April 12, 2007

Every Missionary’s Dream

We are so thrilled about something that happened in Indonesia. Bruce was there for a class, and Aimee agreed to tag along, hoping to dodge tsunamis, earthquakes, volcano eruptions and terrorist bombings. On the final day of our stay, Bruce decided to give our last Indonesian gospel tract to a “butler” at the hotel. Expecting the usual, “Thanks, maybe I’ll read it sometime,” Bruce was shocked when the guy started reading it immediately. The tract was a very long one, but “Subawi” stood there by the pool and read through the entire thing, asking Bruce questions all along the way. At the conclusion, he wanted to ask the Lord’s forgiveness and saving grace! After they prayed, Subawi had goose bumps all over his arms and said, “I feel different – cool inside – something has changed.” He was grinning from ear to ear, and thanked Bruce over and over for “coming to tell him the way”. He said that if we were staying longer, we could come to his house and he would give us a fish. Or maybe it was a feast.

Eye Hope it’ll Heal

We were so grateful how the Lord took care of Bruce regarding his emergency eye operation. He was healing even better than the doctors expected, until recently when his sight started worsening. His doctor said it is due to eye strain from constant reading, and that he needs to rest.

Politics as Usual

The President of Ukraine has dismissed the Ukrainian parliament and called for new elections. Parliament has refused to disband. The constitutional court that is to decide the issue says they are under enormous pressure, and need body guards because they are being threatened. We went downtown today, and were incredulous to hear a pro-communist speech given by a protester out in the main public square.

Fun Facts

• When we get our teeth cleaned, the dentist charges us per tooth. (Let’s see, why don’t you just do these three…)
• On the way to one of Bruce’s eye appointments, our bus driver became impatient sitting in traffic in the fast lane. He decided to pass on the left, going down the street in the oncoming lane. When he passed all the cars and got to the front of the line, he turned right, went through the intersection, and then proceeded to drive down the trolley bus tracks. Good thing you’re all praying for us.

Praises

1. That the Lord saved Subawi in such an incredible way! Now if we could just get more people in UKRAINE to do that…
2. Our church has moved to elder rule – a much more biblical way than congregational, which tended to get pretty messy.
3. For the Lord’s protection – seems we are often reminded not to take that for granted.
4. Our trials are bringing us closer to the Lord.

Prayer Requests

1. Pray that the political situation would be conducive to the spread of the Gospel.
2. Our family continues to struggle health-wise. We feel fine, but our hair seems to be falling out. All five of us. We have spent several years checking all kinds of possible causes, including the obvious – radiation. So far we’ve mainly come up with a lot of conflicting opinions. It can sometimes be difficult to know where the balance is between trusting the Lord, but also doing what is in our power to investigate. The latter seems endless and exhausting.
3. That the Lord would help heal Bruce’s eye so he can work at 100%.
4. That one of Bruce’s relatives would repent and be restored.
5. For our long-time missionary friends, the Saucys. After a bout with cancer around 6 years ago, Bonnie Saucy’s cancer is back, worse than before. They have returned to the States for treatment at City of Hope in California.
6. For a building big enough for our kids’ school to meet in. The Lord has helped us raise a lot of money and now would like us to pray for the remainder. Anyone happen to have $500,000 lying around that they’re dying to loan out? Kiev Christian Academy will pay it back in 10 years with 5% interest. Or, if you are more interested in giving your money away, our school still needs $69,000 in gifts.

Since Bruce isn’t supposed to be reading, we’ll end this letter quick.

Thanks for your prayers and notes – we have needed them more than usual lately.

Worthy is the Lamb!

Bruce and Aimee Alvord