Prestoncrest Missions

Heiderich News Brief - November, 2007

Family Institute of Latin America Website

Happy Thanksgiving!

We pray all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. We spent the holiday with friends at the beach in Florianópolis and had a restful time of remembering God’s great blessings on us and this ministry during 2007.

Curitiba News:

We held our last Servant’s Retreat for the year 2007 on Oct. 19-20 with the couples who are serving the Curitiba church as leaders. The retreat was dedicated to thanksgiving and gratitude for the blessings God has granted this church in the past year. The participants wrote thank you letters to their spouses and shared with each other admiration for the work each had done this year. Jerry is teaching Interpersonal Relationships at the Bible Institute and continues to mentor the men from the last class who are working full time as evangelists.

Travel News:

At the end of October Jerry made a 10-day trip to the US to speak at the World Mission Workshop at Oklahoma Christian. He spoke about how our training at ACU in counseling and marriage therapy has lead us to greater evangelism, church planting and leadership development in a cross-cultural setting. His class was packed and he was able to see many friends and ex-Brazilian missionaries. While in the US he met with several people at ACU and spent some time with Kristofer, Angela and Joel.

While Jerry was in the US, Gail traveled with 20 other women from the Curitiba church to the annual Women’s Conference in São Paulo. There she counseled with six women from different cities in Brazil and helped to lead the worship time. There are always many visitors at this event and this year one of the women was baptized.

November 9-11 we were on the road again to work with the leadership of the church in Florianópolis. We have visited this church many times over the past 4 years to help them grow and establish a strong leadership. They have suffered two splits in the past several years, but God is working powerfully to keep them strong and give them hope. We enjoy working with this church because of their positive outlook and caring spirit in spite of their difficulties.

Prayer Needs:

This has been a very busy year for us and we are looking forward to some time off as we celebrate the holidays. Kristofer will be coming to spend two weeks with us from Dec. 17 to Jan. 2. Please pray for his safe travel; for our physical recovery from all our travel this year; for the continued preparation of the Brasília team (more on this next month); and for Angela and Joel since we will not get to see them.

We praise God for each of you. We can’t do this without you! May our God grant you peace and bless you with His mercy as you seek to serve Him in your community. We are so thankful to have this ministry and to see God’s hand at work in the lives of so many Brazilian brothers and sisters.

Dear brethren,

Thanksgiving is over, so this must be the countdown to the end of the year. I enjoy many aspects of the holiday period, but there are some I would rather avoid — the stress of so many activities, the commercialization, and some of the unneeded expectations of cards, gifts, and year-end newsletters. The point, though, is whether others enjoy them.

We began November in the USA and finished it last weekend with a French workers’ retreat in France. The last few days in the States included visits to the Harding Graduate School in Memphis, Freed-Hardeman University, to churches in Birmingham and Huntsville. The last few days were with David and family in Newnan, Georgia. The two-month trip was very fruitful, enjoyable, and encouraging. We thank God for all the open doors, open hearts, and open pocketbooks!

The Geneva church carried on its normal activities during our absence. We were blessed to have Bren and Cheryl White for three weeks and Bonnie Tirey for five weeks stay in our house during our absence. Besides ministering in many ways to the churches in Geneva and Lausanne they kept up with the daily work of the Bible correspondence courses. We thank God for their attitude of service and sacrifice.

After two years of various contacts, we had a joint worship period with the Leman church of Christ (formerly the International Church of Christ). They are now an autonomous group and after several studies with the leaders, we felt a joint worship period would be edifying. This occurred November 18th. The fellowship was in our meeting place with about a 100 present of the Geneva church and about 40 from the Leman church. Though there are still differences between us to be studied, there is enough common faith that we felt this unifying step was worth the risk. We will try to follow the God’s lead in what develops from here.

The annual workers’ retreat last weekend was very informative and edifying. There were 33 leaders representing most of the French-speaking churches in Europe. I will send an article and pictures to the Christian Chronicle. Perhaps you can read more there about the meeting.

The Geneva church, besides its regular activities, will have a special children’s program the 16th of December. This is an evanglism project with invitations given to family members and friends of the members. The New Year’s Eve program is becoming more important each year as we use it for evangelism. This year the theme will be “An Evening in Heaven”. Lots of interesting ideas are coming together as we imagine how our fellowship might be in heaven.

Many projects are in view for 2008. I will explain them as they develop. It should be a great year in terms of what God has planned for us. The greatest event would be if Jesus comes back to take us all home! May God bless our preparations.

Doyle and Barbara

DINO & DEBBIE ROUSSOS
P.O. Box 70127 Glyfada, Greece 16610
Tel : 011 (30) 6944 344167
Fax : 011 (30) 210 8974405
E-mail : DinoRoussos@gmail.com 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Debbie and I just arrived back to Greece from the city of Donestk , Ukraine ,

I was invited to teach,for one week, a course about “The practices and Teachings of the Orthodox Church” for the graduating class at the Ukrainian Bible Institute.

There are about 60 churches of Christ in Donetsk , Ukraine . This is the second year I have taught this course at UBI. There are about 35 students.They are graduating soon and will be leaders for the Churches of Christ in Ukraine . I also spoke for the chapel service one morning.

On the Sunday that we were there I preached for the church that meets at the university. It is the congregation where Alexander is the regular pulpit minister. He also broadcasts a weekly television program. We enjoyed eating with him and his family after services that evening.He is doing a tremendous work reaching millions through his TV program.

We also had the wonderful opportunity to meet with Natasha and Nick who work for Eastern European Missions. They took us over to see the new offices of EEM. It is a distribution center for all the materials published by EEM to be sent in bulk to churches, schools and organizations all over Eastern Europe . We had a special prayer at their facilities that the Lord will bless their ministry in A MIGHTY WAY.

I was so happy to meet again with Leonidas who I met last year. He is Ukrainian of Greek descent and knows how to speak some Greek. He is a medical doctor and also the preacher for his congregation near Donetsk . He says the main thing that keeps him from leaving the Ukraine are his responsibilities to the church there. He is a very admirable man.His parents live near Mariupol .I was invited by the preacher there Alexander and his wife Irene to have a Gospel meeting there next Spring.

The churches in Ukraine are very involved in orphan ministries. We were privileged to be able to go with Dimas (gospel preacher and teacher at UBI) to visit one of the orphanages of children from 1st to 9th grade. We went to the classes of each grade level to meet the children. The orphanages are state run but they have given the church much freedom to come and minister to the children. They have even given them a room for their exclusive use to teach the children the Bible and songs and teach them some skills such as furniture making and cooking. In the summer the orphanage agreed to allow the children to attend the church camp, which they loved so much they want to go again next summer.

We return to Athens with GREATER zeal and enthusiasm to continue our ministry.

May the Lord bless you and give you a very nice Thanksgiving.

In Christ the Lord

Dino Roussos

DINO & DEBBIE ROUSSOS
P.O. Box 70127 Glyfada, Greece 16610
Tel : 011 (30) 6944 344167
Fax : 011 (30) 210 8974405
E-mail : DinoRoussos@gmail.com

Our dear brethren,

Greetings and Christian love from all of us in Athens Greece.

On the 18th of October the Omonia Church of Christ had to face a court trial in
Athens.

The manager of the building, where the church meets, brought a variety of charges
against the church, including that we should not be permitted to meet as a church
in this building.

Basically, he wants us out because we are not Orthodox.

We spent several weeks collecting documents, such as permits from the Ministry of
Education and Religion, stating that we are a recognized church. Blue prints and
drafts, verification that the first floor of the building where we meet belongs to us
and that we have all the legal papers, ect.

We had to work hard, but with the cooperation of our members and our engineer,
who is a longtime friend of mine, we were able to face this trial. Our lawyer
presented 32 documents and 18 pages of defense arguments. He answered all the
accusations and now we are waiting for the judge’s decision. It could take two or
three months before he will reach a decision.

Yes! Our faith is being tested once again. We believe that the Lord will not allow the
church to be hurt in any way. We do hope, however, that we will be able to find
another meeting place that will give us more space to expand. Please do pray that
the Lord will open the correct doors for our ministry.

We want to thank you for your prayers,letters,phone calls and care for us during
this time of difficulty.

EASTERN EUROPEAN MISSION (SUMMIT II ) IN DALLAS, TEXAS

Debbie and I flew to Dallas, Texas on September 4th to participate in the Eastern
European Missions Summit II. I was on the speaking schedule for the three-day
event, September 7, 8, and 9th.

It was a time of wonderful reflection on what the Lord has done in Eastern Europe
the past 17 years.

The Summit fueled the dream and reaffirmed that the Kingdom of Christ has
grown, is growing and there is great vision and hope for the future of the Lord’s
church in Greece and Eastern Europe.

NEW MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH IN ATHENS, GREECE

Yianni and Natalia came to Athens from Kiev , Ukraine. Yiannis is of Greek origin
and recently was able to obtain the Greek citizenship that gives him the right to live
and work in Greece, legally. Since he does not speak Greek I was able to assist him
to put together his CV and send applications to Greek companies for work.

Yiannis is a physicist and we hope that soon he will find a job in his field.

We need more Russian speaking leaders for the church in Athens, this couple came
at the right time. He has a great voice, knows most of the Russian songs and he
has a very good knowlege of the Bible.Yiannis has been with us only for a few
weeks and he is a great blessing to our fellowship.

DINO TEACHING AT THE UKRAINIAN BIBLE INSTITUTE

November 2-9 Debbie and I will be travelling to Donesk, Ukraine where I will be
teaching for one week at the Bible School of the Churches of Christ. This is the
second consecutive year that I have been invited to teach the graduating class on
“Teachings and Practices of the Orthodox Church”. We also intend to visit some of
the orphanages.

On Sunday, November 4th, I am scheduled to preach at the congregation where
Alexander preaches and broadcasts his television program. This church of Christ
meets at the main audotorium of the university at Donesk.

THE NEW CONGREGATION IN THE ISLAND OF CRETE

While Debbie and I were in the States in September, brother Mike Hall who assisted
in starting the work in the island of Crete gave us two big boxes full of booklets (Christian publications from WEI) to take to the congregation in Crete. Two weeks
ago Alex Melirrytos, our coworker, was invited to speak to the church in Crete and
was able to deliver the booklets. Several of the members in Crete now participate in
the courses taught by WEI (World English Institute) in Texas.

We are so happy to know that the church in Crete is developing in every way.

CHRISTIAN CONFERENCE IN CORINTH ABOUT THE APOSTLE PAUL

Last month I had the priviledge to introduce Dr. Wendell Willis ( New Testament
professor) of Abilene Christian University to participate in the international congress
held September 23-25 in Corinth Greece.

The conference was organized and supported by the University of Athens, the City
of Corinth and the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of Corinth. Over 90 scholars
from Greece, America and many European countries presented papers on the city
of Corinth in Paul’s day and on the Corinthian letters.

This conference was unusual in several ways. It was the first conference held in
Corinth ,Greece on the mission work of Paul in the city where Paul spent 18 months
on his first mission work, wrote two letters to this church and also probably wrote
Romans from this city. It was also unusual for the Greek Orthodox church to host
such a conference and invite scholars of other faiths. They said at the close of the
conference that they were very pleased and hoped to repeat such an event in the
future.

After the conference, many of the speakers were taken on a tour of various
archaeological sites around Corinth, including the archaeological site of old Corinth,
the city which Paul visited. These excavations have been on-going for over a
century. Dr. Willis stayed on in Greece with us for a few days, to explore sites in
Athens and to worship with the Omonia Church in downtown Athens.

Debbie and I enjoyed visiting and spending time with him .Dr. Willis and his wife
Sandra have been good friends to the Roussos family for more than thirty years.

PREACHING AND TEACHING THE WORD OF GOD

I thank God for the opportunities He gives me to preach the message of the gospel
every week in Athens Greece and often to take trips to other countries
encouranging the new churches of Christ to remain faithfull in the TRUTH.

MEETING WITH THE EVANGELICAL PREACHERS IN ATHENS

Last Thursday (october 25th) I was invited to Steve Dotton’s house for a gathering
of about 30 church leaders from various Protestant denominations .The purpose
was to pray,sing and exchange ideas of each others ministry.I spoke about the
work of the churches of Christ and our plea to return to the spirit and practices of
first Century Christianity.

I enjoyed seeing young gospel preachers who have a desire to share the message
of Jesus and His love to the Greek people .It was nice to see that the church of
Christ in Athens has the respect of other Protestant groups in the area.

FAMILY NEWS

We want to thank all of you for your prayers, cards, letters and phone calls during
the difficult time that our family had to face, after loosing Tony Lenhert (my sister’s
son) in Abilene, Texas. We are so thankful that we were able to go to Abilene
during the funeral and support my sister’s family.

Since Melody and Andy are now living in the Dallas area, we were thrilled to be able
to spend some time with them and our beautiful grandchildren, Jackson and Zoe.
Stephen also came from Abilene to spend a weekend with us and we enjoyed being
with him there. We only wish Nikki and Matt had been able to come for a weekend
as well.

I returned to Greece September 18th. Debbie stayed one week longer to see the
babies and take care of some other matters. She became ill the night before she
was to travel back to Greece and had to postpone her return trip for three days.
Unfortunately, after she arrived back in Athens, her father had to undergo
unexpected open heart surgery. The surgery went well but there is concern over
congestion in his lungs. Debbie has been in touch with the family every day and is
waiting to see if it will be necessary for her to go there to assist with his care when
he goes home.

Nikki is now in her sixth month of pregnancy and we have learned that she will
have a girl! We are all very excited with anticipation of the birth in February.

Dear brethren,

We thank God for His love, care and strength in our lives. We appreciate all you
have done and are doing for us and the mission work in Greece and the Eastern
European countries.

We are here to serve the Lord’s church and lead the lost to the Truth. God is at
work but the devil is looking for ways to attack the work of our Master.
Please keep us in your prayers.

We love you all.

In Christ,
DINO AND DEBBIE ROUSSOS

Sending the Light to Ukraine
Newsletter
November, 2007  

Atchisons in Ukraine Website

Read this update on the Atchisons Website

Please Check Out Our Web Site and Blog

The intent of this monthly newsletter is to inform you, our friends, family and supporters of the major things going on at the Transitional Living Center. On our blog, we have more personal stories about our individual activities, dealings with the kids, and things that touch our heart a little more closely. To learn more about the goings on in our little corner of Ukraine, please check out our web site at www.atchisonsinukraine.com.

Our Contact Info

Email:
Lance latchison@gmail.com
Debra debatchison@gmail.com

Internet Phone (A Dallas number, that calls our computer in Ukraine)
469.454.2166

Shipping Address (packages)
Kievsky Lane #4
Mariupol-2
Donetsk Oblast
Ukraine
87502

Mailing Address (letters)
P.O. Box 2101
Mariupol - 2
Donetsk Oblast
Ukraine
87502

Technical Issues Fixed

Thank you so much for your patience with our web site over the last two months. We believe we have the technical issues resolved. Let’s hope so. Now, you can reach us online at either address above. www.atchisonsinukraine.com should be a lot easier to remember. Now that the problems are fixed, bookmark it on your computer and check back often.

TLC Kid Spotlight

Boris Muhibin
Nickname: Borya
Age: 18
Studying: Electrical Engineering
Birthday: March 12
Future: He wants to maybe work or study some more. He is studying to get his driver’s license.

Granny Reymundo Goes Home

On Saturday evening, October 20th about 8:30 p.m., we got a call from my family saying that Granny past away. This was my Granny on my Dad’s side of the family that lived in Evergreen, Alabama. So, we jumped into emergency mode and started preparing to go home. I spoke to other family members and then called our supporting elder at our church in Dallas. He was very supportive and told us to come on home and not to worry about it. We are so very blessed to be supported by such a giving and caring congregation. Prestoncrest Church of Christ lives what it preaches by “Reaching In, Reaching Out, and Reaching Up.” While I was packing, Lance ran to the grocery store, so the kids would have food for breakfast and then began frantically searching for planes, hotels and rental cars. I prepared the breakfast packets for the week and started packing. Once we had flight arrangements, we determined that we had to leave at 5:30 am (It was about 11:00 p.m. by this time.) So, I quickly cooked up breakfast burritos and muffins that could easily be heated up for our normal Sunday morning family breakfast. We left notes for the kids, woke Julia Sherbakova up, told her she was in charge as we had to leave unexpectedly, and arranged for Ura, our taxi driver,to pick us up and take us to Donestk for the first of four flights home. We prayed that tickets would be available in Donetsk as it was too late to purchase them online and their downtown office was closed. As I was packing, Natasha M. Came to my room with tears in her eyes and asked if we were leaving. I told her yes, through teary eyes, but that we would be back. She didn’t understand the last part of what I said and started crying. Three of the other girls came up with tears in their eyes and asked what was going on. I explained to them that my Granny had passed away and that we were going home for the funeral and would be back next week. They were all relieved because they thought that since I was crying as I was packing and Lance was busy working hard in the office that we were moving back home. Just the thought of leaving these kids for good made me cry as well. It is good to know that the children want us there and don’t want us to leave. They have been abandoned too much in their life, and we surely don’t want to add to that, especially as we are making progress with so many of them.

We had been praying for Granny for quite some time. Right before we left, she had a small stroke one night and had not been able to speak since. We know that she is in God’s hands now and not suffering, but it is still so hard to let go of loved ones. I’m so glad that Lance and I were able to go visit her last January since she was not able to travel to Texas for our wedding. We had a great time and Lance got to eat her famous fried chicken, lima beans, cornbread and biscuit pudding. Maybe that trip is why it was a little harder to fit into my wedding dress! Granny sure knew how to cook and take good care of her family. She was a hard worker and became a widow at a very young age when my Dad was only five years old. On her own, she raised five children during a time when there was not as much support for single mothers. She was an amazing woman! Granny will be missed, but will always be close to us in our hearts and fond memories.

There was a lot of family at Granny’s, including my brother and sister who drove in from Texas. It was so good to see cousins, aunts & uncles and other relatives that I haven’t seen in about 10 years or so. I got to meet my cousin’s kids, some of them that I had never met before. Both sides of my family are rather large and enjoy getting together and eating and playing games. We enjoyed games of “Spoons”, sitting and visiting and reminiscing about our fun times from childhood at Granny’s. To hold up all of the windows in the summer, Granny used sticks. She called them her, “winder sticks”. We had a great time talking about who all got chased around the house by Granny and her winder sticks. For more pictures of the family, check out the photo album on our web site. Thank you for your condolences and most especially your prayers on behalf of my family! In Christian Love, Debra.

TLC Tidbits

Take a look at some of the many happenings around the TLC recently.

Please Pray For Julia Sherbakova

While we were gone to Alabama, we received a disturbing email from Andrew regarding Julia’s engagement. Many of you may have already heard the news, but just incase you haven’t, I want to request your prayers for Julia (on the right). Julia and I have been practicing fixing her hair different ways for her wedding and growing more and more excited by the minute. On Saturday before we left to go to Alabama, she put on her wedding gown, veil and new boots she just bought. She was absolutely stunning and beside herself giddy!

In the email from Andrew, we learned that the wedding has been postponed. We aren’t sure of all the details, or what Julia wants others to know. We do know though that both she and Vova need our prayers. She is coming home this weekend and we hope to be able to in some way encourage her.

We know that God has and will continue to protect Julia. We also know that postponing her wedding just three weeks before the set date is also devastating. Please pray for Julia, for Vova and that God will give us what we need to be able to encourage and support Julia.

Bottles to the Babushkas

At the TLC, we go through a ton of juice that comes in large glass bottles. Many times we use these bottles to can or store things. However, going through at least one or two a day, they tend to pile up very quickly. With so many of them stacking up downstairs, we decided to box them up and set them at the edge of the property for anyone who might want them. Little did we know, that we would get the attention of all the “babushkas”, aka “grand-mas” in the neighborhood. It wasn’t long until the “babushkas” were coming out of their apartments and instructing their husbands to carry them into the house. They were so excited and thanked us a million times over. It was great getting to meet some of the elderly women in the neighborhood and put huge smiles on their faces.

Computer Lab Updates

The TLC kids are so excited about the computer lab. The latest project that they have been working on is creating small videos using Windows Movie Maker. Hopefully, in the future, they will be able to create videos to share with their sponsors as well as post on our web site. They are excited to be learning video editing. They can add these new skills to their repertoire and can use them in their school work as well as carry them with them when they graduate and join the workforce.

Brrrrr…..

Winter has arrived in Ukraine. It has gottencold, very cold according to the children, but we know it is only the beginning. On October 16, we were able to turn on the boiler so that we would have heat at the TLC. This means limited hot water supply for showers, but at least the building is warm now. Before we were able to get the heater on, the girls just thought they were going to freeze to death. So, we gave them water bottles that they could fill up at night and put in their beds to keep them warm. It is rather nice to be able to put your feet into warm sheets instead of cold ones, that is true. The picture to the left is of the nightly line to fill the water bottles. Such little things as hot water, make the girls oh so happy!

Ladies Classes at Church

Ira, the preacher’s wife, has invited Debra to join their regular Saturday classes. Some Saturdays they have sewing classes, some cooking classes and others Bible Classes. Recently Debra, along with Natasha M. And Julia S., attended the cooking class. They learned how to cook a Ukrainian soup with meat, mashed potatoes (made the same way as in the US), cutletta and a Ukrainian cabbage and beat salad. She was excited to learn how to make cutletta and the soup with meat, even though her diet doesn’t allow her to eat them often. Getting to know the ladies of the church better is something that Debra has been wanting to do for some time and these classes provide just that opportunity. Not only is she learning to make new things, but she is also gaining friends and practicing her Russian much more.

Exciting Things We Are Looking Forward To
Lance’s Mom, Aunt and two close family friends are coming for Thanksgiving.
House-parent Conference in November
Working in the kid’s Sunday School Class

Jeremiah’s Hope is still looking for sponsors for three of the new kids living in the TLC this year. If you are interested in full or partial sponsorship, please contact us for more information. The kids need YOU!

Adoption Updates

In the last newsletter, we told you about Julia and Julia, now Alesa, that the Bobingers in Texas adopted. The story has grown so much since then. The girls seem to be not only adjusting to their new home, but falling in love with their new family!

This adoption has sparked new friendships between The Bobingers, Debbie Seymour and Lorie Kelly from California, us and another couple coming to adopt two other girls. Here is a quote from Rhonda Bobinger about her new daughters. “The girls love their new family and vice versa. Last night we were all exhausted we went to a football game and then ate and visited, etc. In the midst of all this we have some friends who adopted a girl from Russia when we adopted Zhenya and they were visiting also. The girl is 12 and we asked her to spend the night. It was late by the time the girls got to bed and I was ready to drop. Every night I say prayers with the girls they never ask I always suggest it. Julia has prayed once in a while but not much most often I pray and they listen. Well God is so faithful because I got them all in bed and I went to lay down beside them for a minute and Julia sat up and said “mom we pray”? and the other girl whose parents are not believers said we don’t pray at my house (she speaks good English she has been here over 2 years) and Alesa sat up and said to her “my family we pray” in a very possessive tone on the my family part, up until this point I have never heard hear address prayer in any way. So I prayed and then Julia prayed and then Alesa praise God prayed. Then Yana started giggling and Julia looked at her very sternly and said “no hee hee God is good no hee when pray.” So when we were through I talked to Yana about the Lord, something that wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for my girls. Most amazing of all they kept seriously nodding their heads when I told her how much God loves her. I haven’t been sure until this point that they especially Alesa took it seriously either. There was nothing sweeter last night than hearing those girls offering their prayers to heaven in Russian. Once again I thank God you were in the girls lives before we even knew them. In Him Rhonda”.

God is amazing! This story keeps getting better and better. Rhonda told us about a couple that was coming in October or November to adopt two other girls that we worked with at the orphanage. They had hosted these two girls in their homes this past summer. We were looking forward to meeting them when they got here. Then one day, my very dear friend Lisa in Texas emailed and told us that a man that works with her husband at Texas University was coming over to Ukraine soon to adopt two girls. Through some exciting conversations, we learned that they were the couple coming to Mariupol that the Bobingers knew. So, our friends got us and the Fischers in contact with each other. We have enjoyed having them here in Mariupol. As I l conclude this newsletter, I’m excited to write that today the Fischer’s adoption was final! It amazes me that both of these couples are adopting older kids. What a blessing they are. The statistics of what happens to these children when they leave the orphanage are horrifying! If they don’t commit suicide, the majority of them end up in prostitution or drugs. These couples are making a huge difference in the lives of the orphans here in Ukraine. God is good! We are blessed to be able to meet these couples and celebrate in the coming together of these new families. As you can tell, these girls just can’t quite smiling!