Hughes News #80

"Tie your shoes and pray for the Hughes"

Dear Friends,

 

The main event in July was Vacation Bible School.  Week #1 was held at our coworkers’ house.  We have been pleased in the past with the VBS there but this year was the best yet!  The kids listened well as we taught on the life of Joseph throughout the week.  We pray that there will be eternal fruit as a result of the kids hearing God’s Word.  We had 26 different kids show up throughout the week, 11 of which had not been to a VBS before.  Our average attendance was 18. 

VBS in Zastinca

 

After a week break, we repeated the program in Soroca at our church rental.  The Lord gave us another good week with attentive children.  There we had 22 different kids with 9 first-time visitors and averaged 17 a day.  It was especially neat to see where those kids came from: 7 either regularly or occasionally come to our services, 4 were from Sarah’s kids’ ESL classes (including a boy who memorized 44 verses during the week), 3 were from a contact in Bulboci (a village in which we minister), 2 had come to previous VBS programs, 1 was brought by a previous VBS attendee, 1 came as a result of announcement put on a FB page and 4 came from … well, we are not sure.  Those numbers may seem tedious to you, but to me they illustrate God’s working through a variety of means.  He is to be praised for the seed planted and watered in our VBS!

VBS in Soroca

 

In lieu of our regular one-hour weekly program at the children’s home, in July we expanded it to two hours and did a trimmed-down version of our VBS.  By having it spread throughout the month, we had more fluctuation in attendance, but overall it went ok.  After a lot of rambunctiousness the first three weeks, the kids listened much better the last couple weeks.  Also, our church here was able to help five kids who live at the center go to a Christian camp.  One of the teen boys made a profession of faith, and the junior campers have asked multiple times to go back to camp.  We have yet another reason to thank the Lord for His working! 

VBS Program at center

Finally, let me mention our housing.  On June 21st we purchased a lot in the village of Egoreni, just three miles from Soroca.  The lot has a good amount of land, an old house, another small building, grapes, raspberries, walnut trees and fruit trees.  While architectural plans are being drawn up, we are cleaning up the property and demolishing the old house.  We are still unsure what a realistic goal is for this fall, so we are just saying that we hope to get as much done as possible.

Our lot- about in the middle you can see the old house.

Some of the cleaning up we've been doing. Before and after shots.

In His service, 

Jacob and Viola Hughes

 

For Prayer: 

1. Plans to semi-officially organize the church

2. A time of planning with our team in mid-August 

3. Coworkers leaving for furlough later this month

 

For Praise: 

1. Five kids from the children’s center attending a Christian camp

2. Good weeks of VBS 

3. Purchase of land for housing

Hughes News #78

"Tie your shoes and pray for the Hughes"

Dear Friends, 

 

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and that you’ve begun the New Year continuing to seek our Lord Jesus Christ!  In our last letter, we mentioned a village where we were distributing Bibles.  Since then, we have been given the opportunity to preach in that village for a group of believers.  David and I go out there on Sundays and he leads another study in the middle of the week.  Several of them have grown children who are away from the Lord.  I know they would appreciate prayers for their kids.

 

Like most of you, we had several special events around the holidays.  A few days before Christmas we had an evening service in which we sang carols and read Scripture by candlelight.  Then on New Year’s Eve, we invited the group from the village to join us for our service in Soroca.  (With a few regulars out of town, it more than helped fill some empty seats!)  There was instrumental accompaniment with the hymns, our regular service, and a meal together.  Afterward, David led some Bible-themed trivia games for all who could stay. 

On January 3-5 we held our first winter VBS.  Our hope was to reach out to some un-churched kids and funnel them into our Sunday school.  We met for two hours a day and had Christmas themed lessons, skits, games and snacks.  In addition to our coworkers’ kids, we had just one girl show up the first two days and three on the final day.  While we had hoped for more, two of the three had come in the summer and we are thankful for the additional contact with them.  We will update you again in a few weeks- may the Lord bless you!

 

In His service, 

Jacob and Viola Hughes

 

For Prayer: 

1. At center we visit: needs of single mothers, runaway girls

2. Wisdom for decisions regarding long-term housing 

3. Viola’s dad is having some health problems

 

For Praise: 

1. Preaching opportunity in Bulboci 

2. Special holiday services remembering the Messiah’s birth

3. Further contact with girls at winter VBS

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