When are you going?
The travel dates for the trip have changed just a bit, and it’s kind of neat because we’ll get to meet Team A. They will be on the ground one week, then Team B (that’s me) gets there and shares a week with team, then they leave, and we’ll be there for another week. I'll be gone from late June to early July. My passport paperwork has been submitted, so now...I wait.
Who are you going with?
An amazing team has been gather from Florida, Kansas City, and North Dakota. The team from Jacksonville will be lead by the husband & wife team from Clarion Call
Where are you going?
We will arrive in Moscow and head to Murmansk for the first week. Where? Yeah, I thought that too. It’s a seaport city in the northern part of the country. I believe it’s pronounced MUR-MON-SK. (P.S. I am hoping that my southern drawl will not insight an “international incident” at any point) Then we’re off to Nizhny (pronounced NICHE-KNEE) - where Adam (our coordinator) currently lives. It’s home to about a million people and is the 5th largest city. We may have some time at the end of the week in Moscow as we say farewell to Team A, but when we head back to Moscow the day before we fly home we should be able to spend a bit more time in the city. The consensus is the same...prepare to be amazed. The idea of getting to see 2 towns in the middle of nowhere, in a country I’ve never been to, gets me terribly excited...it’s how God wired me, don’t judge :) Getting to spend one day in Moscow just adds to the excitement. Here’s a map to give you a better idea...
What are you going to do while you’re there?
It appears that my administrative talents will be put to good use in various ways, but that’s not all. Since I spoke the words “I believe God has given me confirmation to go to Russia”, He has been adding to me (preparing, arming me) almost daily in scripture and books about who He is and how He works among people, through people just like me. Did you catch that? Through people just like me. I don’t say that from a place of pride, I say that jumping up and down - WOO HOO!! He can use me to speak words and pray prayers of encouragement over others...me!!! But it’s not about me, is it? He is showing me right now how to pray (prepare) for them, and to speak His promises of hope and great joy into their lives before we even leave Jacksonville. It has been an interesting few weeks to say the least. My camera and desire to write have been itching to be set free. As I told the group - “it’s essential to my existence to take no less than 1000 pictures a week - this will serve as your one and only warning, so you have all now become “fair game”.” I think I have been labeled “the crazy one”...it’s only fitting. :)
How is the fund raising going?
Pretty good!! The trip cost is $2500 total for the two weeks, and between selling paper bead necklaces and very generous donations on top of that, I hit the $1200 mark...$1300 to go! My first deadline is May 18th for $1700 which will cover the airline ticket and travel visas. Time is of the essence, so if you have even considered a donation of any size, or are interested in purchasing a paper bead necklace as a show of support, then today is the day! Checks can be made directly to me.
Ok, what’s with the paper bead necklaces?
It’s how I have chosen to do my fund raising! Necklaces made from paper - it’s that simple! I greatly appreciate straight donations, but I thought it would be awesome for people to have a tangible way to remember their support - and I can promise you it’s not something I will soon forget! The strips of paper are rolled into bead shapes, then glazed and sealed and make them rock hard, then I string them with glass beads to add some more color and a bit of sparkle. They are approximately 26” in length, and $18 each - I can do special colors too!! You can EMAIL ME for more info or to place an order and you can SEE MORE IMAGES over on SmugMug.
So are you as excited as I am???? Please LET ME HEAR FROM YOU with and questions or words of encouragement!! Prayers are needed before, during and after, so if something in this update jumped out at you, pray into that and let me know about it so I can glean even more! Thank you for your support and I look forward to hearing from you!!
Love Ya’ll,
Caryn
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