It is good to be home, at least, for a while. We find ourselves very excited about the ministry God has called us to. We enjoyed our time with each missionary family so very much!

As many of you know, we spent Christmas with our family in Muscat, Oman, where our daughter and her husband teach at an international school. It was great to have all our family present at this time! The Middle East is a fascinating area of the world.

After we left Oman we went to Riga in Latvia for two days before going into Lithuania, specifically the city of Siauliai, to visit Christoph and Antonia Haegele and their family of four children. What a precious time with them and the church there! We met with them almost every day for fellowship, listening to their hearts, prayer, and mutual encouragement.

Lithuania is a country which needs our prayers. After enduring 50 years of terror and suffering there are many problems the general population have to deal with- alcoholism, broken and dysfuntional families, and one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Inflation is 15-20% annually. They are now part of the EU and a great many changes are occuring as a result. Please, pray for the church leaders of Lithuania and for the people to be courageous and let their light shine for Jesus.

I was given the privilege of greeting the church, with Christoph translating. I gave them greetings from our church and gave them some Scripture verses the Lord had put in our hearts to share with them. In spite of the language and culture differences we had warm fellowship after the service.

While in Siauliai God brought other missionaries across our path who were dealing with issues in their lives where a listening heart was needed. We thank the Lord that thery were open with us and that we were able to share the Word with them and pray with them.

Our next journey was to Klaipeda, a city on the coast of Lithuania where the Lithuanian Christian College is. Whilst there, we were able to interact and pray with two missionaries in charge of Student Services, as well as the chaplain and many students. Even before the chaplain expressed that he wished we could stay and work as 'Mom/Dad' to the students we were already thinking the same. We would challenge you, if you have a year or two or more to spare, go to Klaipeda and love these young people, they are precious! Pray for the College as they seek not only to teach young people, but to present Christ to them; two-thirds of them are nonbelievers.

Berlin was our next stop, for ten days, to visit a young couple, Andre and Olga Pritzkau, who are church-planting in the former East Berlin. Through God's provision, their little church of about 70, have purchased an old communist building in need of much repair. We were privileged to briefly have a hand in the renovations of the grounds. The TREK team is there for a few more months and they have been wonderful. Three of the four are strong young fellows with experience in landscaping and construction and have been a real blessing. The Pritzkaus are an awesome couple, just 31 years old, with 3 children. What a huge task lies ahead for them! They are a praying church and the Lord has given boundless joy and zeal for the work He has called them to. BUT! They do need work teams, and lots of them. We wish we could light a fire here in Saskatchewan churches to help this beautiful couple out. They have such a burden for the area the new church will be in. Although they want to offer many community services according to the needs in the community, their greatest passion is to share the message of salvation which is found only in Christ Jesus.

After leaving Berlin, we were privileged to spend a weekend with Maureen Williamson, Marilyn Bien's sister, who is involved with muslims and gypsies in Strasbourg, France. This was a precious time of fellowship, fun, refreshment and prayer.

We arrived in Stuttgart on Feb.16th to spend 10 days with Johann and Hedi Matthies and their family of 3 children. On the way to the train station to pick us up, Johann was broadsided by a truck causing his van to flip and smash into another vehicle. His van was totalled but God protected His servant and he walked away unscathed. He found a friend and a few hours later picked up two grateful Canadians!

Again, what an awesome family that we had the pleasure and privilege of interacting with for the next 10 days! Hedi had just finished the same group of treatments for breast cancer that Betty had gone through a few years ago so they could really relate. We fell in love with this family very quickly and they with us. This resulted in many, many good times of laughter and fellowship, listening to their heart, and praying for them.

Dr. Matthies is a very gifted and capable individual with a wide variety of experiences. He speaks at least 4 languages, has a heart for God and for people . MBMSI is working with Johann as he transitions into the role of becoming the European and Asian Director for MBMSI. Pray for discernment on the part of both parties as they seek God's will in this matter. Johann and his family are also in need of raising their own support. Please, prayerfully consider this situation.

The comments from the missionaries about our ministry with Member-care were very encouraging and humbling. We were told many times- 'We are so glad you came', and 'It's so encouraging for us to know that people do care for us'. The most humbling ones were- 'Can't you stay longer', and 'Please come back as soon as you can!'

What an awesome privilege and pleasure it is to serve God and His people! He proved His faithfulness and showed His guidance and gave us wisdom as needed. We thank Him for keeping us healthy the whole trip. Finally, we thank God for the faithfulness of God's people for praying for us and interceeding on our behalf. Believe us, we could not have done it without each of you! Thank you for being our partners in this ministry.

We don't know what the future holds but we are excited about it! Tentively we will be in Abbotsford for Spring Adventure Apr.27-May 4 and then to South America in the Fall. Where else, only our God knows, and that's good enough for us!

May our great God lead you, bless you, and give you wisdom to follow Him with all your heart.

In Christ's redeeming love,

Ron and Betty