CandMA

Letter to the C&MA churches in Pennsylvania, USA. Dear friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, peace be with you! I want to sincerely thank you for your participation in the restoration of the Christian Center, "Rainbow"! Two teams from the United States have been with us for three weeks and have worked with us. We worked side by side, used the same tools, ate at the same table, prayed together and sang songs. Thank you very much for these men and women who came from far away America! First, we worked equally together with our brothers and sisters in Ame... read more

This was part of an email from Steve Volstad. Thought you might like to be encouraged. My thoughts are that this effort kicked off the CA partnerships exceptionally well. It was clearly evident that people throughout the district were praying. We had no travel problems to speak of, no injuries of any significance, The partners in Russia fully embraced the project and sent volunteers from as far as 1000 miles away in Siberia. We had as many as 38 people sit down to eat at supper together. We had lots of Russian volunteers from all throughout the AMCEC churches. All jumped in and worked with great vigor. In spite of language barriers, there was great and important communication. A high level of trust was established between our teams. Deep affections were planted and cultivated in the ... read more

For those of you reading this, who are a part of the WPA District, you should be extremely proud of your fellow district friends who have come and taken part in the renovation of the dorm at the Rainbow Camp. Since the first group arrived on Saturday, May 19, these 10 people have worked hard, from morning to dinner. They've worked hard, right alongside their new Russian friends. They've eaten 3 meals a day outside, in sunny and cloudy weather, even in light rain, and each meal with mosquitos constantly flying all around. On the 3 Sundays that they have been here, they've participated during the services in 3 churches in 3 different cities. They've preached, shared testimonies and prayed for newly ordained workers. They've been given great opportunities to minister to each other, as well ... read more

Hello everyone. I'm on line in Pastor Sergei Gutz' house in the city of Ulyanovsk, Russia. Pastor Glenn Hanna just finished cleaning some walleye that Sergei's friends caught in the Volga River earlier today. Then he cooked them up using his special recipe. Very, very good! We took a break this weekend, from working with the Russians on the construction work at the Christian Youth Camp, (the Rainbow Camp), site to attend Church in Ulyanovsk and to look around the town for a few hours. So what do you know about the Holy Spirit? I never understood, nor heard, how the Holy Spirit is present in everyone and how to allow Him to work in my life. Maybe I forgot the lesson on the Holy Spirit or maybe I just wasn't paying attention the day(s), when ... read more

This week I have seen the Holy Spirit connect hearts between people who cannot communicate through language. Different Russian churches have sent teams of people to help with the construction and to prepare the food. The women have prepared the food and served us with gracious hearts. They showed us love before we spoke a word. I listened to them worship in the evenings. I couldn't understand the words they sang, but I understood their love for the Lord. One day I had an opportunity to sit with the women and through an interpreter learn about their lives. They were curious about my life as an American. We found out we had more in common than differences. How blessed I have been to experience the love of Christ in brothers and sisters half way around the ... read more

For the week since we arrived through the present, I've seen Gods love extending across every part of this experience. From the moment I committed to allowing Him to use me on this trip until now, He has shown Himself in even the smallest details. The gracious love and hospitality of our missionary families, the Volstads and the Gutzs', have endlessly ministered to me and our teams. The incredible way our teams have bonded, having not known one another before now, can only be the Lord. I've enjoyed instruction from many experienced and patient teammates in church services, building projects, devotions, and worship, not only from the Americans, but our Russian brothers and sisters, as well. That brings me to the miracle of bonding people from the opposite ends of the earth, by breaking language barriers, ... read more

As of Friday we had been able to get most of the drywall up in three of the sleeping rooms. Two of the rooms have the drywall finished and ready for paint One is in process. The Ladies restroom and Shower room has boards up and ready for finishing. The Mens rest room and shower is in process of being framed and rough plumbing and electric finished. We were able to have the Lobby area concrete poured on Thursday. It was amazing to watch how the work was accomplished. We had several groups of workers in from area churches 150 miles away. They came specifically to help with the camp project. They poured the concrete on the floor in one room and then pushed and shoveled it across the floor into the other room until it ... read more

Good evening. It is 12:00 am on Sunday the 3rd but it is still Saturday where you are. We have had a splendid week so far. Our team of Holly Shoaf, Caleb Jack, Cindy Jack and Glenn Hanna joined the team that was already here. We had left Pittsburgh on Friday the 9th and traveled 36 hours to our destination at the Ministry Center in Ulyanovsk. We were dead tired upon arrival and found warm and accomodating servants willing to greet us at the airport at 11:00 p.m.local time on Saturday the 10th. There is a Wycliff Bible Translators class taking place at the center with 28 students from accross Russia and the Far East so the accomodations were tight but warmly received. We had the opportunity to meet several of the translators including one from ... read more

Hello All: We have had a miraculous time working with the teams of volunteers from around the region. The comradery between our team members and between our members and the Russian volunteers has been absolutely incredible. If there was any hint of doubt in their committment to the project it was erased the first day. This past week the greatest difficulty has been finding work for everyone. Staging of the work has been of prome importance. Our love is sent out to friends and family. God Bless you all for your support.... read more