Yes... We're still alive.

For those of you who check this blog for updates on what God is doing in our lives, I apologize for the lack of info as of late. As you can probably imagine, we have been pretty busy these past few months. God is good all the time though, so here (finally) is an update on what in the world we've been up to:

First, in case you were wondering, the missions conference we attended wayyyy back in January was a huge blessing to us. Grandma Todd provided us with her wonderful free babysitting for the girls while we carted Judah around Calvary Chapel Bible College with us. We were blessed to hear missionaries from around the globe speak, have lunch with Samy Tanagho from Glad New for Muslims and hear his testimony, and even meet a family who had worked in Blagoveshchensk! Judah was also able to make a friend: a couple serving in Tel Aviv, Israel were there with their little boy, Reuben, who is only a couple weeks older than Judah. They had a great time staring at each other and smiling. :o)

On the beach in sunny California

As far as further direction in the missions area, we are still waiting on the Lord. The family I mentioned who had been to Blago has invited us to go to Tver, Russia, with them in August, and have told us of a church there in need of workers. The couple from Tel Aviv also told us of the need for Russian speaking workers among the many Jews who came to Israel after the collapse of the Soviet Union (and they have actually called us on Skype to translate for them since they got back to Israel). But we have yet to receive a clear call/green light from the Lord on either of these opportunities. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we wait on Him for direction.

While we wait, our church here in Bozeman is happy that God hasn't called us anywhere else for the present time. :o) We are still serving in the jr. high ministry teaching the Wednesday night youth group. Jason also recently began leading a Sunday night prayer and worship time. This has been something he has felt the Lord placing on his heart for some time now, so we are excited to see it finally come about. Please keep these two ministries in your prayers as we serve and try to bless the Lord and our local Body.

Now on to "smaller" things.....

Havah turned four years old in February and is quite convinced that she is a big girl now. :o) She is very proud of her age and checks the tags on her clothes regularly to make sure the number '4' is on them (far be it from a four year-old to wear something with a 3 or *gasp* a 2 on its tag!) She is learning to write her letters and enjoying smothering her baby brother with her love.

Havah and "Judy-Boy" as she calls him

Mercy is quite a handful, to say the least. She is working on developing her skills as an apologetic and is more often than not found arguing with Havah or Rachel about whatever it is they said (even if she's dead wrong in her statements). She has also caught the 'birthday bug' and is excitedly awaiting her "candles in July second," when she will turn three. :o) We are very glad to see that she is finally starting to warm up to Judah, as can be seen from her move from, "Can I poke him?" to "Can I kiss him?"

Merc the Moose

And, speaking of Judah, he just recently turned 6 months old! I know, time flies when you're changing diapers and getting up every 3 hours during the night..... :o) His most recent accomplishments include rolling over and sitting up without help, as well as devouring anything made of paper that he can reach. He is quite popular with the ladies at church (especially those ages 6-14), though he enjoys people in general.

Judah, happy as always

Jason has recently gotten his independent contractor's license and has been working on various construction sites with some men from church. It's not the most steady of jobs, especially given the snow, but we are grateful for what we can get and, of course, God is extremely faithful to provide all of our needs. He has also had a few jobs building and maintaining websites - something he learned in his "spare time" in Russia. (You can check them out here, here... and here.)

I (Rachel) am keeping myself busy trying to provide constant walkways through the never ending piles of toys and dresses that seem to magically re-appear every time I clean any room. *Sigh.* Suffice it to say I'm never bored and always tired. I'm looking forward to our church's women's retreat next month where I will be helping with the music and (hopefully) resting in the Lord. :o)

So, now you are all caught up on what's been happening in our lives. I will try my best to not let another four months go by before I update you again! Until then, though, thank you all for your continuing prayers and support! We really do praise the Lord for our Family in Him!

~ Rachel, for all the Todds

The girls eating "chocolate" a.k.a. markers.