Hughes News #94

 

"Tie your shoes and pray for the Hughes"

 

Dear Friends,  

 

Greetings from Egoreni!  It feels like so much has happened since our last update.  Though things haven’t always gone as we planned or envisioned, the Lord has blessed us in so many ways and given opportunities to minister. 

 

One huge blessing is that we are finally living in our house!  We are really enjoying our home and living there has made it easier to work on projects a little at a time. Our next big projects are winterizing the house and finishing out our bedroom. 

 

Another huge blessing is getting our car back from Kiev! We know many of you were concerned and praying about this with us.  It is a long story of how the Lord worked out all the details but a brother in Christ was able to bring it with a convoy of refugees to western Ukraine where Jacob met him. 

 

It has been a blessing to have V and his mother, N, regularly attending Sunday morning services in Soroca. N is from Kiev and will be staying in Soroca until things calm down in Ukraine. V has attended off and on over the years but his mom’s visit seems to have encouraged him to be more faithful. Please pray that God will use this time to draw this family to Himself. Other attendees to Sunday mornings are from a village in our region.  Though they have professed faith in Christ, they lack a strong Biblical foundation. The afternoon services in Bulboci have gone well also.  We feel like people are finally opening up to us and sharing their lives and hearts with us.  Please pray that we can help them grow in their walk with the Lord. 

 

Our Easter services were a blessing.  We had a time for food and fellowship in both Soroca and Bulboci.  In Bulboci, one of our ladies has been staying with her brother some distance away but they both were able to come for our Easter Sunday. We also had a special evangelistic service in Bulboci, the Monday after Easter. Though only our church people came, we were all encouraged by the sweet time of fellowship. 

 

Our ministry at the children’s center has been both a challenge and a blessing. We have had more kids overall and some newer ones. E and P came to the center last fall. They are used to roaming the streets, doing as they please and have issues with drugs and smoking.  Their presence at the center has very negatively affected the other kids as well as the workers. Please pray for us to have wisdom as we try to minister to these kids. 

 

  

Another big part of each week has been buying, assembling and distributing bags of dry goods, toiletries and Christian literature for the Ukrainians in Soroca. We have handed out some 90 bags so far and plan to continue as long as there is a need. While some have just taken their bag and left, others have been fairly emotional and nearly all have expressed their deep appreciation. Many have taken a Bible or children’s Bible. Though we would like to have more contact with them many are moving on to other parts. E is one who is staying in the area and we have invited her and her son for a visit.  Up to this point we have worked through the social services office in our region. Since their funds are extremely limited and run out far too quickly, the director was so appreciative of the help we offered. She has invited us to go with her to a nearby camp where several Ukrainians are staying.  We plan to go and see what doors the Lord may open through that. We have received many gifts to help with these projects and at this point, we still have extra funds to help meet Ukrainian’s needs. 

 

  

Though there are concerns about the war in Ukraine coming to Moldova, daily life hasn’t changed too much. There are a lot of mixed feelings about the war, even among believers. Some from Russian families are hurt by the anti-Russia sentiments. Others have family or friends still in Ukraine or living with them here in Moldova and are grieved and concerned about the situation in Ukraine. Our friend, N, is in the latter group. Please pray for her and others with whom we have contact. Also pray for us to have wisdom how best to minister to each person’s need. 

 

In His service, 

Jacob and Viola Hughes 

 

For Prayer: 

1. Ukraine – the fighting to cease, refugees to find safety 

2. Wisdom to best minister to people and their various needs 

3. The specific individuals we’ve mentioned in this letter 

 

For Praise: 

1. We are moved into our house! 

2. We have our car back from Kiev. 

3. Many opportunities to minister to others