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Summer Ministry Update

Summer is officially over and autumn has begun. Unlike those of you in America, our seasons are very definite with fall being September through November, winter is December through February, spring is March through May, and summer is June through August. While this summer was one of our busiest summers to date, it was also one of our most profitable.

June saw Katie and I celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary, and, thanks to the generosity of our coworkers who watched our kids, the two of us were able to get away for an entire day! In looking back over the last six years of our marriage, it is amazing to see how the Lord has directed our lives.

In the short time frame of our marriage, we have:

traveled many thousands of miles on deputation
been blessed with 2 wonderful children
flown across the Atlantic ocean 5 times
moved to the other side of the world
learned how to live, shop, act and drive in another culture
begun studying 2 foreign languages
seen God work and bless in many miraculous ways

Through it all, I’ve had a godly wife who has encouraged, helped and supported me in everything. While you may not see her in many of the pictures (she is usually the one taking them), she is definitely the most vital part of our ministry and I thank the Lord for her.

Karalyn’s Docment Update

We are happy to report that as of August 14, Karalyn is now an officially registered temporary resident of the Russian Federation. As always, the Lord’s timing was perfect, enabling us to both claim her residency permit and register it just six days before her visa was due to expire. Thank you to all who prayed for us during this process. Our next step will be to try to file for her permanent residency next year.

VBS Outreach Update

Much of June and July was spent preparing for our Vacation Bible School outreaches, which were held in the villages of Atamanovo and Shila as well as Krasnoyarsk. Our theme this year was “Diving for Treasure” and the lessons focused on the treasures that we can find in God’s Word.
We started off in Atamanovo where we had a total of 55 kids who came throughout the course of the week with a single-day high attendance of 41 kids! The inflatable (or batyt in Russian) was an instant hit and drew much attention from passersby.
The next week we were out in Shila where our coworkers, James and Cassie Dean, are currently living and ministering. While our numbers were far fewer in Shila, this particular group of kids have faithfully heard the Gospel taught by Bro. Dean and the lessons of VBS built upon that foundation.  We concluded the summer by hosting the VBS in Krasnoyarsk, where we had a total of 42 kids for the week.

Again we would like to thank all who prayed for the VBS’s and specifically those who gave towards the purchase of the inflatable. It was and will continue to be a tremendous tool for evangelism. We were able to take it around to several apartment complexes before the start of the Krasnoyarsk VBS and as it drew a crowd of kids, we gave out invitations, and several of those kids came and were able to hear the Gospel.