Donnie and Blythe Mason

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Prayer Letter/Ministry Update

"From Russia With Love"
SEPTEMBER ‘09 PRAYER LETTER FROM THE MASON FAMILY

For anyone who knows us well, what I’m about to say will not come as a shock. But for others of you, it may be surprising. Are you ready? Here it is: Missionaries are imperfect people with normal weaknesses, frustrations, and failures. Did you know that? Before I became a missionary, I would have said that, of course, I knew that to be true. But deep down, I think I really did believe that somehow there was something inherently different about missionaries that made them never yell at their spouses, never worry over trivial matters, never resent the inconveniences of life, never get disappointed with God. Well, I was wrong. Missionaries struggle with all the same big and little shortcomings that you have. In fact, some days we may struggle more as we deal with frustrations of life that are accentuated by being in a different culture and language context. Add to that the fact that many missionaries live in cultures where an individual’s rights are not catered to or protected like they are in the U.S., and where basic services/ conveniences that we take for granted in the U.S. are inefficient or non-existent,… and the stress level goes up.

For us, this past week was “one of those weeks.” A simple fender bender (not our fault) led to literally days of running around the city to maneuver our way through a confusing and inefficient insurance system. A mistake made by the lady at the drugstore (who then refused to correct it) leaves us out 100 bucks. A run-in with traffic police looking to exert their power leaves us feeling violated and controlled. In each situation, we are faced with some choices:
-judge and resent this culture, or recognize it as sinful and fallen, just like every other, but
with points of beauty that are there for those who choose to see them
-respond to unfair treatment with resentment and anger, or return it with kindness and mercy
-cultivate a negative attitude toward Russians, or gain empathy for the things Russians
themselves have to deal with every day
-end the day feeling beaten down and discouraged, or allow God to fill us with renewed
strength and inspiration
-long for the good ‘ole familiar U.S.A, or embrace even more strongly the calling God has given
us to reach the lost here

I would LOVE to say that we always choose the second options, but it’s just not true, because, remember… we’re imperfect people. We’re not super-Christians! But there is something that makes us different. It’s you! It’s the fact that we, unlike many Christians in the U.S., have the advantage of having a large group of people praying for us regularly, praying that we’ll choose those second options, praying that we won’t lose heart, praying that we’ll stay inspired and focused and close to our God. You and your prayers are our secret weapon! (by the way, even if you’re not in full-time ministry, there’s no reason you couldn’t raise up your own group of prayer supporters!) Thank you for your part in our ministry. Keep it coming!

ANSWERS TO PRAYER IN AUGUST:
 Arrival of Teammates- Praise God that the Eggleton and Friesen families are well on their way to being settled in here, and we’ve already had a couple of great team
meetings! We’re excited about the unity, momentum, and friendships we see developing.
 Visit with Blythe’s Parents- We had a wonderful visit with Chuck and Marilyn, and they enjoyed being a part of our lives and ministry here for 2 weeks.

THINGS YOU CAN BE PRAYING FOR IN SEPTEMBER:
 Guidance for our Team- Pray for God to guide us clearly as we continue to meet to set goals and define roles, and that He would form us into an effective team to build His kingdom in St. Pete.
 New Ministries- Donnie has begun meeting regularly with a young man from our church who has tons of leadership potential and a heart for God. Pray that God would bless this mentoring relationship and raise this young man up to do great things for Him. Blythe has been asked to join the worship team, a role that is time-consuming, but may allow her to help in an area of needed growth in our church. Pray for wisdom as she decides how much she can be involved, and as she begins ministering in this way.
 School Time!- On September 1st, Isaiah will begin attending 1st grade at a local international school, and Katya will start Russian preschool 2 days a week. Pray for Isaiah’s adjustment to full-time school, and for our schedule adjustment as we now have to fit in a couple hours of travel time to get him to and from school each day. Pray that we’ll find creative ways to maximize this time.
 English Club start-up- We’re hoping to start weekly English Club meetings again at the end of September. Pray for our preparation and advertising… that we can reconnect with all previous attendees, and many new ones. We’re still waiting to hear if we can use the same location we did last year (free of charge). Pray that we would be able to secure a good meeting place, and that God would already begin preparing the hearts of the people who will attend. Pray that we would see a harvest of souls this year from the relationships we began building last year!!
 FLT- Donnie has again been chosen to serve on our Field Leadership Team, a group of 7 missionaries who meet every couple of months in Moscow to prayerfully make decisions that affect our whole C&MA Russia team. Their first meeting will be Sept. 14-16. Pray for them to clearly hear from God about His vision and heart for Russia, and for safe travel for Donnie and extra strength for Blythe as she holds down the fort at home.

Donnie, Blythe, Isaiah, and Katya Mason
Finances
*** One helpful way you can support us financially right now is to give to the Great Commission Fund in our name. When you do, 100% of what you give goes toward our support, freeing up other GCF funds to support other missionaries around the world. To do this, make a check out to the Christian & Missionary Alliance and write “GCF, for the support of Donnie and Blythe Mason” in the memo line and send it to: The C&MA, P.O. Box 35000, Colorado Springs, CO 80935. Or, you can click here to give online: http://www.cmalliance.org/give/worker. If you’d like to give toward Road of Life Community Center, click here: Donate to Community Center

Prayer Requests/Answers to Prayer

See update above.

Russia

Approved Specials

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