Last weeks in St. Pete

The last couple weeks have been full of mixed emotions. On the one hand I am excited and glad to get to finally reach my goal and move to Cherepovets. I am excited to finally really get to serve and minister to shelter kids and orphans. On the other hand it has been sad to have to say goodbye to so many friends. I have built some pretty close relationships with both fellow missionaries and Russians who have the same desire to serve God and share the gospel. It has been one thing after another as I try to squeeze everything I can in to the last weeks I have to hang out with them.

I had the great pleasure of being able to go to a Shashlik the other day. A Shashlik is basically the Georgian version of a barbeque with the main mail being basically a shishkabab with some Georgian seasoning. It was a pretty cool. The Shashlik was at the dacha, or vacation cabin, of a guy that is part of the Campus Crusade team here. I have been growing pretty close with the Campus Crusade group here in St. Pete, which has been great for my Russian practice. I am really going to miss this group when I move to Cherepovets, but I am sure there will be occasion for me visit. However they are very supportive and encouraging. We had a great time of playing games, reading the word, and praying. I even got to help build an outhouse and do some carpentry work again. They all prayed for my move and said that they would come and visit. I am hoping that maybe I can continue the relationship and have them come out and work with the kids and universities in Cherepovets: I will have to keep that in prayer.







I also said goodbye to the small, but fruitful and growing, English Bible study I have been teaching on Thursdays. I have been telling them for a while now that I would be leaving and that another guy, Laurin, would be taking it over for me. But it still seemed to come as a shock to them when I said that I might not be there next week and the week after that I would be in Cherepovets. The question that is always asked is, “When are you coming back?” or “For how long?” or something along those lines. My answer is always, “I don’t know if I will ever really be back, I don’t know how long exactly. The only thing I really know right now is that I feel like it is going to be for quite a while.”

I also had the privilege of becoming acquainted with a Canadian group that came on a 5 week mission trip to St. Petersburg from Campus Crusade. I really had a great time with them, each Friday we have been doing the movie night, that I have been taking part in for a while now, and then Saturday there is a sports outreach where we teach them how to play American/Canadian sports, then have fun playing the sports. Then the weekend is wrapped up with an English party where they have different themes, like Canada, life questions, barbeque and stuff like that. It has been a blast, and we have really been building some relationships and some opportunities to share the gospel in a friendly atmosphere. I will miss these things when I move, but maybe eventually I can do something similar in Cherepovets.





Some important Canadian date. ;)


Trivia game

oooooo, tattoos


National Anthems



Canadian dancing
Ok this is at around 11:30 p.m.!

I have really grown to call St. Petersburg home and it is a little sad for me to be leaving, but I still am looking forward to the move. I am just not looking forward to the transition. But I am sure, more now than ever, that this is where the Lord is leading me. I am excited to see what is next. I am also excited because this will be the beginning of what I started out to do in the first place. My reason for coming Russia has been to go to Cherepovets and now that goal is being reached. I am glad I spent time in St. Pete first, I will never regret that, and hope to keep close with those whom I have come to call friends. I am continually learning what it is to live a life the service of the Lord and I have a lot more to learn. But serving the Lord with your life is a wild rollercoaster ride, I am not sure what is over the next hump of around the next bend, but I love a good rollercoaster!

Back From Finland Again

I got back from another visa trip to Finland last Friday. Again it was a more interesting trip than expected. I had hoped to only have to spend three days, leaving on Sunday night and getting back on Wednesday. That was the plan at least, but I never accounted for the consulate being closed due to technical problems until Wednesday. On Wednesday I woke up early to go wait in line, before my alarm went off and suddenly realizing I didn’t have a photo, they wouldn’t accept my application without a photo. After asking around I found a photo booth. Of course they did not have color photos or the right size. But I took the pictures anyway because I had no other choice and went to the consulate to find that I wasn’t the only one who had to wait a couple extra days. Things started to get pretty tense when people started to realize that after they had already been standing outside in the cold for several hours not everyone was going to get in before the consulate closed. I too was worried because if I didn’t get in on Wednesday then I would have to file on Thursday and wait till Monday to pick up my visa. I did not want to do that, two extra days was enough, especially on my budget! As I was standing in line and my mind was taking me to these places I started to get mad and complained to God, “First the consulate is closed, and now I won’t get to file on time, what are trying to teach me God, what is your plan!?” I even tried to blame him, “You could have kept them from closing; you could have reminded me to bring pictures so I could have been in line earlier and been in to the consulate by now; everything is under your control, why did you let this happen?” On my way home from the consulate I was in a different mood. I was thanking God that I was able to get in and the lady accepted my application with no problems. I then realized that God did cause all that to happen, putting me in that situation so that I would question him, get impatient, and even angry. So when he did come through I would learn a lesson. God will always come through, not necessarily on your schedule, but never the less, he does have things under control. And having to wait doesn’t make that any less true, less of a blessing, or even less of a miracle. I also believe He reminded me of the pictures and that the realization is what woke me up, so I could get some pictures before I went to the consulate. And how much better to realize then, than I go to the consulate, wait in line and then find I have no photos and have no way of filing on time. It wasn’t God’s fault that I forgot the pictures, but my forgetfulness, and I can’t blame Him since I didn’t even pray before I left because up until then I was working in my own strength. I even believe the fact that they were so busy caused the lady to approve my application and not choose to make a stink over the small details, as they usually do. God is good, and his purposes are good, even after I had messed everything up in my own strength. Through this I learned that even if I had not been able to file on Wednesday, He would have had a reason; just like all the other things that went wrong, God knows what is best. In the end it all worked out and I learned so much more than if everything had just gone smoothly. I hope I never forget these lessons and never try to do anything in my own strength again, but that I trust him in all things, especially when things seem to be going wrong.

In addition to all this I would say my stay was very pleasant. With my extra time I was able to go to the Helsinki zoo on Thursday, which was a nice peaceful and relaxing day. I got to see tigers and lions for the first time and took some pretty good pictures. The lionesses were the most interesting to me. One of them was hanging out by the fence with a piece of meat. So she was very suspicious of anyone who walked by, and when I got close to take a picture she got really defensive and started to hiss, growl, and lunge at me. I was intimidated even with the iron fence between us. But it didn’t cause me to back down and miss all the good picture material behind. I spent most the day at the zoo then went back to the hostel to get ready to go to the consulate and leave for Russia the next day.















I was glad to be back in Russia. I really have gotten pretty settled in here, and as soon as I can speak fluently I will really start to feel at home. All I have to do is figure out the best way to stay here. I am in the process of moving to Cherepovets, I hope to move there in the first week of June. I plan to get permanent residency there, after another three months so that we can figure out some more details. I also hope to be able to teach there, we have started advertising, but we will see. I pray the Lord will bring me students. However I have come to realize that it is not realistic for me to depend solely on teaching. Igor says there might be other ways for me to work, so we will see where the Lord leads. In addition to that I am asking that you would take part in my ministry through prayer, and if you are lead to financially. I will have the instructions on how you may do so posted on my blog in the right hand column. I would like to thank those of you who have already done so and for all for your prayers. It is an adventure here trying to serve the Lord and it only through the prayer and help of the church that makes it possible. I pray that the Lord would bless all of you every day with his abounding grace and mercy. Amen.

Easter Sunrise Service

Today, being resurrection day here in Russia, there was an Easter sunrise service this morning. So I forced myself out of bed this morning, after a only few hours sleep, and some serious debating. But I am glad I went. It is a rare day here in St. Petersburg, the sun is bright, the sky is clear and it is just picturesque. It was such a blessing to worship by the water and remember our Lord and what he accomplished for us on another morning over 2000 years ago. I was filled with joy as we withstood the bitter cold wind, and took communion. I am humbled to realize how much I am blessed to minister for such a loving, gracious, giving, and awesome Savior. Also, I am leaving for Finland again tonight to get another visa, please keep the trip in prayer.

Back From Finland

I got back successfully from Finland on Monday. Unfortunately I had to spend a total of 5 days because of the weekend. The fastest that the Embassy is able to process a visa is 3 days and since I wasn't able to file until Thursday, that meant it wouldn't be done till Monday. I say unfortunately, but really it wasn't that bad. Of course it cost me more money, but I was able to really relax and see the nice little city of Helsinki. Next time I plan to leave on Sunday, file Monday and come home on Wednesday, we will see.

Finland is actually a relatively new country, their history has been one domination after another by the Swedish then the Russians. It wasn't till 1917 that they became an independent nation. So there is a lot of cultural influence there. However Finland is coming into itself and maturing into a nice little nation with Helsinki as the cultural, artistic, and actual capital. It is a small city, I would say the city itself probably doesn't spread much farther than where I used to live in Minden-Gardnerville, Nevada. I liked that in the city center, where a lot of the sightseeing in Helsinki is, everything is close enough that you can walk. They also have a great public transportation system, so getting around is really easy. The only negative thing I can say is that everything is expensive. Of course the Euro is a kick in the pants, but from what I heard from my German friend, everything is just more expensive.

I had a great time taking a lot of pictures, there were tons of interesting sights and the weather was pretty beautiful most of the days. My favorite place was the Fortress Island of Soumenlinna. There are some people who live on the Island and I think there is a naval academy of some sort there, but mainly it is just an abandoned fortress. It takes a short ferry ride to get there and then you have all day to check out the cool old artillery guns, even older walls and bunkers, and great ocean views. I got most of my best pictures on the Island. I think next trip I will be back there again, and there is another island that has a zoo on it, I think I will check that out as well. There is supposed to be this cool lookout tower thing I really want to see. Though I would rather not have to make these visa trips, because they cost time and money, I view it as a blessing from the Lord that I have such a cool place to renew my visas.

Things are starting to come together for my permanent residency. I am starting to collect all the papers and documents I will need. I hope to be filing everything in a month or so. I need to get the papers filed for the private visa in time for me to be able to get the letter of invitation back by June so I can get my visa, file and wait for the temporary residency. I am hoping to move to Cherepovets by June as well. I just found out I might have to move my plans up a week or two, because if I want to stay in my apartment into June I will have to pay for the whole rent because my roommate is leaving June 1st. No big deal. I hope to move everything in increments over the month of May. We will see. Once in Cherepovets I hope to be teaching much more again, and to really get involved at the city shelter. Until then I am focusing on getting everything together for me to go, getting as much training as I can, and learning as much Russian as I can. I hope to get to a point in my language skills so that when I move to Cherepovets I will be able pick things up very quickly. I am praying for the Lord's hand to be in all this and that I will be sensitive to his leading. Praise the Lord. I just can't get over what has gone on over the past year or so. I would have never imagined this is what God would have for me, and I am almost clueless as to what is ahead. That is scary at times, but cool most the time, even comforting sometimes to know that the Lord is in control and though it will be quite the ride, He will not fail.

Good Times in The Lord's Service

Looking back at these last two weeks I have to ask, "where has the time gone!?" The visa trip I am going on tomorrow seems to have just snuck up on me. But am a little excited that I get the privilege to experience riding a bus to Finland tomorrow to get a new Russian visa. This should have been a quick easy trip and turned out to be a little more complicated. As I said this trip snuck up on me and I didn't file the proper paperwork in time, making this last week a stressful week of problem solving. There where several ideas in play before I finally found the right one. What I will be doing is going to Finland this time and getting a one month tourist visa. Then when I get the other paperwork back I will have to go back to Finland and switch to the three month business visa. It seems like a lot of wasted effort and time, but it is actually the cheapest and least time-consuming option. Hopefully after all this not only will I not make the same mistake, but I will have to do this only one more time. The next time I will be starting the process towards permanent residency and that should eliminate all visa trips. However I am looking forward to this trip I will be meeting a friend, I get to see a new place and should get to take some cool pictures.

Also I would like to add that the visa excitment has not been the only intersting thing this week. It seemed like a normal week at first, but I had the great privilege of making some new friends on Sunday. The people I have been meeting here are very interesting. They all have different backgrounds, interests, and stories. I have never before been in these kinds of circles. It has been an amazing growing experience, and I am being stretched to do things I would have never done previously. Just this last week I was invited to do Salsa dancing at St. Petersburg Christian University, and had a great time. This group of friends do this every weekend and I think I might start going. This will give me a chance to hang out with more Russians, and possibly a chance to reach out to some nonbelievers.

I have also been very encouraged how the Lord has been providing for me. I still have one student and the money that brings in isn't much, but it something. Also the Lord has blessed me some people who are willing to help me, and I can't thank them enough. But I was blown away when I was talking with one of my friends here. He suddenly asked about my financial situation and how much my Russian lessons cost. Then he offered to pay for my lessons, which is one of my biggest expenses. I was touched, mainly because he is a student and doesn't really have tons of money to through around. It is encouraging to see how the Lord can impress things on peoples heart, with out any effort on my part. We have an amazing God who can not only move mountains, but the hearts of men! And it is encouraging to see Christ's body in action, loving and helping each other.

I just want to thank everyone for there prayers and support. I am grateful and will continue to keep you in prayer as well. If you could keep this visa trip in prayer that would be great, as well as the plans for permanent residency. I will post a blog when I get back from Finland, so keep your eyes pealed.