Some Notes

Last week we enjoyed meeting with other people from our company who live here in Russia (and a few who live outside) at our annual conference. We were at a retreat center about 150km or so outside of Moscow. Our speaker had many good things to say, here are some of them:

In reaching others, it is important to create liminal space (space in between the lines), where there is mutual interaction bewtween their world and ours. In this space, three things are important to remember:

1. Legitimacy- have a (good) reason to be there
2. Longevity- the need to have repeat conversations...move from microwave to marination
3. Linkage- get to Jesus, his death and resurrection

Throughout this it is important to ask questions. People always answer truthfully (at least on the inside).

Check out more pics!

Here are some pics of what we have been up to in Russia!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9989850@N04/

Coooollldd!

Well the last few weeks here in Russia have been very cold. Like sub-zero temps. It's actually what I expected, although a lot of people have said that they have had very mild winters here the last few years. Glad I came at the right time LOL. This past week Inna and I have been apart of two summer camp meetings. One involves taking orphans down to the Black Sea for a couple weeks in June and the other involves an helping an English camp outside of Moscow that will be held for 10 days in July (see www.superlager.ru). Both camps have seen spiritual fruit in the past and we pray for the same this year. If you would like to be a part of these ministries and donate your time and/or finances, please contact me for arrangements. It does cost money to get these orphans to camp, so every dollar helps! In addition, we are in great need of English teachers for the English camp, so if you can get on an airplane this summer and donate some of your time working with young adults, that would be great! Here are some photos of an orphanage Inna and I visited back in the fall.

The Grace of God

My friend from Milford, Michigan visited Inna and I this past week and it was a great encouragement to the both of us. He is a guy who I met a few years ago when I worked at First Baptist of Milford. We've now done ministry together in America, Cuba, Mexico and Russia. His testimony is an awesome reminder to me of the grace of God. If God does not open our eyes to see His glory, we will remain blinded and enslaved under the weight of our sin. When God delivers us from our sin and gives us victory over the power of Satan, we have no one to thank for except Christ. This is the way its suppose to be. The Giver gets the Glory. If we could beat Satan and sin in our own strength than we would have reason to boast. But that's not the case. We are too enslaved, too addicted, to en-natured (is this a word?) to overcome the power of darkness. But Christ is not and his Grace is greater than our sin. Therefore, He gets the glory! Ephesians 1:3-8.

Conference in Greece

In late June we went to Greece for a few days of sightseeing in Athens and then to a conference near Athens for M's in the Central and East Europe region. It was good to see some friends that we got to know at training last year in Virginia. Not only were we right on the beach, but there were two pools at the hotel too...one saltwater and one fresh! Our guest preacher for the week was JD Greear from the Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. He was excellent and encouraged each of us.

To note, in early June, Inna was able to go to an Orphanage, something she's been wanting to do since we've arrived in Moscow. This orphanage might be a possibility for further interaction and ministry.

Moscow Happenings

Inna has been going to a couple women's bible studies each week (one in English and one in Russian) and I have been going to a small church plant bible study (in Russian) on Saturday's. In addition, both of us go to a bible study together every other Thursday (in Russian) with friends from the church we've been attending. Pray for us that God would give us the strength to minister to others and keep focused on why we are here...to expand the kingdom of God via church planting. Also pray that God would give us wisdom on what ministry opportunities we should move forward with and which one's we shouldn't. And finally, pray for my language acquisition!

Update

Quick update about Russia...Inna has been helping out quite a bit in the office, I've been studying language, Inna has been helping me out with language, we've been attending a small church (and some bible studies) in the southern part of Moscow and I actually preached last Sunday (obviously not in Russian!)...oh, and we have moved to a new apartment here in Moscow. Pictures to follow soon.