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.