to help by sending a gift to: BIMI, P.O. Box 9215, Chattanooga, TN 37412. Designate it for “Ossewaarde - Project Russian Church Building”.
In the service of the King,
Don Ossewaarde