God is continuing to work in Russia

Sorry for not posting for so long. It is very difficult to get to a computer and it is quite expensive. For example, it is 49cents a minute to call home from here.

God has been doing some wonderful things since we have been here. A few days ago a staff member and I were eating a burger king, (it is not what you are thinking of, Russia burger kings are a whole different story) and we were looking at some pictures that we often use to help us talk to students about spiritual things. We call these pictures Soularium. A Russian woman name Oxana and her friend came up and started to ask what the pictures were for. I don't know any Russian, and my staff member I was with knows very little as well. Well, to make a long story short, God used the pictures and the help of a bi-lingal track we call 'the four laws' to lead this girl to Christ. It shocked both of us how God used our broken Russian to show here and present her the with the truth. It was awesome and humbling.

There are many Russians who believe that the are Christians here, but that is something that is completely different. Church in Russian culture is tradition, and to be a part of the motions and go to church twice a year in Russia means that you are a christian.

We have had two outreaches since we have been here in Russia. Our first was a sports outreach. We played football, soccer, and ultimate frisbee. We had a huge turn out with 75 Russians who came out. We have made many contacts here in Russia through that event and have been calling them to meet up with them, love on them, and most importantly share the gospel with these people.

The weather is getting quite warm here in Russia. A high of 30 degrees Celsius. Today is the independance day of Russia and there are Russians all over the city. It is a great time to meet people, but most of them are drunk, don't speak English, or are a little too crazy for our teams safety. There is an early curfew tonight, and I'm thankful for it.

We have been able to do some fun things to experience the culture. Last weekend we went to a Russian circus. It was interesting, and there were some acts that surprised us all. Lets just say it wasn't as family friendly as we thought it would be, but that is Russia for you! Please pray for the purity here in the city. Impurity and corruption is introduced so early for the children here. It is seen in most advertisements around the city. Pray for the protection of our eyes as well as the people around us. Our team does not turn on the television while we are here for this reason. I'm starting to realize that being a believer and living in Russia is a very hard thing to do. It would take more sacrifices to really follow after Christ and flea temptation if you were to live here as compared to America.

We did get to experience a Russian ballet the other night. It is surprising how cheap the tickets are! We watched a full ballet with an entire orchestra for about $18. A show at the theatre is about $8-$10 here, and to go to the movies or cinemas as our Russian friends call it, it is about the same $7 or $8.

Please pray for my pen pal Oleg. He is spiritually warm right now. He is pretty faithful in coming to the events we have and is starting to show some strong interest in the gospel. He is having a hard time believing something that he knows so little about. He is really skinny and pale with a tiny little voice! What a character!

Also, please pray for a Russian named Yura. I have shared with him two times and he is struggling with coming to a decision. Yura believes what the gospel says, but thinks it is something for older people since our staff guy Abe shared his story and told Yura that he personally accepted Christ when he was 20. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him I accepted Christ when I was 7! Praise Jesus for that understanding! Yura is now reading a book called 'more than a carpenter' and we are praying that will continue to make the knocking on his heart even more stronger!