Russia Team Headed Home

It is just after midnight here in St. Pete and we will be heading to the airport in just a few hours.

This week has been absolutely incredible and our team has been absolutely amazing with non-stop energy and love for so many children. During our time in Lopuhinka we were able to meet some new friends, reconnect with old friends and see God working in so many different ways. The last few days of the week we spent in Volkhav with some very precious children. There are so many pictures to share and stories to tell.


Please pray for us as we will be traveling from 6am Monday morning (that's 9pm Sunday night in Houston) through about 2pm Houston time. Pray for our transition these next few days back to work and family and the life God has called us to in Texas. But, mostly pray that we will be able to effectively communicate to each of you the way we saw God at work and the stories of these beautiful children.


I encourage anyone who took a prayer card for one of our team members to be sure to contact them soon so that you can personally hear about their experience and what God is doing in Russia. We truly count it a privilege to share with you about the children we have been blessed to meet!

Thanks! Susan

Russia Team update

Susan reports that the team had a super great day with the kids. Today's Bible story was Daniel. They are headed to Volkhav in the morning. It is 3 hours away. They will spend Thursday afternoon and all day Friday at Volkhav and will have 3 VBS lessons.

This will be our first time at the orphanage in Volkhav. This is an orphanage which does not receive many visitors. Pray for favor for the team and that the Holy Spirit will go before to prepare their hearts.

Updates from Russia

Susan Ripley, Trip Leader, reports that the team had a Beach Party today and had lots of fun with the kids. The good news is that the kids who are at camp come back tomorrow. But other kids leave Wednesday for camp. Tuesday at 2 pm, they will do nails for the girls at the orphanage and then have a Texas Party that night. The Easter Story will be shared at VBS on Wednesday and an Easter Party will be held that night.

Be praying especially for the telling of the Easter Story. Pray that God would reveal Himself to these precious orphans so that they can believe to the core of their souls that they were made for a purpose by God, who has a plan and future for them.

Border Trip: Testimonies!

We've been back less than a week, and already the team is telling stories that are circulating here at Grand Parkway. It is truly enjoyable to hear everyone's different experiences as we all experienced the One, True God - and He is good, sovereign, meticulous, and free. Here are some of the testimonies from the trip that was just taken to the Border, specifically to Elsa, TX, June 7-10, 2010.

Please be in prayer for the team headed to Russia for ten days beginning tomorrow, June 17, 2010...and now for the testimonies!

I've been back for several days now from our trip to the Border, with much time to reflect on all that God provided for everyone involved. To be sure, the tale is too big to tell, but what keeps rising to the top is a story of God's sovereignty. We'd planned on going across the border to a small town in Mexico, Nuevo Progreso, but the State Department banned travel to the state in which that city resided, and our local partner, Pastor Freddy, had decided that he was not going to make any trips across the border. To say the least, the team was disappointed. We were forced, almost against our collective will to stay stateside and minister to the neighborhoods and people of Pastor Freddy's church in Elsa, TX. Although many of us didn't feel like it, we were obedient, in the face of our own preference.We listened, submitted, and heard the continual call to 'Go!'. The youth of our church were amazing in their pursuit to reach the local kids in Elsa through selfless love and devotion. They were inviting of locals in games, flexible like Gumby, and didn't complain once. I am so proud of what God did through them, and for them. It was amazing to experience alongside the kids, but also the parents. Although we participated inVBS,and construction for more than two days, it was not until the last night, after all the work had been done - after a new roof and hot water heater were installed, a gas line was broken (then fixed!), a new porch was built, a new screen door was installed, a complete rehab of an interior room was performed, a new sink was installed which stopped a year-long water leak...and after two days of VBS, sports evangelism, songs and dancing, and an impromptu food pantry, that we found out the incredible reason we were there: to participate in pure and undefiled religion, visiting and caring for widows and orphans in their time of need. A local widow, Monse, whose house we worked on, stood up at our service on Wednesday night and told the story of how God has remained faithful to her throughout all her years, even in the face of her son's drug addiction, her husband's untimely death, and especially as she raises her two grandchildren. The story she told began in March of this year when she surveyed her home and realized that her home (especially her roof), would not withstand a hurricane if one came through during this year's hurricane season. She had no money or resources to fix it, so she prayed to the One who did. She soon caught a vision that four men would fix her roof. Two months later, in May, four men showed up at her house and asked if she needed any work done on her home: those four people were Pastor Freddy, Frank (Freddy's right hand man), Mark Brooker and myself. We went down to scout our new plans for our trip, on this side of the border. A month after our scouting trip, Monse's needs were met, her house secured for any imminent storm, and all she could muster in English was "Thank you Jesus!" Needless to say, her testimony showed us that if our mission was merely to be agents of God's love to one of His widows, and to show her how much he loves just her, it was more than worth the time, money, effort, prayers, and sweat put into this trip. God was honored, glorified, and His renown was told of through the obedience of 32 people from Grand Parkway. It is amazing to sit back now, in my comfortable, air-conditioned home with food in the pantry and wonder what else God has in store for the rest of the trips this summer. If he's done this for Monse, for us, and for His glory, with what else will He amaze us this summer, year, and lifetime?

- Lance Williams, Trip Leader

We arrived to find we were in a flash flood and it rained 3 1/2 inches in two hours. I guess God needed us to see Monce's home and the immense water damage to the ceiling in the room where we were to tear out sheetrock.Which led to tearing out the ceiling and replacing it along with the insulation. Amazing. What a mighty God we serve who knows all and helps us! I learned from this trip. God is in control.

He will get things accomplished whether we know it or not. He will use us if we are willing to trust him and GO!

I was so blessed to give God the glory and to hear a spanish speaking lady walk around the house with tears flowing saying,“Thank you Jesus!” when the electricity was restored to the right side of her home. She just said, “Hallelujah to Jesus!” (in English)

I know God sent a bunch of people she didn't know to do things we all didn't know how to accomplish, and answer her prayer for the weeks before with Hurricane season coming.

He sent the rain, and he delayed the roofer's trip to work in Louisiana so he could help us get finished. WOW! May we never tire of doing good.

My kids are asking to go back next year... and this wasn't Disney World. Crazy! Great!

- Gary, Desiree, Bailey and Cody

I saw God change our plans months before the trip so that we "had" to stay on the Texas side of the border, answering Madam Monse's months-long prayer for her house to be fixed. I saw God bring non-church-goers and non-believers to the local church because of a simple 2- day VBS. You know, most of the time you don't get to see the direct results and rewards of mission work, but in those 2 days God allowed us to see the fruit of our short work. And it was amazing! God is so good and so faithful!

- Jo Jo Goodman

I saw God roll a storm in to test our flexibility, provide an alternate place to host VBS, bring people to the church service on Wednesday. God is love and our students showed the power of the Holy Spirit when they included the other kids that had come to the church Monday night in the game they were playing. It is always a blessing to go on mission trips and get to know other church members better.We have a wonderful church body and a lot of really wonderful people as family.

As always each and every time I go on one of these trips I am humbled at what God has blessed me with. I am in need of nothing, He has provided my everything. Praise God.

- Dennis Scott

The most profound way God touched my heart during our border trip was through a girl who had undisciplined behavior and didn't seem interested in hearing anything about

God. Later, she wanted someone to pray for her, and when I did, all of the judgmental feelings I had just melted away as God opened my spiritual eyes and showed me how much he loved this girl and wanted to heal her heart.

- CharWagstaff

I saw God bless a widow and her grandchildren in a miraculous way that was an answer to her very prayers. God blessed all of us in many ways such as the joy of serving together, being blessed by the gratitude and faithfulness of the church in Elsa. The pastor and his staff at the Church of Acts demonstrated their love for God by opening up their church on the spur of the moment to hold VBS and a food

bank. Their attitude that God is in control verified the beauty of flexible people joining God in Kingdom work - wow. It was awesome to get feedback from people who were praying for us back home, and confirm that God was speaking to us, and then Lance's

message confirmed what God was speaking into my life. The church service and preaching was great and it was special to hear it translated into Spanish. Anthony's guitar playing and praise music touched me. Pastor Freddy, Frank, Ray & Judy, Leroy, the GPBC mission team, and many others were such a joy to serve, worship, and fellowship with. This trip was a spiritual boost for me!

-Russ Wagstaff

I don't have any big revelations, although I've seen God work in a number of ways. One simple way was the fact I was strongly led to pack my voltmeter even though we had no intention of doing electrical work.Without it I don't think I could have fixed any of it, apart from just buying another one. It is the one tool I was specifically led to take, and really the only one I needed that I couldn't do without. Second, the fact that the rain came, which caused us to start inside, and basically slowed us down which allowed us to get help from the locals and accomplish more overall.Third, my heart really wasn't into going because we've been so focused on the girls’ trip, but when Madam Monse got down on her knees and thanked God, and I heard how she had prayed for help, I knew I was exactly where I needed to be.

- Ken Goodman

God used this trip to remind me how powerful prayer is. Seeing all of our plans upended because God chose to answer a widow’s prayers was amazing to witness.As long as we are people of prayer we are never without recourse. It was also very neat to meet members of the Body of Christ from Elsa and find that although we had no people, places or history in common, we were instantly friends because of our relationship with Christ. It was

humbling to see how much bigger and stronger the Church is than our local view.

- Misty Brown

Important Upcoming Dates

Applications are due by this Sunday, 31 January 2010.
You can turn them in to one of the Missions Team members or place them in The Box by the stairs.

Large Group Trip Training is set for the second weekend in February.

• 12 February 2010 -
  Registration starts at 5:45 pm, with dinner being provided.
  We will finish the evening by 9:00 pm.
  
  
• 13 February 2010 -
  Check in starts at 8:30 am. Just a reminder - we will not be providing breakfast - please eat before you come. We will be providing lunch and snacks.
  We will finish the day at 3:30 pm.

Each individual trip will meet at least 3 times prior to their trip, dates to be set by team leaders and announced during large group training.