A peculiar people

Most of those we meet at the university or who attend our English classes can still not quite understand why we are here. Even though we have answered the question 'why are you here' many times, it still doesn't connect. Why would someone travel all the way from the US to Russia to and have an English course which is free? You are peculiar!

But that is exactly what our Lord calls us to be, a peculiar people. We are to be different, and noticeably different as we let the love of Christ shine through us. As we are here in Murmansk we pray that what people will remember is that one difference, that we follow the Son.

Our classes were off just a little bit last night, we had about 70 attend in the evening. Our classes in the afternoon are relatively consistent with around 20 attending. We thank God for allowing us to continue to meet with our friends each day, and for the openess which He has allowed in our interactions. Please pray for wisdom each day as we seek to have the right words to teach and to share God's great love.

It has been a little colder the past couple of days, around minus 20 to minus 25 Celsius. But fortunately we are only outside for a little bit at a time, and it has not been a problem. No snow falling, just bright, brisk days.

Today is our last day at the university, and we have had several of the students come to our classes at the evening. We thank God for this opportunity to bring more people to our classes that will have the opportunity to hear us share.

They keep coming!

Our students are so faithful, they keep coming each day to our lessons. One lady makes a two hour drive in to the city, just for our lessons. God has given us a great gift to share with our friends here, the simple ability to speak English. Our hope is that many of you will see how grateful our students are for our coming here to help them learn or improve their English skills. You can have a huge impact by sharing your time with them, and you need no special training. If you speak English, you are qualified! As you read how the Lord uses this gift to allow us to share His Gospel, we pray that you will consider investing part of your life in spreading the Good News here in Murmansk.

Elizabeth has been such a great help on our trip. She makes friends very easily, and has been a big hit with all the ladies! The picture here shows her as our model for displaying parts of the body. The class got a big kick out of taping the names of the body on the appropriate place!

The other picture shows the city as we walk downhill from the church. Please pray for the great city of Murmansk. Pray that the entire city would be caught up in a great awakening to the Love of Christ. Pray for lives to be changed as people hear that God loves them.

Our schedule is packed!!

I must apologize for not updating the blog yesterday. We have so many opportunities that our schedule barely leaves time for sleep! Our days consist of sharing at a local university from 9 until 1, teaching our English course at the church from 2 to 5, then teaching the English course at the hotel from 7 until 10. We are blessed to have so many contacts with people and opportunities to build realtionships, but I think the team is considering mutiny.

Our time here has been so good, and we have already seen peoples perceptions of Christians change. One of our interpreters said that some young men came up to her after the English class and said they were surprised to find out she was a Christian. They said 'you look and act normal'! They were surprised to discover that as Christians we don't spend all our time dressed in black with a very somber mood and praying in front of icons. This type of change of perception is one of things we want to accomplish, so that the people here will be more open to hear us tell our story and to share the Gospel.

Please pray for us as we continue our teaching. The relationships we build this week will have a big impact on how our testimony is received. Pray for us to have a restfull sleep each night. Pray for protection from the evil one as we travel and share. Pray now for our Friday classes, that everyone will return, and that their hearts will be prepared to hear the Truth.

I am so thankful for our team here. Everyone is so committed and has a great attitude, even in the face of little sleep and no time to sit and eat a meal. They are a blessing to me, and I know to our friends here.

Exceeding, abundant, more than we ask or think...

We had an amazing response to our English course, with over 100 responding!!! This is an amazing number for us, but a true answer to prayer. The Lord has used this as a way to confirm to us and our friends here that He is in this work. This huge response is calling for changes in logistics, as we had planned on having the meetings at the church. However, the church can not accomodate this large number. You can see from our pictures that we will be challenged even having the meetings at the conference room. Our plan B is to now have two sessions of classes, a three hour session in the afternoon from 2 until 5, then another session in the evening from 7 to 10. We will have the afternoon session at the church and the evening session at the conference room at a local hotel.

Please pray for the following,

1. That all that came to our registration will come to our classes through the week.

2. For physical stamina for us as we teach and travel between locations.

3. For wisdom to know how to best arrange logistics for our classes in order to most effectively teach.

4. For us to be able to quickly build relationships with so many, and for the Holy Spirit to direct our thoughts and words.

We will have opportunities to work with students in a local university on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. This will mean pretty full days, but more opportunities to share. We have been in this university many times over the last several years, and have developed good relationships with the faculty and students. We look forward to seeing new students and connecting with friends.

We are reminded once again that it is the Lord that is in control and that only through the Holy Spirit and His strength that any good work will be done. We are in awe of our God, and good He is. Pray for our spiritual strength and protection as we seek to tell about Him. We pray that all we do will honor Him and bring glory to His name.

Great Sunday at worship!

We made it in to Murmansk late last night, and got in our beds at the hotel a little after midnight. Met with the IMB guys at breakfast, then went to Golgotha Church for worship. It was great to be with this congregation of believers. They shared with the church the fact that we are having our English clubs, and many are coming and have invited friends. Please pray for the Lord to direct those He desires to come and be a part of our English classes.



The weather is actually pretty nice. More sunlight than we had anticipated, and temps in the high single digits, feels pretty warm! Please continue to pray for our bodies to adjust, and for us to be bold in our witness.



Our sign up for the classes is tonight, please be praying for us to make a good first impression and to make our students feel at ease. There is often a feeling of uncertainty = why are you here doing this for free? Pray that we can quickly build a mutual trust, pray for the Holy Spirit to quiet objections raised in their minds and hearts, and pray for us to quickly build relationships.

We have all connected in Moscow

We made it to Moscow, andd thankfully all the luggage made it with us! We brought several trunks with items we have collected for our friends at a local seminary which were donated by the Hancock/Lewis class at Carmel Batptist. Glad the trunks made it with us, glad we don't have to take them any further! We connected with Fred and Bryan at the place we are staying.

We are staying at a dorm operated by Calvary Chapel which is on the outskirts of Moscow. The hosts have been so gracious, and man can they cook! We had a wonderful supper last night, and outstanding breakfast this morning.

We will spend the day here is Moscow, then fly on to Murmansk this evening. We will arrive there late, around 11pm. Please pray for our travel and for a good nights sleep.

We praise God for this opportunity, and for the grace he has already shown us. Pray for us to have many opportunities to tell about our God how loves us so.

On our way!

We will be leaving today, with Fred and Bryan flying through New York and on to Moscow, and Frank, Tim, and Elizabeth flying through Munich then on to Moscow. Please pray for us as we begin our trip, especially that we would be aware even now of people that we can share the gospel with.



We will arrive in Moscow on Friday afternoon (Moscow time) and then meet at a dorm run by Calvary Chapel. It is used primarily to house teams like ours coming through on mission trips. Pray for a good rest for us on Friday night and that we can quickly adjust to the new time zone.



On Saturday we will have a brief time in Moscow, then fly up to Murmansk. Sunday morning we will worhsip at the Golgotha Church, then plan with them for the beginning of our English classes.



I probably won't have a chance to post any updates until Monday, it will depend on our access to a wireless network. Please note our prayer requests on the right. We are depending on your prayers to accomplish what the Lord has laid before us.