Last leg of our journey

Well we have arrived in Tirgoviste Romania. We got up at 3:30 a.m., left the school at 4:15 and spent the majority of the day in the air. We are tired but excited about the upcoming week. We start teaching in the morning at 10 when we will meet with the couples from the church and then at 6 we will meet with the young people. Sure would appreciate the prayers,
We will post pictures tomorrow or the next day when we are thinking more clearly.
Blessed weekend to you all. Preach em a good one Pastor Bill. :>))))
PW and Sherry

Last day in Latvia

Boys fprmed a socker team The students do work each
for some fun after classes day to pay for school.



Daniel and Damarias Natasha - school secretary
Director of School

Well today was our last day of teaching. We spent 7 hours in the classroom and then spent another hour answering questions at the end of the day. It was a great day. We actually finished our outlines. Hallelujah. We were not sure if we would get finished. Today we gave the practical application stuff plus made up the test. The students assured us that they learned a lot and that their hearts were challenged. One Pastors son said that the Lord really dealt with him during the teachings. PTL for His conviction. Two students asked for our email so they could stay in touch. Remember we had asked the Lord to give us at least two and He did.
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We are packing our bags now because we have to be up and leave by 4:30 a.m. to drive to Riga and then we fly out at 7 a.m. Please keep us in prayer tomorrow as we travel. We are having to go way out of our way to get to Bucharest due to the cancelled flight. So we will visit Brussels airport and then fly to Romania. After we arrive we will have a 2 hour drive to Tirgoviste, the city where we will be ministering for the next week. We will try to post when we get a connection, but if you do not hear from us, please keep praying.
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Blessings to you all,
PW and Sherry

Wednesday

Our students love to leave us little pictures when we are not looking as you can see. This class of young people have wonderful senses of humor and are really starting to engage us during class by asking questions. Today Wayne finished up the foundational truths for counseling and then he taught the process of change. We laughed so much as they opened up and shared their particular struggles etc.
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Sherry was privileged to speak in the chapel service today and exhorted the students on being pregnant with the Lords seed and how over the next 9 months they are to give themselves to God and seek Him so that when they leave this place they can fulfill the call of God on their lives.
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Tonight we will have dinner with Daniel and then come back to get ready for tomorrows lessons. Since it will be our last day here we want to be sure to be well prepared so we don't leave anything out of our teachings.
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Please continue to pray for us to hear clearly and also for our translator to feel better. She is still battling sickness.
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Love,
PW and Sherry

Tuesday

Our interpreter Marina


Fun loving students as you can see most of them
are in their 20's and full of promise.


You may not be able to see this clearly without clicking on it
to enlarge it, but was an illustration of a well which some fun
loving student decided to embellish and turn into a car during
our break.......
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Today was quite busy with teaching. Our time here is flying by and we are enjoying it thoroughly. These young students have their whole lives ahead of them. It blesses to know that they have chosen to give 9 months of their lives to dedicate themselves to the study of the word. Most of them have no idea what God wants to do with them but they are seeking direction from Him. It is such an honor to be allowed by Him to influence them in some small way. Please pray for them, they are future leaders in the body of Christ.
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We miss you all and can't wait to come home and see you all.
Love, PW and Sherry

Problem solved

Well as I told you in the last post ,while you were fast asleep, our Friday flight had been cancelled and that we needed prayer. I called the airline and we have been re booked to an earlier flight on Friday but will have to fly through Brussels. Thankfully Daniel is able to change the class schedule to work around our change in plans. Please continue to pray that no other changes will have to be made and that we can make all of our flights on time. Traveling is no picnic that is for sure. But God is the one who orders our steps and in His wisdom He has changed our plans so we will rest in that.
Thank you so much for praying.
PW and S

Immediate Prayer Need

OK Saints, we need you to hit your knees once again and start praying. We just received word from our travel agent that our friday flight to Romania has been cancelled. This would not be a problem if we were on vacation, but since others are waiting on us to come it complicates more than just our lives. The funny part of all this is that you are all sleeping peacefully and by the time you read this we will most likely have resolved the issue, but it sure makes us feel better asking for prayer. We will let you know how it turns out after we call the airline in a few minutes.
Blessings, PW and S

Day one

Latvia Bible School where we are teaching.
Our 40 students

Today was our first day of teaching at the school. It went very well and the students seemed to be interested and we enjoyed them.
It will take us a day to get used to working with our new translator Marina. She is a precious young woman who started translating last year. We are so used to our Ukranian translators that we forget this young girl does not know us at all. So please pray for us all as we transition with her. After class we sat with some of the students while they ate borsch. One young man Sasha had lots of questions. We are praying that God will give us a real connection with at least 2 students so that we can build relationship and continue to mentor them in the years to come. This evening after class we went to dinner with the director of the School, Daniel Pedraza. He is a misisonary from Argentina. He is a delightful brother who has such a sweet spirit and a real pastors heart for the students. It was nice getting to know him. So that was our first day. Thank you to all of you who are praying, we could not do what we do without the prayer support that you give us. God Bless You all. Wayne and Sherry

Sunday in Riga

Russian Pentecostal Church in Jgalvia

Wayne and Sherry in Riga
Delightful little surprise
garden in an alley way in Riga.
Ancient statues and buildings in Riga.

Diversity

We both had trouble sleeping last night so we would appreciate prayer concerning our sleep. the jet lag is very bad this time.
This morning we had the privilege of worshiping with our brother and sisters in the Russian Pentecostal Church. The service was very interesting. The women in this church wear head coverings, the people are very restrained and do not smile much and the worship is not expressive, buttttttttttttttttttttttt they love God and when they prayed they went on and on for 15 to 20 mins at a time with everyone praying at once. The worship lasted 30 mins then a man got up and preahced for 40 mins on the Blood of Christ and what it means to us. His text was from Hebrews 12. When he finished there were several special solos sung and then another brother got up and preached for 40 mins and then there was another song. The pastor then got up and preached for 15 mins on communion and then the choir sang chants while the communion was passed. First bread and then a common cup of wine. When that was over 4 different men came up and prayed for different areas of concern in the body and then testimonies were given and finally at 1;30 we were released. The pastor invited us to come to a meal prepared for us downstairs and so we joined the guest speakers and the pastor for a delicious meal and fellowship. We are home for 10 mins and will leave here to go to Riga to see the old city and then have pizza, which makes Wayne very happy, and then we will come back to get ready for tomorrow. All in all it has been a very intersting day. Praying for all of our church family at CCF that God will meet with you today and touch your hearts in a special way.
Love, Wayne and Sherry

Saturday

Well as you read yesterday we have arrived safe and sound. Our flights were good and we had nice seats with enough room not to feel like sardines in a can. Traveling in this day and age is no fun believe me.

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Wayne wore a tee shirt that says I love my wife on the front and it was so much fun to hear the comments from the airline workers and passengers. Almost every worker commented on how much they liked his shirt and some of the men asked him if I made him wear the shirt, what an open door that was to witness to the power of love in a Christian marriage and Wayne was able to tell no I had nothing to do with him wearing it. It was a great witnessing tool. Some of the stewardess even looked like they were going to cry when they told him they "really" liked his shirt. I felt like a queen because they all looked at me like I was the most fortunate woman in the world, of course I am being married to Wayne. :>) And then we had that added benefit of Wayne showing them how much he loved me by the way he treated me all day.
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We just heard that Waynes luggage has been found in Paris and will be delivered today sometime. We will pack differently next time since the new pattern seems to be Waynes luggage going to a different destination each time. :>))))
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Latvia is beautiful and clean. The sun has been shining since we arrived and the fore cast is for sunshine all week. It is amazing how good sunshine makes you feel.
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The school here is part of the Pentecostal Union of Latvia and is called the Baltic School of Ministry. There are 37 students ranging in age from 19 -47. Many will go on to further their preparation for full time ministry when they leave here in May. We are looking forward to meeting them all and getting to know them better. Hopefully our jet lag will not last past tomorrow so we can be alert and interact with them all.
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A young couple who live at the school here, Vlad and Ilona, picked us up at the airport and have
done an excellent job of making us feel at home. We have decided to stay home and rest today instead of sightseeing, we may take a walk around the town here later on. Tomorrow after service they will take us to see Old Riga. The city is over 800 years old and they seemed excited to show us the area especially since the weather is going to be nice. We usually do not get to do any sightseeing when we travel like this so it will be a treat for us. Pictures will be posted as soon as we get them.

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Please pray specifically that we will be able to get through all our teaching material this week. There are two translators for each class. One will translate into Russian and the other will translate from Russian into Latvian so this will take longer than usual. We have never worked with two at a time so it is a new experience for us. We want to be able to give these students meat from the word this week. This is only the third week of classes and so far they have had one week of foundations to the Christian faith taught by Pastor Al Stevenson from our home town and last week a brother from New Jersey taught on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Our assignment will be to teach them how to counsel biblically. Of course it cannot be done effectively without the help of the Holy Spirit so it is obvious that the Lord laid the foundation for our week of teaching.
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Have a blessed Lord's day tomorrow. Thank you again to the CCF family for allowing us to come here and minister this week. You are very much a part of what we do.

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We love you all, Wayne and Sherry

Friday - Arrival. Sort of.

Mom and Dad arrived in Latvia safe and sound. Dad's bag did not make it to their destination. (We are sensing a pattern here...) Unlike last time, the airline seems to have no idea where the bag might be. As a matter of fact, they are not even sure it made it onto the plane. A lesson was learned last time and Dad does have a set of clothes in Mom's bag (she has one in his as well). However, the electrical stuff is in his lost bag along with his dress shoes. It sounds like unless the bag is returned, Dad will be an unshaven, tennis shoe wearing preacher in dress clothes.
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The Lord knows where this bag has landed and we are trusting Him to get it into Dad's hands soon. Will you pray with us?

Down to the wire

We are down to the wire. Tomorrow at this time we will be in the air on our way to Washington DC and then on to Riga Latvia. Please keep us in prayer for the next two weeks. As it stands now our schedule will be teaching each day from 9 - 6 while in Latvia. Our Romanian trip is the following week and we do not have the schedule yet, but we will be most likely teaching each evening which will be morning here in America.
The bible school in Latvia, we are told, is comprised of mostly young adults in their 20's, we will be doing a biblical counseling class which will hopefully challenge them to see the scriptures as sufficient for all of lifes problems and also teach them how to counsel others.
While in Romania we have been asked to speak to the single adults on how to choose a mate. We will also be speaking to young marrieds about various issues but especially God's purpose for marriage and also how to manage money scripturally. We will also be spending time with the leaders in this church and working with them on strengthening their own marriages.
We are lookng forward to see what God is going to do this time. Please pray day and night or whenever we cross your minds. We rely on the prayers of the saints while we are gone.
We will update the blog every chance we get.
Blessings to you all.
Wayne and Sherry

MIlestones/Memories/Much Love

On Sept 15 our family began our 26th year at CCF. But on Sept 12 our precious church family surprised us with the most fantastic celebration we have ever experienced. To say we were speechless is an understatement. For one year 160 people kept a secret. That in itself is a miracle wouldn't you say? So if you have a secret to keep, CCF is the place to attend where your secrets will be safe. But seriously, words cannot express the Love we felt or the blessing that our church family is to us all. Please visit chardonchristianfellowship.org to see the pictures of this special day. We have so many wonderful memories from the past 25 yrs but this is by far the best. So thank you to a wonderful church family and to all our friends and relatives who surprised us by showing up and making the day a milestone in our memory bank.
We Love You,
Wayne and Sherry

On the Road Again

Well we have been home nearly 2 1/2 weeks and it has been quite busy. Joint worship services with sister churches, counseling, loving the family and the flu. But PTL through it all Gods grace has been more than sufficient.
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It is hard to believe that in just 20 days we leave for Europe again. This time to Riga Latvia for a week to teach in a Bible School there on Biblical Counseling and then from there to Tirgoviste Romania to minister with dear friends there who pastor a church in that city. They have asked us to come teach on Biblical finances, Gods will for marriage and then do some one on one counseling with couples and leaders from their church. It should be a fun trip, since we will be reconnecting with friends we have known for 11 years. . We have never been to Latvia so do not know what to expect but will add this experience to our journey with the Lord. We never would have thought in our wildest dreams all those years ago when we were so unhappy in our early years of marriage that God would be sending us around the world to strengthen marriages and bring hope. We serve an awesome God for sure.
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Please pray for us as we travel and especially pray for our family that they all stay healthy and safe.
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Blessings to you as you begin your fall season.
Wayne and Sherry

Saying Good bye is always sad

Vasiko, Tanya and Maria Machabeli
They are dear friends who oversee the work here at Nehemiah

Olya is the adminstrator here and also does some
translating. We were using her today to translate our counseling sessions.
She does a great job and is always smiling.

Wayne and our friend Sasha
who comes to see us each time we come to Ukraine and asks lots of questions. He pastors a church
in Irshava and has 7 children. He and his wife Lena raise dogs and flowers to support their family.

Today was busy from sunup to sundown. We had counseling sessions all day and in between we packed up our clothes and got ready to leave. It always makes us sad to say goodbye but we are excited about coming home also. God has graced us on this mission trip in ways we are still trying to process. It has been an honor to come and minister to the precious people in this country. Words cannot express how much we appreciate each one of you has supported us on these missions. Your prayers, encouragements and offerings have made it possible and you will share in any rewards we receive from the Lord. WE have all been on mission in Ukraine. Lord willing we will be home Saturday night. Please pray for our flights to be on time and that we might even be able to make earlier connections to get home quicker. God Bless You, Wayne and Sherry

Sherry with the 4 girls from the social apartment

Theresa one of the girls in her bedroom

Sherry and Tanya with the girls

Wednesday

Wayne and Sherry with friends, Oxana, Valodya, Richard, Anya and Daniel
We had a lovely lunch at Valodyas home and several hours of fellowship with them.




Richard, Anya and baby ? in tummy. Please pray for Anya and her pregnancy, she almost lost this baby because of health problems.




Daniel and Vovcya waving hello to Nate



Orphan girls living at the Nehemiah Social Apartment with their "Mom".

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These girls are 18 - 20 yrs old and live here for 2 yrs and learn social skills that will help them live in the world. They are taught hygiene, cooking, cleaning and other things that will help them in their future. One of the biggest things they teach them is how to dream about what they would like to do. In the orphanages for the most part the children have vision for only working in the sewing factory when they leave. But these girls are learning to dream of college, marriage, and careers. The little gal on the far left is a product of fetal alcohol syndrome and cannot work like the others. But her dream was to be a dishwasher so Tanya hired her to work at Nehemiah cafe and she now does a great job washing the hundreds of dishes each day. They are all so cute. Sherry spent a few hours with then this evening and has over 22 pictures of them in various poses. They did all their acrobatic tricks for her and wanted her to take pictures of them. I will try to post them next. Anyway, they were so friendly and wanted to teach her how to speak Ukranian so she had a crash course in that language. They interacted in a very lively way. Our church CCF Chardon helps support this ministry and we are proud to do so. Only heaven knows what an impact ministries such as this are having on the children. Most of them come to faith in Christ and then are integrated into local churches where they are nurtured and loved. Most have never had real family before or felt the love of a family. So it is wonderful to see the changes in them after a short while. We were told that when they arrive from the orphanages, they all dress and look like boys. Most don't smile, but after a short time in the home, with the love a parent, they blossom. Please pray for this work and for provision for them to expand. At the moment they can only house 4 girls but with hundreds of orphanages in the country, there is great need.

Khust

Wayne teaching the young people in Khust


Valodya (translator) Pastor Vitaly, Wayne, Richard

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Today we traveled 2 hours by car to the city of Khust. We have been coming to this city and this church for 8 years now and are always warmly received by Pastor Vitaly and his wife Lena. Vitaly is only 31 yrs old and has been ministering as Pastor here for 9 yrs. He is a man full of much wisdom and reminds us of Timothy in the bible. If you remember Paul told him not to allow others to despise his youth but that by his lifestyle and maturity to be an example. Vitaly is just like that. We had around 25 - 30 young people that attended the meeting. They were very open and seemed to enjoy the teaching times. We taught the same topics as Monday night. Pastor said it was the best teaching on the subject he has heard. I am sure it was the topics that he was referring to inspite of the teachers. :>)) Anyway, we were blessed as always to be there and have been invited back to do a marriage retreat for his church sometime in the near future.
We arrived back at Nehemiah around 12 a.m. Needless to say we are tired.
Have a blessed day. Wayne and Sherry