The Never-ending story...

Dear Praying Friends, 

Thank you so much for praying that we would be able to fly to the USA this weekend! We all went to the hospital to get our Covid-19 tests done, and the kids all came up negative. But Elina and I were both still positive, just a bit - enough to keep us from flying. Sigh.

I have to admit, it was really hard to get that news. We've lost count of the number of times that our tickets have been changed, and it sometimes feels like we'll never get to America.

Then we started counting our blessings. Elina's family is so happy to have us here. They are thankful for the time they get to spend with us, and we are too. We are all feeling very healthy now. We can feel safe when we travel, because we've all had Covid-19! Also, the airlines have been very, very flexible with us, and we have had almost no extra cost for this latest change.

And we are thankful for your prayers. Even when God doesn't  answer "Yes", we know He is listening, and He cares. He knows the perfect timing, and He is giving us His "peace that surpasses all understanding" - thanks to your prayer and petition, with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6-7). We ask you to pray for our new dates: Fly to the big city on June 7, and fly to America on June 8.

We will try to make the most of our time here, and we very much look forward to giving you good news, sooner or later!

Shalom in Christ,
Scott, Elina, Linus, Jane and Livy Turner

Trying to Persevere

Dear Praying Friends,
 
Today is the day we would have flown to the capital city, and we’d be flying to the USA tomorrow…sigh. The good news is, we have new flights booked for Saturday and Sunday next week! So far, the tickets are still good. Please pray that we can fly on 15-16 May as planned. This would mean that A) our tickets are not postponed again, and B) none of us test positive for Covid-19.

As we wrote last time, Elina and I tested positive about a week ago, and the kids had some symptoms as well. We are all feeling much better now, though we’re not at 100%. By next week, when we plan to fly, we will no longer be contagious. However, people who have Covid-19 can test positive for up to 90 days(!). Please pray that we will test negative - we really want to go!

Thank you for your prayers and notes. They have been a comfort during this frustrating time. We are counting our blessings, among them:

- Improving health
- Elina’s family being gracious hosts through all of this
- Weather that is cooler than normal for the season
- We sincerely hope to see you soon!

Blessings,
Scott, Elina, Linus, Jane and Livy Turner

Dear Praying Friends,

Yesterday, we got an email saying that our flight to America was cancelled! This is at least the 3rd time this has happened, so I wasn't too worried. The airline we're flying with is giving free re-bookings when there is a change in itinerary. 

However, it wasn't just a difference of a day or 2, it was a difference of weeks.  The next available flight is on May 8th, and we were scheduled to fly on April 19th. Elina's home country is experiencing a surge in Covid-19 cases - though thankfully, not in her home state, where the numbers are still quite low. The national government has decided,  therefore, to stop international flights for a few weeks. Sigh.

Please pray that there would not be another delay, and that we'll be able to return on May 8. It's not horrible, but it is a challenge to be in transition for so long, and not know how long it may last.

Life at Elina's sister's house is going pretty well. The food is tasty, there are lots of family and relatives to spend time with, and I'm teaching Elina how to drive a stick-shift. On the downside, mosquitos! Livy has got bites all over. Electricity is sporadic, so it's hard to stay cool in the heat sometimes, and hard to cook, etc.

Also, the kids have to take online exams, with unreliable power and slow internet, and it's late at night because of the time difference with the USA. Jane is done, and we think she did fine. Linus is next week - please pray for electricity (and batteries) to last, and internet to work well enough for him.

Thank you for praying. We look forward to letting you know what God does!

Blessings,
Scott, Elina, Linus, Jane, and Livy

Dear Praying Friends,

By God's grace, and with your prayers, we have reached Elina's family home! It was a very long 2 days, but we have so much to be thankful for. Here's how things went:

Monday, 2:45 AM: Elina and I get up, eat a little food, and start loading the 15-passenger van we hired, with help from the driver and some Chrstian friends.

3:50 AM - On the road 10 minutes ahead of schedule! Hoping to reach the national border by 2-3 PM, for a smooth cross-over.

11 AM - We learn that foreigners with our type of visas are no longer allowed to enter Elina's home country by land - we are required to fly. The rule changed the night before, and we found out about 6 hours into our road trip. We decide to pray and forge ahead.

1-2:30 PM - the van's tire blows out - completely shredded. We wait by the road while our driver goes to buy a new tire, etc.

2:30 - 5:45 PM - We reach the international border, 15 minutes before it closes. 

5:45 - 7:45 PM - We frantically work to see if Elina's home country will let us enter or not, if they will let us bring the van across to transfer our luggage to another van, while our poor kids are stuck waiting around. With lots of help from new friends and accommodating border officials, we enter the country legally - my first time in almost 10 years!

After that, we still had about 16 hours of road travel. It was tiring but uneventful. Some motion sickness, some traffic jams, but we finally arrived at Elina's sister's home at about 4:30 PM on Tuesday.

We knew before we started the journey that things might not go as we planned, and they certainly didn't. We're so thankful you prayed! There was a very good possibility that we would have been sent back "home", having wasted 2 days of wearying, mountain travel, and having to book a flight, re-figuring out how to store or move our things. 

This was the most challenging part of our life-transition. In about a month, we fly to the USA. We'll invite you to pray for that too, though we're not too worried about that one!

Thank you so much for praying us through!

Blessings,
Scott, Elina, Linus, Jane and Livy

Great Expectations
Dear Praying Friends,

I had hoped by now to tell you that Dan and Reba are settled in a house or apartment, but it is not so. Reba's due date is July 10th - tomorrow! And they still do not have a place to stay.

God provided funds for them to build a little house on rented land, but by the time they went to rent it, it was already planted with rice. All the other open land is also planted, so they have to wait to build.  At the same time, they're still having trouble finding landlords who will rent to them. When they hear about the baby, they say "no". Please pray that they will find a suitable place to live for the next 4 months or so.

My (Scott's) visa expires on Saturday. We have these great 5-year visas, but my passport expired, and when I got a new one, I had to get the visa renewed as well. Everything went smoothly when we did this for our 3 kids, but now for some reason they aren't sure if they should renew mine. Please pray that they will grant me a renewed visa before mine expires two days from now!

One more thing: our lawyer in the country where I am banned is going to court again tomorrow - well, "Zoom court", anyway. I don't know what will happen, but please pray that God will move the judge in my favor. Thank you so much!

We will let you know how everything turns out. God is in control, and God is not surprised. We will trust in Him.

Blessings,
Scott, Elina, Linus, Jane and Livy

Visa Wars: A New Hope

Dear Praying Friends,

Many of you may have read in our last newsletter that we were hoping to be able to return to E's birth country as a family. I (S) have not been allowed in that country since 2012. Very recently, we have contacted a Christian lawyer there, "Phil",  who has successfully helped others with similar visa troubles.

There are several things that Phil will do for us. First, he will seek to discover whether I am still banned or not. Second, he will find out whether my 15-year visa has been cancelled or not. Third, if the ban remains and/or my visa is cancelled, he will argue in court that those actions were unjustified and fight to get the ban removed and my visa re-instated.

Phil has won cases like ours, arguing that the government of this country has banned people on false grounds, with no evidence, and against their own laws. He can't guarantee a win, of course. That's where prayer comes in!

Please pray with us, that:
- God will grant success to Phil in his efforts on our behalf
- The courts will decide justly, according to their own laws
- I may know that I can (or can't) enter E's birth country within about a year, so that we can act accordingly before our furlough in about June 2021. It would be so much easier if we could start furlough knowing clearly which direction God is taking us.

We leave it all in God's hands. Thank you so much for your regular prayers for us and our ministry. We hope to have good news to share in future updates. Happy New Year!

Blessings in Christ,
S&E T