Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Hughes News #99

"Tie your shoes and pray for the Hughes"

Dear Friends, 
 
In May and June it was time to renew our residency permits.  For us that means 1) a visit to our lawyer in the capital to prepare our application, 2) a visit to the immigration office a few weeks later to submit our approved application and get our pictures taken and 3) a visit a week or so later to pick up our permits.  Because we have to start the process a few weeks early, the date we were approved was a few weeks before our previous permits expired.  The result is that while in theory we received a one-year permit; in actuality we only gained 10.5 additional months.  We were already planning to apply for citizenship, but the increased difficulty with residency permits has made it more pressing.  The first step is to pass two tests – a Romanian language test and a Moldovan Constitution test.  The next test date is in September.  We would appreciate your prayers as we prepare for them. 
 
In July our missionary team led three weeks of VBS – one at our coworker’s home in Zastinca, another in Bulboci, and the third in Soroca.  The Lord gave us good weeks – good weather overall, attentive and cooperative kids and strength to minister.  In Zastinca we averaged 22/day, in Bulboci 28 and 10 in Soroca.  Overall we were able to minister to 94 different kids.  One blessing was the attendance of some specific kids: two of our neighbor boys, a girl from a family with whom our coworker has Bible studies and a sibling group that we’ve known for some time.  Another was several of the ladies from Bulboci ministering with us that week.  A third blessing was seeing kids memorize Scripture.  Typically we learn a verse together each day and have a list of additional verses for a competition.  Over the three weeks the kids said 530 verses!  We were thrilled with their work and pray that the Holy Spirit will use these verses along with the lessons to draw them to salvation.  A further blessing was the feedback from parents and grandparents in Bulboci.  While our goal is to please the Lord, it is encouraging to hear that those in the village viewed our program positively.  We pray that this will give us open doors to minister to more families.  Finally, there were several little moments from the kids that warmed our hearts – smiles flashed, cute things said, chocolates shared, hugs given.  Though we were trying to minister to them, the Lord blessed us through them during those weeks. 
 
In His service,
Jacob and Viola Hughes 
 
For Prayer
1. Ministry planning for the upcoming year 
2. Study with “L” and “M;” hopefully starting with “V” 
3. Romanian and Constitution tests on September 20, Lord-willing 
 
For Praise:
1. Residency permits renewed 
2. Good weeks of VBS
3. More progress on our house- both inside and outside
 
Zastinca 


 

 

Bulboci

 

 

Soroca



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