Dacula, Georgia (ACN)

It is Saturday morning December 26th, the day after Christmas and six of the team members are here. We will pickup three others along the way. Brandie will come in tomorrow from Augusta by car. Gabrielle we will meet in New York at JFK, she being from South Carolina. And my new accident prone friend Leanne, from Des Moines we will meet in Moscow.

My point is that, for now at least, those who are traveling to Dacula to meet us are here, safe and sound. It is 5:23am and I am awake. I couldn't sleep for the excitement, anxiety, anticipation etc. that is going on in my mind. I have reason for all of those feelings.

On a personal note, I am excited because this is our first trip to Siberia, and in the dead of winter to boot. I am also excited because we are returning to Russia for what will be my 12th trip to Russia and my 10th mission trip there. God has truly blessed me by allowing me to again return to what I consider to be my second home. I am even more excited because of what God is going to to do on the trip. He always blesses and this trip has already shown that, and we haven't even left home yet.

I have felt a bit of anxiety over the last few days, manifested by a bit of jittery stomach, you know what I mean, some call it butterflies. Stephanie and I have done these trips since 1995 and you would think that I wouldn't be a bit nervous, but I am in good company; Stephanie is also a bit nervous.

I am filled with anticipation at what God will do and at meeting a new friend in Pastor Vitaly Bak. We have communicated by email a bit, but I have never spoken to him. As always my hope is the same as with any Russian pastor and that is that we will become fast friends and brothers. God will show up and His will will prevail and His purposes for us being there will be accomplished

So today we as a team will begin to bond with the packing of the containers and discussions of our fears. Stephanie and I will do our best in a few hours of conversation to train the team members so that they feel comfortable fulfilling their roles and so that they are not culturally offensive.

I was going to say that tomorrow the Great Adventure starts because tomorrow we get on the plane bound for Russia, but it already started. God brought Darlene and Delores out of North Dakota and the Christmas blizzard. He also brought Josh and Kristen from Idaho and Kansas. For all four the Great Adventure has already begun, they have already left hearth and home.

As a team we ask for prayers from all of you. While prayers of safety are always desirable they are not our first priority. No, our first priority is that God could say of each of us "thous good and faithful servant". If that is true then all the rest is of no consequence. So our prayer request is that we have servants hearts, that we do God's will and that we show up where God is working.

Before I say goodnight I want to thank some people. First I thank my God for the support, love grace and mercy he has shown to the entire team. I want to thank William, Kathy and Wendy Gailey for spending Christmas with us instead of with family. They came over at lunch time and drove to the airport with us to meet the team members that were flying into Atlanta.

Next I would like to thank my daughter Katy for coming and visiting with the team last night and for providing food for our meal. I am not so sure about the "gossip" she was spreading to the team about my teaching abilities. I only overheard bits and pieces of that conversation.

The entire team wants to thank Gardner and Kristy Peek for the use of their home to house some of the team members this weekend and to Ceci and Brandt Engstrom for the use of their home on January 9th when we return from Russia. What a great blessing indeed.

And I would like to thank Dave and Leanne Jones for inviting Stephanie and me over for dinner last night, little did they know had we shown up it would have been been with 11 other people in tow. However, it was a very kind thought because they thought we were alone on the day before the team arrived and wanted us to share Christmas dinner with them. So thank you guys.

In that same vein of thought let me express our gratitude to William and Kathy Gailey, Morgan and Crystal Spencer for driving the team to the airport early on Sunday morning. And again our gratitude goes to Alberto Oviedo, and William and Kathy Gailey for picking us up late on a Saturday night when they could be at home watching TV. Thanks again to my daughter Katy Paul for the use of her van on the 9th when we return from Russia.

Next my thanks go to Pastor David Ling and the people of First Baptist Church Hebron, ND for sending Darlene and Delores. This church responded to God's call by providing $6000 in support for Darlene and Delores and they did it in a 6 week period this past summer. God is absolutely amazing.

The team wants to express its gratitude to Pastor Vitaly Bak in Kemerovo, Russia for taking a chance with us and allowing us to come and work with his church hosting the VBS for the kids in the area. American Christians can quite easily offend Russian Christians because of our cultural differences and so it is with a great deal of trepitude on my part that I take a team to a place I have not been and to a group of Christians whose ways I may not understand. The last thing I want to do is offend these people and I fear that because of our own freedoms we may very well do that. My goal today is to train the team members to be ultra-sensitive to our Russian friends sensitivities.

Our appreciation also is extended to our four interpreters, Misha Kvashnin, Marina Ivanova, Anya Victorova and a fourth interpreter whose name I do not know. She is a member of the church in Kemerovo. As always, we know that our interpreters will do a great job of interpreting what we say, but more importantly I know they will keep us out of trouble my not interpreting things we say that could be offensive.

And I want to thank Pastor Ken Rucker, our pastor from NewBranch Community Church in Dacula, Georgia for being willing to come and speak to the team on packing day. Pastor Ken has a busy schedule in general and to take time out of his schedule on the day after Christmas, a Saturday (1 of his six days a week off), well it is inspiring. (A little levity was needed to lighten the mood)

Finally, I thank NewBranch for donating cash to this trip without which we could not go. Also in that group of cash givers is every single individual who gave money in support of each team member. Their number is like the number of the hosts of heaven, far too numerous to mention. You will receive many blessings from God for your support.

As you can tell from the long list of supporters this trip would not be possible without the help of many other people serving in many different roles. If I have forgotten to expicity thank you for somehting you did for us please forgive me, after all is is 6:42am and I have been up for a while.

So with those thoughts of appreciation, thanks and love I close this entry by reminding you that God loves you more than you could ever imagine and that He is truly a good father. He gives to us though we deserve nothing and loves us though we turn our back on Him. Praise God for all that He does and love Him because He loves you unconditionally. If you have never asked Jesus to forgive your sins, ask Him for forgiveness for it is the only prayer He will hear until you have asked for forgiveness. Allow Him to have control of your life by submitting your will to His. Then go tell others about Hm and His infinite Love, infinite Grace, and infinite Mercy.

Your brother in Jesus Christ,

Andy Nelms

The Visas Are Here

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)

Paula, just commented on my previous post and wanted to check in and see how things are going, so here is the latest from the international city of Dacula, Georgia.

Yesterday we received our visas. For those of you who might not know, in order to enter Russia you must have a visa, which is a formal document attached to your passport by the Russian Embassy here in the US. Of course for them to do that, you must fill out and submit a visa application. However, before you submit the visa application you must obtain a formal written invitation from a person or organization in Russia.

Well we did all of that work for the eight people going this year and low and behold yesterday the 8 passports with visas attached showed up on my doorstep. Praise God! Each year I worry that we didn't fill out the paperwork properly or maybe after the last visit they will not let us reenter Russia, but each year God provides a way for us to go. So as always we give Him the praise for allowing us to return to Russia, a place I consider a second home.

At this point nearly everyone has their funds raised. See my previous post for the exact status. I am getting reports that team members are getting their seasonal flu shots and the H1N1 flu shot. I have received both shots, Stephanie has received the seasonal flu shot and Joshua has received both shots.

We were concerned that the women would have to wear head coverings (scarves) and dresses or skirts when in the church, but as it turns out the custom is a little more relaxed than that. Married women must wear scarves during church services and all women must wear skirts during the church services. When we are working in VBS the women can wear whatever is convenient.

God has truly blessed us this year with funding, and relatively inexpensive airline tickets, and a church with whom to work in Siberia, and people who are excited to go, and people at the church who communicate in a timely fashion answering our questions. We hope to build a lasting relationship with this church and help them to plant other churches.

Well Paula I hope that answers your questions. Our team of 8 is much smaller than the team of 18 with whom you went. Hopefully, my management skills have improved to the point where I can manage this group better than I managed your huge group.

As always to each and every person who has gone with us on any of our trips, you are all invited to return with us. We have posted the 2010 trip on the web site with the hopes that we will be able to attract a good sized group, between now and then. God has already provided a handful of people for that trip, six I think.

For those of you who have supported us with money and/or prayer please know that we thank you for all of your support. Without your support and that of our Lord and Savior these trips would not be possible.

May God bless each and every person who reads this blog and may He inspire each one to go with us next year.

Andy

The Time is Near

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)

With a title like that and if you know me you are thinking "He's talking about the rapture". While it is true the time of the rapture is near, it is not my topic tonight. No, tonight's topic is our next trip to Russia.

We depart Dec. 27th for Moscow and arrive on Dec. 28th. We then fly from Moscow to Kemerovo, Russia. When we arrive we will be 11 time zones from home and nearly half way around the world. We go to teach children and teens about Jesus.

The trip will take 14 days. We will be deep in the heart of Siberia with temperatures around 10 degrees F. for highs. There will be plenty of snow and lots of work to do.

Today I went to apply for our visas. In order to enter Russia you must have permission and that is obtained by asking the Russian government to grant you a visa. We are praying that we will be granted permission and that there will be no problems. The cost for 8 people to apply for the visas? $1500.

I have not been in Russia since March 2007 and I have missed my friends and family there. This time we are going to the town of Kemerovo. The closest I have been to Kemerovo (pop. 200,000) was in the city of Novosibirsk (pop. 1,000,000) in March 2007. Novosibirsk is four hours by van from Kemerovo. This trip will stretch me because we will be traveling for three days. We depart Dec. 27th at 12:00pm and arrive in Kemerovo Dec. 29th at 6:00am.

If you are a prayer warrior would you right down our prayer requests and pray for us from now until we return on January 9th. The team members names are:

Andy Nelms (55 from Dacula, Georgia)
Stephanie Nelms (39 from Dacula Georgia)
Darlene Siewert (69 from Richardton, ND)
Delores Martin (76 from Richardton, ND)
Brandie Reese (31 from Augusta, Georgia)
Gabrielle Norton (59 from Charleston, SC)
Joshua Durland (17 from Oregon)
Kristen Parks (18 from Kansas)

Please pray for our health to be good before and during the trip so that we can be effective.
Pray that our hearts will be servant hearts and that we are ready to serve.
Pray that the hearts of the Russian people with whom we come into contact will be ready to hear the Word.
Pray that as a team we become family and learn to serve each other.
Pray that many people will come to know Jesus Christ on this trip.
Pray for the House of Prayer Baptist Church with whom we will work, that many people will discover the people of the church to be friendly and excited about Jesus.
Pray that God will use each of us to bring glory to himself.
Pray that if something should happen to us while we are there that God will use it to bring glory to himself.

Pray that we will have enough funds to do all the work we have planned.

For all of you who have been with us on our trips before, you know how important it was that we were prayed for so I ask you to please participate in this prayer request. For all of you who know me and know my heart, please pray for us.

When we return we will be glad to share with you what God has done and tell you about the Great Adventure.

Lastly, I ask each person who reads this to make the following commitment:

I will commit to going to Russia on Dec, 27th 2010 if God will provide the funds. Then call or write to us and let us know of your commitment.

Thank you for reading my little blog.

May God bless you, your family and your church abundantly.

Servant of Jesus and your fellow Sojourner,

Andy Nelms

The December Trip Draws Nigh

Dacula, GA (ACN)

Today we have 8 people who have committed to going to Russia with us. We are humbled that each of you would go. It has been a long dry period since March 2007 when I was in Russia last.

My prayers are that God will break the hearts of the Russian people with whom we will speak and ready them to hear the Gospel. I pray that the members of the team will be ready to speak the Gospel when we arrive.

May God richly bless those who go with us, those who have given to this ministry and those who have, are and will pray for us.

Stephanie and I are excited about what God is doing in our lives and what He will do in the coming days as we serve Him in Russia.

Some of the children with whom we work in the Vacation Bible School will hear the Gospel for the first time. Wouldn't you like to be there for that. To be the one who tells a child about Jesus for the very first time.

Come and join us, if not this year then next year. We try to go every year on December 27th.

Come and be blessed by Jesus for telling the least of these about Him.

Andy

Stephanie's Status As of March 9, 2009

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)

Well I was reminded that I have not written about Stephanie's health status in over a month so here it is.

She has completed her 33 daily radiation treatments. This has left much of her skin in the area red and irritated and itchy. However, the worst part is that in her armpit there is an area about 4 inches across that looks like a very large red birth mark. It is a very tender, very inflamed area that causes pain when she moves her arm. She did not suffer the fatigue associated with radiation treatments, that so many older patients endure. We believe that it is because she is younger (38) that she was able to endure this treatment without the fatigue.

We are grateful to Jesus for the protection He has extended to Stephanie. First, He helped her to discover the cancer while it was in stage 0. Second, He brought her through the treatments without any major problems developing. Third He has spared her life. As far as we know Stephanie is cancer free.

Life for us is however, forever changed. We now know that we can endure the problems of life by loving our Savior and depending on Him for strength. This in turn allows us to love each other in the face of all that life can bring.

We give praise to Jesus for all that He has done for us, for all that He will do for us and for the offer of salvation that we so gratefully accepted so many years ago.

Romans 3:23
Romans 6:23
Romans 10:9

Jesus is the ONLY way. He is the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the father but through Him. Those were His words not mine.

If you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you are looking for peace, looking for rest will you consider asking Him to forgive you of your sins? Will you ask Him to teach you how to live a life for Him? Don't know what to pray? Don't know how to respond? Write to me by clicking here http://www.4inthefire.org/ContactUs/Default.aspx

I will show you who Jesus really is and how to have real peace and real rest from the world's woes.

Andy

Stephanie's Status As of February 4, 2009

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)
Most of you know that Stephanie had breast cancer and that she had two surgeries to remove the cancer. The doctors believe they removed all of the cancer and now Stephanie is undergoing 6 weeks of radiation treatment. She has completed 2 weeks of the treatment. The only side effects so far are that she has a lot of soreness near the site of the surgery where the radiation is being focused and she is also a bit more grumpy than usual, but don't tell her I said so. Besides she is not usually grumpy at all. :) She is allowed the privilege.

We have about 4 weeks left of radiation and then we continue our lives, knowing that God will protect her so that Andy can have her around for a long time, but even if He does not and He allows the cancer to return, He is a loving and good God and will in the end save Stephanie from her sins and take her home to glory. Amen!! However, Andy is still and will until his dying breath pray for a miracle of healing for Stephanie.

Ok, so I am NOT going to let this get me down, since on this very day God has seen fit to grant us the privilege of working in Russia this coming December. If the Lord wills, we will be there with bells on. Won't you go with us? The harvest is great, but the workers are few. Read below for more information on our next trip.

Andy

Footnote: The second paragraph contains a very long sentence that I think even the Apostle Paul would be proud of. As you know he also wrote VERY long sentences.

We Have A Destination

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)
For those of you who either are new to Four In The Fire or who may not have known, we have had a terrible time trying to contact the pastor in Russia with whom we have wanted to work. It turns out is was not his fault, but mine. I had an incorrect email address. We have been trying to make contact for about a year, and in fact we briefly were in contact about a year ago, but I lost my hard drive and some email addresses.

However, God is as always gracious and found a way to correct my erreoneous email address. Then when I sent my email in English, Pastor Bak (the Russian Pastor with whom we have been attempting to communicate) did not respond. So after about 60 days I rewrote my email and sent it to one of our dear Christian interpreters and she translated the email for me and sent it the same day. Within 48 hours I heard from Pastor Bak and he has graciously agreed to work with us in December.

So now we have a destination. We will be working in Kemerova, Russia, deep in the heart of Siberia, approximately 2500 miles east of Moscow. This trip will truly be one to remember. There will be great challenges, but God will provide and glory will be brought to His name.

In case you can't tell, YES I AM SO STKINKING EXCITED I COULD LEAVE FOR RUSSIA TODAY. But alas, we must wait until dark....oops thats another story...I mean we must wait until December.

If you have never been to Russia on a mission trip please look at the photographs at our site http://www.4inthefire.org/Photographs and read the comments and then download our Survival Guide and read it. If then you are at all interested in going please email us by clicking on the Contact Us link on any of our pages. If you have been to Russia on a mission trip before, well then just sign up and allow God to use you for His glory.

Souls are won for Jesus on every trip. Come and be a part of the Great Adventure.

May God bless you and your family as He has blessed us this day!

God Was Gracious

Dacula, Georga (ACN)

So last Saturday we sold Krispy Kreme donuts at the intersection of Hamilton Mill and Braselton Hwy. We purchased 200 dozen, a modest amount for our first attempt and I think we all felt like it would be easy and in no time we would go home.

William and I arrived at the intersection at about 6:00am and everyone else arrived around 6:30am. William and I had driven about 30 miles to pick up the donuts in Commerce and drive them back. I spent $535 purchasing the donuts and as soon as I spent the money I began to worry about whether or not this was going to work. I know, I know it's God's thing so let Him worry. Well God didn't spend God's money from the Four In The Fire checking account, no Andy spent God's money from the Four In The Fire checking account and Andy was worried that maybe God didn't approve.

The team consisted of 9 people, all of whom are planning on going to Russia. We split up into groups on all four sides of the intersection. After roughly two hours (8:30am) I had to go to the restroom so I began to walk uphill across the intersection to the Quick Trip. As I began to walk I could feel my legs not wanting to cooperate (my blood sugar was low), I was wet from the rain (yeah God let it rain on us) and we had only sold maybe two boxes in 2 hours. I was frustrated, down trodden, and still worried, so I began to pray (again) asking God if He wanted me in Russia and if so, why wasn't He helping us sell these stink'n donuts. This went on in my mind for what seemed like an eternity.

As the morning wore on we began to sell and occaisionally we would sell two or three boxes very quickly. At one point when I went to William's truck to get more donuts I decided to count the remainder, I had not done so any earlier because I was afraid of what I would discover. It was probably 10:00am when I counted and if I remember correctly we had something like 35-45 boxes left in the truck. We had started the moring off with 100 boxes in the truck (or so we thought), because we had offloaded two stacks of 50 donuts on the other corners. While I was counting correctly, we had forgotten that there were about 20 boxes of donuts in my car, which was not discovered until the end of the day.

So needless to say I was elated at the thought of having sold over 50% of what we needed to sell at that corner. I had just come from William's corner and he had sold 27 of the 50 he had started with and Ben's stack looked like he had sold a goodly amount also, but I couldn't tell from across the street.

As the donuts began to sell, and it started like a wave building to a crescendo, people began to just give donations and not take the donuts. Well I wanted them to take the donuts, because I was tired and wanted to go eat. Oh well, I had to settle for people being generous and kind.

After the donuts began to sell everyone's spirit began to pick up. And at this point I might add that I am very grateful to everyone who participated, because each person had a role to fulfill and each person did it wonderfully. The girls (there are four of them, all teens) did a magnificent job of running back and forth to the cars and holding the signs that let people know what we were doing.

So to make a long story short (if that's possible at this point) we sold nearly all of the donuts and netted approximately $500. Of course that $500 must be split nine ways so we each made about $55. However, we need $3000/person to go on the trip. We will need a lot of support to come in from all of our friends and family in order to meke the journey to Russia.

For our part, Stephanie and I will be donating all or nearly all of any bonus she might receive this year to help pay our way. We also have not had a vacation in years, until we recently drove to North Dakota. The reason for that is that we do not spend money on vacations but rather we commit our money to the mission trips. I say this not to garner any praise, but so that you know that when we ask for your help we have done our part.

Now we must wait on God to bring in the rest of the money. He sold the donuts this past weekend so it is on Him that we will depend for the rest of the funds.

Andy

God Is Moving

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)

Tonight I went to Arbys for dinner with my lovely bride and as we began to order the young lady behind the counter said, "I really like your hat." I was wearing my Russian shopka, the rounded black fur hat you can see me wearing at the top of this blog page.

I said to the young lady whose names is Kat, "Would you like one. I will take you to the store where I bought mine and buy one for you." She said, "Where did you buy yours." I replied, "In Russia." I then explained about our mission trips and she was excited about the possibility of going to Russia on a mission trip. I gave her our web site address and she promised to go look at it.

Later as we were eating she was near our table and I asked her to come to the Russia interest meeting on Sunday. She said yes and left, then came back and said she couldn't that she had to work at Arbys during the meeting. So we arranged for she and Stephanie and I to meet for dinner on Monday evening where we will tell her all about what we do. She seemed genuinely interested to the point of me thinking that she will go. How cool is that?

To top the week off, I had already spoken to a group of 4-5 girls Wednesday at the church and they are all coming to the meeting on Sunday. I think out of that group 1 or 2 will go, but who knows, God may surprise me.

God has really been busy the last week motivating me to ask people to go and getting me focused on preparing to go. Yeah, I know the trip is not until December, but I have to make airline reservations in mid-February and we have to get busy raising money.

It seems that God has again awakened my heart to the possibility of again being in Russia doing the work that He wants us to do. I am so excited I am about to burst. All praise and glory goes to Jesus, my Lord and Savior. It was He who directed us at the last minute tonight to go to Arbys and I believe He inspired Kat to remark upon my hat and He gave me the idea to ask a perfect stranger to go with us. Hey that's no different than me asking people to go vis-a-vis this web site.

So Kat if you read this, don't freak out but God brought you and I and Stephanie together for a purpose. Ain't God cool!

Andy

The Invitation

Richardton, North Dakota (ACN)

It is 1:47am on Sunday morning and I am to speak at First Baptist, Hebron, North Dakota about Stephanie's cancer and our upcoming Russia mission trip (December 2009). For more information! When Stephanie and I started this journey to North Dakota last Monday I had no idea that the following Sunday I would be speaking at this church, in which Stephanie grew up, was baptized and in which she married me.

July 2, 1994 we were married in this church. It was packed with people, 4 of whom were there because of me and everyone else? Well they were there for Stephanie. She was well know here in this town of 800 and well loved. So now I must speak to this crowd of people who are essentially the same people who watched us marry, lo these 15 years ago.

I was invited to speak partly because of Stephanie and her cancer and partly for the Russia trip. You see, Pastor David Ling, the pastor of the church in which Stephanie grew up, is a good friend. He has been to Russia with us 3 times and has expressed a desire to return on this next trip. Now our lives, Stephanie's and my life have both been entangled in this small town in North Dakota.

Having said all of the above, I still have not come to the nut of the problem. The thing is that I must invite the people of this church to go to Russia with us, and it is a diffcult task. On the one hand, I know that God has a need in Russia for these people from this tiny town in North Dakota, but on the other hand how to invite them in a way that will reach their hearts and lead them to Jesus. By that I don't mean lead them to a saving knowledge of Jesus, they already have that, no I mean lead them to Jesus in such a way that the Holy Spirit will be able to pursuade them to go to Russia.

Oh you say, just tell them and they will follow, but to that I respond with 14 years of expereience of asking pe0ple to go and having good reactions and very bad reactions. The Holy Spirit may already be at work on someone's heart even as I am writing this and I could easily turn this person off to the trip by what I say or how I say it. Without the Holy Spirit working in my life right now as I prepare to speak tomorrow I am undone and the work that God has for me to do in Russia will go unfinished.

So you see, the invitation to go to Russia much be couched in words that encourage and not discourage, in words that show my love and God's love for the Russian people. I don't go because I love the Russian people, though that is true, no I go because God has asked me to go. No that is not exactly the essence of the transaction that transpired in 1992, when God first spoke to me. No, God did not ask me to go He commanded me to go. I was compelled to go. This was the work of the Holy Spirit through our pastor at the time and through some of the people that went on the trip. They came back and told of what happened on their trip and the Holy Spirit used that to get a hold of my heart.

So now I wrestle with the invitation to these people. What to say, how to say it, how much to say. Obviously, these words must be those of the Holy Spirit so now at 2:13am I invite the Holy Spirit to cleanse my heart, to fill me with love for these people to whom I am to speak, to give me the words to say, God breathed words and not my own so that the people of this church will take up the challenge and join me in the Great Adventure.

If you are reading this and think maybe you would like to go, or maybe you would just like to read a little more about our trips then read our Russia Mission Trip Survival Guide.

So if you perchance read this blog and do so before 1:00pm on Sunday December 28th, 2008 then I aks that you say a prayer for me that I may use God's words and not mine when I speak at this church. If it is too late for that then pray that I always use God's words when inviting people to work in Russia with us.

Andy

I know that there is someone in Russia with whom these people

More News As Regards Stephanie's Cancer

Richardton, North Dakota (ACN)

If you are wondering about the byline above read the previous post regarding our travel to North Dakota. When we arrived in Kansas City for the evening, Stephanie noticed as she undressed that she was "leaking" a nearly clear fluid with a hint of rose to it. The "leaking" was from the incision the surgeon had made for her lumpectomy (for more about that see the three previous posts regarding her cancer).

We called the doctor the next day, December 23rd, but the doctor was not in. The nurse asked a few questions including a question regarding whether the tissue looked inflamed etc. So far, there is no visible infection. Stephanie was told to keep an eye on it and if an infection appeared or her condition began to deteriorate to see a doctor in North Dakota. As of this writing at 3:08pm (Georgia time) on December 24th she is fine and we have not seen a doctor. Besides, what self respecting bacteria would grow in a -7 degree temperature.

We were supposed to hear yesterday as to the nature of the second lump and whether or not the surgeon felt that he had removed all of the cancer. The call never came. So we wait, until next week. We have an appointment scheduled for just after the new year at which we will discuss with the surgeon where we are in the process and whether or not any further surgery is neccessary. At that time we will also be put in contact with an oncologist who will take care of the radiation that Stephanie will undergo. The radiation is neccessary in order to wipe out any remaining cancer cells that may be left in the breast that were not part of these two lumps.

So for now we wait and we pray and we ask for your prayers for a miracle of healing in Stephanie's body so that there is no more cancer present.

Thank you all for praying and calling and loving on Stephanie. After God, she is the most important thing in my life and I count it a blessing to have had her for nearly 15 years. God truly blessed me when He brought Stephanie to me. She is the perfect wife for me.

Andy

The Journey to North Dakota

Richardton, North Dakota (ACN)

During the summer, long before we knew Stephanie would have cancer we had planned a trip to visit Stephanie's family in North Dakota at Christmas. Yes, we knew it would be cold, but not much different from Russia at that time of year. So, on Monday December 22, 2008 at 7:40am we set off for Richardton, ND from Dacula, GA. Oh by the way, when I say we, I mean Stephanie, Andy and Nikki our 86lb. German Shepherd. Nikki occupies the entire back seat of the car, so all of the stuff that went with us had to fit in the trunk.

The real question on our minds was how would Nikki adjust to being in the car for 4 days straight (2 days up to ND and 2 days back) for twelve hours each day. Then the question arose as to how she would react in the hotel overnight with all of the accompanying noises from the hallways and adjoining rooms? She is a German Shepherd after all and she loves to alert us to all of the world's dangers. Too bad we don't have a spiritual German Shepherd. Oh yeah, we do, we have the Holy Spirit to alert us to the world's spiritual dangers, but I digress...

We traveled through Atlanta, Chattanooga and Nashville and northwards to Kentucky and Illinois. From Illinois we went westward to St. Louis and then finally stopping for the evening in Kansas City, KS. There was very little traffic along the way except in St. Louis. From the time we neared St. Louis until we were out of traffic was about an hour and not because we were stuck and not moving. It is just that there was about 50 miles of nearly bumper to bumper traffic in St. Louis around 5:00pm.

There were some beautiful sites to see along the way. Probably some of the most beautiful were in the mountains as we neared Chattanooga. The temperatures were so low that the water that naturally flows over the rocks through which the road has been cut was frozen. From the tops of the rocks to the grass below there was white ice, frozen in long icicles.

The trip was rather uneventful until we were about 20 minutes east of Kansas City, KS. Evening had already come and the snow had begun to fall. It was enough snow to make you slow down slightly, but not enough to create white out conditions. I thought it lasted for about 20 minutes, but Stephanie said it only lasted for about 5 minutes. Hey, I am from Georgia and I get excited about snow. She is from North Dakota and is more realistic. Well pooh on her.

We ate and then checked into the hotel, a Best Western. The rooms were clean but the best part was that they allowed us to keep Nikki in the room. So how did Nikki do in the room all night? Answer: she loved it. Her dad was there so she was happy. The same goes for the car. Wherever her dad is that is where she wants to be, no matter what else may be happening.

When we awakened that morning we learned that there was snow on the way to Kansas City, for later that day and schools were closing. We decided to get out of Dodge early and left again about 7:40am. Let it be said (with tongue in cheek) that we are definitely early risers. Hah! Hah!

By the way, the temperature was 13F in Dacula when we set out and it never got above 23F during the entire trip to Kansas City. Overnight the temperature rose in Kansas City to 29F. The streets were somewhat icy and difficult to navigate and I thought that if it were this bad now, boy was the day going to be really long for this Georgia boy, trying to drive all the way to ND from Kansas City.

While I was putting some things in the car, Stephanie and Nikki were in the room and Stephanie asked Nikki if she wanted to "go for a ride?" Stephanie thought that maybe Nikki was sick of "riding" after spending 12 hours in the backseat of the car the previous day. Nikki got very excited and starting whining and making all kinds of dog noises (short of barking) to let Stephanie know that she was ready to get in the car and "go for a ride" again. However, at this point Stephanie is now panicking trying to get Nikki to be quiet to keep from disturbing the neighbors.

When I returned to the room to all of this activity Nikki acted like she hadn't seen me in four days instead of four minutes and let me know she was "ready to go for a ride." So off we went northward on I-29 from Kansas City, KS to Fargo, ND. And yes, the people of Fargo really do speak like the female sheriff from the movie Fargo.

On the entire trip, I drove all the way until we reached Bismark, ND. It was around 9:30pm and I was sleepy. Stephanie began driving at that point and I slept for about an hour while she took us from Bismark to Richardton.

I almost forgot to mention that the snow started falling shortly after we enteted North Dakota's southeastern corner. Night had already fallen also. If you have never driven at 80mph on an interstate highway at night in relatively heavy snow with 18 wheelers kicking up snow to the point of nearly white out conditions then you haven't lived.

Because there is always such a great amount of wind in North Dakota, snow drifts everywhere and does so fairly quickly. Eventaully you have these snow fingers sticking out into the road from the side of the road.

Editorial comment: Stephanie has just corrected me after falling out of her chair and rolling on the floor with laughter. They are not called snow fingers, but finger drifts. I am not sure why she thought that was so funny, but there you are.


They may be 1-3 ft in length and maybe 6-12 inches wide. They occur one after the other. The trucks riding in the right lane hit these finger drifts and it causes the snow to go flying and the wind blows the loose snow in the air until you get a white out effect. Then you have to slow down and wait for things to settle down and then repeat the process all over again.

Now, I know that you are the smart type and like Stephanie will suggest going around the truck. Yeah well, just wait until you are in the left lane and about midway up the length of this 18 wheeler attempting to pass when the white out effect occurs. Uh huh, you didn't think of that. Hey, I am just saying...

So eventually I DID pass the stupid truck, only to find more trucks in front of the first one. This was going to be the day I died, or least the night anyway. We kept going and the traffic lightened, but the snow continued. When we arrived in Fargo and took the exit ramp off of I-29 and onto I-94 we only had 263 miles left in our 1700 mile journey.

As we passed a mall in Fargo on I-94, the the temperature was 4 degrees, but there had been such a large amount of traffic that the road was wet and slippery. There were 4-5 cars off the road already, on both sides of the highway and I was determined not to be one of them, so I let off on the accelerator and plodded through the area at about 35 mph.

As I mentioned earlier the day started in Kansas City with 29F. There was snow on the ground all the way from Kansas City to Richardton, ND. As we traveled from Kansas City, we passed through Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota to finally arrive in North Dakota. The temperatures that day steadily dropped from 29F to -8F as we pulled into the Stephanie's parent's driveway.

During the drive from Fargo to Bismark as I kept watching the temperature fall I had this irrational fear of being stranded in -5F temperatures. I remarked to Stephanie that it felt like we were on the far side of the moon. Don't say anything, I said I was having irrational thoughts.

The second day ended with us arriving in Richardton, ND safe and sound to the hugs of Howard and Darlene, Stephanie's parents. Naturally, Nikki had to bark a few times and growl for a while to let Darlen and Howard know that she was the new queen of the house. We talked for a while and went to bed.

Today we awakened to a foot orso of snow on the ground and frigid temperatures, but we are on the inside where it is a cmfortable 72F. God has brought us safely to North Dakota where we will celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We praise Jesus for having brought us safely home and we ask for your prayers for a safe journey back to Georgia next Monday and Tuesday (Dec. 29th and 30th.).

May the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob bless you this Christmas as you celebrate His birht with your families.

Your fellow Sojourner,

Andy Nelms

We Are Nearly Finished With Cancer

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)

Stephanie and I went to the hospital this morning for the second surgery, which was mercifully shorter. We arrived at 7:30am and left at about 11:45am. We stopped at the Chik-Fil-A for a chocolate shake to settle our stomachs after Stephanie's anaesthesia. This is a tradition of ours and I only partake because Stephanie does.

Dr. Jensen said everything went well, but we will not know for sure until after they biopsy the lump that was taken this time. That will not happen until Monday.

I do need to make one correction to a statement I made earlier. I said there would be no chemotherapy and no radiation, but there will be raditation. The raditation will destroy any remaining cancer cells in the breast. The book that the hospital gave us said that it could be as much as 5 daily treatments per week for 5 weeks. We don't know yet as to what Stephanie's treatment regimen will be. We will probably discuss that in two weeks when we visit the surgeon again, or it may be that we will have to wait until we are assigned an Oncologist.

So we are home and doing well. Stephanie is resting and must take it easy for a couple of days. Life is beginning to return to normal.

I give all the glory to Jesus Christ, the Great Healer and Redeemer for the healing that He has done in Stephanie. It was because she noticed it when she did that we were able to catch the cancer early. I don't believe in coincidences, I do believe that my Lord and Savior has been gracious and merciful and allowed Stephanie to find the cancer early and I praise His holy name for this.

On Monday we will begin our 24 hour journey to North Dakota to visit Stephanie's family. The temperatures have been around -17F. There is some snow on the ground and the drifts are waist high. This will be a trip to remember. Stephanie, Nikki (our 87 lb. German Shepherd) and I all in our little Mazda 3 for 24 hours up to ND and 24 hours back. Wanna join us?

We have begun our planning for the next Russia Mission Trip in December 2009. We would be honored if you would go with us. We will be traveling to Novosibirsk Russia deep in the heart of Siberia. Yes it will be cold on the outside, but we will be on the inside silly. So come and join us. You can find more information at http://www.4inthefire.org/ .

Come and join us in The Great Adventure. If you are a Christian you are qualified to go. Your only excuse for not going is your imminent death. We love you and we want you to have a fullfilling Christian experience and what better way than to participate in a mission trip to Russia.

So you are thinking what a stinker, advertising the Russia mission trip in the midst of relating Stephanie's cancer story. Well I dare say, if you ask Stephanie she does not mind. In fact, let me tell you about a conversation she had with a coworker.

Gary, a coworker of Stephanie's asked her if she had any epiphanies from this cancer epsiode, in other words had God revealed anything to her. She said yes, I realize that I do not have any regrets. She said that she is glad that she agreed to go to Russia low these many years ago when Andy first asked in 1994.

So that brings me back to you. When you are too old and too sick to go, and that time will come sooner than you expect, will you have regrets that you did not share the Gospel message with others or will you be in that boat with Stephanie and be able to say I am glad I went when God asked me to go.

When I ask people to go with us on these mission trips I am acting as a messenger for God. You don't actually think He is going to show up in your bedroom one night with a bright light and say go with Andy to Russia. No silly, He tells me to ask and I do. So here is your invitation to go Russia and love on some kids or teens. Most do not have loving parents and most are from broken homes. Come and show what a good Christian parent is like. Come be their role model.

I love you all and I always pray for you. To whom am I writing? To you, those of you who have not yet gone with us. Come let your light shine. Love God by loving people. After all that is what Pastor Jeff preached on Sunday December 14, 2008. Love God and love people.

Andy

My Redeemer Is Nigh

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)

I will get to the title momentarily, but let me digress if I may. So throughout this ordeal with Stephanie's surgery and the diagnosis of cancer Stephanie said she had experienced no anxiety, until today when we went to discuss the results of her surgery with the surgeon. After weeks of worrying about this myself, thus adding a cubit to my height (Luke 12:25), she says she has not been anxious at all. Well I guess that just goes to show who the more spiritually mature one is.

So today we went in to the doctor's office and he begins to describe the breast and how it is made of a large number of ducts. These ducts have linings on the walls of the ducts and that is where the duct cell (abnormal duct cell) begins to grow too fast and is then cancer. Doctors do not know what causes the cell to become cancerous, but some insult to the body causes the initial cell to become abnormal.

Once the cell begins to grow and multiply if the cancer cells break through the lining into the duct the cells can travel to the lymphnodes and then contine to spread throughout the body. The stages of cancer try to depict how far along the cancer is in terms of it spread throughout the body.

The three ways that cancer spreads in the body are:

1. 
   Through tissue. Cancer invades the surrounding normal tissue.
2. 
   Through the lymph system. Cancer invades the lymph system and travels through the lymph vessels to other places in the body.
3. 
   Through the blood. Cancer invades the veins and capillaries and travels through the blood to other places in the body.

For more information go to the cancer.gov web site.

Stephanie's cancer cells were located only within the lining of the duct and is known as Stage 0. So we give thanks to those of you who have prayed for Stephanie and praise and glory to our Redeemer who is always nigh.

So what happens next. Well as it turns out, one of the lumps that was removed had cancer on the margins (outside) of the lump which means they did not remove it all, they only removed about 95%. Stephanie will be going in on Wednesday December 17th at 8:30am for another surgery to remove the remaining cancer cells. After this surgery we are done. There will be no radiation and no chemotherapy.

We praise God that the cells had not spread beyond the duct lining and we ask for your continued prayer that the doctors will be successful in removing all remaining cancer cells.

God is good all the time, all the time God is good. But to that expression let me add, that even if we had been given bad news that the cancer had spread God would remain good. He is not good because of what He does, but because of who He is.

I thought it approppriate to include this Psalm as our praise to God for His deliverance.

Psalm 16

The Lord the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Deliverer in
Death.
A Mikhtam of David.
1 Preserve me, O God, for I take
refuge in You.
2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
I have no good
besides You."
3 As for the saints who are in the earth,
They are the
majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those who have
bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink
offerings of blood,
Nor will I take their names upon my lips.
5 The LORD
is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You support my lot.
6 The
lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful
to me.
7 I will bless the LORD who has counseled me;
Indeed, my mind
instructs me in the night.
8 I have set the LORD continually before
me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my
heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
10
For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Nor will You allow Your Holy One
to undergo decay.
11 You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your
presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Andy

My Lovely Bride

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)

On Monday November 24th, 2008 (I believe that was the date) Stephanie and I sat in her surgeon's office and they told us what options she had as regards removing a lump that had been found in her breast. It was all matter of fact and I don't think either of us had yet felt the impact of what was coming. This meeting with the doctor was as a result of Stephanie having had a mammogram a couple of weeks earlier.

So we elected to have the lump removed prior to biopsy, because we felt it better to be rid of the lump, rather than having to come back after the biosy and have to do surgery on a second visit with the surgeon, if it turned out that the lump was cancer.

On Tuesday December 2, we went in for the surgery and by this time we had already begun in earnest to pray for a miracle of healing from the Great Physician, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Jesus had apparently decided that He was not at that time going to heal Stephanie with a miracle, and indeed the doctors removed not just one lump but two.

When the doctors nonchalantly told Stephanie that they were going to "remove both of them this morning", she mentally did a back flip, thinking they must have her confused with someone else. She only had one lump and that was that. There weren't going to be two of anything removed. As it turned out, there was no confusion, at least not about the one lump or two, but they had failed to communicate to her the fact that she had two lumps in the first place. As I said, they removed two lumps.

So then the impact of the journey set in as we began to wait for the results of the biopsy. On Friday December 5th around 10:00am, Stephanie received word that indeed the lumps were cancer. What stage was the cancer? What do we do next? We had many questions and there was only one answer, wait until next Tuesday when the doctors will know more and we can sit down with them and discuss everything.

So now it is Monday afternoon on December 8th and we wait. Tommorow we will know more.

Yes, Stephanie was upset on Friday morning when she received word of the biopsy results. Yes, she had a little pity party for a while. She came home and we went to lunch and to a movie to see Four Christmases. By the evening Stephanie had settled down and was now out of her pity party and feeling better. However, I continued to worry, since I didn't want to bother God with this. LOL

I spent the weekend doing the usual things but without a whole lot of joy, all the while praying for a miracle of healing and praying for strength. The love of my life, the gift from God had cancer. I knew better than to ask why? Oh you say, why not ask God why? Well I will tell you why you do not ask why (sounding a bit like Dr. Seuss).

When you ask the question why, are you not saying that somehow you are not deserving of this treatment? Are you not saying that somehow God has made a mistake and has not recognized that you deserve better. My answer to that and I believe God's answer to that is to reminnd you of His man Job. Here is what God said of Job and I quote from Job 1:8

Job 1:8 (NASB)

8The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no
one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning
away from evil."

You know the story of Job. God allowed Satan to kill his family, except his wife, to take away all of his possesions and to harm Job's health. However, God did not allow Satan to kill Job. God said of Job that he was righteous and Job was righteous and never cursed God even though his wife urged him to.

In the end God restored to Job all that he had previously had and doubled it. God restored everything to Job because Job was faithful, if a little demanding (read chapter 38 to the end of the book).

So I look at our lives and I certainly cannot put either of us above Job and say that somehow we are too good to be treated in such a harsh manner as to have cancer. I do know that God has a plan for us and that if we continue in faith, loving God and loving each other that He will keep us safe from the evil one and that He will take us home to be with Him in His own time.

I love my wife and I love my Lord Jesus and we both know that come what may, our heavenly Father has our lives in His control. We know that our Lord Jesus has the power to heal and when it is in His plan to do so He does, whether here on earth in an outright miracle, through doctors and medicine or through taking us home to heaven. Praise God He is in control.

We do not claim to know where this will lead but we trust that Jesus will look out for both of us all along the way. I am reminded of what Paul had to say about life when he wrote to the Philipians in Philipians 1:21-26.

Philipians 1:21-26 (NASB)
21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
22But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.
23But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;
24yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,
26so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.

Do I still want to grow old with my bride here on earth, sure I do. God put that desire in my heart, but I also know that there is no guarantee of long life and so all I can do is trust that my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will take care of Stephanie as He pleases.

So we wait and we pray and tomorrow the doctors will tell us their plan and no matter what happens, none of this comes as a surprise to our Lord Jesus. He knew from the foundations of the Earth that this would happen to us and since that time He has had a plan for us. Jeremiah 29:11.

Even so come Lord Jesus!

Andy

Warm Feelings Washed Over Me

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)

This Sunday when I was waiting to leave for lunch from church, I was waiting in the room where I teach Sunday School which, by the way, is also where we do all of our packing for the Russia trip. Anyway, I was standing there looking at the room and I had this really cool feeling wash over me. I had this sense of packing and getting ready for the next trip to Russia. This experience was certainly not at the level of a vision, but it was just a really warm feeling that washed over me and made me long for my Russian family and friends.

This feeling never comes over me for other mission trips to other locations, but it consistently comes over me for Russia. Later Sunday afternoon, we were leaving a Chinese restaurant, which we frequent regularly, and I had another feeling of Russia. I guess it is just that time of year when my mind is normally preparing for the current trip and so any little sight or sound or smell triggers my Russia reflex.

I am praying that God will bless our December 2009 trip to Novosibirsk or Kemerova in ways that will bring Glory to Him. We long for more time amongst our Russian bretheren.

Your fellow Sojourner,

Andy Nelms

God Is Already At Work Providing for the Team

Dacula Georgia (ACN)

The following is from Debbie a team member.

---------- A Note From Debbie ---------

I just wanted to let you know the exciting thing God has done in regards to the Russia trip. I know you have been saying that God will provide what ever we need in order to go on this mission trip, and for most people this is a financial issue. For me, I wasn't worried about the finances, but rather getting the time off work. It is next to impossible to get time off work over the Christmas period in the hospital, and not for both Christmas and New Year, especially when I had planned to change jobs.

I had originally thought of two possibilities, one was to stay working at my current job until December, then resign and have a new job ready to start in January. That didn't work out because the stress of staying at my current job made the thought of waiting until then unbearable. The next possibility I thought of was to start a new job now, and then either resign at the end of the year or transfer departments at the end of the year - possible, just complicated.

Well, I had prayed about a job that I had applied to last week, and had the interview on Friday. During the interview, I was asked if I had any holidays or events coming up that they should know about it. I told the manager and assistant manager that I had planned to go to Russia over the Christmas period, and was prepared to work every other holiday in order to get that time off. I was praying along with friends and family that they would agree to the time off, and it wouldn't jeopardise my chances at getting this position. I was offered the job on Monday, and today spoke with the manager and asked about the possibility of taking leave at Christmas time to go to Russia, and its approved!

God's way is so much less complicated than my way, and it is totally his doing that I have the time off! I wanted to share this with you, and anyone else who wants encouragement that God will provide the means necessary to do his work, for me it was getting the time off, which I now have.

---------- End of Note From Debbie ---------

Debbie, you have encouraged another team member already. I don't know if she wrote to you or not but Lori Hedberg said that she had been hoping to go, praying to go, but she wanted her husband's approval. He was dead set against her going, and now he not only wants her to go he is excited for her and their daughter to go.

I don't normally say I told you so, but to all of you team members and potential team members let me just say without fear of contradiction, "I TOLD YOU SO."

If you are feeling God move you about going on a mission trip HE WILL PROVIDE EVERYTHING YOU NEED. So when considering going on a trip with us, please know that God will deal with your hangups. In 2004 we had a guy go with us who had NEVER flown before and had never been outside the US. So his first airline flight was over the deep blue sea. Can you imagine that your very first mission trip was over the ocean and required a 9 hour flight and you had never flown before.

His remark after we took off from Altanta was, "Can we turn this sucker around and do that again." Jesus provides!!! He always provides!!!

Even so Lord Jesus come soon!!!

We Have A Destination

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)

We have been awaiting a response from Mike Campbell, an IMB missionary in Russia for approval to work with a church in Novosibirsk and the approval finally came to day. Praise God we have a destination.

Why is it so important now, nearly 11 months in advance? Because we need to make our airline and hotel reservations NOW, to get good prices. We can make airline reservations up to 330 days in advance and we are now just inside that window. The 330 days is measured from the end of the trip (the return flight) not from the beginning.

Praise God for all the bleesings he bestows.

Andy

Thoughts About the Next Trip

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)

We have only been recruiting for a few weeks and already we have 20 people actively discussing the possibility of going on a mission trip to Russia. I feel confident that of those 20 who are discussing it, that 14 will actually go. The others may decide that this trip is not what God wants for them right now, or fear will hinder them from going, or life will just get in the way.

Stephanie and I are excited though, that so many people are thinking about taking a mission trip. People are considering getting out of their comfort zones and serving Jesus in a land that is strange to them. They would then be "strangers in a strange land", to use the title of Robert Heinlien's book. This takes courage and a confidence that Jesus will take care of them and the families they leave behind.

Going on a mission trip to Russia is no small matter. We will literally be halfway around the world. Novosibirsk is 11 time zones away from the east coast of the USA. There are always dangers when you travel, so yes it takes confidence.

To those who are considering going to Russia, I encourage you to pray about the trip, and ask Jesus if it His will that you go. I can't imagine it not being His will that you go unless of course, you are lost. If Jesus wants you to go, then He will provide the funds for you to go as well as give you confidence while you are there.

Stephanie and I thank you profusely for just getting to the point where you are discussing the trip and considering going. Now let's take the next step and commit to going.

Andy

Why Some People Don't Go on Mission Trips

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)

I am about to whine. I know it and yet I feel the necessity to write this entry, so here goes.

Every year about this time I am heavily recruiting for the next mission trip, which at this time of year is 11 months away, but that is when the recruiting must occur if we are to be prepared by December. Recruiting involves speaking with people about the next trip and what we will do, where we will go and what it's like to be in Russia in the winter time. And each year I must deal with the same questions.

Who chose to go in the winter time? What will the food be like? What is the housing like? How long is the airline flight? As I answer these questions, I know that if I give a certain answer to each question, that person will not go with us to Russia, or if they do go with us, then the topic of their question may very well prove to be the very thing that causes them to whine and complain on the trip.

The thing that is frustrating is that we let these petty things keep us from being involved in one of the most rewarding experiences of a Christian's life. The sharing of the Gospel. If we are not careful we will have spent a lifetime here on Earth and not gone on a single mission trip. And yes, every Christian needs to go on multipe mission trips during their lives. But let me explain how easy it can be for a Christian to come to the end of their life and never having been on a mission trip.

Before the age of 14 you really don't need to go on a mission trip, because you need to 1) find Jesus yourself, 2) mature in the faith, 3) learn responsibility so that you can take on responsibility on the trip. So let's start at age 14 for most Christians. At age 14-17, the typcial Christian says, "I am too young." or their parents say "He is too young," or "I can't let them travel that far away, how would I get to them if something happened." As it turns out, in reality you couldn't do anything here in the states either. An accident happens and they are in the hospital, before you know anything has happened. You can neither prevent things from happening here nor there, and even here what are you going to do that actually helps them once something happens. It is up to God to do the healing and fixing not you, but I digress...

So between the ages of 18-23 there is a good chance I will get you to go on our mission trips as long as you don't attend my church. We have yet to have a college age person from CMC go on our trips. I am not sure why this is but it is true. However, most of the people who go on our trips that don't attend CMC are college age. Go figure!! So where are these young people from CMC going? I don't know, but they don't go to Russia.

After age 23 many young people are too busy at work to go on our trips. Either they don't recognize that they can and should take time off for spiritual work or they have left the church for a time. Then they get married.

Young marrieds are just too much "in luv" to leave one another for a mission trip or they think they can't afford to go. Actually the break from each other would improve their marriages wonderfully. The money excuse is a non-starter with me. Stephanie and I have not been able to afford to go on a misison trip since 2002, when we met with financial disaster, and yet God provided for us on every trip since 2002 (2002, 2004, 2005. 2006, 2007, 2008). You get the picture!

Shortly after entering marriage our young Christian friends who have yet to go on a mission trip, now have children. Now they have the perfect excuse, in their mind, so they don't go because of the children. You can kiss these two goodbye until the children leave the nest.

Twenty years later we are still asking for people to go and we see this young couple and invite them again, but alas their children are into drugs, or have children of their own and on an on. Once their grandchildren are on their own, well the young Chrisitians we began asking as college students are now nearing retirement or have already entered it. We couldn't possibly, we don't have the money. We are too old. Yes, years ago that would have been fun, but we are too old.

So as you can see, we American Christians have an answer all throughout our lives as to why we can't go on missions. In other words, even though we are not ready to admit it openly, we will NEVER go on a mission trip, because we might have to make a sacrifice. And I know this will come as a surprise to American Christians, but suffering is a large part of the Christian faith.

Would you examine your life right now? What do you do for God? How do you serve? Maybe you can honestly say that you serve your church and serve it well. Then my hat is off to you, because you ARE serving and I thank you for that. But don't forget that the Bible says we are to witness in Jerusalem (your home town) and Samaria (other towns and cities in your native country and nearby your homeland) and to the utter most parts of the earth. So I ask you, "Where have you served that you could say were the utter most parts of the earth?"

If you have served in Jamaica, or Mexico or the Caribbean then wonderful, you have been to other countries. those countries are near your home, thus making them a part of Samaria, but you have been to other countries and I applaud you for that. But...what about "the uttermost parts"? Don't the people in countries far from the US have a need for Jesus? Less than 1% of Russians have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

Would you consider Novosibirsk, Russia to be the "uttermost parts?" I do! Wanna go? Wanna complete the task God has given to you? Look, all I can do is ask, it is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict and convince. If in reading this, you are now feeling convicted, by the Holy Spirit, would you please get down on your knees, nay get down on your stomach and face and pray to God Almighty, abba Father and ask Him if He wants you to go. If He wants you to go, He will overcome your fears, He will provide a way and we will make you a part of the Four in the Fire family. As you love on others in Russia, we will love on you and you will become like family with the rest of the team. God is looking for you! You know it and I know it, or you would have clicked off of this page, long ago.

Go with us and see people find Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Isn't that what being a Christian is all about in the first place? Come go with us and love on some kids, love on some old people, love on some teens, love on some alcoholics and drug addicts. Let go and let God take over and guide you to your destiny in Russia. He has a place for you to serve and to be served on our team.

If you are thinking about going then click here http://www.4inthefire.org/StepsToGoToRussia.


If you would like to see all of the reasons people give us as to why they can't go and maybe even find your reason and our response to it, visit our page of "excuses". Click here http://www.4inthefire.org/Excuses/ReasonsNotToGoOnAMissionTrip.html.

May God richly bless you and your efforts in your Christian witness. May his face shine upon you and may your life be a witness for Jesus.

Go and witness!!!

Andy

Russia Mission Trip Interest Meeting

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)

We are having an interest meeting at Chestnut Mountain Church on February 10th in C104 at 1:00pm immediately following the 11:30 church service. If you are local to Chestnut Mountain, Georgia please come. There will be food and lots of discussion.

However, please RSVP so we can plan appropriately for food.

My God is Good Even While I am Blind

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)

Ok, so for the last year I have been under the misconception as to where God was leading in our ministry and what He wanted for me in regards to that ministry. God finally got throught my thick skull and it seems that there were only a couple of changes he wanted me to make to the ministry.

The first and largest change is that we are to venture out to new cities and make new friends in those cities. So we did.

You can read earlier entries of my trip to Nizhnevartovsk and Novosibirsk, both deep into Siberia. Novosibirsk is 11 time zones from the eastern coast of the USA.

So even in my blindness God blessed us in many ways. They are somewhat private and I don't want to reveal the details, but suffice it to say that when God did these things it brought me to tears of gratitude. Finally when I did understand God's will for us and cancelled this summer's trip, and ate crow, God began to bless this next trip. Four weeks ago it was going to be me, Stephanie, William and maybe David along with Beverly. Then David cancelled. So we were left with four people to go. Now as far as we can tell there are about 18 people in various stages of decision making and most of those seem to be definitely going. God blessed me even when I was blind and then blessed me even more once I could see. Is that any different than loving me when I was yet a sinner, lost and on my way to Hell? I think not.

It has been 10 months since I was in Russia and it will be another 11 months before I return, if God is willing. I miss my Russian friends and I miss the camaraderie we have and the love we share with our Russian friends.

To a person, those who have been with us in the last couple of years, remarked at Christmas time that "we really miss our Russian friends." Kelly Hickey said that she didn't feel quite right around thanksgiving, because for the last two years she has been doing a lot of pre-trip planning and preparation around Thanksgiving. So you can see, that Russia, more properly the Russian people, have gotten under our skin. We love being there, teaching, learning and loving on our friends.

My Last Week in Russia

Vladimir, Russia (ACN)
Anya and I returned home to Vladimir on Monday morning March 26. We were tired and the driver with whom we had made arrangements to pick us up forgot about us. So Anya was fit to be tied. She had a lot of work to do and did not have all day to lounge around in Moscow. So she called another friend of hers who came and picked us up, but he was three hours away in Vladimir. It was 9:30am or so and we would have to wait until 12:30pm to be picked up. Then it would take us another 3 hours to arrive in Vladimir.

You might be thinking, why didn't you just take a Moscow cab to Vladimir. Because it would have cost 7,500 rubles (about $300). Ilya, Anya's friend only charged 1,900 rubles (about $80). We could have taken a city bus from the airport to the Metro and then another bus from Moscow to Vladimir for about 1,000 rubles (about $45), but I was not traveling light so that option was out.

We waited! Ilya came a little early and we stopped at McDonald's on the way. Yum, Yum! Along the way my need to go to the restroom grew intense. We stopped at a bus station along the route. They have a nice restroom for which you must pay 10 rubles (about $0.45). This was much better than the bus station at which Marina and I stopped on the way to Alexandrov. There too I had motivation to do multiple activities, but it was a hole in the floor and very nasty. I just did ONE activity and left the second activity for later. Russian roads have many, many potholes and our bus driver chose to hit every one of them. I suffered for over and hour.

During the week I had dinner each night with 2-3 of my friends who have served as interpreters in the past. I ate chicken, beef and pork served in different ways.

On Thursday we went to visit Volodya in Alexandrov. Sasha answered the door and Marina, another interpreter went in. I stood down the hallway out of site. I knocked on the door and surprised Sasha when she opened the door. Sasha called to mom to come and see who was there and she too was surprised. Volodya was not at home yet. When he arrived no one said anything about me being here. When he walked into the living room he was shocked and wanted to know if it was December already.

We talked for several hours and Volodya made Plov (I think that is how it is spelled). It is a chicken and rice dish. It was wonderful.

We then spoke about how my ministry is changing and about the new business venture for me in Russia. Volodya and Nadya do not want me to work with anyone, but Baptists either in the business or the ministry. My philosophy is that if you teach "Salvation through Jesus Christ and Him alone," then I will work with you. I realize there are differences between my understanding of Christian doctrines and those of other denominations, however I am pretty sure that NO PARTICULAR DENOMINATION HAS A FULL UNDERSTANDING of all Christian doctrines and that includes me, and my denomination and you and yours.

So as long you and your church teach "Salvation through Jesus Christ and Him alone," my goal will be to help you in your efforts. If you or other Russians will not work with me because of this then, in the words of a famous American actor, "Pity the fool."

The rest of the week and the trip home work pretty uneventful. However, I have made good friends with a souvenir shop owner in Vladimir, who has owned her shop for 15 years. She recognizes me because ever since 1998 I have come to her shop on nearly every trip and when I walk in I say "I want one each of every Black Lacquer box." No one else does that. We spoke for a while and said goodbye with a Christian phrase. Next time I will inquire as to her knowledge of Jesus and see if she knows Him. If not, I will make it my goal in life to witness to her each time I go.

Please pray that I will have wisdom and discernment in regards to this potential business I want to start in Russia. I know you want to hear more about it, but I need to get another company to agree to allow me to implement the idea and I must find investors to back me up.

The Trip Winds Down

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)
I arrived home safely at 5:00pm on Saturday, extremely tired. This trip was physically exhausting with so much travel but it was spiritually uplifting to have God answer so much prayer in such a direct way. I am writing at 6:16 in the morning on Monday and even now I am not fully rested. I need a few more days to recover.

As I write this, it is from Stephanie's old computer. She was given a new computer from NCR, where she works, while I was roaming around Russia. It is a very fortuitous thing, since my hard drive crashed while I was in Russia. I have lost all of my contact information, so if you would ever like to be contacted by me again, please send me an email at 4inthefire.org and include your address and phone number. I have lost everything. I did not have my Outlook folders backed up, nor My Documents etc. I am an unclean man and undone! :) Or at least unwise.

So now I will spend weeks recovering everything from my corporate documentation, ministry documentation, and well you can imagine. If I came to your house and deleted every file from your computer, right now, how would you recover? Backups, backups.

I sat next to a very pretty 38 year old Russian woman by the name of Elena. I spoke with her about Jesus Christ. She instantly understood and I think recognized the diagram of the human stick man separated from God by sin. She believes in God, but does not believe Jesus is who He said He was. Please be in prayer for her.

I will post more later today and tomorrow, but I must continue my hard-drive recovery. Thank you everyone for praying for us while Anya and I and the others were ministering in Russia.

Your servant,

Andy

Where To Start

Nizhnevartovsk Siberia, Russia (ACN)
Pastor Vasily, Andrei his assistant, Zhenya the children's minister, Igor Zhenya's husband, Anya my interpreter and friend, and I discussed the plans to bring teams to Nizhnevartovsk and decided it would be best to bring two teams, one in December 2007 and one in May of 2008. So God is blessing.

During the discussions it was revealed to me that there is no children's ministry industry here. This sparked a very specific idea which, for business reasons I cannot discuss in a public place, but it is very exciting.

Zhenya wants us to train her and her volunteer workers, which means I need an experienced VBS director here in December. Maybe Kelly will come, but if not maybe someone else from CMC or maybe Blackshear place.

We traveled to Novosibirsk last Wednesday by puddle jumper. It was a small jet assisted prop plane. On take off the wind was rather brisk and while still on the ground and traveling at ever increasing speed we were moving from one side of the runway to the other. To say the least it was a little scary. The flight was uneventful. We landed in Novosibirsk and proceeded to Joey Womble's home. He and his wife Michelle were very gracious and fed us Borscht. It was wonderful.

After an hour of discussions Joey took Anya to an apartment that is being used as an office and returned to get me and take me to another office across town so that "Anya would be safe" in Stephanie's own words. So Joey and I head for the metro and get halfway across town when Michelle calls him on my phone, since he did not have his, to let him know he forgot the linens. Joey and I get off at the next metro station and he heads to the house leaving me in the metro station sitting on a bench with my luggage. Rule number 1 never go anywhere without an interpreter. Oh well, what are rules made for.

Joey returns and we proceed onward towards this apartment that is being used to show films to the lost as a means of witnessing to them. That apartment and Anya's cost me a total of $25 for two nights. God has been blessing us so much I cannot fathom the depths of His blessings and love. At this I do ask the question, "Why me?" I am just some poor country boy from Georgia and yet the blessings keep coming.

In Anya's words, the apartments were adequate. On Thursday Joey came over to the apartment with his friend Leslie, whose office it is and we spoke about the possibilities of working with them in the future. There are no concrete plans, but they are interested. Later in the day we went to speak with Andy Lienenger who is with the IMB. How we got his name is also a blessing from God and quite fortuitous (look it up Jessie :) ).

I don't know how Stephanie managed to find his name but apparently she did by a blessing from God. She made contact with him and let him know we were coming. As it turns out Joey also made an appointment with him for us. So he was tag teamed by both Stephanie and Joey.

We met and discussed possibilities of working together. One of Andy's co-workers, Mike Campbell, is returning to the states for a few months and he will be living in Flowery Branch attending Blackshear Place. Imagine that! Andy suggested getting with Mike, his assistant, when I return to the US and we will discuss what to do next. God is truly blessing. Why do I say that? Because Mike's emphasis is children's ministry and our emphasis is children's ministry and Russia has no children's ministry resource industry.

On both Thursday and Friday Anya and I ate at New York Pizza. Eat your heart out honey. It was good. On Friday at 2:30 we spent a few minutes with the Womble family and then left for the airport.

Ok, so don't yell at me it was the taxi driver's fault. He was playing some very sad American music, the chorus of which was "And I feel like I am drowning in a river." I asked the driver if he understood the words. He said no, but he realized it was sad and asked me to translate for him. So I did. He then proceeded to tell about his life and troubles and well.....you know me. I then asked if He knew Jesus and began to witness to him. He enjoyed the conversation/debate and even Anya said I was not offensive, and that says a lot. I introduced myself and asked his name. His name is Sergei. Please pray for salvation for Sergei, the taxi driver in Novosibirsk.

We left Sergei behind and headed to the terminal. We went through security where we found a little shop. I had no interest in the shop but Anya wanted to go in so I waited outside. She was really hankering (translate that Anya :) ) to purchase some chocolate candy with Novosibirsk written on the box in big bold letters. She kept talking about it as if I needed to buy some for Stephanie and Kelly. She pointed them out to me from outside the store and practically forced me to go and buy them. So Stephanie and Kelly you have the last two blue boxes of Novosibirsk candy. When I returned to Anya I could tell something was wrong. Apparently she wanted me to purchase one blue box and one brown box, because she wanted one blue box for her hostess in Nizhnevartovsk. I am a hard man.

We returned to this puddle jumper, to go back to Nizhnevartovsk. On this plane you must take your luggage to the plane and lift it up to the baggage handler who is in the plane. That was yet another new experience for me. By the way it was only in the high 20's to low 30's. Not so cold.

The return flight was uneventful until we were nearing Nizhnevartovsk, when we saw the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. I photographed it and I will publish it as soon as I return to the states.

We have now been in Nizhnevartovsk since last night around 7:00pm. We have been fed at every meal here by the church and we are living in two separate apartments with Russian families. This has been the best trip I have ever taken, partly because of the lack of stress that a team brings with it and partly because I have gone native. I am eating everything Russian I can get my hands on. Salianka soup is to die for.

In all my life I have never been so well treated. The church does this for all of their guests. They have taught their staff to treat every guest like royalty. By the way the huge church building was built from a "hole in the ground" according to Anya, by the people of the church. They are self sufficient.

Today I went to a concert of classical music presented by the church. Dianna Sydakova is a famous operatic singer here in Russia and she happens to be a pastor's wife also. With her were a pianist, Larissa and a violinist, whose name I did not here. They played some fantastic musics and Dianna's voice is just fabulous. She even same a song in English from "Porgy and Bess".

Well I have caught you up to the moment of my typing. However there are plans for me to speak tomorrow on the "The Lost Generation". For 15 years Russia has had the freedom to worship as she wants, and so 4000 protestant churches have come from all of the efforts. But children's ministry has never been a priority and now they are making it so, but they fear they have lost a generation of children to the world. The pastor was willing to give me 15-20 minutes to speak, however I asked for five. We will see.

I know this may sound strange, but I feel at home hear in Nizhnevartovsk, well I guess I feel at home anywhere in Russia now, but it seems strange even to me. My understanding of Russian has improved greatly since I have returned only after a 3 month intermission. I have never felt so comfortable about what I am doing as I feel now. I miss Stephanie terribly and I cry each time I tell my story of how I came to be in Russia and how I of all people have come to have a ministry that emphasizes children, and yet it feels like home. I guess the Holy Spirit is comforting me and changing me.

Well that is all for now. Thank you all for being interested enough in the ministry to read my little blog. May God bless each reader and may He cause everyone that reads this blog to desire to come and serve in Russia with us. It is a wonderful land full of lost people who need to hear the Gospel, and full of believers who will love you like no one else.

Even so, Lord come quickly.

See you all soon. One week left.

The Food and Other Aspects

Nizhnevartovsk Siberia, Russia(ACN)
On this trip I have definitely gone native. I have eaten only Russian food, Shee, Blenie, red caviar, served in two ways, a wonderful soup whose name escapes me, but is reminiscent of French Onion soup, without the onion and cheese and with a slice of lemon floating on top. Ok, so maybe I have not conveyed the taste very well, but it was delicious.

The red caviar was first served to me by Nadya, Anya's sister. Nadya did not know how to call it in English and she did not tell me it was fish eggs. She said some friends brought it to her and that it was very expensive. She took a small amount from the jar on a spoon and I tasted it. It was very fishy tasting. It was also the first time I had eaten caviar and I said it would be my last. Well, "Никогда не говорите никогда" or in English, "never say never". As it turns out last night Andrei and Svetlana, his wife, fed us a wonderful dinner. There was one platter that had several pieces of bread and what might have been mayonnaise and a red substance.

Anya and others had told me that the correct way to serve caviar was on a piece of bread with mayonnaise. So I thought, here goes, "I am about to eat caviar again." When I ate it, at first I thought it was not caviar, because it tasted so good, but then I could taste a little of the fish taste and realized, that I had eaten caviar again. Oh well, at least served this way it is delicious.

Angie, will think I have lost my mind when I tell her that all of the food was good and that I did not get sick, but there it is. I am well and the food is wonderful.

There is one poor Russian fellow who thinks I am either retarded or a fool. I had the keys to the apartment and it was time to go. How did I know, because the little microphone and speaker sstem was yelling at me that someone was at the front door. I had no idea as to how to turn off the alarm, so I took the keys to the apartment and went out in to the little area that the two apartments on our side of the hall had in common.

This litte area is an about 5 feet by 4 feet with three doors. Two of the doors go into the two apartments and one door goes out into the main hallway where the elevator is located. So now I tried to lock the door to the apretment and could not figure out how to use the key. I did however use the inside button to lock the door. So now to the outer door. I can't see in the dim light and it is definitely locked. Great now I am stuck outside the aprtment in the little common area and I can not reenter the apartment and I can not go outside. My ride is waiting on me. What to do?

At that moment I hear noise outside the door in the hallway where the elevator is and I thought good, now my life will be spared by my driver whose has come to rescue me. One minor problem; it is not my driver, but instead it is the neighbor whose door is behind me. So I asked him in broken Russia how to lock the door to the aprtment, there are two you know. He looked at me rather strangely and I know he thought I was stupid. I handed him the keys and he locked it very easily. Again I must say, it was difficult to see.

My troubles are over. Now I can leave. I turn to go to the outer door that leasds to the elevator, but what I see is a closed and locked door. So now I must ask this poor Russian how to unlock a door to which I am holding the keys. Well so be it. "Uh poor Russian fellow, can you help me again?" I hand him the keys and he unlocks the door so obviously that when he looks up at me it is with a look that said, "You truly are stupid aren't you." I thought I will tell him I am an American and half blind, but I had neither the words in Russian nor the courage to make all Americans look stupid, so I took one for the team. I simply said "this is my first time." He had to be asking himself, what is this the first time you have ever used a key.

Now you are probably thinking, well you idiot why didn't you ask Vasily or Olya to help. Well I would, but they had the audacity to leve and go to work already. It was 11:00am when I was leaving.

So these are the adventures of of a half blind man, whose speaks Russian poorly and who has never used a key and lock before.

The Airport in Nizhnevartovsk on Our Arrival

Nizhnevartovsk Siberia, Russia (ACN)
I have traveled all over the world and thought that I would not have any new experiences at the airport here, but as usual I was wrong. But I am getting ahead of myself, so let me start from the beginning.

On Sunday evening at 11:40pm, we departed Moscow for Nizhnevartovsk, deep in Siberia, approximately 3000 kilometers (maybe 2400 miles) and two timezones away from Moscow. We were tired and so we slept on the plane. When we were awakened by the announcement that we were descending it was nearly 5:00am in Nizhnevartovsk.

The plane landed and we deplaned by walking down the ladder to the ground. It was not terribly cold, maybe 30 degrees Farenheight. We could see the terminal building and a corrogated metal fence with a gate through which we walked. The gate was so narrow, that only one or two people could fit through it. As I approached the gate I was thinking that maybe we would be entering the building, but we were not. The gate opened onto the parking lot of the airport and the passengers were being greeted by their friends in the cold and the wind.

We had no idea what had happened to our luggage and even Anya was a little panicked not knowing where to go or to whom to speak. Finally, she spotted a man in a hurry walking away from us, but she persisted until she had his attention and then asked where to go to get the luggage. Obviously they spoke in Russian, but even I as sleepy as I was could tell he had told her where to go. His intonation and her relaxed manner led me to believe that we were not going to lose our luggage.

At that moment I was not even thinking about the fact that Andrei was to meet us, I was just worrying about my luggage. I can only handle one crisis at a time and in the order of importance. While my luggage contained nothing of value to anyone else, it did contgain nearly all of my clothing I have here in Russia and by George I was going to find it and now. So we proceeded to the right towards a relatively small builidng for an airport terminal, where I supposed the man in a hurry had told Anya to go.

As we were walking a man in a red jacket, whom I had noticed over by the gate out of the corner of my eye approached us and in a Russian accent he asked Anya if we were Americans and if I was Andy Nelms. She said, "Da" at the same time as I. I then began to worry about where Andrei was and in the same moment realized, oh yeah that was Andrei. Ok, so I was a little tired and the panicking side of my brain was working faster than the rationalizing side. So in one moment we were told where our luggage was and that we had been met. Now I began to relax.

As we went into the building a woman, said "Good morning," in flawless English. I first thought she was a Russian and a member of the church and then I realized that she was an American and I guess a stranger even to Andrei. I was not being very sociable, because I was not fully awake and I had not had very much sleep.

We picked up the luggage and headed to the car. Anya and I both felt a bit of relief now that we had arrived and been met and we had our luggage. By 6:00am I was being shown into the home of a wonderful Russian couple whose names are Vasily and Olga. They have a very pleasant and comfortable home. They speak very little English and so I am struggeling to remember every Russian verb, noun and adjective I have ever studied. What a difficult, but rewarding task.

Moments Before the Meeting with Pastor Vasily

Nizhnevartovsk Siberia, Russia (ACN)
It is Tuesday and I am well rested as is Anya. We visited the discount grocery store and found large bags of rice for approx. 80 rubles. Except for Mac and cheese they have everything we need. We will do without the Mac and cheese since the church will be cooking for us. And indeed we will eat better that way.

The hotel here near the airport was very nice even by American standards. We do not as yet know the price, but we have been told it will be about $60/person/day.

Nizhnevartovsk is an oil rich town and most of the population is well off. The church here is reflective of that wealth, and yet for all of the money they lack instruction and methods for how to run a children's camp. As I mentioned yesterday, they have not had a children's ministry team here since 1992.

The most touching thing that happened so far on this trip happened yesterday. Zhenya, the children's minister, thought that I thought that she might not be interested in our work since she had so few questions. She explained that she had already purchased tickets to go to a children's conference in Novosibirsk during the time we were to be here, but she stayed to meet with us, apparently because of she thought she might be able to learn from us when we bring a team here. She further epxlained that she had so few questions because she only recently learned that we were coming. I did a miserable job of planning this trip.

I do not know when we will have a decision as to the future trip, but hopefully within a month of this trip we will know.

Tommorow we head to Novosibirsk to meet with pastors there. I am looking forward to the meetings. God has truly been blessing us and we I hope that he will bless our ministry greatly while in Novosibirsk.

Well I must now go to the meetings. Please pray for us that all of the meetings will result in churches who will want to work with us.

May God bless all who read this.

Arrival in Nizhnevartovsk

Nizhnevartovsk Siberia, Russia (ACN)
We have arrived, tired and sleepy. Anya is staying with a couple in one apartment and I in another apartment. We met with the children's minister, Zhenya and her husband Igor, as well as Andrei the senior pastor's assistant.

Things are going well. They have not had a team here for the children's ministry since 1992. They want to learn from us how we do things. My plans are to have Stephanie or Kelly come on the trip to Nizhnevartovsk, which is now scheduled for May 28 - June 10. It will be a wonderful trip.

This church building is beautiful and nearly as large or maybe slightly larger than CMC's building A. The team will stay in apartments with Russian families. However, if need be some may stay in the hotel, which is new and beautiful, by American standards. The cost is approximately $60/day per person.

We will travel on Wednesday to Novosibirsk where we will meet with Lyn Burkhalter's contact Joey Womble. He is arranging meetings for us on Thursday and Friday. We will return to Vladimir on Monday.

Arrival In Vladimir

I have arrived in Vladimir, safe and sound. Today I met with the Pastor of the Wesleyan church and the Wesleyan missionary. The talks were good.

I am tired but excited to be hear. God has been gracious in bringing to me help for my various tasks here. At this moment I am at Marina and Alexei's home using their internet to blog.

I am looking forward to the wedding tomorrow with Katya and Pasha.

We need many people to come and do the work here as there is much to do.

Sunday I leave for Siberia as the Great Adventure continues. HowI love being here in Russia.

I am not experiencing any culture shock as it feels like I just left a few days ago and now I am back. I miss Stephanie of course, but Iwill survive.

I will update again as soon as I have news and internet access.

The Rewards of Mission Work

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)

I wrote to my younger brother moments ago and I thought I would share here, some thoughts I shared with Randy.

It is possible, with as many trips to Russia as I will be making, I could die on one of these trips. I don't want to be morbid, but I did want to put this in writing before it should happen, so here goes.

Should I die on one of these trips, please know that I was serving my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that nothing could be more fun, more fulfilling, more exhilarating, more rewarding than doing exactly what I am doing. I get to go to Russia, a very exotic country, I get to love on kids and teach teens about Jesus. I get to witness to people of all ages and tell them about what Jesus has done for me. I get to lead teams of Christians to a land where they have never been and challenge them to do things they have never done before.

What could be more fun than that? What could you possibly do to top that?

So in the event something should happen to me, there are two men at CMC who have spoken of doing this very thing I so love to do, and my challenge to them both is that if something should happen to me, then you are to take up where I left off and fight the good fight for me, nay for Jesus.

Oh and one more thing. Don't mourn for my death, but rather celebrate my life and what God has been able to accomplish through such a servant as I, despite my shortcomings. And please DO NOT SAY THAT I PASSED. I did not pass, I died, I croaked, I keeled over, I bought the farm, I did anything but PASS. This is obviously a pet peeve of mine.

Ok, so let's go have some fun participating in the Great Adventure!

Two Days Until Departure for Russia

Muskegon, Michigan(ACN)

Weather Differences
When I awakened today at 8:00am, I was in Muskegon, Michigan with about 9 inches of snow on the ground, where only a week earlier there was 2 feet of snow. When I lay my head down to sleep in a few hours, I will do so in my home in Georgia with an expected temperature of 80 degrees. Then when I arrive in Moscow, the temperature should be around 30-40. Of course when I arrive in Nizhnevartosk (in Siberia next Monday), the temperature is expected to be around 20 (for a high).

A Weekend in Muskegon
This weekend was the trip to Muskegon, Michigan, to visit the Wolf Lake United Methodist Church. The purpose was to introduce the church to me and our ministry, to meet Beverly a December mission trip team member and to attempt to light a fire in the church in regards to missions. I think the trip was a success. Several church members seemed very interested in going on a trip, in addition to Beverly. So we will see.

I met Pastor Bobbie while visiting the church and found her to be very warm and friendly. She immediately put me on the spot, or at least tried to, by telling me from the pulpit that I would be addressing the adult Sunday school class, speaking for an hour about Russia. Well, I can always talk about Russia and mission trips for several hours, so that really didn't put me on the spot. Nice try, Pastor Bobbie, but you will have to do better than that. I love to speak of Russia, my friends in Russia and our experiences there.

The church has an average attendance of 90 and the community is not a wealthy one. However, I think think the challenge to the church of getting support for Beverly, so that she can go in December will bring elements of the church together. Once, Beverly returns from Russia and tells of what God did while she was there will cause the church to really catch the vision for missions.

Temptation
Today I was tempted with a call from a head hunter to apply for a programming position, which if a job was offered, and I accepted the job, it would kill this ministry. I would have to work as a programmer full-time and I would not be able to take 4-8 mission trips per year. God has brought me thus far, He will certainly take me onwards from here.

Thank You
Dawn and Bill if you read this, please know that I am very grateful to you for opening your home to me and allowing me to stay for the weekend. I really enjoyed getting to know both of you. To the prayer warriors at Wolf Lake; thank you so much for the prayers during our last mission trip, and yes I will certainly send you a list of prayer requests and team members for each trip, so that you can pray for them.

I have a million things to do tomorrow before departing on Wednesday for Russia. I pray that God will help me to get through the day safely and having completed all of the tasks.

Prayer Requests
As you begin your prayers each day from now until March 31st when I return from Russia, please pray for the following things:

• That God will guide my steps in Russia
• That I will be led to men who wish to see Russia evangelized
• That I will find someone who is nearly ready to start their own church.
• That I and Anya, my interpreter, will have a safe journey.
• That Stephanie will be kept safe and healthy while I am gone.
• That this ministry will be blessed greatly.
• That this ministry will grow beyond even my wildest visions.
• That God will keep me from evil.
• That God will keep His hand upon me.

I will do my best to update you with news as my trip progresses.

May God bless you and your family richly and may His grace and mercy be extended to you daily.

Preparation for the March 14th Trip to Vladimir, Russia

Dacula, Georgia (ACN)
I am a bit nervous about this trip. I am attending my first Russian wedding and I am traveling to Siberia for the first time. However, I am nervous about two aspects of this trip and those are not they.

I will be flying to Nizhnevartovsk from Moscow by Aeroflot and that makes me nervous. In addition, once I arrive in Nizhnevartovsk, Russia my interpreter and I will travel to Tomsk by train. The train trip will be quite a new experience I am sure, but the thought of that experience by rail is not contributing to my nervousness.

However, traveling to Tomsk without knowing anyone there and with no reservations for lodging and not knowing where we will obtain food etc. Well that makes me nervous. We will travel to Tomsk to find and meet with a Baptist pastor to establish a relationship that will allow us to return to Tomsk in a year or so with a mission team. I am sure that God will take care of the details, but leaving that to Him when I know He is busy with other more important matters, well it makes this country boy from Macon, Georgia just a bit nervous.

So in the end I guess it boils down to this, can I trust and obey. Well it seems at least for this trip I have the obedience part down. The real question is will I trust also.

Jeremiah 17 5:8

5 Thus says the LORD, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh
his strength, And whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 "For he will be like a
bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in
stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant. 7 "Blessed is
the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. 8 "For he will be
like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will
not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be
anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.

Maybe I will learn to trust God more deeply on this trip!