Happy New Year!

We hope that each of you had a wonderful time with your families… and that you didn’t gain too many pounds

This year holds lots of promise for us with the main change being our move onto living on support. Up until now, Courtney has been running his own company to provide for our family as we prepare to go. As of January 1 we are now beginning to live off of the generous and faithful giving of our partners. This frees us up to begin to devote 100% of our time and energy to getting out of here!

So when are we going?

Great question. There was a list of things that need to occur before we can
go:

1) Courtney needs to finish a seminary course (which he will finish in late
January)
2) We have to go through a 3 week orientation in Colorado (March)
3) We have to raise enough one-time giving for our actual moving expenses and startup expenses (which we have 96% raised or pledged)
4) We have to raise pledges that will cover our ongoing expenses. Currently we have on-going pledges for 60% of our needs.

Obviously it is this last requirement that is the key to setting a date for our departure (which we would love to be after our prefield training in late March).

So we would like to ask you this…. Please pray about whether you are called to be a part of this ministry that uses technology and the Internet to spread God’s love throughout Europe, especially Eastern Europe. If God has called you to be a part of this ministry in a financial way, please make a pledge. This pledge can be an ongoing annual, quarterly, or monthly giving. If you are already a financial supporter, please pray whether or not you would like to increase your pledge. Also, pray if you know anyone else or another church that would be interested in being a part of this ministry and help us to connect with them.

If you would like to submit a pledge, you can do it here https://www.gemission.org/supporting/faith.asp

If you are unsure but would like to hear more about our ministry, please email us at Courtney@RoesGarden.com so we can arrange some time to meet.

God Bless,
Courtney, Krista and Alex Roes
www.RoesGarden.com

From BBC.com - Ukrainians fear winter chill

We are watching the situation in the Ukraine carefully as Russia is looking at cutting off the Ukrainian natural gas supplies. The winters in the Ukraine are long and hard and most heating is done through natural gas. If the gas supplies run low or run out, then many in the Ukraine could literally freeze to death as other sources of heat are limited and more expensive.

eDOT is working hard in the Ukraine with several partnerships that are getting us access to implement eLearning Centers. Many of the 50 eLearning Centers that we are working on implementing in the next three years will be installed in the Ukraine. Through these learning centers, people will learn valuable computer skills that they would not have been able to get anywhere else. Utilizing these skills allows them to get the jobs that are available in the post-Soviet economy in the Ukraine. This will allow them to be able to afford the increases in natural gas prices that Russia is set to impose and so they can keep warm in the upcoming winters.

Please pray for the Ukraine that they may stay warm this winter and that we can implement many more eLearning Centers there so that they can obtain the much needed computer skills to secure the jobs that are evolving in the new Ukrainian economy.