Reflections

How does one write a summary of a multifaceted experience?  I think it is impossible, but I am going to try to use my rambling words to give those of you who prayed for me and supported me a little glimpse of what God did in Russia and the things He taught me.

There were seemingly two parts to this internship.  In one sense, I was there to serve and help wherever there was a need.  I was there to support the missionaries and the local church by using whatever gifts God has given me to help with their summer ministries.  This included planning and doing crafts, kayaking with teens, helping with games at camp, mopping floors and cleaning, partaking in informal hang-out events to draw youth in to the Church, and trying to live out and demonstrate the Gospel to the Russian people.  The other part of the internship was being a student.  I was there to learn by asking loads of questions, observing, reading, praying, and immersing myself in the culture.  Dan and I spent a lot of time praying and talking about our future in Russia.  We have been seeking out whether or not that is somewhere God wants us to be.  Being in the position of a learner also meant God taught me a lot of lessons.  Through various experiences like getting sick, getting lost, missing my Grandma's funeral, and being stuck in the Moscow airport for two extra days, God stretched me, guided me, comforted me, and restored me.  I learned so much more about His faithfulness, love, and sovereignty over every situation.

It has been incredible to see how God took these two portions of the trip and used them with each other for His perfect plan.  As He stretched me and took me out of my comfort zone, I was able to find out I could serve and survive in situations I never thought were possible.  In this way, I was able to be a better helper.  On the other hand, as I was trying to help more and serve, I continued learning lessons about myself, Russia, and God.  There was a lot of conviction of pride, lack of trust, selfishness and fear that was mingled with gratitude for God's ability to teach me, grow me, and allow me to still serve despite those sins.  God is a wonderful God who uses our filthy rags and turns them into something for His glory and kingdom.  It has been an incredible journey to experience this and watch it happen.

Thank-you for your prayers and support.  I definitely could not have done this trip had it not been for the people who financially supported me, encouraged me, and prayed for me.  God is doing wonderful things in Russia.  People were brought into the family of God, lives were changed, Christians were refreshed, and future plans for Dan and me were solidified even more.  I ask that you continue to pray for the country of Russia and for the missionaries and believers there as they continue to do God's work.

As for Dan and I, we are now looking ahead to these next few years that hold marriage, graduate school, and perhaps some support raising to go the country we have fallen in love with :)

Tambov

Full Moon over the city of Tambov

Waving goodbye to our friends at the train station

Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow

Back in Red Square

Such a blessing to be a part of this team

My roommates/supervisors/translators/etc. 

The first day our flight was cancelled.  Sitting in the Moscow airport.

Our two cancelled flights ended up leading us to the Swiss Alps as we made a connection in Geneva.

Enjoyed a wonderful week at the beach with family after returning. 

Condense.

These past two and a half weeks have been filled with many ups and downs, and all that is in between.  There have moments of intense joy and praise, like during invitation night at camp when many of the campers made a decision to follow Christ, and moments of intense grief and pain, like losing my Grandma during my time at camp.  Here are a few of the noteworthy ways in which God has been at work in my life and in Russia.

Camp was an incredible experience.  Nastia ended up attending (see previous blog post), and she brought another friend along with her.  It was so fun getting to build more of a relationship with them throughout the week and have some spiritual conversations.  Please pray that they continue to meditate on the Gospel message that they heard at camp.  We plan to meet with them one more time before we head to Moscow on the 4th.  Here they are on the final night of camp enjoying the bonfire.  

Remember the girl I shared about with the difficult home life?  The pastor of the church here decided that although she was too young to attend camp, she would come and stay with the workers to get away from her home life.  She helped me with crafts all week and it was great getting to have fun with her.  On the last night of camp, she repented and stepped into the family of God.  Praise God that she understood the Gospel and has now been adopted into His family!  Thank-you for your prayers regarding this sweet girl.  Please continue to pray that this commitment takes hold in her life and that she is able to impact her family for Jesus.  

Camp was very busy and tiring.  Dan taught guitar and frisbee gold, Aaron taught English lessons and a low ropes course, and I taught kayaking and crafts.  Dan and Aaron were also asked to be a part of the morning and evening worship band with Dan on drums and Aaron on guitar.  We helped out with the daily camp games like relays and capture the flag and spent our free time preparing for scavenger hunts and playing UNO or Dutch Blitz with the campers.  Throughout all of this, God gave us the energy we needed, and it was so worth it to see some of the campers receive Christ as their personal Savior on the last night of camp.  God did great things, and we feel so privileged that we got to witness Him at work.  Please continue to pray for the campers, that they would grow in their new relationship with Christ and that they would be a bold witness to others.  

Roasting meat at the bonfire on the last night of camp. 

I got to do this twice a day every day.  Can't describe how happy this made me.   

One of the campers. 

Some of these girls are the worker's kids.  The girl on the far left side of the picture was a young camper.  This was taken not long after she repented!

Another unexpected thing happened while I was at camp. My Grandma went to be with Jesus after a battle with Alzheimers. While I would have never chosen to miss the funeral of a woman who made such a big impact on my life, I know that this was part of God's ultimate plan. She was perhaps my biggest encourager and prayer warrior for missions, and I know I would not be in Russia now had it not been for her constant support and prayer. God was so gracious in giving me peace beyond understanding and a close sense of His presence through the grieving process. I have been so blessed to have a Grandma like her and I am rejoicing that she is now with Jesus in glory. This picture was taken a week before I came to Russia, on their 60th wedding anniversary.

Well, this was my attempt to condense things into a short blog post.  God has done wonderful things here, and our team has loved getting to experience them.  We have a couple more days in Tambov before we head up to Moscow on the 4th.  In Moscow we will do some tourism before flying home for debriefing in Michigan on the 6th.  Thank-you for your prayers.  Please keep praying for Russia.  God is expanding His Kingdom.  To Him be the glory! 

Half-Way Point.

It has been another busy week of planning and preparation work for camp.  Here is a quick rundown of the youth camp details.

• July 23rd-August 1
• 70-90 campers between the ages of 14-21
• Believers and nonbelievers
• Evangelism and discipleship
• Located in Lipetsk, Russia
• Our team (Dan, Aaron, and myself) will be doing crafts, teaching English, teaching guitar, helping with sports and activities, sharing our testimonies in the different campers' tents at night, and other random errands.

We have continued building relationships with the orphanage graduates and the young teenage girls the missionary here knows.  Some of the orphans have expressed serious interest in coming to camp, and a few of the teenage girls are in the process of signing up.  Tonight we met with the young girls one last time before camp (we leave for Liepetsk on the 17th to begin more prep work for camp).  It was so encouraging to see how their hardness has softened and we now have a friendly relationship with them.  They are more open to laughing with us, asking us questions about God, and giving us hugs.  This is the picture we took tonight after we invited them to the church for the first time and hung out.

Please pray for Tania, Nastia, Lina, and Kristina.

We have also had time this week to hang out with the Russian believers and play with their kids, and babysit for two of the missionary families here so their parents can have a night of rest.  Tomorrow I have been invited to go to a river walk with a Christian peer.  She is invited her friend who does not know Jesus and who wants to practice her English with me.  Please pray that we have good conversation and that she understands the Gospel.  

I know this has been a detailed rundown of this past week, but it may be my last update until after camp (2 weeks from now) due to a lack of internet when we leave Tambov.  In light of that, I am going to share one last story, and ask that the body of Christ would lift up this sweet girl in prayer.  

This girl came to family camp as a guest with a family from the Church.  She is 11 years old and has endured a lot in life.  I am not going to share her entire story, but she has witnessed drugs, alcoholism, family members in and out of jail, and a completely absent father.  The government is now trying to determine if she would be better off in an orphanage, which would whisk her away from the missionaries here who have gotten to know her, and the church here that is involved in her story.  Pray that her home is infiltrated with the peace of Jesus and that there would be advocates here for her to determine what is best for her.  Pray that she is able to understand the Gospel and that God draws her to Himself.  God hears the prayers of His own, and He surely answers.  

Speaking of prayer, I also ask that you continue to pray for youth camp.  Pray that lives are changed by the Gospel and that believers are able to grow and mature in their faith.  Thank you for the ways you have been praying.  If I had time, I would write about all the ways God has been answering your prayers, because we have seen Him at work in wonderful miraculous ways here!  Here are a few more fun pictures. 

Pretty area right outside the city of Tambov. 

Russia is a beautiful country. 

Sweet girls at the Church. 

Yasha and Sasha

Uno, so much Uno!

до свидания!

Building Connections

It has been a great week in Tambov.  We have spent time getting to know the rest of the missionary team here, finished a lot of planning for youth camp, and done relationship building with youth in the area.

Due to reasons beyond our control, the outreach in the villages has now become outreach here in the city.  Instead of going to the villages for 10 ten days, we will be in Tanbov doing some similar things.  We trust this is all part of God's plan.  Here are some glimpses into what we have been up to this past week.  

On Wednesday night, our team went with some of the missionaries to a dormitory.  The guys starting throwing a football around and I stood by praying and waiting for some girls to show up.  It didn't take long for some people to start coming out of the dorm to play football.  A young girl came out as well to hang out.  This dorm, however, is different from the dorms in the States.  It is the dorm where the government houses the orphan graduates who are going through trade school after "graduating" from their orphanage.  During the summer, they stay in the dorm because they have no family to go home to.  It was a joy to be able to spend time with this young woman (Alina) and start building a relationship.  We plan to do the same thing next week, and I hope Alina comes back.  Please pray for her, that we would be able to show her the Gospel and that she would show an interest in coming to youth camp.  Dan and I especially were so excited to experience this kind of ministry for the first time, and we are continuing to pray about how God might use us in orphan graduate ministry in our future.

Last night, we went over to a missionary's home for dinner.  She invited some of the young teenage girls she has been getting to know over the past few years.  We had a meal with them, and then taught them the game of spoons.  Even with the language barrier, we all had such a fun time laughing and hanging out.  It was wonderful to hear that one of the girls has now committed to going to camp, and is even urging some of her friends to join her.  These girls do not know Jesus and we are praying that they understand and embrace the Gospel through youth camp.

Please pray over this next week that we would continue to build relationships with people.  Pray that God would shine through us so the Russians can see the Gospel and want to know more about it.  Pray that the youth would have a desire to come to camp, and that the process of getting their parent's permission would be effortless (Christianity is viewed as a cult here and often looked down upon).  Thank you for your prayers!  Our team cannot wait to see how God works at youth camp and in the preparatory work leading up to it.  

A Week in Russia

We are in Russia!  The traveling process went smoothly.  Dan and I got to see the sunrise over the mountains in Greenland from the plane (Aaron was on a different plane), and it was such a beautiful depiction of God's majesty.  When we arrived in Moscow, we had to wait until our evening overnight train to the city, so we toured the city.  

Taken after over 24 hours of traveling.  Keeping our eyes open. 

The morning our train arrived in Liepetsk, camp began, so we hit the ground running.  It was a family retreat camp, meant to encourage and give rest to the pastors in the area.  Christian families were able to spend time having fellowship with each other and taking a break.  Dan, Aaron, and I helped out wherever help was needed, and have loved learning more about the culture and language.  We got to play with the kids, clean, organize crafts, and other random projects.  It was such a joy to be able to give these families (especially the parents) a week of physical and spiritual rest and rejuvenation in the Lord before they go back to their jobs.  The three of us were also blessed in seeing the joy of the Lord in these families, and getting to know them.  While the week was physically, emotionally, and spiritually stretching, there is not a doubt in any of our minds that this is where the Lord wants us right now, and we are enjoying Russia so much!

Some of the teenage girls at the camp.  They helped me with my Russian and I taught them some English.  This called for a lot of charades and laughs.

We are now in Tambov for 4 days of rest.  From here we will go into the villages for 10 days to do evangelism outreach.  Please pray that the Gospel will be proclaimed in truth as we go to these villages.  Pray for the Russian believers as they leave camp and go back to their lives, that they may be strengthened in the Lord.  Pray for health, strength, and joy on our team (there is already some sickness going around).  We cannot wait to see how God allows us to be a part of what He is doing here in Russia!  

One week.

It's hard to believe that a week from today, our team of three will be on a plane to Moscow.  I'm going to jot down a few things for anyone who wants to can be praying about as we prepare to leave.

• The attendees of the three camps we will be helping with (Youth English camp, youth discipleship camp, and family camp).
• The believers in the cities we will be going to, and the missionaries who are already there and who spend their lives dedicated to that region and those people. 
• The bonds of alcoholism and depression in the region. 
• The Gospel to establish light, hope, and peace to a dark land.
• All of the necessary preparations for our team as we go (buying all of the necessary craft supplies, the paperwork, and most importantly, spiritual preparation). 

"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." 

The Contents of Prayer.

 "Our prayers for the evangelization of the world are but a bitter irony so long as we only give of our superfluity and draw back before the sacrifice of ourselves. " by M. Coillard in On the Threshold of Central Africa.  Influenced Amy.

I'm currently reading through Elisabeth Elliot's biography of Amy Carmichael (missionary to India), entitled A Chance to Die.  Something that has struck me as I have read this book is Amy's intense dedication to prayer.  Surprising, her letters home were not filled with all of the victories won on the field; but rather, all the sorrow.  In these stories of sorrow, she earnestly beseeched her friends and family at home to pray, because she believed in its power.  The contents of her prayer requests have been rather surprising to me.  Instead of primarily asking people to pray for her strength, health, peace, etc, she asked them to pray for the country, the people, the lost, the spiritual warfare, and the like.  She was so focused on the greater missions of bringing glory to God that all of her concerns and needs were overshadowed and swallowed up by the greater need of reaching the lost and discipling them into being mature believers in Christ.  She was intently focused on her purpose, so much so that she truly did sacrifice her needs and even her prayer requests so that other needs and prayers could be lifted up on behalf of God's ultimate purpose.  It is with this in mind that I include this quote from the book.  It was a quote that Amy counted as very dear to her, and she truly did model self-sacrifice.

This book has taught me that I spend far too much time praying for myself, and thus allow the needs of the world to be put on my secondary prayer list.  Prayer for others must be primary, and I am sure one will find personal growth and personal peace when one does practice self-sacrifice. In light of this, I have a request.  Please, pray for Russia.  Pray for the students, children, and families my team will be working with.  Pray for the believers there - that they would be discipled, and would thrive as a visible body of Christ to the Russians.  Pray that the light of Christ pervades the hurting country of Russia.  Pray.