Merry Christmas – С Рождеством Христовым!

• Pray for our family and the Discovery that Bill leaves for tomorrow in Kursk, Russia.
• Pray for the Light of Christ to be revealed in this dark season!
• Gillian will join us in Russia for Christmas on her new 3-year multi-entry visa!
• Bill read two lectures in historic conferences one on the recent C. S. Lewis Anniversary and another on the Integration of Christianity and Psychology.
• The Annual Ministry Impact Reports are in from CRM and very encouraging.

 

Kursk Discovery
Leaders from a variety of churches and ministries in the Kursk region with gather for an Imago Christi Spiritual Formation Discovery event. Bill will preach there Sunday shortly after arriving from a 16 hour train ride.











Dark Christmas

The Advent season is the darkest time of the year. The sun rises only about 11am and sets 6 hours later. The darker it gets the more we are reminded that Christmas is coming, that the Light of the World is come! Look at our Christmas Stories page for more on the two Russian Christmases.

Gillian's Visa!

After a long adventure trying to get Gillian first a private visa, then a tourist visa, switching agencies and consulates Gillian was finally issued a Three-Year multiple-entry tourist visa, which means she can visit us any time over the next three years!
 
She arrives in Russia on December 22 and will stay with us until she flies to Tanzania, Africa for her spring semester abroad! Afterwards she will come back through Russia to see Karina graduate, and then return to the US for the summer before Karina starts college!

Historic Conferences

Bill was able to speak at two historic conferences at Saint Petersburg Christian University over the past two months. The first C. S. Lewis conference was held on the 50th anniversary of his death (Nov 23) and the second conference on the integration of psychology and Christianity. 

What's Going on in CRM?: 

The CRM 2013 Annual Report was very encouraging this year. Read more to see what CRM is doing world wide through its various innovative ministries!  

Goodbyes to Rochester, NY:

June 26 we pack up our 10 months in New York State and head back to our usual home base in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for the summer, visiting family and supporting churches on the East Coast before heading to Russia about August 7th. Our visas are being processed and should arrive in a few weeks.

Prayer Requests:

• ·      Pray for the proper processing and timely return of our visas to enter Russia.
• ·      Pray for the restoration of monies stolen in the ATM fraud.
• ·      Pray for a good combination of rest and reorganizing for our moves.
• ·      Pray also for safety, as both Priscilla and Bill have injuries that will make a move difficult if not hazardous. Bill complicated a previous knee injury. Priscilla has had rotator-cuff problems and after a lingering cough found she has a dislocated, cracked rib. Pray for a lot of teamwork for the lifting and no more injuries.

Browncroft Summary:

We have had a marvelous furlough year at Browncroft Community Church, giving back something to this church that has invested so much in us and our ministry over the years. We lived in their Missions House, participated in the missions programs, the Sunday School, youth and children's programs. Priscilla volunteered in the Senior's program and the Reading Group tutorial program in a local city school. In addition to Bill's work with Imago Christi, he was able to mentor some of the senior staff through a tough season of staff transitions, mentor and counsel staff, provide staff Days of Prayer, run a Spiritual Formation Discovery event for church leaders, and design and lead an experiential "Passion 40 Prayer" program leading up to Easter. The Lord is a Master Weaver. Many have commented how He brought us here in just the right way, at just the right time.  

ATM Fraud:

We have learned a lesson in financial vigilance. We recently discovered that 17 unauthorized withdrawals were taken at four different ATMs around Saint Petersburg, Russia while we've been in the US. Somehow they used a card we had destroyed 18 months ago! This together with the timing at the beginning of the statement cycle and deciphering the PIN indicates the work of a sophisticated crime ring (click here to read about ATM Skimmers). Once it can be demonstrated that the withdrawals were unauthorized, investigators assure us that the funds will be restored to our account. We have already alerted the missionary and expat community in Russia. Often in His mercy, we find the Lord sends us a "warning shot" like this that heads off a disaster later, so we are thankful that we caught it.

Kids' Highlights:

Gillian just finished her first semester as a freshman at Wheaton College (IL), making friends with students of all types: missionary kids, other third-culture kids, international students, and "normal American" students! She's learned a lot of important lessons about growing up and grown up relationships. Bill was able to stop and have a Daddy-Daughter date with her in Chicago during one of his Imago Christi trips! Gillian went to the President's Banquet and was also invited to the regional ROTC banquet. In addition to baby-sitting, she was involved in a local church's children's ministry, and volunteered as a tutor for a Burmese girl. Wheaton isn't fully "America" for her, but somewhere in between. It was wonderful having her home for holidays and breaks, and watching her begin to travel on her own. She traveled to DC to babysit her cousins for a long weekend, then took the train to Rochester. Now she's at her summer job in Lancaster, which has brought on another wave of cultural adjustment. It will be very hard to leave her behind in August.

 

Karina had a great year at Penfield High School and playing French Horn in the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (RYPO). She played at Carnegie Hall in NYC, and Kodak Hall in Rochester! Karina was also inducted into the National Honor Society. She made lots of friends in orchestra, church and school, and now she is saying goodbye to all that her classmates are looking forward to for their senior year. It was nice that she was recognized with many of the seniors both at school and at church. Karina also recently had an "audition/lesson" to begin the application process for the Conservatory at Wheaton.

Liam had a more subdued year, making some friends in the 8th grade enrichment program. It seems we are just leaving as some friendships were getting off the ground. He really enjoyed playing trumpet in band, and was invited to play for the orchestra and jazz band too. He doesn't say much, but by the looks of his yearbook, kids will be missing "Russian Liam" next year. Bill is leading Liam through a preparation for manhood course, and they are both enjoying the time together. Besides growing almost 6 inches this year, the biggest highlight of his year was playing Little League Baseball this spring! The Penfield A's just finished a 7-6 season and Liam was named "Rookie of the Year"! He played mostly 3rd base, outfield and catcher -- his favorite. He also turned into a power hitter, getting his team’s only over-the-wall homerun.

Olivia has completed first-grade now, and is about to lose the last of her front teeth! She loved everything about school in America, especially her teacher. Olivia did a wonderful job with the Suzuki Violin lessons offered through her school. Mom helped with the tuning and concerts too. Olivia has had her own room for the first time. She is riding her two-wheeler really well and loves playing with her big sisters, and trying to keep up with her big brother. Most importantly of all Olivia received Christ as her Savior this year! 

Links:

Saint Petersburg Christian University: video here.

Blog Site: O'Byrne Report Blog Spot constant access.

Online Giving: Partner with the Lord’s work "in St. Petersburg, Russia and Beyond,"  via: Crmleaders.org.

Prayer Resources: Prayer Resources on Imago Christi website!

Discovery Registration: Bill is leading the presenting team for the next Spiritual Formation Discovery event that will be held in Lancaster, PA August 1-3 (click here).