Our Field Directors

Philip and I had the wonderful opportunity to meet our field directors! Our field directors, Brian and Cara, are here in the States on Home Ministries. They are getting ready to head back to Russia in a few months. We happened to be in New Jersey the same time they were going to be speaking in a church not far from where we were! It was such an amazing time to meet them face to face! We also got to meet their new daughter, Sophia! The Lord again confirmed to us that Russia is where we need to be! We are so thankful for people like Brian and Cara who are there to encourage us and answer the many questions we have. Besides the fun of hearing more about Russia, it was just great to get to know Brian and Cara a little more personally! We are looking forward to our time in Russia with them! Please be praying for Brian and Cara as they are finishing up raising their support to go back to the field.

Thank You!

We want to extend our thanks to the people of New Dover United Methodist Church from Edison, New Jersey. This past weekend we had the opportunity to share with this congregation about the ministry in Russia! We were able to share with them about how the Lord has led us to be missionaries to this country. Philip and I were a bit nervous as this was our first church to speak to about Russia. The Lord was so good though and we felt his Spirit present with us in the services. The people at New Dover United Methodist Church were so kind and welcoming! We were able to go out to eat with the pastor and meet with some other church members throughout the week to share more of our vision. It was a wonderful and blessed opportunity. We thank you again, New Dover family, for your support and hospitality!

Philip's sister and brother-in-law, who is the youth pastor at New Dover United Methodist Church, and us on Sunday morning.

And Then There Were THREE...

We are so excited to tell you that there will now be THREE people going to Russia! We are expecting our first baby on October 17th! We are thrilled with this blessing! Philip and I will be moving to Indiana to do the rest of our support raising at the end of May. The baby will be born here in the States in October. We don't anticipate any slow downs as far as our departure for Russia goes. We know this little baby is a blessing from the Lord! We are 10 weeks along! We wanted you to know, so that you can be praying for us during this time!

TRAVELS

NEW DOVER UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

On Thursday, Philip and I will be flying out of Mississippi to New Jersey!  We are going to be spending our spring break with Philip's sister, Hannah and her husband Scott, who live in New Jersey!  While we are in New Jersey, we have the opportunity to speak to our first church about Russia!  We are so excited, a little nervous, and greatly anticipating what the Lord has in store for us.  We will be speaking at Scott and Hannah's church, New Dover United Methodist Church on Saturday, March 14th and the morning services Sunday, March 15th.  The church has graciously given us three services to share our vision and ministry for Russia.  Please be praying for us as we prepare for this weekend.  Pray that people's hearts would be burdened for the people of Russia.  Pray that people would give both in prayer and financially.  

On Friday, Philip and I have the opportunity to meet with our field directors, Brian and Cara!  Brain and Cara will be in New Jersey the same weekend speaking at another church.  We have never personally met Brain and Cara, so we are looking forward to this meeting!  What a double blessing to be able to speak in a church and meet our field directors all in the same weekend! (Oh, and we are oh so excited to spend the week with our wonderful family, Scott and Hannah!!)

Thank you for your continual prayers, support, and encouragement.  We have seen God's faithfulness in so many ways!  We pray for you!

Blessings, Philip and Kara

Pictures of Russia!!!

(Russian dolls from the Burnetts)

We just received a handful of pictures from our field directors, Brian and Cara! We are so grateful to them for sharing these with us! Since we have never been to Russia before, we did not have anything to show people about the country! Now we have wonderful pictures to help people take a peak into the Russian life! We also were blessed by a couple here in Jackson, the Burnetts, who gave us some things they bought while in Vladimir! We wanted to share some of the pictures with you!! Hopefully they bring as much excitement to you as they did to us! Brian and Cara also sent us a CD of Hillsong worship in Russian. One of the Hillsong churches, which is one of the largest churches, is located in Kiev, Ukraine. Hopefully we can load some on the blog sometime so you can get a taste of the Russia language in worship to the Lord! We appreciate each one of you!

More dolls from the Burnetts

The Bible College located in Vladimir

National Church leaders:
Anton is Senior Pastor of Tokareva Wesleyan Church and Inna teaches classes at the Bible College.

Young people in Vladimir at a Day Camp

Russian Orthodox Church

Moscow

(pronounced Mosco...long o at the end...we have been told there is no "cow" in Moscow!)

The Need of His People

As Philip and I sit here in Jackson, Mississippi enjoying the 60 degree weather, our hearts are burdened for the people of Vladimir, Russia. Though we enjoy the warm weather here, we are anxiously anticipating the day when we can join with the Russian people in their cold and snowy winter! We received an update from the field through Kerry Pickard, another Global Partner Missionary. We want to share with you some prayer requests and concerns. Even though Philip and I are not yet on the field, the ministries in Russia still need your prayers as well as us. We are so gratefull for your commitment to join us as we prepare to leave in the coming year.  

Please Pray:

• Youth Group--The youth group is undergoing some changes as the youth leaders have established small group Bible studies on Thursday evenings instead of the more entertaining events.  Pray that the youth and leaders can adjust to the change and that youth hearts would be open to the learning that can take place during this time
• Young Adults--The young adults are gearing up for the International Young Adult Retreat on March 13-15.  The retreat is going to be held at the Tokareva Church here in Vladimir.  Pray that hearts would be open during this retreat time and that young people would come to know Christ in a personal way. 
• GP Missionaries--Jeff and Gelya Whitney and their daughter Joy will be returning to Russia after many months in the States raising support.  Pray for their transition and for their travels to go smoothly. Also, another GP missionary, Mandy, will be ending her time in Russia and will be heading back to the States on March 15th.  Please pray for her as she spends time in the States sharing about the work in Russia.  Please also pray for our field directors, Brian and Cara Burke.  They are currently raising support and traveling to churches with their new daughter, Sophia.  Pray for safety as well as rest and good health for all of them.  Also be praying for the funds and prayers to come in so they can head back to Russia soon.
• US--Philip is getting ready to do a senior chapel at Wesley Biblical Seminary.  It is an honor to preach during this special chapel time, so please pray for wisdom and guidance from the Lord for this special message.  Also, we will be presenting and sharing our vision with our first church on March 14-15th in New Jersey.  Please pray for us as we prepare and pray that the Lord will open hearts to hear and have a passion for the people of Russia.  Also be praying that people would continue to give and support this ministry. Pray for boldness for Philip and I to talk to people about giving.

Thank you for your support, encouragment, and prayers.  The Lord is faithful to His children! 

--Philip and Kara

God's Faithfulness

Over the past week Philip and I have received confirmation of people who have joined our support team!! We want to express our thanks to those that have become faith promise givers and prayer partners! What a faithful God we serve! We know so many letters have gone out and that many of you are still praying about how the Lord can use you in this ministry. We urge you to continue to pray and allow the Lord to place an amount on your heart that you can give as you join this ministry. We also encourage you to commit to this ministry through prayer as prayer partners starting now through the duration of our time in Russia. We understand that financial times are tough, but we serve an Almighty God who has promised to supply our needs. Philip and I know without a shadow of doubt that God has lead us to Russia, and that He is going to provide the way for us. We appreciate each and every one of you. Our hope and prayer is that the Lord will ministry to you in these years to come through this ministry!
Thanks be to God!