The Journey..

Here's to my journey with GAIN for 10 days from June 15, 2007 to June 25, 2007 to Western Russia. These were 10 days that will hold memories for me that will last a lifetime. To those of you who supported me and prayed for me, I can't thank you enough! This trip would not have been possible without you. Below are just snap shots of what I got to experience in Vladimir, Russia.

**Make sure you click on "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page so you can see daily posts from each day of my trip.**

June 15, 2007

I arrived at the RDU airport around lunch time with my suitcases in hand. GAIN had sent me a box to carry over to distribute as humanitarian aid. Being able to use my "2nd" suitcase as a "ministry" suitcase, helps save GAIN alot of money and usually ensures that it will arrive at its destination. It's definitely a blessing that each passenger was able to carry with them a ministry suitcase. I met up with Dave and Mickey Stahl in the morning.

Dave and Mickey attend my church, Crossroads Fellowship (http://www.crossroads.org/) They are affiliate staff with GAIN. They had advertised the trip in our church bulletin so that is how I initially found out about the trip.

Our plans were to fly from RDU to JFK. At JFK we would meet up with other team members and then fly on to Moscow. Little did we know that God had different plans in store for us. Our flight was delayed at first. We boarded and after being in the air for about an hour, the pilot came on the speaker and told us that we would be landing back at RDU in 15 minutes. I had been asleep so I didn't know what was going on. Come to find out we had alot of turbulance and our plane had mechanical problems. Of course that left the Stahl’s and me frantic. We were not able to catch another flight to JFK that night, which left us unable to meet up with the rest of the team. I went home for the night, frustrated and questioning if I should even continue on with the trip. I knew though that God had a purpose and reason for this happening and I just had to trust Him with the outcome.

June 16, 2007

Dave and Mickey and I arrived at 5:00 in the morning to try another flight to JFK. We made it in one piece to JFK with about 6 hours to spare! We didn’t want to risk missing another flight. There we sat for hours in the airport. Aeroflot, the airline we were flying didn’t even open its counter for a good 4 more hours. I’ve never seen the JFK airport so empty.

After breakfast, we sat in some chairs to people watch. I fell asleep for awhile, only to wake up to a baby crying. It was at this moment that God showed me His purpose for us missing our original flight. Sitting beside us in a few chairs were Banmi, her son Eric and her husband. They were flying back to Africa. They had come for a few months to visit relatives in Fayetteville, NC. Mickey and I explained to Banmi that we were going to Russia with GAIN to minister to children. I took out my pictures that show my testimony and Mickey did the same. Banmi was very interested in our conversation so we showed her the gospel bead bracelet that we use to tell the Gospel. At first I got nervous because I had never explained it to someone face to face. Mickey helped lead the conversation as we talked about each bead. Little did we both know, but Banmi is saved! She would often finish our sentences for us. Praise God! It was so encouraging to hear her love for the Lord and to know that her adorable son, Eric is being raised by a Christian mother. We were unable to talk to her husband about his spiritual life. We did discuss with him who and what GAIN does. He pleaded for an organization like GAIN to come to his city. He said they would be honored to host people and the need is so great. Please keep this family in your prayers and that the area in which they live will be reached by Christians. I've emailed the family since being back home and just recently heard back from them!

After leaving the Patience's, we finally boarded Aeroflot which would take us to Moscow in 9 hours.

June 17, 2007

Dave, Mickey and I finally arrived in Moscow around 3:00! It was relieving and exciting to have my two feet on Russian soil for the first time in over 18 years! When we arrived in Moscow, we learned that our team had already departed to Vladimir, which was our "break out city" for our week. Vladimir is where we would do our ministry work. So it was told to us that we would be riding with Alisher on a public bus to Vladimir. We couldn't have asked for a better travel companion to Vladimir.

Alisher helps GAIN out when teams arrive. On our bus ride, Alachir shared with me his testimony and how he has led others to Christ. Alisher is applying to grad schools here in the US. Please pray that God will open that door for him if it is His will. It was neat to learn that he loves The Beatles and different American bands. He plays in a Pop band and a Christian band. Later, when we returned to Moscow, I was able to communicate more with Alisher and get a glimpse of where he lived and the gift of music that God has blessed him with. I praised God for sending me the encouragement from Alisher who loves the Lord and has a passion for leading others to Christ. Stepping into many "unknowns" upon my arrival, it was comforting to have someone to give me an idea of what lied ahead of me.

As we rode in the bus through the countryside, I witnessed God's beauty in His Creation. I've never seen such beautiful countryside. In contrast though, I also saw poverty stricken areas admist the beauty of the land. It immediately hit me, that I was entering an area that would humble me to be ever so grateful for what I have. It also hit me how all of these people in the bus, spent 4 hours each day riding from Moscow to Vladimir to make very little wage. Here I complain at home about having to drive 30 minutes to work! I realized quickly that my eyes were going to be opened to things I have never seen before or experienced. I prayed that God would prepare me for what lied ahead.

Before I introduce the team and the ministry sites, I wanted to tell you a little bit about Vladimir.

Our ministry opportunites were done in Vladimir. Vladimir is about 115 miles northeast of Moscow. It's one of the oldest cities in Russia. A little history lesson taken from www.vladimir-russia.info/ ....the city was founded in either 990 or 1108 and once was the capital of Russia. Vladimir is known for it's Golden Gates and its many cathedrals.








While in Vladimir, we worked alongside a ministry called, Mercy Ministries. (http://www.mercyrussia.com/) Mercy Ministries provides help to orphans, children/teens at risk, a baby rescue and families in need. We had the privilege of working with the president of Mercy Ministry, Sergei Sokolov..an amazing man of God! He helped open the doors to the ministry sites we entered and provided us with a wonderful staff of translators throughout our time in Vladimir. Here I am with Andrew and Sergei. Sergei is the one in the hat.

At each site we were able to take humanitarian aid and what is known as CarePacks. Below are some children looking at their CarePacks. CarePacks usually included pencils, pens, colored pencils, crayons, notepads, rulers, erasers, pencil sharpners, stickers, toothbrushes, hair comb, hankerchiefs, Beanie Babies, etc. The CarePacks were assembled by our team at a church prior to our days of ministry. Unfortunately with our plane flight mishap, the Stahl's and I were unable to participate in this process. The kids LOVED the CarePacks and you immediately saw a smile on their face when they opened the bags. Also we gave each person the book, More Than a Carpenter by James McDowell and the New Testament or bible stories.

Here's some aid that was given at the sites and also the aid that we took to a Social Service Center. The aid we took to these sites included many different things based on the needs of the sites. Some of this things included: laundry detergent, sports equipment, clothes, games, books, water heaters, cleaning supplies, etc.

On to what we did at each site.......

Each site of course provided us with different opportunities to minister. We learned quickly that what we planned often got changed...the famous term for this became that we learned to "flex." Some sites we were given a performance by the children which included dancing and or singing. Sometimes we then gave a group performance of singing and some of our team members were brave enough to dance for the children. Let's just say that I wasn't one of the brave ones!

At some sites we were fortunate to break into small groups. My small group had four people: Megan, Linda, Me and Jaye.

The number of children in our group spanned from 8 to 20 depending upon the site. Each member in our small group got the opportunity to present pictures we had brought from home, the gospel bead bracelet and our testimonies. The pictures we brought from home included our family, hobbies we enjoyed, our church or other pictures that allowed us opportunities to begin to talk about God.

Here are the four pictures I took with me. One is of my brothers and sister in law. The other is of my friend, Holly, who helped me come to know the Lord. The picture of the butterfly explained my love of photography and how I became a "new creation" when I accepted Christ. Lastly is a picture of Christ that I used to talk of the hope and forgiveness I have experienced through accepting Him.

The gospel bead bracelet is how we presented the Gospel to the children/teens and adults that we came in contact with. It was a clear explanation of what happens in your life when you accept Jesus Christ into your heart. The gospel bead bracelets were made from a piece of leather strap and beads in the colors of black, red, white, blue, green and yellow. The bracelet also had a butterfly shaped bead.

Black Bead: represents the sin in our lives. Sin is all the bad things we do in life like lying, cheating, stealing, etc. Sin seperates us from God.

Red Bead: represents Jesus' blood and His love for us. Jesus is God's only son. God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

White Bead: when we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts, we are forgiven of all our sins. Jesus' shed blood washes away our sins and makes us white as snow.

Blue Bead: When we accept Jesus into our hearts as our Lord and Savior, God promises to put the Holy Spirit into our life. This bead symbolizes the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Green Bead: represents growth. Just as a flower needs water, minerals and sunlight to grow, we as Christians need four things in order to grow in our spiritual walks with the Lord. We need to read God's Word. We need to pray. We need to be in fellowship with other Christians and we need to tell others about Christ.

Yellow Bead: represents heaven. When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He purchased a place for us in heaven. When we accept Jesus, God promises that one day when we die, we will spend eternity with Him in heaven.

Butterfly Bead: represents becoming a new creation. Just as a butterfly starts out life as an ugly worm and later turns into a beautiful butterfly we also become new creations in Christ when we accept Him into our hearts.

The gospel bead presentation ended with an opportunity for those who felt God's calling, to pray and accept Jesus Christ into their hearts. Here's Rita, a young girl, who did pray to accept Jesus! Praise God! When we later had tea at this site, Rita was talking with her peers about what each bead stood for!

After we presented the gospel bead bracelet, a member or two of our small group would give their testimony. Following the testimonies, we often had time to play games with the children and sometimes take them outside to play. One neat thing, along with the bead bracelet is that cooks at each site were given gospel aprons which contained pockets in each of the colors on the bead bracelet. Each pocket contained an explanation of that color. The cooks were so grateful for these aprons!

So there are some of the ways we ministered in each of the sites we visited!

June 17, 2007

We arrived in Vladimir around 7 this evening. How relieving it is to be in the city I will be ministering in after spending so many hours traveling. The hotel serves not only as a hotel but also as a school for adults and some other offices. When we arrived, dinner was left waiting for us. I was immediately brought back to when I visited Russian at 8 years of age....potatoes and bread at every meal! By this point though, all I wanted was to meet everyone! I got to meet my roommate Sacha. She is a recent college grad from Maryland. I had corresponded with her previously through email so it was nice to get to put a face to words. God could not have paired me up with a better roommate! Sacha is a woman who loves the Lord and it's so evident in her daily walk. She has a heart to be a missionary and I got the honor and privilege to see how God has blessed her with this desire. It was encouraging to be able to spend 10 days with her and share our testimonies and our walks with the Lord. She also knew alot of Russian which definitely helped since I only knew a few phrases!

After meeting Sacha, I had the opportunity to meet with my small group for a brief amount of time. It was a bit intimidating to walk into at first because my small group had already planned out the next day's agenda for the orphanage we were visiting. I had no clue what was going on. I felt like I had missed out on some "bonding time" that had occured before I got there, but it didn't take long before everyone welcomed me and I felt like part of the family. Here's a picture again of my small group from Left to Right: Megan, Linda, Me and Jaye.

After meeting with my small group I was able to get settled. The immediate thing I noticed when I returned to my room was that it was still light out at 11 at night! This would take a little bit of adjustment. We kept our room windows open all night because of the heat and after midnight I could hear people talking and walking down the street outside our room. Who knows what that do at such an hour. Our plans for tomorrow are to go to an orphanage and also get to go minister in families' homes who are poverty stricken.

Prayers for travel and safety were answered!

Meet the Team

Now that we've made it to Vladimir, it's time to introduce the team!

MICKEY and DAVE: Affliate Staff with GAIN and they attend my church

SARAH: 18 year old who recently graduated. She fell in love with the babies at the oprhanage.
MEGAN: 20 year old who attends Messiah College. One of the outgoing ones of the bunch.





BEV and LINDA: Two of the sweetest ladies that helped keep all of the girls in line.

ZO: This is Sarah's mom. It was a lot of fun to have a mother/daughter team on the trip.


KRISTIN and JAYE: Jaye is on staff with GAIN and was our co-leader for the trip.

ANDREW: 24 year old American who has been called to work with Mercy Ministries in Vladimir for 3 years.

DIMA and SERGEI: Dima served as one of our translators. Upon meeting him, you would think he is an American. His English was flawless. He even knew English slang words and about our "pop culture." The funny thing was that he has never been to the US. Sergei of course is the President of Mercy Ministries.

TIM: Pastor in Texas and the Leader of our trip.

SACHA and LENA: Sacha was my roommate :) and Lena served as our trip coordinator and a translator.

FAITH: 18 year old who was our lively, out going girl on the trip.

So there you have our team!!