our letter...and more...

this superman's weakness is salmon and tvorik (there's no translation, but it would be like full fat yogurt and full fat cream cheese mixed)...


We thought it would be a good idea this month to put our prayer letter that we send out on our blog, too! Sorry to get you twice if you read both...but if you're a blog reader, I've tucked some extra morsels in this post that weren't in the letter!

our letter, from tim....

Friends, Family and Supporters, greetings from Moscow! As people who support missionaries ourselves, we understand what it is like to open a support letter and see tons of words...so, this quarter, we want to give you a brief glimpse, so that you can easily and quickly see what the Lord is doing in our life these days and know how to pray for and support us. Please visit our blog site or look us up on facebook for more info, stories and pictures! http://thecolorgreen-wiley.blogspot.com (you're there...)

We are praying for you all back in the States, as you face difficult economic times.

Depth and difficulty is increasing in ministry as Ally and I are both working with students and families facing tough situations. Please pray for wisdom for us and Grace for the ones in the situations.

A few other key staff members are leaving Hinkson next year, so please pray for the right people to come fill those positions - including the chaplain position.

Hinkson Students and staff are going to New Hope Uganda March 29th-April 9th. We have a great team and high hopes for the trip. We meet once a week during lunch and once a month on the weekends to learn language, work on skits and develop team dynamics.


some kids from new hope, kasana, uganda (2008)


We are asking for additional support for my $1,400 plane ticket to Uganda.

Last semester was very spiritually powerful at Hinkson. We focused on the theme of “Lies We Believe” and saw the Lord do some amazing healing in the hearts of many of our students… especially girls in the way of self-worth and self-image.

Apart from getting over a sickness he got from the church nursery, Silas is healthy, developing well and so smart! He is such a joy!

We rejoice with our good friends, the Clarks, who after 4 years of heartbreaking and unsuccessful pregnancies, will soon give birth to a healthy baby girl!

Our plan is to move back to Tulsa in late June! We will attend a Missionary Debrief and Renewal Session in Colorado during July and then begin the transition process in Tulsa by mid-July. Please pray for finances and logistics as we move back State-side.

We are asking that our financial supporters continue support through August of 2009. We will officially be employed by RCE through that time and the support will be vital to our transition back.

I (Tim) will begin the job search process very soon. At this point, I am interested in both ministry and non-ministry positions. I’d love any insight or connections that you all have with jobs in helping us re-connect and land in Tulsa.

...the end (of the letter)...

this is a really sweet season for me and tim. we are consistently trying to strike a healthy balance between being present here in moscow for our last few months here, and wisely make plans for the upcoming transition to the states. some exciting news...we've booked our tickets for our return trip!!! we use a wonderful travel agent in colorado springs who found us an amazing deal on THE most pet-friendly carrier, lufthansa. kai will be taken out of her crate at every connection, walked, re-fed, re-watered, papers changed, etc. we are very excited about that. we land in tulsa on june 21 (happy father's day dad and vance). when we get back, we'll have almost 2 weeks before we drive to colorado for two weeks to attend a living-abroad debriefing conference and vacationing with my (ally) family in pagosa springs. meanwhile, kai will be recuperating at woodland west in tulsa.

between now and then, we have the hinkson play (shakespeare's "much ado about nothing"...tim is the friar francis), uganda 2009 trip, graduation, regular (and exceptional) life...


it's cold and dark and snowy outside...what better to do to celebrate tim's 31st birthday than have a hawaiian themed party! we wore lays, burned coconut candles, listened to israel kamakawiwo'ole music, and ate a cake with an island scene on it.


i had way too much fun decorating this...fyi...if you need to decorate a cake and don't have a cake decorating kit, icing squeezed out of a ziploc bag with the corner cut off works just as well if not better - no clean up!