Gettin' it done!

I'm in Maryland right now anxiously awaiting the opening of this weekends play, Charlotte's Web. Why you ask? Well, because I was brought in 2 weeks before the opening to get it done! The original director was pregnant and delivered a healthy baby 12 days ago which obviously hindered her ability to be at the rehearsals. Things were a little chaotic, but are beginning to settle down and everyone is looking forward to a great show! After leaving Maryland this summer to work in Michigan I had mixed feelings about not being able to be a part of a production. God answered my prayers, in an unusual way, (which I like about Him) and gave me the opportunity to come back to the D.C. area to direct and produce the show. I see this as ministry that God has given me. Sure, I go overseas to third world countries and work, but I'm ministering to kids in the States right now and that is just as important. They need to know Jesus, develop a Christ-like character, and be loved. And that's what I'm up to!

Siberia, February 16-25, 2007

My first trip to Tyumen, Siberia was quite an adventure! The purpose of this trip was to lead worship at our host church, train and encourage Siberian pastors, and host conferences for widows. I was also planning on filming the trip to use for upcoming videos. Our team was made up of 7 people. My parents, a drummer, a worship leader/guitarist, 2 vocalists/pianists, and a violinist(me!).
We flew out of Detroit on Friday, Feb. 16. Our flight was delayed 2 hours so we missed our connecting flight in New York. We had a pretty rough time getting our tickets reissued, but 2 hours later we were given tickets for the next night to Moscow. We arrived a day late in Moscow. We went to pick up the luggage and only 4 of our 10 bags had arrived. Four gift bags for widows, my personal suitcase and one other personal suitcase were lost. I stood in line for 2 hours to report the problem. Our team then took a bus through Moscow to the domestic airport. We had several hours to pass before our evening flight left. We sat at a little cafe and shared with one another.
We arrived in Tyumen, Siberia at 1:30 am and were greeted by several of the pastors from the Christian church. They drove us about 30 minutes into the city and we moved in to our hotel. The hotel rooms were narrow, single rooms with a small European bathroom. Very clean, but very cold!

On Monday we drove to the church to set up for a 10am worship service. The service lasted about 2 hours. It was great! We played several praise and worship songs, shared testimonies and my dad preached. The rest of the week we held the 10am services. As the week passed, the numbers grew. By the end of the week, we even had a Russian bass player!
The services took up our mornings, but we had the late afternoons and evening to do ministry as well. Following the morning service we ate a homemade lunch at the church. The lunches consisted of rice and chicken, homemade noodle soup, beet soup, perogies, fruit and chi(hot tea). We did not want for food! My dad and the two men on the team would stay and minister to a small group of pastors through teaching, prayer and answering questions. My mom, the two other ladies and I would prepare for the widows conferences.

We had 7 widows conferences in that week. A few of them were out in the villages. A typical widows conference includes teaching, a meal, prayer, giving gifts and some music. I was able to play my violin at most of the meetings. It was so sweet because as soon as I finished playing my first song, Amazing Grace, the ladies would start requesting hymns and then start singing as I played. One group of ladies even took out their Russian hymnals to follow along. One particular evening we were holding a conference at the Baptist church and our translator was running late. Well, none of the ladies spoke English so we were trying to communicate with our hands and smiles. I decided to get out my violin and play for them. That is when they took out the hymnals and began to sing. I love how God made music a universal language! At the end of the worship time, one of the younger widows raised her hand and asked to speak. (Our translator had arrived) She said that recently she had been dealing with doubt and insecurity, but when she heard the music she felt the Lord comforting her. That was such a blessing to me!

Day 7 arrived and I still did not have my luggage. The communication between the Moscow airport and ourselves was not very clear, but God answered our prayers and that night I got my bag. Unfortunately, no other bags arrived. We were still missing 5 bags! The excuse that customs gave to us was that we had "tools for measuring and drilling oil and gasoline". Now, that's a joke! Fortunately, we were able to pick up our bags in Moscow on the way home.

Even though I did not have my bag for seven days, the Lord extended the battery life on my video camera so that I was able to capture some great footage. That was another answer to prayer!

The trip was another reminder to me that I have Christian brothers and sisters all over the world. We believe the same things and in the same Lord! We worship together and don't let the language barrier stand between us. Praise the Lord! I can't wait to go back!