Hello Everyone,
Greetings
to you all in the name of our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!! We are
finally sending out this update after several very busy weeks of
personal business and ministry activities. We will start with the ministry
related things.
We just
celebrated a wonderful Easter together with the churches of Prishtina
which included a joint Good Friday Service at which Mark delivered a
message on the demonstration of "God's love at Calvary" and then again a
joint Easter Sunday service after which the CC family gathered at our
church facility for a wonderful ham lunch prepared by Celeste. It was a
great time of food and fellowship!!
A few weeks ago we had a wonderful time with the CC Bible College from
Montebelluna, Italy as we toured the locations visited by the Apostle
Paul in Northern Greece which included Philippi and Thessaloniki. At
each location Mark shared messages from the accounts recorded in Acts
16-17. We ended our trip with our visit to St. Luke's hospital for
Celeste's cancer treatment which also went very well. Recently Celeste
had a complete CAT scan and the doctors reported that her cancer remains
in complete remission!
And
the week before we had our brother Steve Coon back again from
California who did a week of evangelism with several members of our
fellowship including Mark. We had a number of people who responded
openly to the Gospel message with whom we engaged in good conversation.
And
the week before that we had the Joint Kosovo-Albania National Assembly
for the Evangelical Alliances of both countries held in Duress, Albania
attended by our member churches from all over the region. We enjoyed a
great time of worship, fellowship, prayer and teaching. Its exciting to
discover what God is doing in the different areas through different
ministries. We now have over 40 member churches and organizations here
in Kosovo. I am now in the third year of serving on the board of pastors
for the Alliance and it truly has been an rewarding experience.
With our coming furlough beginning April 22nd Mark has been getting things prepared such as the teaching schedule and
other things related to practical ministry. We will have Pastor Larry
Andersen from Phelan, CA coming for several weeks in May to minister to
our CC church family here in Prishtina.
On
the personal level we have been quite busy dealing with the renewal of
our residency permit which we finally got finished and approved by the
ministry of internal affairs. Also on top of that Mark had to do our
vehicle registration. These things required quite a bit of running
around so we are relieved to finally have it past us!!
And so we will be taking off from Prishtina early on April 22nd
for a three month furlough which will begin with a month in the Bay
Area of California, and then a month in New Mexico, and then ending with
a month in So. California till we leave to return to Kosovo on August 3rd.
We are looking forward to time well spent with family, friends, and
supporting churches. It has been almost three years since our last
furlough so it is well over due. We hope to connect with many of you
during our visit in the US.
Thanks again for your prayers and support!!
By His Grace,
Mark, Celeste, and Isabella
Here are some things to keep in prayer.
God's blessing and protection upon our fellowship while we are gone.
The members of our church that they will continue to grow and be strengthened in Christ.
The Adam family who have been battling the flu and pneumonia.
Lirak and Suela and for their baby boy which is due to be born in August.
And that Lirak to be able to find work.
The ministry to the US service members serving here in Kosovo.
God's continued provision for both our personal and ministry needs.
A blessed and refreshing time during our three month furlough in the US.
Check can be mailed to: Calvary Chapel Las Vegas, P.O. Box 3235, Las Vegas, NM 87701 or you can go on-line to www.calvarylv.com and under resources menu there is an on-line giving option for one time or for auto giving every month. You will need to use the "designated gift" box and designate it for Mark and Celeste Yocom
