March,13, 2008

Greetings from Ufa, where we are finally seeing some significant melting of snow and ice.  It has been a long winter and we are glad to see things changing!

 Brief prayer update to guide your intercession:

   1.       Please keep interceding for the street kid ministry here in Ufa…we’ve recently seen several new kids via the ministry, some have even come to worship times.  We helped buy new clothes for 5 of the kids as their old clothes had lice in them.  Especially pray for street ministry believers Anton, Marina, and husband-wife Victor and Natasha as they lead this difficult ministry.

   2.       Please pray for the visa process for our team mates Victor and Susan Bauer.  We are in process of negotiating with a local university to get visa support for the Bauers. The Bauers have to be out of Russia by April 3 when their current visas expire and will renew in Kiev, Ukraine and may need to be there for up to a month or so.

  3.       Please pray for a volunteer team coming from Weatherford (OK) to Ufa this next week to be involved in student and ESL ministry. Pray for the 3 team members Micah, Cammie, and Shannon to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit as they seek to share their testimonies of God’s power and ability to change lives, and also pray please for them as they will be involved in multiple witnessing conversations along the way.

 4.       Please pray for a 6-member ESL team from Lakeview Church in Selmer (TN) as they prepare to lead an ESL workshop in Ufa March 25-30.  Pray for timely travel and rapid adjustment to the 11 hour time change. Pray for meaningful gospel conversations to take place with the ESL participants. Pray for team leader Ray Burks as he guides his team. 

  5.       Please pray for Nikki Lutes as she prepares to come serve with our team in orphanage and ESL ministries this summer.  Pray for timely arrival of her new passport so that we can get her visa invitation paperwork completed in order for her to arrive in mid-May.

  6.       Please pray for Jim Havlik as he prepares to go to cross-cultural orientation in April-June in order to join our team later this summer. 

  7.       Please pray for preparations related to a major strategic church planter training event to take place here in Ufa during second half of May and first few days of June.  This training has potential historic impact to unleash and empower a new generation of church planters to consider and practice new paradigms of biblical church planting which will require much faith and breaking with old paradigms.

 Please remember to visit our ministry website from time to time for further info and news: www.hope4ufa.com   

 Also, we have a new ministry DVD available regarding Ufa and Bashkortostan.  Please write us at if you would like for us to mail a copy to you.  The DVD is an excellent informational and mobilization tool to motivate folks to come serve short- and long-term in Ufa; it also is a great preparation tool for volunteer teams planning to come to Ufa, and it is a great tool to assist you in praying for God’s kingdom to come in glory and power in Ufa and Bashkortostan.

 Thanks for praying with and for us and for the fulfillment of Revelation 5:9-10 and 7:9-10. 

 Blessings,

Chris Carr

Ufa, Russia