300 sheets of drywall and 5 working days to complete the job. That was the task facing the team from Woodinville Alliance which came to Tobolsk to help complete the Rehab center. Personally, we thought if they could get half the drywall up during their stay we would be thrilled. Imagine our surprise when they had the job finished after the third day! Not wanting to waste the talents of a great work team, we moved ahead taping and mudding the entire inside of the center. One of the exciting events of the construction was placing notes of Scriptures and prayers of families from the Woodinville Church on inside walls that are now covered by drywall but whose messages will be a constant support for the ministry of the center.
With the electrical wired throughout the center, the heating system warming the center on cold days, a well drilled to provide a source of constant water, a septic system put into place (they usually just have outhouses in the village where the center is located), the Rehab center is just about ready to open. With August being the month of vacations for most Russians, the church is planning on the Rehab center dedication in September. The vision for this center that was given to the church just four years ago is about to become a reality in ministering to men and women who are in need of Jesus Christ and the freedom He can bring to their lives. We will be sharing more about the Rehab center and the new director in our next update.
Family
--Michael is home for summer break from Black Forest academy. He loves building and enjoyed being part of the construction team in Tobolsk. Pray for a summer of rest and refreshment as this last school year was a tough one for him.
--Lisa will be visiting her parents the first part of July. Pray for special times as she spends time with her Mom and Dad. She will also be able to spend time with Benjamin who is on summer break from SPU. Praise—Benjamin found a summer job working at the landscape company where he worked last year.
--Bob, Michael and Timothy will be traveling to Kiev in early July to obtain a new visa for Michael. This has been a difficult year with visas for our field. Pray that Michael, and our other missionary families, would receive their visas without any complications.
--Michael will turn 17 on July 19th. You can send him birthday wishes at farsidelovers@hotmail.com.
Tyumen
--Pastor Sasha’s wife, Nadia, and children traveled three days by train to spend the summer in Southern Russian with Nadia’s parents. Her mom is in poor health and not expected to live long. Pray for this time to be special for Nadia and her family.
--Pray for summer outreaches the church has planned. Russians enjoy being outdoors during the warm summer days so the church is planning picnics, hiking trips, and game nights in parks in order to develop relationships with friends and neighbors.
Tobolsk
--Pray for three camps that will be conducted by the church this summer. Thanks to a special gift provided by Kings Elementary in Seattle, the church will be able to hold summer camps for children and youth from orphanages around the Tobolsk region.
--Pray for Takhir, a Muslim who is now a believer in Christ. He is an Uzbek and is heading up the ministry to Muslims in Old City—Tatars, Tajiks and Uzbeks. Currently there are over 50 Muslim believers in the Old City church. There are few resources in their native languages. Pray for Bibles, Christian literature and the Jesus film that can be used to reach their Muslim neighbors.
Moscow
This summer we are starting a new church plant in Moscow! We will be partnering with Jenya and Delara Burikov to plant a church in the Bytovo region. This region has no churches (not even a Russian Orthodox Church) and is home to over 300,000 people. More details will be coming in future updates.
--Praise that we were able to find an apartment for the Burikovs in this region. The contract was signed June 27th.
--Pray for Jenya and his family as they move into this region and begin to develop relationships.
--Pray for a job opportunity for Delara. Moscow is one of the most expensive cities in the world and she will need to find work to make this church plant workable.
--Pray for our two families as we begin to work together and develop plans for this coming year.
Thank you for regular giving to the Great Commission Fund, which is what keeps us here and keeps the C&MA operating. If you’d like to support our ministry, gifts can be sent through your local Alliance church or to the Christian & Missionary Alliance at: The C&MA, P.O. Box 35000, Colorado Springs, CO 80935. Or, you can give online by going to www.cmalliance.org
To fund our specific ministries here in Moscow and Tobolsk you can write “Merrill Work Special” or “Tobolsk Rehab Center” on the memo line.
