Home again

We made it back safely from Russia yesterday afternoon.  I apologize for not posting more blog entries, but we quickly discovered that doing VBS with only 5 adults was quite a challenge.  There was not much time in the evenings for posting!  As has been the case with the last two trips to Russia, I think I can say for the entire team that we were blessed beyond measure.  It was extremely hard to leave the kids and friends that we made while we were there.  Please pray that God will continue to work in the hearts of the people in Soltsi and Vibity.  God is just so amazing and we were able to see Him working while we were there.  I would like to ask everyone to pray especially for the kids who are staying at the orphanage right now.  It is not being used as an orphanage now, but as a camp where kids can stay for a couple of weeks.  We had one older boy, Sergei, who came to VBS from the other camp and was really searching for some answers.  Please pray that God will continue to work in his heart and that someone will be able to follow up with him.  We gave him a Bible to take with him and encouraged him to read it and study what God has in store for him. 

We made two new friends from Novgorod, Katya and Masha, who came and helped us with the singing.  We never could have accomplished what we were able to do without them as well as our translators, Sonya and Olga, and Leo who drove us wherever we needed to go.  I can't speak for everyone on the team, but for myself, I am so thankful that God put it on my heart to help serve the people in Soltsi and Vibity.  It is an honor and a privilege to work with the people there and to cement the relationships that have been started.  I can't imagine not having those we have met and become friends with in my life.  I am not very good with expressing everything that is in my heart, but I just thank God each and every day for giving me a heart for Russia missions and I am so thrilled that I was able to share this experience with my daughter this year.  She made some wonderful friends and everyone was so welcoming.  She is anxious to return again!!!!  Here are some pictures from VBS.  Please continue to pray for the church in Soltsi as well as the children and the men at the rehab center in Vibity.  Our God is so amazing!!!

Missions time

Singing praises!

Learning Bible verses

Craft time

More singing!

Pastor Sergei

Bible verses at Soltsi

Sergei is the boy in the green shirt.  Please keep him in your prayers.

Pastor Sergei speaking to the kids

Kids from Soltsi church

Dima, Sasha, and Leo.  Dima and Sasha are in charge of the rehab center.

Our traditional last day picture. 

Greetings from Russia!

From Stan - Greetings from Russia!  We’ve been busy doing two VBS’s and only a few of us here, but we wanted to give you an update on how things are going.  We have been doing VBS in the village of Vybiti  in the mornings, and then packing up and heading into the town of Sol’tsy for VBS there.  In addition to our interpreters Olga and Sonya, we have a couple of girls, Katya and Masha helping us with the singing (for which we are very grateful) and our driver, Leo, is sitting in on drums.  We have been having about 40 children and a few parents in Vybiti, and 10 children in Sol’tsy.  We’re heading into an important day tomorrow when on our fourth day of VBS, Pastor Sergey from the Sol’tsy church will give the gospel presentation.

In addition to praying that the gospel would be received, there are two additional specific prayers that you can offer.  It is difficult to get children to come to the church in Sol’tsy.  The children that are attending are from church families there, and when they invite their friends, the friend’s parents will not allow them to attend.  Pray for God to break down the cultural barriers that make them afraid of Protestant church teachings.

In Vybiti, we have had a couple of children that really seem interested and ask some good questions.  Pray that we will be able to make a connection and allow God’s message to come through clearly, so that they can understand that the answers they seek are in the gospel presentation they will hear tomorrow. 

The team is tired, but in good spirits.  It’s encouraging when we have some positive responses like those we’ve seen.  Tomorrow night, we will also make dinner for the guys here in the Rehabilitation Center, and Gary will be giving his testimony.

VBS Day 1

We had our first day of VBS yesterday.  This year we are doing VBS in Vibity first, so that is a little different from last year.  We had about 35 kids including a couple of new children, but we also had some parents and one retired Air Force captain join us which was such a blessing!  We are hoping to get to work on the Soltsi church today with whatever work they have for us to do after we finish VBS.  Stan taught the story of the Israelites Crossing the Jordan River and this year we added a missions segment to the VBS program.  Mike spoke about missionaries and what they do and encouraged the kids to become missionaries locally by telling their friends about Jesus.  It is always amazing and humbling to see God using us to do His work!  

Crafts!

Thankfully the weather is cooler than it was last year!

Stan led the children across the Jordan River

Our retired Air Force captain also plays guitar

Soltsi

Crossing the Jordan one more time

Sports.  We always pray that some of the kids who hang around the youth center you see in the background will come over to see what is going on at the Soltsi church

Pastor Sergei leading us in prayer 

Drinking from the spring in Soltsi

We made it!!

We made it to Russia with all of our luggage and minimal complications!  :)  We went to church in Novgorod on Sunday and sang a couple of our VBS songs in Russian.  Gary gave his testimony which was such a blessing to everyone who heard.  Today we will be decorating in Vibity and Soltsi to prepare for VBS tomorrow.  We already have our first VBS challenge as the weather forecast is calling for rain tomorrow and it seems as if we will be indoors.  Please continue to pray for the team as well as for the hearts of the children who will be coming that they will be open to the gospel message and that we will be open to whatever God has planned.

Hopefully we will have some pictures to post tomorrow.  With a smaller team this year, there has not been quite as much time for picture taking!!!!

Where has the time gone!!!!

I just cannot believe how fast the time has flown this year.  We leave for Russia in just about one month.  I went today with Elya to drop off our visa applications in Washington, DC.  Please pray that everything will go well and that we will be able to pick them all up safe and sound!!  We are gathering all of the final supplies that we will need to pull off two VBS's each day that we are in Vibity and Soltsi.  Please pray for our team members, for the children we will meet, for the adults we will encounter, and for the church in Soltsi and those that they send to support us on this journey.

Thank you to everyone who came out for our Russian dinner fundraiser.  I think I can say we all had a great time of food and fellowship and we are all so grateful that God has called us to go on this trip this year.  I know God has great things planned because Satan has been trying to get to each member of our team.  But our God is greater and He will guide our steps and set us exactly where we need to go.  I have to admit that I have lists everywhere so that we don't forget everything that we think we may need, but I was reminded tonight that even if we took not one craft or one decoration with us, God would supply everything that we would need to accomplish all that He would have us do.  I think my emotions have transformed from anxious to excited!!

If you are interested in joining us on the fantastic journey, we desperately need your prayers.  Just leave a comment and let us know you will be part of our prayer team.  We are also still taking monetary donations which will be used to support the projects that we will be doing in Russia as well as offsetting the cost of the trip.  We would love for you to partner with us on this trip and will keep you informed on what God is doing through our team.  Thank you so much for your support.

Thoughts on Russia

Russia - what do you think of when you hear the name?  For most of us in the United States, our first thoughts are of coldness - the cold winters, the Cold War, cold hearts of Communist leadership opposing our way of life.  Much of Russia's recent history has also brought about a spiritual coldness.  While 80% of the population professes to be members of the Orthodox church and therefore Christians, most of them rarely attend church, and their spiritual beliefs don't extend outside the church.  Non-traditional religions, including Protestant faiths, are considered to be cults.  Despite official freedom of religion, evangelizing is highly discouraged and even outlawed.  Yes, Russia is a cold place.

 

We will be there in the heat of the summer, watching people around us freezing to death, yet curtailed as to what we can do about it.  We need your help!  Please pray that we will be able to encourage the church there and suggest creative ways to evangelize in a non-threatening way.  Pray that our efforts in conducting VBS will continue to break down the negative feelings about Protestants in the children as well as their parents.  Pray that we will be able to demonstrate by our actions the importance of Jesus and His love for us, and not the importance of religion.

 

Our Vision:  To see Jesus exalted to His rightful place in the eyes of the Russian people

 

Our Objectives:  - To partner with the Sol'tsy church in VBS and other outreach 

                                  methods

                                - To demonstrate and teach Christ's love through VBS to the children 

                                  and their families

                               - To encourage and disciple the Sol'tsy church in the faith

 

Please keep the Sol'tsy church in your prayers and please keep our team in your prayers as we prepare to go on July 27th.  Pray that we would always be open to God's leading as we go.

Russian Dinner

Soltsi Russian dinner

When: Saturday, June 23, 2012

Where: FBCW Fellowship Hall

Time: 6:30 PM

Tickets: $20.00 per person

Please make checks payable to FBCW and

annotate Russian dinner in the memo

Dinner Menu

vRussian Style Ravioli with Bullion 

vPlov - Russian rice dish with meat

vSalad

vDessert: Russian coffee cake

If you are unable to attend but would like to make a financial contribution to the team, donations are greatly appreciated! Please make checks payable to FBCW and note Russia Mission Team on the memo line.  Donations can be placed in the offering plate or in the church drop boxes on both levels of the church.