A Word from the Man

Hello, my blogosphere friends. This post contains a copy of a post that my husband wrote on our family's ministry blog. If you've read this blog for very long, you know that we live and serve in Russia. We are thrilled to be here, but we can't stay here on our own. We are so thankful for faithful family and friends who help us stay here to do the work we are called to do! But before I say everything that Thomas put so well, I'll just let you read his post:

Dear Friends,

I’m sitting here in our apartment in Russia contemplating the last two-and-a-half years that we’ve spent in this country. It’s been quite a “ride” to say the least. The Lord has led us down many paths, some in valleys, some on the tops of mountains, but through it all we’ve been preserved and blessed in the love of Christ our Savior.

Now, we are settled here and, in many ways, we call this home. After many brain-deadening lessons, we achieved fluency in the Russian language, and now our days are taken up more and more by direct ministry, rather than with cramming grammatical rules.

We believe we’ve been called to this work. Since the first time I visited Eastern Europe in 2000, and then Ukraine in 2001 my heart was burdened for ministry in Russia. God led Cristy and me together with a common calling to serve here. And despite challenges along the way, we are here by God’s grace.

Doors are opening now. Some connections are fully established and others are being made. It’s been 18 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and in many ways a new generation of missionaries is entering the field in Russia. We came right at the beginning of that shift and in many ways feel like we’re pioneering a new era.

For the first two years here we lived basically free of any financial concerns as far as our support goes. This was a huge blessing to us, as it allowed us the freedom to focus on learning the language, establishing ministry contacts and settling our family. But this past year has brought many changes. We are fully aware that the recession has affected many, and are appreciative of this fact. This has subsequently affected our support levels significantly. While some new supporters have stepped in along the way, it has not compensated for those who no longer are able to give. As a result we are, in a sense, “hanging on” with our support. We are doing everything we can to adjust to this. We have cut back our expenses significantly, and are, more than ever, careful with our money.

As things stand right now, if we continue to receive the average amount per month that is coming in, we will have to leave Russia and return to the States soon. We have committed that we are never going to go into debt in order to stay here. We believe firmly that if the Lord wants us to stay that he will provide the funds necessary. We still feel very strongly called to continue working here, but we also believe that the Lord provides, and gives us wisdom to know the right paths to take. We will continue to cut back until we can cut back no more, but we will not rack up credit card debt in order to stay here.

So, here is what we are in need of. We are seeking 45 people who can commit to $25 per month. This will help raise our monthly support level to the necessary amount needed to continue serving in Russia.

For those who give already, we thank you. We are not necessarily asking you to give more. But we are prayerfully seeking new partners in this ministry. So if you can we ask that you please pass this information along to others who might be seeking to support missions.

I thank you for taking a moment to read this letter. Believe me, it’s not the most fun aspect of what we do here, but we recognize that it is necessary, and want to do our due diligence in regards to our responsibilities here on the mission field.

Pressing on,
Thomas

Helping Haiti

Some friends of ours in California are heavily involved with Compassion International, a non-profit Christian organization that helps make life better for children around the world. One country where they work is Haiti.

If you would like to help the relief efforts in Haiti, Compassion International can provide that venue for you! You can go to Compassion's Earthquake Response page to learn how to contribute directly through them if you would like.

For updates on the relief work and specific ways to pray, you can visit Compassion's page here where they are posting updates.

If you are in the States, you can also text "disaster" to 90999 to give $10 to Haiti relief funds. I believe this is going through the Red Cross.

Thank you for your prayers! May God be glorified!

A Little Out of Touch

Last week we were in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia (hence the lack of my normally crazy amount of posting).  It was cold.  We had a great time though.  We were attending the Russian field conference for our mission agency InterAct Ministries.  Basically we got together with the other InterActers here in Russia and talked about what we are doing, what we want to do, and how we can do things better for the Kingdom of God.

Amazingly, I didn't get very many pictures during the actual conference.  For instance Isaiah got to play with 3 other little boys all weekend, and I didn't capture a single moment!  Completely out of character for me and a little sad.

But here are some pictures that we did get:

Before almost everyone else left for an all-night train ride, we trekked up (in vehicles) to a really high point in the city of Krasnoyarsk.  A church on that point is actually featured on the 10 ruble bill, so didn't bother taking a picture of the church, though that would have been a nice idea.

Instead we got pictures of people:

Here's the whole gang.  See the other little people all bundled up?  It was really cold enough for them to be almost suffocated, we weren't just trying to avoid advice-giving, overprotective babushkas!  The family groups from left to right are Allen and Michelle Ketel (with Kaleb and Ethan), Lucas and Jamie Orner (with Samuel), Scott Gilbert, Dave and Kaye Henry, Sue Hague, Vanessa Greer, Jim Capaldo, and us (with Isaiah, of course).  [Go check out the links that I included.  The others' might have sites, too, but I don't know them, sorry!  If you know anyone's site, please fill me in!]

And here's Isaiah and me with Vanessa.  It was so cold I had to pull up my hood!  I'm really glad that I had that extra warm scarf from CA--who'd have thought a scarf from CA would end up in Siberia!

After we said some goodbyes on the top of that windy hill, Thomas, Isaiah and I headed to the hotel where we spent our last night.  Thankfully the evening was still young, so Isaiah and I could go play at this amazing ice park!

Yes, this is ALL ICE! (well, except for the people climbing around, of course)

I'm telling ya, those slides are FAST!

And this is the view from our hotel room.  Krasnoyarsk is a beautiful city with the river and hills.  It was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of St. Pete.  Most of all though we enjoyed the fellowship with our fellow laborers.

Oh Yeah! Something from January!

Well, for some reason I realized the other night when I couldn't sleep that well, that I hadn't told you about Camp Babochka!  I had asked for advice beforehand because I was supposed to help with the craft and I really had no idea what to do.  So now, at last, here's how it went at camp.

There was a special welcoming committee for the campers and their families.  The theme was fairy tales, so the counselors all dressed up in Russian fairy tale character costumes, mostly gnomes and fairies.  And apparently Snow White is a popular Russian character as well.

Even though the campers only see these counselors a few times a year, there is a close connection.  The parents stayed in a building nearby while the counselors took care of their campers overnight.  We learned afterwards that the parents were thrilled with the camp.  They want to do another one!  This is a big deal because none of the parents are believers, and this camp is clearly a Christian camp.  Anna, the director of the camp, has long wanted to have a ministry directly to the parents of the campers, and her prayers are beginning to be answered!

And here's the first day of the craft that I was in charge of organizing and directing--in Russian!  The first 3 minutes seemed to be going all right, then the next 15 minutes were utter chaos and I felt a bit terrified.  Then the amazing counselors really stepped up and things went very smoothly.

In the evenings we all joined in one large group and played games before the message was preached.

The second day some of the campers went outside in the FREEZING weather to play a game of hockey!  They had a great time!  I stayed inside, however, and helped some kids who didn't want to go outside with crafts.  Fewer kids and better preparation on my part made for a much more calm environment. :)

After the hockey game I gave a talk to the girls about table etiquette in preparation for their Christmas ball later that evening.  The girls were very patient with my Russian and asked some great questions.  We had a great time together, laughing (often at my language mistakes), chatting and just being girls.
Thomas, Isaiah and I had to leave early due to our flying back to the States and all, but we had such a great time!  I was thankful to actually have an active part in what was going on.  Thomas did a great job leading a small group.  Isaiah just plain had fun with all the other kids!  Thanks again for all your prayers!

To Help You Understand

Thomas wrote a great post about paperwork here in Russia.  To read it and have a good chuckle, check out siberiangrits, our family ministry website.

And thank you for all the suggestions so far about what to do with my material, keep them coming; I'll let you know when I start cutting!

Returning to the Park

Thomas, Isaiah and I returned to the park a few minutes before 3 this afternoon, hoping that the appointment would be kept.  Since I wasn't sure who would be meeting us, I was a little anxious and looking at every face very closely.  But before we even reached the park, we saw a woman with a little boy in a wheelchair coming towards us on the sidewalk.  As they got closer, my excitement grew because the boy was the same one whom I had seen the previous afternoon.

We made our introductions to Sveta and Gabriel and continued our walk to the park.  At first Sveta was like most Russian women when you first meet--all business.  She started telling us about the doctors that we needed to take Isaiah to see, the tests that they would need to run, and so forth.  Then Isaiah started to work his charm, and she started to warm up to us a bit.  We, well, Thomas, explained what we are hoping to do here in Russia, and she seemed very interested.  She told us about several services that are already available, that we knew nothing about.  She told us about "hospice", which in Russia doesn't have to do with terminal illness, but rather with helping invalids.  Her son receives hospice services, and she offered to call and see if we could receive them as well.

We exchanged information and invited them over for a future visit.  She asked me if we could walk together some time with the boys.  All in all, I think it was a very good meeting.  We're not sure about all the doctor stuff that she was telling us about, but we are excited about having our first contact in the community; hopefully someone who can help us learn and whom we can help as well.

Please pray for Sveta and Gabriel.  Please pray for wisdom for us to know the best ways to become involved.  And PRAISE GOD for how He is bringing us in contact with people!  He has been faithful (of course!) to literally put people in our path at just the right times as our language skills increase.  I love being able to see His hand at work.  

Spring in the Park

Well, it's been spring in Russia for 2 weeks.   Here spring starts on March 1, no matter what.  So we've had some snow, we've had some rain, we've had some sun.  Overall, it's starting to feel more like spring because the days are getting longer, and it's actually getting warmer, too!  The other day, I wore a t-shirt on under my jacket--no sweater, no turtleneck, just a t-shirt!  I felt so light and free!

Today Isaiah and I were celebrating the little bit of sunshine that I saw creeping out from behind the clouds.  We went to the park.  We were finally able to get to the playground equipment which had been surrounded by great ponds of water from all the melting snow.  He really enjoyed riding on the merry-go-round and the see-saw.  But the real highlight was when a huge group of kids came to play.  He laughed and laughed until he didn't make any sound. Forget the belly laugh--I love his "whole-body" laugh!

As we were about to leave for home, I noticed a woman with 2 boys come into the playground area.  One of the boys was in a wheelchair!  Since our time in St. P we have seen only 2 children in wheelchairs.  This was the first time that I had been close enough to talk to someone taking care of a child in a wheelchair.  We stayed a few more minutes, and I observed the lady and 2 boys.  I could feel my anxiety build a little as I knew that I HAD to talk to this lady!  She seemed really nice and caring towards the boy, so as they were leaving, I stopped her and asked if they lived nearby (a nice beginning, I thought, because I know how to say that!).  She was super nice!

As it turns out, she's friends with the boy's mother and helps out often.  I'm not sure of the boy's exact condition, but it was fairly obvious that he could not use his legs at all.  He seemed like a happy little boy, though, especially to be out and playing.  She wanted to give me either her phone number or the mother's phone number (I was getting a little confused at this point), but neither of us had a pen or paper, so we're meeting tomorrow (Saturday) at 3pm our time, which would be, um, 8am EST.  And this time I'm bringing Thomas, too, so we'll be able to communicate even better.

SO.....please pray that she'll come, that we'll be able to understand each other, and that this will help us get a contact in the community to begin some of the work that we've been longing to do. I can't tell you how excited I am at this moment!  When I came home from the park, Thomas was sleeping, and it took all my willpower not to go and wake him up (he really needed his rest).

And, when I can find my card reader, I'll show you some really great pictures of Isaiah playing in the park...stay tuned!

Paperwork Update

The reason we had to leave for a little while to go to Germany was in order to get our registration renewed in Russia.  We have visas that are good through mid-July, but our registration in the city of St. Petersburg was only for 6 months.  For those of you who have followed our family blog, might remember that a new law concerning visas in Russia was passed last fall.  The law, in a nutshell, is that people with business visas (which is what we currently have) can only be in the country for 90 days at a time.  After 90 days a person with a business visa must leave for at least 90 days before returning to Russia.  Along with that visa change came a registration change.  Rather than issuing 6 month visas, the Russian government is only issuing 3 month registrations. So when we returned to St. P, we were hoping that somehow we would be able to get 6 month registration again, but we did get only 3 month registration.  Our visas are still good, though, praise the Lord!  

We also think that we have a viable option for coming back in August (yes, we get to be in the States for about 6 weeks this summer!).  Thomas has contacted a language center that can facilitate our visas and registration.  We would be under student visas, which also get 1-year registration.

So, clear as mud, right?  Thank you for those of you who have been praying for us about these very confusing things.  We are thankful that God is continuing to make things clear for us in these strange situations!

A New Part of our Ministry

In all the activity and excitement of getting ready to go to Berlin, I forgot to post about something very important!  Part of what we hope to do in Russia is develop a ministry to people with disabilities, specifically at first children with disabilities.  As our language skills have developed we have been able to begin to look into this area of ministry more.  One of the first things that we (particularly Thomas) has started is a new website about the work that we hope to do.  

We have named the ministry Isaiah International in honor of our sweet Little Man and because of the passage in Isaiah 35:6 that prophesies about the lame walking and being healed.  We would love for you to check out the site at www.isaiahinternational.org.  There will also be a permanent link on my sidebar whenever you would like to visit it again.

Please join with us in praying for direction for this new ministry and for the people to whom we hope to minister.