Dear Praying Friends and Family,      I hope this letter finds you all well in the Lord and awaiting His soon return. Looking back at the months of September and October one thing shines bright on the backdrop of all the miles, meetings, meals, and motels…God’s unseen hand. The Lord manifested Himself in the big and small details. He protected us, provided for us, led us, and answered prayers we didn’t know we needed to pray. Great peace and gratitude fill my soul knowing that we are in His will.

September started off in Seattle from there we drove through Dillon, MT on down to Pensacola and Bon Secour, AL. Yes, in ten days, we traveled from the far North West part of America to the far South East! In Pensacola, Pastor Donovan gave me the honor of speaking to the Baptist Missions Class at PBI. I pray the Lord used it to encourage the students in missions. While visiting Pastor John Haveman in Dillon, MT the Lord revealed Himself in a small detail of where we lodged for a week. Pastor Haveman graciously put us up where the owner was a medical professional and has since helped our family with our health. The tests revealed that we all had a variety of issues from life in Ukraine. It can’t be overstated the peace of mind we feel now that we are healing and getting stronger in preparation for another round in the Lord’s harvest field.

The miles continued in October on to Milton and Jacksonville, FL. The few hours we spent with Dr. and Mrs. Peacock were a tremendous help to us. From there we drove on to Cincinnati, stopping for a quick in and out in Tennessee! Twice we were in close calls with drunk drivers, one of which almost hit us head-on. It is only by God’s grace that my family is still alive and we all still love, and even like, each other. The first half of the journey we traveled with the seven of us piled into a Honda Odyssey. Though it was a great minivan, it struggled with the load. We ended up adding a luggage rack on top and a hitch rack on the back. We literally bottomed out all the way from Seattle to Cincinnati! To my surprise, when we got to Cincinnati I found that the mud flaps had completely worn away! At this point, we had 5 days to unpack, repack, and get back on the road. We prayed that God give us a solution to the Honda, and within 3 days, He flipped our Honda for a Ford Expedition!  We watched in amazement as the Lord made it happen.

We then drove back to Cincinnati and had a couple days to decompress and prepare for the next meeting in Houston, Texas. Pastor Hoots of East River Baptist Church invited us to attend their annual Missions Conference which was a great blessing. We were refreshed by the fellowship of Pastor Hoots, his congregation, and the preaching of Pastor Ron Ralph. Again, we saw God’s care for us through His people when Dr. Clarke, a member there, ordered a full blood lab workup for Naomi and myself. We were comforted by the results that the cancer markers are all good, but were given a few things to work on to avoid some serious problems in the future. The tests further confirmed the results of the tests from Dillon, MT. Then we travelled back to Ohio to have a meeting with Pastor Steve Leathley in Byesville, OH, where we enjoyed a short time of fellowship with the saints there who have prayed for us for years.

By this time we had traveled over 7,500 miles in less than two months. We were tired but we felt that the Lord wanted us to take a meeting in Princeton, WV with Pastor Mark Smith. He was less than a year into a new church plant and was looking for a missionary with whom to begin their missions program. It was an honor to be invited to be the first missionary in a new church. The Lord again revealed Himself in the little detail that Pastor Smith had already announced that October 31 would be a day dedicated to World Missions and it happened to be free on my calendar. On the way I saw the name of the town where my old friend Jack Fellure lived. I wanted to visit him, if possible, and contacted Pastor Tim Fellure and his father, Jim Fellure, looking for his phone number. Brother Jim Fellure began asking about our needs and any projects we might have. I mentioned a couple of things that we are praying about and he took it on himself to put out a letter to raise funds for our building and for our vehicle for Ukraine. We still do not know what that letter will do, but so far, we are very encouraged by the response. We can see God’s unseen hand guiding us and providing for us all along the way. Thank you for praying for us and praise be to the Lord God for His faithfulness and promises!

We’ve been very encouraged by a brother in Mt. Hope Baptist Church in Harrison, OH who generously provided 10,000 copies of the Chick tract “The Choice” in Russian with our church address and map printed on the back cover. These tracts are on their way to Ukraine now and we pray the Lord will use them to bring people Christ. I will speak more about the progress of the work in Ukraine in our next letter. I simply wanted to mention a few of the highlights of our furlough which have made manifest to us God’s hand in our lives and ministry giving us renewed strength (Isa. 40:31) for the work ahead.

We are still working on scheduling meetings. Please contact me if you would like to schedule a specific date. My number is 513-376-1011. Thank you for all that you do for the Lord, giving us the privilege to serve Him in Ukraine. Until our next prayer letter or our meeting in the air!   That Ukraine May Know Him, Christopher Rue Phil. 3:10