Overcoming

(I am scheduling this to post on our first day of camp in Kherson, where Raia will be back in her element, working with kids and her friends at the church she loves. Please pray for us.)

Jeremiah 1:19 “They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. 

HomeLife Academy gave Raia their Overcomer Award for this year. 

Here's a link to full year book: https://www.flipsnack.com/76D6C988B7A/hla-2023-yearbook.html 

I just took the one page about her to share here.

 

She has just officially graduated, and I am struck again but how much the word Overcomer fits her and what she has done in the past year. She has overcome 

• Fitting 11th and 12th grades into one year 
• While living, thriving, helping others under occupation and in an active war zone 
• During unexpected sudden evacuation 
• Through a dark winter winter without electricity 
• Far from her very closest friends 
• When her dreams of a certain university became very distant because Lithuania didn’t accept the high school diploma she was working so hard for 
• Not taking the SAT when planned with her tutor and then taking it later when she was stressed and not feeling ready 
• Passing the GED, which she never planned on taking 
• Retaking parts of the GED to raise her passing scores even higher.... 

 
She still has more to conquer, including right now figuring out applying for residency in two countries almost simultaneously, not to mention starting the whole new adventure of university. Thank you to everyone who has carried her and the rest of our family in your prayers and support all these years. Please keep praying! 

If we were in normal times, we would celebrate her graduation with our family and local friends. Even that isn’t really possible right now. If anyone here wants to congratulate her, send words of encouragement, or even little gifts, her email address for both notes and PayPal is raia.xansaker@gmail.com. Again, thank you! 

 

I’ll close with these words of Jesus in John 16:22. Glory to the One who is the real Overcomer: 

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Good news

Jaan’s here! With Yana! It’s so good to have him back.

Raia got her answer from LCC: she’s in! We’re thrilled.

Finally.

That said, we’re still drowning. The war goes on. Jaan arrived without luggage and is caught up in the craziness of modern airline “service,” when he really has so much else to work on, too. Raia’s acceptance comes with some nuances. The logistics of everything for all of us are just too much. I can’t even explain. Stress levels are still very high. Please keep praying.

And praise God for good news.

They’re back

Will and Raia are back, sleeping after a very long night on a bus. They didn't get the visa that Raia needs. Because of where she was born, the consulate couldn't just hand her a visa, like they were doing for everyone else. Her application could take up to 30 days to be processed through Kyiv. Then she can go back to Poland and get it. Of course, this really complicates everything, both logistically and--to be very honest--emotionally. Again, please keep praying....

Now this

Last night Bogdan fell out of a cherry tree. He fell hard, and I thought his arm might be broken, but it was late, and he was doing okay. So, we gave him ibuprofen, iced his arm, and put him to bed. Asya was wonderful; she's really calm in medical situations. This morning it was still hurting. We tried to call a taxi, but the app I like was all busy, so the three of us walked to the children's hospital. I was so impressed with them! There were hardly any lines, and they were so incredibly kind. Bogdan's wrist is fractured, but there's nothing complicated. He has a cast for 2.5 weeks, and that's all.

 

Afterwards Bogdan decided that we needed "Kherson lemonade" to recover, so we walked across town in the other direction to go to a coffee shop from Kherson. Asya and Bogdan had that special treat, and I had cold coffee. Then we came back to the apartment.

 

While all of this has been going on, Will and Raia had their appointment in Poland. As we kind of expected, they couldn't get everything sorted out right away and were told to come back after lunch. They've been running around, and as far as I know, they're back at the consulate now. Please keep praying for them.

Please keep praying

Raia did get her her math and science scores higher. Now her science is up to what Lithuania requires, but her math is still a little low. We're at the point where if LCC can average her scores across all four subjects, she's in, but if they can't accept an average, then there's really nothing else we can do now. Please keep praying. Pray that we'll get a positive answer and soon!

 

Already she has to move on to her next step. The papers we needed for her Ukraine visa application--the first part of applying for residency--came through from the Kherson war administration. Tomorrow she and Will are going to "celebrate" his birthday by sitting all day in a bus to Poland. They have an appointment to apply for her visa on Wednesday, and if all goes really well, they could be headed back Thursday-Friday. We haven't even gotten as far as buying return tickets yet, though, because we don't know how long this will take.

A call to prayer

Tomorrow Raia will be retaking math and science exams to try to raise her scores on them. Please pray for her! Pray that she can sleep on the train to Kyiv tonight and do really well tomorrow. Thank you.