Russian In!

Dear friends, family, well-wishers, as well as brothers & sisters in Christ,             

As I write this, it is hard to get this ridiculous goofy grin off of my face! Something I have wanted for an incredibly long time is finally becoming a reality! I have been given the opportunity to travel to Moscow, Russia for about a month this summer to help teach a 4 week English Day Camp. Roughly from June 8th - July 1st 2013.

Would you like to learn more about Russia? Here are some facts:

• They really like soup –even cold soups…

• Russia constitutes one-seventh of the world’s land mass and spans eight time zones.

• Russia has a population of 145.5 million people, 80% of whom reside in Western Russia and two-thirds of whom live in cities. Moscow alone claims eleven million citizens, standing as the largest city in Europe.

• Given its vast supply of natural resources, Russia depends heavily on mining.

• Russian is one of the five most spoken languages in the world. (Bet you didn’t know that one!)

• Russian Orthodox is the official religion in Russia. 20% of Russians practice Islam while Catholicism, Protestantism, and Judaism are not wide spread, but have smaller roles in Russian culture.

• Russia was the first country to launch a man into space. His name was Gagarin. Yuri Gagarin.

• Russia traffics at least 30-60,000 of slaves every year.

There are two goals for this English day camp.  The first is obvious, to teach English. The second is to teach it by using Bible stories! But more importantly, I get to build relationships with people and share the love of Christ with them. There are quite a few of you out there who know that this has been a dream of mine, and this is where you, (Yes, you reading this) can help make this dream…become a reality!

      1.       Obviously, I will need countless prayer partners; I would covet your prayers more than anything. Long story short, I need your prayer; lots of it! Get it? PRAYER, PRAYER, PRAYER! Prayers for safety (travel to and while in Russia). Prayers for my visa and other travel arrangements to all get worked out, basically all the small yet important details. Prayers for the missionaries already there, that they will not be too overwhelmed getting all of the logistics figured out for the camp. Additionally, and in my opinion, the most important, is that the Holy Spirit will already be working in the hearts of the students who are going to be attending the camp.

      2.       Did you know that missionaries do not get paid for what God has called them to do? (You know, sharing the Gospel, ministering to people, and other key Kingdom things….) Do you know where they get it? I will give you a hint; this is where you extraordinary people come in! I am going to need to raise at least $2,000 for this month long voyage. Did you know that if 100 of you only gave $20 dollars, I would be 100% supported?! I even made it easy for you! If you look to the right, under the pictures you will find a fancy "Donate" button! It is as easy as 1-2-3!  

So, remember these equations:

-$20x100 people =$2,000 (fully funded)

-Prayer + Financial support = Stephanie going to Russia

-Stephanie + Russia = Dreams coming true!

-Teaching English + Teaching about Jesus = Marvelous and Eternal things!

-You + Me = A fantastic partnership that I am excited about!

•Dreams are coming true here people! All over the place!

I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart, each and every one of you! You help inspire me to go out and tell people about Jesus! Without you (and God) this will not be able to happen, but I am confident God will work --and who knows, maybe He will use you!

Besides the fact the Russia is cold & snowy, the largest country in the world, and has an odd liking for cold soup, they also desperately need to learn about Jesus and that He desperately loves them. 

 In Christ,

Stephanie