January, 2007 Prayer Letters

 

 January 25, 2007

Greetings from Ufa!  We’ve been back in Ufa for about two months now and wanted to give you another update for informed prayer:

  1. Praise the Lord with us, that our second oldest son Timothy is on the road of faith with Jesus!  Yesterday (Jan 25) he told Eileen and I that the day before, he asked Jesus into his heart and asked Him to forgive all of his sins and told Him he wants to go to heaven.  We talked with him for a while about this with some probing questions, and we are convinced at this point that he is genuine and real with what he is saying.  He again prayed, with us present, and reminded God of his desire to surrender control of his life to Jesus, to be forgiven of sins, and he said he believed that Jesus is the boss of his life and that God raised Him from the dead.  Pray with us as we work with Timmy to grow in his faith and understanding of what it means to be and live as a follower of Jesus.
  1. Pray with us for Grace Church, as the members seek a place to meet over the long term…they are presently meeting on Sundays in our apartment, along with having a weekly planning meeting and Bible

study in our apartment.  Pray for God to lead them to the most strategic place in the Telecenter district so that they have a stable base from which to have 24-hr access for worship, ministry, evangelism, training, and discipleship

  1. Pray with us as our field prepares to present a strategic church planting training in the city of Ivanovo (not far from Moscow) Feb 4-9…we are hoping that one or two believers from Ufa can attend this

training, catch the vision for what God is doing around the world and wants to do in Russia, so that they can help cast that vision for other leaders here in the Ufa area.

  1. Pray for Chris as he continues independent doctoral degree studies, that he can adequately study without neglecting any aspect of being a husband, dad, or IMB worker.  There is still much reading to do, more research to be conducted, and many papers to write by April 16.
  1. Pray for the new church started in Ufa in early November…I recently attended the church and shared a short message there, and was thrilled to see 35 people in attendance…this new church is hoping to start initial activities for a new church plant in northern Ufa in coming months.
  1. Pray for Scott Hume (assoc. pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Weatherford, OK) as he prepares his college ministry team to come to Ufa in March to help us with student ministry, street research, interviewing potential for an ESL school to be conducted in Ufa in March.  Pray for multiple opportunities for Scott and his team to share the good news of how God has changed their lives through Jesus.
  1. Pray for Ray Burks, sr pastor of Lakeview Baptist Church in Selmer (TN) as he prepares 9 of his members to come to Ufa in March and present an evangelistic ESL school.  Pray for each of the teachers to grasp the teaching material as they fuse it with their own testimonies, so that the school participants are convicted by the Holy Spirit about their need for salvation and a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  Pray also for our Ufa team as we make preparations to conduct ongoing English classes with those who show interest in continuing the ESL emphasis.  Pray for God to provide us a place to conduct those classes.
  1. Pray for Victor and Susan Bauer as they continue language study in Moscow in advance of moving to Ufa either in March or early April.  They have been sick in Moscow this week; pray for the Lord to restore their health, to give their tired minds encouragement and refreshment as they struggle with their language study, and that things would come together for them to move to Ufa as early as mid-March.

 

Thanks for lifting up us and the Lord’s work here in Ufa, we love each of you and are proud to serve with you!

Chris Carr

 

 

 

Team Ufa prayer update Jan 7, 2007

 1. Please continue praying for follow-up from an Int’l World Changers project here in Ufa area Dec 28-Jan 5…pray for continuing email and personal communication with the many folks who heard the gospel during the project, especially students in Ufa and orphanage workers in another area. 

 2. Pray for Chris as he undertakes Doctor of Ministry course work off and on during next 3 months…pray that the course work dovetail properly with ministry so that a dynamic synergy would emerge, positively impacting our team’s work especially in areas of leadership training and church planter preparation

 3. Pray for a new church plant in the city of Ufa that has been meeting for two months now…pray that our team be able to positively impact that new church so that in its new spiritual DNA is birthed the expectation of that church planting other churches in coming years. 

 4. Pray for Grace Church, which is facing an imminent move (by Jan 16) from its current facilities…it is likely the fellowship will meet in our apartment for the short term, while a search is conducted for another apartment to serve as a ministry base for the church.

 5. Pray for TeamUfa members Victor and Susan Bauer as they continue language study in Moscow…they are doing well, though they are experiencing the normal frustrations of such study and can always use encouragement.  It is expected that they will continue language study in Moscow for at least another two months.  Pray for them to forge ahead, push through the frustrations that are part and parcel of adult language study, with the reward being the ability to clearly share the gospel and assist with church planting work on down the line.

 6. Praise God with us for the not-yet-believers who attended evangelistic Christmas services at Grace Church in Ufa on both Jan 5 and 7…pray for the Grace church members to do effective follow-up with those who attended, so that they continue on the journey of faith in Jesus.

 7. Praise God with us for His bountiful care for His work through support of the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for Int’l Missions.  We are deeply grateful to each of you for your personal support through such mechanisms, as it not only helps our ministry work in Ufa, but also blesses us personally through salary and benefit support, homeschooling materials for our children, and the Volkswagen van we use nearly every day in ministry. 

 8. Pray for a 26-yr old believer named Max who is in a hospital in Moscow.  He finished drug rehab in Bashkortostan (of which Ufa is the capital) some time back and is now a believer, but has had some serious health issues brought on by immune system issues due to HIV-infection from his former drug habit.  He is seriously in need of some operations to remove infections and growths in his lymph node system.   His parents financially have done about all they can do regarding the financial costs of the operation, but a great deal more is still necessary.  Chris and Eileen will be contributing to this need and if you interested in helping, please let us know by writing us at chrcarr@gmail.com

 9.  Pray for us as we work with Ufa Bible Church in a broad plan to plant at least one new church in each county of the republic of Bashkortostan.  It is a formidable plan and shows great vision and promise for bringing the gospel across the republic over the long term.

 Thanks for being a part of our team and praying with us to tear down Satanic strongholds, see the captives set free, and God glorified through church planting!

 Chris Carr

Strategy Coordinator for Ufa, Russia

chrcarr@gmail.com

www.hope4ufa.com