Here's our regular Q Family News -- a quick rundown on us and our family. Our PICTURES are on our PHOTO site, where you can find Albums of family and ministry, and you don't even have to log in! Click here and Enjoy!-->  http://www.clayq.smugmug.com/

In America, we complain about government red tape. The most laughable are the “paperwork reduction” notices that require reams of useless paper. Yet, we don’t really appreciate what it’s like beyond our borders.

 

Every country has its bureaucracy, but Ukraine takes the cake. After having been registered in Odessa under new laws, I had to “unregister” in order to move to Kiev. We’ve been working at it for 6 months, now, trying every way possible to rush things through, and we STILL are not fully registered.

 

Praise God for the steps already accomplished:  Invitation letter from the church, Permit from the Department of Religion, another Invitation letter from the church, buy temporary health insurance (a formality), leave the country to get a new type of visa, third Invitation letter from the church, Second Permit from the Department of Religion, application form to Migration Service, buy second health insurance (also a formality), and finally, receiving our “Temporary Residence Booklets”!

 

Each step entailed numerous visits to notaries and translation offices, getting copies of all in triplicate, and waiting in long lines (and shoving crowds).  Aren’t we having fun?

 

However, there is still ONE more step – registering our address in that little booklet. We’ve been working at that since September.  Since we don’t yet have EVERYTHING correct in our paperwork, we’ve been avoiding the authorities whenever we could.

 

Yesterday, however, I needed another legal form, available only from our local Housing Authority. Ours happens to be located on the very street where the bloody riots occurred three weeks ago. So, I had to walk through two protester barricades and three riot police lines! The barricades at City Hall look like the ones in “Les Miserables,” and the police had 13 bus loads of riot police with black helmets, shields and batons. This is NOT where I wanted to go, with my papers “not in order”!

 

Would you go through all that, just to get a piece of paper that OUGHT to be available on the web as a free download? Besides that, I had to push my way to the front of the line in the Housing Authority and talk the lady into giving it to me (in mixed Ukrainian and Russian)!

 

All of this process is simply to prove that I DO live here at THIS ADDRESS! Think about that, the next time you are standing in line, waiting your orderly turn at the U.S. Post Office, and see a free stack of “Change of Address” forms!

After looking for apartments for weeks, (our total came to 29 apartments), we decided on an apartment right in downtown Kiev, overlooking the street where the Orange Revolution took place in 2004. The sad part is that we had gotten rid of all our furniture, thinking we would rent a furnished apartment, and this one is unfurnished! So we have been furniture shopping, too! Please pray for all the deliveries, paperwork, visas, approvals, and contracts necessary to get us settled there. Our household goods are STILL in storage, so we are still living out of suitcases – since last October!

 

We are enjoying the hospitality of all our new teammates in Kiev, who have rolled out the red carpet to us, providing meals, transportation, and temporary housing. One sure way to become ‘part of the family’ is to move into their homes! We’re thankful to God for our new team!

 

Ministry has continued in the meantime, including two weeks of seminary, joining the choir, team meetings and cookouts, grading seminary papers, meeting local Korean missionaries, learning the public transportation systems, and exploring many areas of the city.

 

…And we haven’t even been back in Ukraine for a month!

 

Thanks for continued prayers. - Clay

Since January, we've traveled many miles. The flight home from Ukraine in January was the most wearying ever, including a 9 hour flight from Frankfurt to Houston. Once I returned, I preached in Yazoo City, we had medical work done, and we hit the road for a 2-month trip -- all within 5 days! Things just haven't let up.

Our Seminary Board meeting in Kyiv was the most encouraging ever. We dealt with the Budget and other serious issues, but the was a spirit of unity and cooperation, showing a real maturity in the leadership of the seminary.

We visited churches in Alabama, Tennessee, SC, Virginia, and we're now in Pennsylvania. After NJ and Philly, we head to Maryland, back to Virginia, NC, SC, and Georgia, before heading back to MS! Lord willing, we'll arrive just in time for my mom's 90th Birthday! We're hoping all our family can come celebrate. She's a wonderful woman of faith.

We've had some encouraging news this week. A couple of churches have pledged some additional support, and our MTW Staff is hopeful that we can return to the field in May. However, we still need $700/month at the present time.

This means we still need several financial partners at $50/month and $100/month. Please consider joining our Support Team! We need prayers as well as donations.

We are also raising funds for the seminary, and we are recruiting more professors for seminary! Thanks for your prayers for safe travel and for effective visits.

Yours for the Expansion of the Lord's Kingdom,

Clay Quarterman

On the Road again!

The Odessa church had a very nice send-off for us, praying for us in worship and then having a party for us in the ground floor of the church building -- the area we finally received back from the Actors Guild. It was deeply meaningful... and tearful. We will deeply miss them all.

We flew from Odessa on October 28th to Vienna, spent the night there and had snow the next morning. We flew to Frankfurt, then the long leg to Atlanta. We spent 3 days there in order to get our physicals and visit the MTW office. PTL, our physicals went very well!! Thanks for praying!

We then flew to Jackson, MS (via Houston, TX!!), arriving November 1st, and we FINALLY got to see Clay's mother our granddaughters, Kendra & Rivka! (ages 5 & 3) They are so cute! We also got to see our daughter-in-law Malaika in a professional performance of "Great Gatsby" at New Stage Theater and crash their cast party. Fun!

So far, in less than a week, we've bought a car, voted, spoken 3 times in churches, and made a report at presbytery! Whew!

...And we hit the road for Texas in just 2 days...

[More to Come]...

Our things are on their way to Kyiv! Our household goods will be stored there for 8 months while we travel about.

Please pray for us to find housing in the USA, and a dependable used car for our 6 months on the road! Our trajectory will take us to Dallas, Miami & Philadelphia!

It was our joy to visit the Kotovskogo (N. Odessa) church on Sunday. Clay preached, but Pastor George  then had prayer for us and shared how hard our move would be for them, too. We felt like Paul and the Ephesian elders on the beach in Miletus (Acts 20:36f). Tears of sadness and joy.