Thursday, November 23, 2017

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