Meet Mary Jean
March 31, 2010
Mary Jean Preece is a presence and a force at Stoneworks. We are very thankful that God has set her as a Living Stone with us. Here she shares about her connection with Stoneworks –
Since October 2008 I have been the Administrator for Stoneworks International. I have been married for 23 years to John, who is an architect, and we have two children, Anna and Jake.
I first became aware of Russian orphans sometime in the 1990’s when I read an article about their plight. After reading it, I was heartbroken; the situation was very sad. The article included photos of the typical orphanage showing baby beds lined up side by side like boxcars in a rail yard. Some of the children were standing with curiosity but showing no emotion while most of them were lying helpless in a bed.
The thought of no one there to interact with them, to hold them, rock them, or show them love was terribly sad for me. My heart struggled with wanting to do something for these forgotten children. Being a stay-at-home mother, I volunteered for several organizations: my children’s school, delivering dinners to the elderly through the “Meals on Wheels” program, and as a Girl Scout Leader; but the desperation of the Russian orphans still tugged at my heart.
Later one Christmas my family and I were at my parents’ home for the usual celebration. Out of the blue, my sister-in-law said, “have you heard what Mike Cantrell is doing?” When she told me that he was in Russia working with orphans, I felt a peace for the children. At least I knew someone that was helping them. Read more
MIR — Camp Elama
March 28, 2010
Camp Elama is slowly thawing out; Spring is here, yet the snows remain and the work preparing for the summer has begun. MIR has exciting plans for the summer.
Back in December Sergei and John laid foundations for two new buildings, and in May and June teams from Georgia and Mississippi will be building on those foundations and doing other prep work.
MIR has purchased a riding mower/lawn tractor which will allow for clearing much more land and creating hiking trails. Unfortunately, some items were stolen this winter so they are having to replace parts of the water system and a few tools.
Sergei Tovstapyat, camp administrator and general handyman, has begun building wood stoves in the cabins so the camp can be used for more of the year. You might also want to check out the new website for Elama.
This summer, in addition to hosting several churches at Elama, they’ll run their own camp for the first time. They plan to have 20 children, and they’re also hoping that some young ladies from the Minsk Family Home will come up from Belarus to help. Anya Kazak and Natasha Pavlova will be leading that camp.
It’s going to be a good summer at Elama.
Click here if you’d like to support MIR’s work at Elama
Minsk Family Home
March 27, 2010
Here’s a short video I made during our recent visit to the Minsk Family Home. As you can see, the home is full of life and joy. We had great fellowship and a great meal.
And here are the girls and Alesya. They really made us feel at home.
Good Days
March 25, 2010
We’ve just finished our Stoneworks retreat. We met near Tallinn, Estonia for several days. We shared meals, saw the sights, and were encouraged by fellowship.
This was the first time many people had met other Stoneworks affiliates and workers. We were very blessed by the unity we have and how much we enjoy each others’ company. Here is the whole crowd, Russians, Belorussians and Americans:
seated: Katie and Melissa Bull; Christina Melton — Montenegro; Mike and Olga Cantrell — Russia; Liz Hulley — Russia, Matthew and Mark Bull
standing: John and Karen Bull — Russia; Olga Goncharenko, Masha Goncharenko and Alesya Kuleshova — Belarus; Katya Plusnina and Masha Oshkina — Russia
And here is a picture Liz Hulley took –
People shared slide shows of their work; we had times of prayer, worship and teaching; most of all, we were able to spend time together and increase our sense of unity and common commitment.
And we got to see the sights. Here are Olga and Christina in the old town of Tallinn –
And some of us had good rest:
Stoneworks Retreat In Estonia
March 21, 2010
Many of the Stoneworks associates and workers are meeting in Tallinn, Estonia for our first annual ministry retreat.
Attending are Christina from Montenegro; Olga, Masha and Alesya from Belarus; The Bull family, The Cantrells, Liz Hulley, Masha and Katya from Russia; eleven adults and four children.
We’ll post more news soon, but for now here’s a picture that was taken today. Some of us went for a drive in the country. Here we’re overlooking the Baltic sea, west of Tallinn.
Revisiting Ruination
March 19, 2010
Liz Hulley writes –
Last week I commented on the idea of feeling “messed up” or “ruined” for God. The problem with this concept is that if taken the wrong way it implies that we should shun the ordinary moments in life and/or the people who don’t feel “messed up.”
You know, I used to feel very awkward giving my “testimony” because I felt that in order to have a great story, one had to have been living a life of tragedy or great sin in order to really experience deliverance. And now I realize that I need not feel anything but awe and thankfulness for having received the Gospel when I was young. There would be plenty of moments for the supernatural later on.
When we come across these ambiguous Christian terms, it’s always a good idea to return to the Bible. When we are always talking about divine appointments, spiritual attacks, hating the sin but loving the sinner, God being awesome, etc., it is easy to become lost in ambiguity. Read more
Do I Really Live Here?
March 16, 2010
From Christina Melton, in Montenegro –
Hey all!
I just had my first birthday in Montenegro, which was actually a little bit harder than I expected it to be. Christmas made me miss my American family. My birthday made me miss family AND friends in the states.
Thankfully I have my adopted Montenegrin family. The night before my birthday, Violeta and I went downtown for ice cream around midnight and walked around in the cold eating it.
That’s actually a good way to meet people– walk around eating food that is not seasonally appropriate.
Slavica made an amazing cake for me, and Violeta and Lazar (who both are a tremendous help when it comes to teenage ministry) set up a little surprise for me during our teenage meeting, after which we played “Who Wants to be a Millionaire: Bible Edition.”
I am thankful for Skype and the chance to talk to family and friends in the US, and for my Montenegrin family, and for even making it to the ripe old age of 24.
The weekend following my birthday, Violeta and I went to visit our friend Helena, one of the other college-age believers, in Kotor on the coast, where she is in University. The sun FINALLY came out after several days (weeks) of rain, and we probably walked about 10 kilometers total in the two days that we were there.
Helena has a beautiful view from her roof, so we drank lemonade and played some guitar there.
Some days I think, “Do I really get to live here?” Read more
No going back
March 11, 2010
from On Life in St.Petersburg by Liz Hulley
I like this thread by Motte Brown over at Boundless. He polls everyone about whether they’ve been “messed up” by a pastor, as in deeply convicted by a particular sermon, and moved to act.
While I can’t pinpoint a particular sermon, I can, of course, recall factors that changed my life.
“Ruined for the ordinary” is another phrase that gets tossed around, although I can’t seem to find the original source.
I can remember a few times when I wished I hadn’t ever gone to Russia or gotten involved. I was in too deep and I wasn’t sure if I liked that feeling.
I wanted to keep one foot planted on safe ground, but it was too late to go back. It wasn’t that it was bad, just overwhelming.
Since I was receptive to hearing about missions during college, I suppose Urbana 2003 would have held some of those sermons that “messed up” my life. I will have to find my notes again the next time I’m home. You can listen to some of the talks from that year in the archives.
Why is it that the messages that tear us apart the most often bear the most fruit in our lives?
The following verses come to mind:
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise. (Ps. 51:17)
Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.
He who goes out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him. (Ps.126: 5,6)
Working Together
March 7, 2010
Christina Melton writes from Montenegro –
Psalm 133 is all about unity and how pleased God is when His kids play nice together. It’s so good for us as believers to have to work with people who don’t look exactly like us.
There are so many small points where we can differ, and those minor things can easily lead to major arguments, which lead to hatred, mistrust, and gossip.
The last 2 weeks, we have seen brothers dwell in unity together, and there really is a blessing there!
This last Sunday, the Brethren Assembly church and the Pentecostal church (the only 2 evangelical churches in Podgorica) had a joint service. The church was full of people, including many that I had never met. I enjoyed worshiping with these people.
Our teenage meeting two Fridays ago also featured some diversity! Teenagers from Niksic (about an hour away) came to Podgorica and we all had a meeting together.
We sang together and had a teaching, and played games so that the teens would be more comfortable with one another. We played blindfolded musical chairs, which is why the picture resembles a hostage crisis. 
If we learn to work together with other believers in our lives here on earth, I think we will be less offended in the Kingdom when we worship next to people we didn’t like very much here. The world cannot understand the type of unity that we are called to as believers, but when the world sees it, they will know that there is power in the name of Jesus.
Revelation 7:9-10
“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’”
Revisiting domestic adoption in Russia and Eastern Europe
March 3, 2010
By Liz Hulley –
To be honest, I haven’t devoted a lot of time lately to researching the adoption/foster care scene in Russia. There was a time when I regularly sought information and was up on the latest laws and statistics.
We ran into a lot of seemingly dead-ends while trying to push for adoption in St. Petersburg. There were a lot of obstacles, such as the endless paperwork and the impossibility of providing a bigger home for each potential family. The law says that there must be a certain amount of living space per person, but offers no solution for obtaining such housing if the family’s income is too low. That’s one example. This is not to mention all of the emotional, psychological, and social implications.
As part of our research, we had traveled to Vladimir to learn more about a ministry there that had been fairly successful in “redistributing” children in families and group homes. But I was shocked as we got in the van the first day for the tour, and our guide, herself a Christian and former orphanage worker, told us, “I’m not in favor of adoption.” Read more
