Moving Forward

As our August departure draws closer here are a few things we are looking forward to as well as a few things we will miss!

Things we are looking forward to

*Joining our Russian team!


*Seeing friends again
*Our own apartment
*Russian food
*Globus
*Coffee Bean
*Not driving!

Things we are going to miss
*Family
*Indiana sweet corn


*Air conditioning
*Starbucks coffee
*Target
*Our pillows
*Talking to friends and family on the phone whenever we want


Thanks for your support!

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

Russia...Here We Come!

TICKETS ARE PURCHASED!

We have purchased our return flights to Russia! We are leaving August 24th and are so excited to have a date to look forward to! We are hoping life will have settled down more with a newborn (who will be 3 months when we leave).
We think about our friends and teammates in Russia often. Can't wait to rejoin them in just 2 months!

Please pray for our Letters of Invitations and Visa to come through quickly.

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

Report

This is a report of our church plant in Russia, Grace of Christ Church:

We praise the Lord for His continued guidance as we launch our new church plant, Grace of Christ Church. We held our first larger worship gathering on June 5 and are in the process of forming a third home group this month. Through the witness of one of our church plant team members, a university student became a follower of Jesus at the end of May! We praise the Lord for His grace and unfailing love towards us.

-from our field directors

Thank you for your faithful prayers for this church plant as we are stateside. We are anxiously awaiting our return to Russia.

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

LIFE

Are you wondering how we have been? Well, we are surviving...barely! I think I briefly forgot what life was like with a newborn...but I was quickly reminded! Gwen isn't the best sleeper..yet, but we are working on it. For the most part Gwen is pretty content. Adalynn likes to say, "little sister" and "Gwenie bear". Other than those two phrases, I don't think she is much of a fan of her little sister yet. She tolerates her. The funniest thing is when Adalynn will say "little sister, waha waha..."--imitating her crying.

We are getting back into the swing of things. Hopefully our Russian tutoring will start up again here soon. We have enjoyed getting to know Sofya and hope to interact with her more in the coming weeks.
In July we will be visiting Hulman Wesleyan Church here in Terre Haute as well as Mt. Zion Wesleyan in New Castle, Indiana. On July 31st Philip will be ordained in the Wesleyan church at Orleans Wesleyan Church in Orleans, Indiana. We have a busy July ahead of us, but we are looking forward to connecting with supporters and friends! If you are around in July we would love to see you at these churches!

Thanks for your prayers!


Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

Welcome!

Welcome Gwenyvere Priscilla

Big Sister Adalynn!

We are all in love with the newest addition to our family!

Gwenyvere Priscilla arrived on Tuesday morning at 12:14am. She as 7 lb 5oz and 20 inches long. We are so grateful to the Lord for being with us through the labor and delivery! We were able to have a successful VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section)! We, along with many other people, had been praying that we could do this and not end up with a c-section. Even after our doctor only gave us less than a 50% chance of success, the Lord provided a way!

We are all doing well...tired of course. Pray for us in the coming days.

Now that Gwen has been born we are waiting on her ss card and birth certificate. Once we have these items we will submit the paperwork for her passport. Pray that her birth certificate comes quickly!

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers this week!

Blessings,

Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

Updates

No, baby yet. We'll let you know when she arrives! We are trying to wait patiently!

June 6-12th is busy on the Russian field. A team from Indiana Wesleyan University will be coming to help teach an English camp. Also, the Bible College will be hosting Professor Vardaman as he teaches an intensive class on Christian Ethics (He was actually a former missionary to the Russian field!). Please be in prayer with us as these events take place over the next few weeks.

Our church planting team is doing well. They continue to meet each week. They are in the mist of launching 2 home groups. The church's name is Grace of Christ Church. It is exciting that we have a name! Pray for growth, boldness, and effectiveness as the team continues to reach out to the community.

We are still pushing away at language learning here in the States. I guess there isn't anything better to do as we wait for Gwen to arrive! She was due on Friday, so we'll see what this coming week brings! Pray for us!

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and baby Gwen

Our Friends

Our dear friends from seminary will be leaving on Sunday, May 15th for Uganda!! They are missionaries through World Gospel Missions. We had a chance to see them briefly a few weeks ago as they passed through Indiana on their way home to New Jersey. Scott has been packing this week as Meg and the boys were saying their goodbyes to family in New Hampshire. We have known Scott and Meg before they became a family of 4. They are so dear to our hearts. They have made this "missionary" journey along side as. Please pray for them as they fly out on Sunday. Check out their blog: ON THE ROAD WITH THE RAMBOS. They have promised to keep it up once they are in Uganda:!
We love you Scott and Meg!

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and baby Gwen