To download a printable PDF of this prayer letter with pictures and full graphics, please click HERE

Thank you to all who prayed for us as we traveled up north to the village of Vanavara for a preliminary survey trip as we sought the Lord’s leading concerning the possibility of a future church-plant in that town.  The Lord’s guidance was evident as we met people of various skills and positions in the village who answered many of our questions the first day we were there.

Vanavara is a village of about 3000 people located on the banks of the Podkamenaya-Tunguska River, accessible only by a 2-hour plane ride from Krasnoyarsk or ice road in the winter.  Because of the isolation and remoteness of the village, almost everything has to be trucked in from the city by winter road — building materials, household goods, dry goods and groceries, etc.

The population seems to be a Russian majority with a number of Evenki and other indigenous peoples.  Overall, everyone was very friendly and very helpful in answering the many questions that we had.  It definitely had a small-town feel to it — a place where everyone knows everyone and looks out for each other.  Because of this, they told us that crime is basically non-existent.

The village maintains a school, a gymnasium and sports facility, a children’s home, two saw mills, several small stores, a pharmacy, and a newly-built hospital which provides medical service to several smaller surrounding villages.  The hospital is the main employer and hunting and fishing abound.

Our Plans…

After traveling to Vanavara and interacting with the residents and after seeking counsel with much prayer, we believe that the Lord is clearly leading us to move to Vanavara to begin the process of planting a church in that village.  One of the single ladies from the church here in Krasnoyarsk moved up to Vananvara last year and has taken a position at the hospital there, so we already have one person who wants to come to services!  She will be a tremendous help as we work to get established in the community there.

We will be partnering with the James Dean family who has served first in Krasnoyarsk for several years, and now in Shila for the past two years.  The Deans are wonderful servants who truly have a heart for the people and our families have worked well together for the past few years.  Brother Dean also brings some very valuable construction experience, having worked as a builder before.

We believe that the best option for relocating will be to purchase property and build a house and garage that would serve as a multi-purpose space for holding meetings, hosting VBS, etc.  Renting is not a long-term option for multiple reasons, the most important of which is residency requirements for Russia.  If we try to buy a place and fix it up, it would be more expensive and more time-consuming since most of the houses that could be purchased are on bad foundations and would not be suitable for renovation.  We have already drawn up house plans for our two residences and are confident that this is the direction the Lord would have us take.

The Timeframe…

After we return back from furlough in May of 2015, we will take several more trips up to Vanavara for the purpose of purchasing land, hooking up electricity, filing for building permits, and setting the stage for our permanent move.  We would then return to Krasnoyarsk and purchase several shipping containers, buy the needed building supplies and have everything ready to ship up on the winter road in December of 2015.  We would then move up shortly after the new year in January or February of 2016, and be ready to break ground and build both our house and the Dean’s house in the spring and summer of 2016.

The Need…

We believe without a doubt that the Lord is in this move, but with such a move and the establishment of a new ministry like this, there is a great expense.  Building materials and tools must be purchased, shipping containers must be obtained and shipping must be paid to get of the materials and household goods up to the location.

We are still working on finalizing the material list and costs, but a very rough ballpark figure of the breakdown of the costs to build our house would be as follows:

Building materials — $75,000

(to take the house to complete turn-key finish)

2 – 20 foot shipping containers — $2,000

Shipping costs — $ .50 per kilogram of weight

(based on this year’s winter road freight fees)

Misc. tools and items — $1,000

(planer, chop saw, nail guns, compressors, etc.)

We have already had some funds donated and given towards a future building, so we praise the Lord that we already have close to $6,000 that we can put towards our future ministry in Vanavara.  We know that it is the Lord’s will for us to take this step in our ministry and He will provide and often He uses you, our supporters, to meet that need.

If you believe that the Lord would have you help meet some of this financial need, you can designate it for the Northcutt Housing Fund and send it to our mission board at the following address:

Points North Baptist Mission

PO Box 977

New Philadelphia, OH 44663

The need is not just material and financial, but with the short summers of the Siberian north, it is essential that we get the houses completely built and winterized in one season.  For that reason, I would ask you to pray and consider the possibility of a team from your church coming over to help us build these houses in the summer months of 2016.  Maybe you have construction experience or roofing expertise or you are a finish carpenter – any and all talents can be used.  Would you consider taking a portion of your summer in 2016 to come over and be involved in the groundbreaking of a new ministry in the regions of Siberia? (And no, it is not cold in Siberia in the summertime.  Temperatures can often get into the 80s or 90s)

If you have any questions about our plans or would like more details about coming over to help us as we start this new ministry in Vanavara, you may contact me via the following email address:

info@northboundnorthcutts.com

As always, we truly appreciate your faithful prayers and support of our ministry.  We are honored to be your representatives to the people of Siberia.