Hello everyone,
Hello everyone,
I am writing you with a broken heart! Last week, I got a call telling me that a new law stated that with my visa I would have to leave Russia after 3 months. I didn’t really think much about this until I was told for two months than I could return! Again I was ok with it, I would go to the Ukraine for two months and do missions with the church in the Ukraine. If God was calling me than I will go. The lady at the office told me that after I returned in March, I could only be here for 1 ½ months because with this new law, I could only be here for 6 months because I had come in the summer, I had used up most of my time! Helen asked if I could be "grandfathered" into the law because I had got my visa before the law. The lady said a law is law!
This is a very hard email to write to even think that as of December 16th I will be out of Russia. If I don’t leave, I will not be able to return until June 2009. I have been saying my good-bye’s to my Russian friends, family & students. My heart can’t bear it! I know God has a reason for it all and I am blessed to have been here for the time I have been! I ask that you please keep the mission here in prayer! I ask you to pray for my heart! If you have been here with me in the summer, you know how unhappy I am to leave after being here for months, it’s even harder! I do really ask that you pray God will give me the words to help my Russian friends understand that is happening and why I need to leave! I am still going to have a Christmas party with my students, youth and women’s group! I will enjoy my time with each person! Please keep in prayer my return to the USA, I will have to find a job, car and move my house back so I can live in it! I know that I will be thankful to get a hug from so many of you and I will need those hugs to feel better about leaving! "If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it!" I do really need your emails of love to help me with leaving! Only good things because my world here is unhappy, I need the other half (you all) to be joyful!! <>< Julie