Hughes News #77

"Tie your shoes and pray for the Hughes"

Dear Friends,

 

In October our team began a weekly outreach to a place we referenced while back on furlough.  In Cosauti, a village about 15 minutes from Soroca, there is an Austrian-funded home that functions as a multi-purpose center.  Their main activity is caring for the small number of children and mothers with children who live there.  Both the center’s kids and others from the village have come for singing, games and a Bible lesson. 

 

Also in October, Viola organized and taught the first women’s Bible study for our church.  For now, they plan to meet monthly, having lunch together and discussing how to effectively study the Bible.  Viola has been encouraged by the attendance and the other ladies’ responses to the study.  

 

Back in September our team assisted a medical missions team that served for a week in Bulboci, a village in our region.  At the clinic, people were asked if they would like to receive a copy of the Bible.  For the past several Sunday afternoons, David and I have been visiting the village to fulfill that request.  It has been encouraging (and a bit surprising) to see the openness and eagerness with which people have accepted the Bibles.  Once we finish distributing, we hope to visit more with the people we’ve met. 

 

A couple other weekly tasks are English classes and coaching basketball.  On Tuesdays Viola and I teach English classes, after which we offer a Bible study for those interested.  We have one lady that consistently stays.  At the request of some friends, we help run a basketball practice one day a week for girls in Cosauti.  I love playing and teaching the game and these types of interactions allow us to know others and get a glimpse of their needs.  Our prayer is that by building relationships with the girls we can address their spiritual needs as well. 

 

You may remember that our house project has been at a standstill due to a water main running directly through our property.  I eventually found a contact for the other owners on our street (no houses there yet) and they obliged by adding their signatures to a group request to the water company regarding the problem.  I turned that request in two weeks ago and am waiting on an answer.  Thank you for reading about our ministry- would you also take time to pray for us?

 

In His service, 

Jacob and Viola Hughes

For Prayer: 

1. Our hearts and the hearts of those to whom we minister

2. Distribution of Bibles in Bulboci and visits to follow 

3. Our house project, and specifically the answer from water company

 

For Praise: 

1. Open doors in Cosauti and Bulboci

2. Good start for the first two ladies’ Bible studies 

3. Residency permits for the next two years

Hughes New #76

"Tie your shoes and pray for the Hughes"

Dear Friends,

August began with a week of VBS at our rental location.  With several ads posted and invitations given, we had no idea how many children might come.  It ended up that our numbers were just slightly higher than last year- 22 different kids throughout the week with a high attendance of 18.  Overall the week went smoothly and the children listened well to the Bible lessons.  In fact, some of them posed good questions that showed they were comparing what they were hearing with what they had been taught.  When an invitation was given on Friday, several children responded, with four girls calling on Jesus Christ as Savior.  It was a blessing to have some visible results of our labor with the kids!

Kids getting ready for a game

Jacob teaching the lesson

Being maybe the biggest vacation month for Moldovans, August is a good time to evaluate the ministry.  Our team got together for a few days to thank the Lord, pray, discuss and plan.  While some decisions were made (to expand some ministries and start others), there are still a few opportunities we are considering and need to decide if we should pursue them and, if so, when they would fit into our weekly schedule.  We want to do all we can, but we also want to be careful to neither overpromise nor overextend ourselves.  Would you take a moment now to pray that the Lord would help us discern His will regarding these opportunities?

The Grosses, Sarah Bodaly, and us

In His service,
Jacob and Viola Hughes

For Prayer:
1. The start of some ministries and expanding of others
2. Wisdom for other ministry decisions
3. Believers to grow in their faith and the lost to believe

For Praise:
1. Salvation decisions made at Soroca VBS!
2. A productive and enjoyable team retreat
3. Jacob taught an adult lesson in Romanian for the first time

Hughes News #75

"Tie your shoes and pray for the Hughes"

Dear Friends,

We are back in Moldova after our furlough.  We squeezed a lot in those last couple of weeks before saying goodbyes and boarding our plane.  The Lord gave us good flights and after about a week we felt fully adjusted to the time zone here.

Last week we held a VBS at the Gross home.  We were excited to see 34 different neighborhood kids come throughout the week.  There were several who had come in previous years, as well as about 10 that we met for the first time.  For the week we averaged nearly 21 children a day.  Romanian is what most of the children speak, so I had my first opportunity to teach in that language.  I taught two days and David the other three.  His lesson Friday explained that Jesus is the only way of salvation, just as the ark was the only safety in Noah’s day.  No one took the opportunity to talk more about salvation.  We pray the Holy Spirit would continue to use the Word and that He would bring fruit in their hearts.

We are encouraged by the attendance to our weekly services and by the occasional first time visitors. We will repeat our VBS program in Soroca July 31-August 4.  Please pray that we will find children to come and that the Lord will use the week for his glory.

In His service,

Jacob and Viola Hughes

For Prayer:

1. Jacob’s family members S (health), M (spiritual condition)

2. Upcoming VBS in Soroca (July 31-August 4)

3. Wisdom as we make decisions for the upcoming months

For Praise:

1. Smooth trip from the US back to Soroca

2. Good first week of VBS!

3. More people at services, more visitors

Hughes News #74

"Tie your shoes and pray for the Hughes"

Dear Friends,

 

I’m long overdue in getting a prayer letter written.  The last time we sent a prayer letter, we were about to begin furlough.  Now, we are nearing its end.  The timing cornerstone to this furlough was Viola’s sister’s wedding, which we were able to attend last week.  Leading up to that event we visited a large percentage of our supporting churches and a handful of new ministries, spent time with family, and stayed with a number of friends along the way.  The predominant thought for me at each stop has been, “I wish we had just a little more time here.”  The time back has been a blessing to us. 

 

We are encouraged with what we hear from Soroca.  Attendance to both the Sunday morning service and Sunday evening Bible study has been up.  A good number of visitors have come in the few months we have been gone.  David taught a family conference in May that was well received by those who came.  Please continue to pray for our co-workers as they continue ministering in our absence.

 

Lord-willing, we will be heading back to Moldova the first part of July.  We will have a few days to settle in before beginning VBS.  As we did in previous years, we will repeat the program in a second location three weeks later.  Would you pray with us that we would be able to further influence for Christ the children that have come in the past and that the Lord would bring new kids to hear His Word? 

 

In His service,

Jacob and Viola Hughes 

 

For Prayer:

1. Final furlough road trips and meetings 

2. Individuals that have been coming to services

3. VBS in Zastinca (July 10-14) in Soroca (July 31- Aug. 4) 

For Praise:

1. Safety and provision for many miles traveled 

2. Memorable times with family and friends

3. Good reports from our co-workers in Moldova

Hughes News #73

"Tie your shoes and pray for the Hughes"

Dear Friends,

In our last letter we mentioned having special plans around Christmas.  A majority of our ESL students came to a Christmas-themed class.  In addition to the lesson, David led a Bible study that clearly explained the identity and purpose of Jesus.  Our candlelight carol sing was the next event.  Several others joined us, including our team’s language teacher.  It was the first time “I” and her son had been to a service.  We enjoyed our Christmas Day service, but were a little disappointed that none of the invited acquaintances came that day.

Candlelight Carol Sing

This year has started in an encouraging manner.  The kids at the children’s home continue to open up to us.  Having a break from ESL afforded us extra time to spend with them after we ran our regular program.  A man who had been coming to services in the spring but whom we had not seen since July came back a couple weeks ago.  Four other people visited our services for the first time in January.  By my count, we had 16 different people come to at least one service last month.  We long for some to join with us and to allow us to come alongside and disciple them.

After a recent Sunday service

Very soon we will be heading back to the States for a four-month furlough.  We plan to visit churches, spend time with family and attend Viola’s sisters’ wedding.  If we are unable to visit your church this time, we can still make our presentation video and new prayer cards available to you.

On a personal note, Viola was thrilled with a fairly heavy snowfall in early January.  It permitted a jaunt to a monument on the edge of town to snap some pictures of the city under snow.  Jacob has been enjoying playing basketball with a team from Soroca.

Snow Day

In His service,
Jacob and Viola Hughes

For Prayer:
1. Tasks in preparation for furlough
2. Gross family and Sarah Bodaly as they minister in our absence
3. God to work in the hearts of people in Soroca

For Praise:
1. More visitors = more souls to encourage in the Lord
2. Deepening connections with kids at children’s home
3. “V” coming back to services